Hmmmm.......

I feel pretty good, really good in fact. I keep waiting for the 'other shoe to drop', if you know what I mean. Other that being more tired than usual, I really have nothing to bitch about.
I read that one of the side effects of chemo, is unexplained or easy bruiseing. I may not have read that correctly, I'll go research that in a few minutes.
I have this big (about 3") bruise between my wrist and my elbow on the inside of my arm. It's not one of my many dings n dents from doorways etc., from the nf2 balance. When those appear I usually know exactly when the collision (?) happened. I have no idea the cause of this bruise.
hmmmmmm......

This is what I just read....
Bruising or bleeding: Rituxan can reduce the production of platelets (which help the blood to clot). This can cause unexplained bruising or bleeding, such as nosebleeds, blood spots,rashes and bruising on the skin, and bleeding gums.
So thats where I got that bruise...MYSTERY SOLVED!

1 week down...

since starting chemo, 17 weeks to go.....yikes...putting it that way seems awfully long.
In this past week, I have experienced heartburn, which is under control by Pepcid.
I also had horrible insomnea, but that is under control now too, due to the Temazepam. I have had no nausesa, so far, lets hope that keeps up.
I have been awfully tired. I spend alot of time reading. Thats kind of frustrating, sometimes I'll read an entire page, and realize I have no clue what I just read. So I read it again.
I seem to have whats known as 'chemo-brain'. Usually I am sharp as a
tack, never miss a click you know? Lately certain things are just a blur.
Simple things, like everyday routine things that I do by habit; checking the snail mail, watering the houseplants, making grocery lists, etc., All that kind of stuff is like 'o yeah, I need to....' You get my drift.....
I will say I am on top of the laundry, thats pretty funny, I hate doing laundry, and I always put it off. But with night sweats, at least a few times a week, I change and wash all the sheets, p.j.'s, and whatever else needs washing. So for the first time in my life, the clothes hamper is usually empty, instead of over flowing.

Insomnea

I've had really bad insomnea for about a week.
Try as I might, I just cannot fall asleep at night.
I tried cutting caffiene, sleepytime tea, etc., nothing was working.
So yesterday I emailed Dr. Zu, to ask for help. He prescribed something called Temazepam and OMG I slept so good last night.
I didn't wake up once the entire night Man, what a difference sleep makes!
I have not had any severe side effects. No nausea, and the heartburn is controlled by the Pepcid. I have been awfully tired. It was absolute bliss last night to sleep!
Life is good.....

1st treatment - part 2

Yesterday was a very long day.
Treatment started at 9am ,I wasn't done until 3:30.
First things 1st, Nurse Linda started an I.V. , or tried to anyway.
I showed her the best spot to use, which of course she did not agree.
So after 3 strikes (ouch!) she was out. Luckily Nurse Rebecka saved the day, 1 poke, right where I showed her, no problem
Rebecka is my new favorite nurse ;-)

The treatment room is like a big living room, filled with recliners and couches, tv's and magazines. They encourage you to bring a book, a laptop, friends to quietly hang out with, snacks, drinks, etc.

Suzanne went to the treatment with me, we chatted for awhile on my laptop, until the battery died. (4 hours)
Then she went to get lunch and brought back carnitas burritos from Rubio's Mexican Grill. It was soooo good. I think thats my new favorite place to eat. ;-)
Today at noon, her and her family went to Italy. 19 days they will be there.
ciao!

About half way thru the treatment, I was given some Rx'es to have filled.
One for nausea, one for heartburn, one for something else. And one for pednisone...yes steroids. Yuck! Steroids are evil, I hate steroids, can u say 'roid rage'?
So I told the nurse, no way, I'm not taking these, why do I need these?
Dr. Zu said nothing about steroids. So she took the paper and dissappeared, I'm thinking, cool, that was easy enuf.....wrong! Here comes Dr. Zu to explain to me that I must take these steriods, only for 5 days tho.
That is, 5 days following every chemo treatment.
Well, ok then, if I must, I must. I still say steroids are evil tho....

My leg muscles feel like I have been running laps. Legs feel very fatigued.
weird, I sat in a recliner all day yesterday.
No nausea, as of yet. Insane heartburn tho, and a little insomnia last night. No biggie, I slept in ;-)

Not sure what I was expecting, but yesterday was not bad at all.
My only complains were the I.V. situation, and the knowledge of the 'riods. The 1st treatment is history.
bark~!

1st Treatment

yay! I start my first chemotherapy treatment tmw at 9 am!
Who would have ever thought I'd be excited about that?!
But I am tho, very excited, and a tad nervous,
thats normal I guess.
Finally! I get to start! Wish me luck!

WTF ?!

Dr. Zu has yet to call the insurance company
with a protocol. (treatment plan)
WTF? Can you believe this...the doctor is holding things up? I cannot understand why. Karen (my case manager) thinks that he may not have decided on a protocol yet. He told me that the protocal would be the same as he said two weeks ago.
All this time I thought the delay was the insurance peoples fault....obviously, it is not. Turns out it is the doctor.
Unbelievable!

Now it is much later, I emailed Dr. Zu, he responded within the hour.
He said,
"I have asked my office to get authorization last week. I just checked with the girl who does auth, she is working on it. She told me we should be starting treating you this week."
So I don't think the delay was actually him, but rather his office.
Tmw is another day....

Fathers Day

Last night was not so good.
I tried & tried, but could not fall asleep....last time I looked at the clock it was 3:30 am, still no sleep. groan! Then once I finally dozed off, I awoke to find myself completly drenched! yuck - gross! I hate that! sigh...
The plan was to go to Huntington Beach, to Geo's folks house, but I just was not up to it. I suck! So I sent him on his way solo.
Tmw I am calling Karen King, my case manager. She is going to help me arrange some services, that I may need while undergoing treatment.
I got the cancer dx's i month ago yesterday.

HURRY UP & WAIT

Yesterday i had an appointment with Dr. Zu.
(Suzanne took me to the appt., and Geo met us there)
Dr. Zu used my laptop to communicatte with me.
We discussed the results of my recent tests:
CT Scan - negative - it basically didn't reveal anything new.
Bone Marrow Biopsy - positive - the 'C' word is in my bones.
Dr. Zu said this is 'common' with this type of Lymphoma.
Plus, it wasn't a huge surprise, I was already told its in stage 3.
What I really wanted yesterday, was to get a plan of attack, er treatment,
schedualed. We cannot do that until the insurance approves it.
Thats another 7 to 10 days. Suzanne has Kerri (caseworker)
trying to rush the approval.
(note to self--think positive)

Biopsy

Yesterday was the bone marrow biopsy,
everything went smooth. I was dreading it,
but it was a piece of cake.
First they started an IV line, so they could sedate me during the biopsy.
They took the bone marrow from the back of my hip bone.
They had me lay on my tummy on the mri table, and with the machine they looked at my hip bone, so they could see exactly where to poke, to get the marrow. So, I'm laying there, bracing myself for the pain, and there was no pain. I was forewarned I would feel a 'twinge' while the marrow was being sucked out....no twinge tho, nothing. yay!
At home I slept the rest of the afternoon. The area is a little sore now but just a little.
Next up...appointment with Dr. Zu tmw, where he can review this test result and finalize my treatment plan.

CT Scan

Today was that Cat Scan, I wish MRI's were that easy.
The CT cocktail was Barium (a contrast agent)
which I drank so that worked on my digestive system.
Then I also got an injection of contrast for my curculitory system. Like I said, the whole thing was a breeze, maybe 1/2 hour or so.
Next up, bone marrow biopsy, and after that I will start treatment. I am ready now to start treatment. The first step to getting this behind me and getting thru it, will be starting it, right?
Bring it on! ;-)