February 11, 2011
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Chemo, round one, done….mostly
Posted by Stephanie 6:30pm CST from the hotel room Houston, TX
Well, in about an hour, I will be getting disconnected from chemo, signifying the end of round one! Hooray! However, due to my low C02 level over the last several days, I’ve been assigned three extra days of continuous I.V. fluids. So, that means the backpack has to stay put for awhile longer. Boo.
My C02 level has climbed slightly since the beginning of the week, thanks to two increases in the sodium acetate additive in my fluid bags. It’s now 600meq, which is double the amount they started with two weeks ago. That number probably doesn’t mean much to any of you, and not really to me either, but I’m so used to keeping track of these things and writing them down so that I can look back on them for reference later. In other bloodwork related news, my immune system is starting it’s downward spiral. Dr. Benjamin thought it would happen sometime around the end of the 14 days, and he was right on, as usual. I’ve only been getting a CBC (which checks for white blood cell, red blood cell, hemoglobin and platelet counts, among others) once a week. Last Friday’s numbers were great, and today’s are significantly lower. Not sure exactly when the drop started, but my WBC (white blood cell) count today is only 1.8. That’s far below normal, but not anywhere near scary yet for me. It’s been as low as 0.2 in the past. :) Hemoglobin is staying strong at 11.3 (though that’s down a bit from last week), and my platelets are hanging in there at 140. We know my WBC will drop low, and once it does, I’ll have to stay out of big crowds and away from sick people till it comes back up. That’s not a huge deal. The big thing to watch out for will be my hemoglobin and platelets. If either of those drop too low, it could mean a blood transfusion. I’ve had plenty in the past, but it’s obviously best for my system if it doesn’t get to that point. I have bloodwork daily starting Sunday, so we’ll be able to keep our eye on things.
I’m still feeling really good. The half-raw, weird coated feeling in my stomach and up my esophagus continues, and water still tastes weird. Just in the last hour or so, I’ve started to get this half-numb feeling on the left side of my head…..not sure that’s a good thing, and could very well be the ‘neurotoxicity’ that they warned of creeping in on me, but I’m not too worried, since the chemo stops tonight. It does feel mighty strange. I’ve also noticed my heart rate has been quick to race lately with not much effort. Mom and I try to do 20 minutes on the treadmill/bike in the workout room several times a week, and where it was easy a week ago, it takes a little more out of me now. Even my resting heartrate is high, between 85-95 (normal is supposed to be down close to 60), but this happened on Ifosfamide before, so I’m not surprised by it. At least I’m still able to get around without any problem, unlike years ago, when my heart skyrockted to 180bpm with just a few steps! Let’s hope we don’t get to that point again!
Alright, I’m off to the hospital. Have a great weekend everyone!
