Wow!

Five in a row! We went ahead with our plan and had treatment #5. I can't say how my numbers were except to say that my white counts were 6, which is GREAT! Unheard of, in fact!

I got my not so favorite nurse...and it was a bad experience. She started right away which means she didn't take my vitals. She just went for the vein...little vampire! I don't know if they are really supposed to take my temperature and blood pressure before starting chemo but Maria (my regular nurse) always does and it just makes good sense, doesn't it??

The IV experience was exciting (I say that tongue and cheek)! She started with the catheter and pulled out the non-flexible component but the flexible component kept going in and out because she wasn't really holding it steady and she wasn't really paying attention. She is somewhat rough with her movements. When an IV is being put in I would expect soft, gentle movements, no???? So she continues to hook up the tubing to the catheter but she is jabbing it into my vein to keep it from coming out...she looks down to get the tape....and Geno alerts her to the blood gushing out of my arm. There was blood all over the place! The pillow! The mat! My arm!! I have had a lot of IV's in the past few years and I can say she is the only one that can do that. Everytime she does my IV, I have this happen. This was the worst yet, though.

Needless to say, I will be requesting Maria from here on out. Maybe I'm special and I am the only one this happens to but ya know, I am TIRED of being SPECIAL!! Plain Jane Boring Stacey, as my mom used to call me always worked for me in the past!!

I have also come to the conclusion that chemo has a cummulative effect. Number 5 is not pleasant. I feel horrible...still and this is the 4th day since my treatment. I have terrible stomach pains and a slight fever. So far, it has just really sidelined me and gotten my attention. Probably all normal but it sucks! I will be keeping a good eye on it.

Scott wants me to take a break next week. We will see how I improve from now to Tuesday. There has been no mention of my liver counts. Not so favorite nurse doesn't like to tell me things without asking so I already used up my questions inquiring about the white counts ( I need that info for my shots). Let's face it! It didn't really matter what my liver counts were...they already gave me the treatment.

Four!! Can You Believe It!!

Well the day has come (and I NEVER thought that it would!!) that I received my fourth treatment in a row.

The nausea was a bit worse than last week. I just went up to bed and prayed for the day to be over. It finally happened but it sure took a loooong time! I made it though! The week was pretty rough but I kept moving and tried to take it easy at the same time. I know it sounds crazy but if I just stay put my mind starts to play tricks on me and I really am worse off than if I try to distract myself. Does anyone understand that?!?! I'm not sure that I do either but that my friends is chemo logic!

I saw the doctor this visit. Wow! After continually reminding him what medication I am on now, we talked about my counts. White counts were 5.4, which is good...dare I say perfect! That is higher than what they usually are and in the normal range. I know, pretty remarkable, huh? The low side of normal is in the 3's and I am usually in the 2's. I don't know if I've ever been in the 5's. So we are sticking with 4 shots this week instead of the 5. He said the extra shots are not dangerous, just a waste. Considering the shots are about $1000 each...gasp! I 'd say he has a point...

I am on track for treatment #5 on the 18th. If my counts stay in "my" normal, abnormal range we will keep going on this path. The plan is to increase the methotrexate back to my original dose (the dose we initially started with before all of the liver problems).

I can honestly say....I am sick of this routine. It is going to take a lot to get me through a whole year (starting now, not when I started chemo in Dec. the year starts once I continually get treatements week after week) of this. It certainly takes a certain mindset to be able to tackle this but I have become distracted by outside forces. I know I have it in me but I am going to have to dig deep to put the blinders back on and ignore the outside negative forces and focus on the real important issue...giving my family their mother/wife back. We are imperfect soles who truly need each other...

I'll be in touch!

Three Times In a Row!

Here is the short version...

I did have my third treatment in a row, for the very first time!
My nausea was much less this time around. I don't know if that is the way things will be from now on but I welcome it if it is!
My white counts were still very high so we decreased my shots to 4 for this week. They are working too well!
I am on track for treatment #4 on Tuesday if my counts stay the same.

That's really all I've got for now....