Chemo 5
It's been said that any day that ends up with you in the ER isn't a good day. And if no one has said that, let me be the first. My fifth treatment was brutal, but not because of nausea, oddly enough. In fact, I don't think anyone really knows what happened. The nurse for Wednesday offered me a bed for the day, which was a real treat, or so I thought, because having to sit upright for 6 hours while poisons drip into my veins hasn't been much fun so far. I thought lying down might allow me to get some rest, which it did, but at the end of the day when I tried to sit up and leave, bad things began to happen. I've done some stupid things to my body over the course of my life--I've given myself alcohol poisoning (from overdrinking, of course) and tobacco poisoning (from smoking a cigar incorrectly) among other things, and this felt just like those experiences. I felt slightly dizzy and light-headed, with pins-and-needles feelings coursing over my arms and legs. Added to the profuse sweating pouring off my clammy head and the plummeting blood pressure that was undoubtedly occurring, I was incapable of remaining upright. Unlike a regular fainting spell, though, lying down didn't really help all that much, as I began to have recurrences of these symptoms even while prone over the next few hours. That was unnerving to say the least, since it gave me no remedy to try. The nurses thought I was simply having a low blood sugar reaction, but their palliative juice bottles and saltines did nothing to relieve my torment. They were out of ideas, and since the clinic closes at 8 and there are no doctors on call anyway, they had no recourse but to send me off the UCLA ER.
After a good 5 hours of additional waiting and suffering, the ER doc had nothing better to suggest than IV fluids (an additional measure to guard against my non-low-blood sugar count) and a shot of Atavan, which is a combo anti-nausea and knockout drug, as far as I can tell. TBO and I didn't make it back home until 2AM, by which time I was at least able to be vertical.
What really happened? All I know is that I am not going to take my last treatment lying down! Ick.
After a good 5 hours of additional waiting and suffering, the ER doc had nothing better to suggest than IV fluids (an additional measure to guard against my non-low-blood sugar count) and a shot of Atavan, which is a combo anti-nausea and knockout drug, as far as I can tell. TBO and I didn't make it back home until 2AM, by which time I was at least able to be vertical.
What really happened? All I know is that I am not going to take my last treatment lying down! Ick.
posted by bryduck at 8:36 AM
2 Comments:
Did you get a chance to run the event by your oncologist? She may have a clue as to what caused the bottoming out of your BP. Or maybe it wasn't that.....
Love,
GOM
Doc is clueless; we're going to try and slow down one of the drips next time, and have two separate days as well. I asked if this was trying something just to try it or based on some sort of knowledge, and the doc said it could have been the culprit. Boy, was that a satisfying answer . . .
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