5/19/16

From Jan:

Well live felt great up until about an hour ago (5 pm). I've been out of bed both days, walked the hall, been the model patient for my nurses, and just felt like a normal person.  Yay!

But I started feeling fatigued about an hour ago.  When I say fatigued, it's more than tired or sleepy, it's like you're going to fall over where ever you happen to be standing or sitting, and you'll be dead asleep in less than a minute.

But I can't lay down yet because I need to stay awake until one of the many medications they've given me wear off.  Luckily it should wear off by 7.  I remind myself of a baby kitten who falls asleep in its food bowl - exactly like that.

Yesterday the oncologist and pharmacist took pity on my situation and now my 24 hour chemo drip bags are being run over 23 hours instead.  In theory that takes an hour off each day, which meant I'd be released close to 3:30 on Saturday.  But I wasn't taking into the account that it takes 30 minutes work on the nurse's part to change the bags.  Then on top of that my doctor ordered an additional long term anti nausea med to drip for 30 minutes between chemo bags today, so that meant that I didn't gain any time today.  We'll have to see how Friday's bag change goes to get a better idea what time I will get released on Saturday.  Plus after the pink chemo bag they'll hang one clear chemo bag Saturday that either takes a half or full hour, I can't remember.  Jill (my sister) was. Joking with my nurse last night about how she would bring a prize. (Ruby Snap Cookies) to whatever nurse changed the bags fastest.  I think the nurse at discharge gets double points if she immediately unhooks me from the IV instead of making me wait 20 minutes like last time.  I become totally unreasonable. When it's discharge time and I'm not my normal sweet understanding self.  I want out of here the second the last drop of chemo drips!

Oh and if I understand correctly, instead of sending me home with an IV pole, the IV will be in a pump I wear like a fanny pack! (I have to have an IV drip 10 hours of each 24 hour day at home to keep me from getting as sick as last time.) So a home health nurse will come by with 12 IV bags and will teach me how to change the bags myself.

They're rally invested in having me not get sick and land back in the hospital, so besides the long term nausea drug I got today, and sending me home with the IV pump, they have called in additional drugs to take at home. In all there will be 3 nausea drugs, two of which I'll take alternatively every four hours. As I understand, all 3 of these anti nausea medications work on different channels so you can take all 3 and not worry about over medicating because they all target something different.

So besides their regime, I now know I need to force myself to eat several small meals a day, and drink a lot of water and get up and walk for 15 minutes when I'm fatigued.  So with all that I'm expecting a better outcome.  And I plan to return to work the week of May 30- June 3rd.  It's the week right before I start my 3rd chemo session, do I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes, and it's extra motivation to do everything right this time to prevent setbacks.




Thanks again for all the continued prayers on Jan and the family's behalf!