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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Day +4

I wasn't much good the last couple days. But feeling better today.
It started Friday when I got a very nasty stomach ache. Turns out is is most likely Mucositis, a common side effect of some of the chemo. The result of M. cover the gut to the mouth. In the mouth, it's called mouth sores. This can go on for a week or so.
No one had really spoken about pain management here so I didnt know much except they like to horde their tylenol (I'm sure for good reason). Friday afternoon I suddenly knew that tylenol wasnt going to help. It turns out, and maybe I shoulda known, that one should build a lag time to get prescribed a new drug. By the time I got a pill of Vicodin I was well on my way to doubled over in pain. 1/2 hour later... relief. I took a second Vicodin to finish off most of the pain. So... out with tylenol... say hello to my new leetle fren; Vicoden. Friday night I tried the Ativan/Vicodin combo. All well and good except I could not stay awake all day Saturday, which was my Day +3.
During the day I was conscious enough to realize that the old drug combo sukd. Consulting with the Doc and the matrix oracle I decide to switch to another 2 drugs. So... out with Ativan/Vicodin, say hello to my newest friends; Patch and Morphine. I now have a common fisherman's nausea patch behind my ear to control nausea, and I get a small shot of morphine every 4-6 hours to deal with the pain of mucusitis. This combo works well now. I had a good day. Hopefully I've seen the worst of the mucusitis. The doctor thinks there is a good chance it wont get worse. Today I was able to eat half of all 3 meals, took my required walks around the floor and was able to stay awake all day.
Plluusssss, a certain sporting event went well for San Diego... Yay!
I will now have some kind of fond memories, of sorts, from my stay here. As a matter of fact, I'll be here for the next Charger game on the 19th. After that, on tap is the Buick Invitational starting the 21st, which I can watch live (through some tree branches) below on the golf course. Oh! life is good! But wait... what if the Chargers lose next week? Ouch. Well, I guess I'll still be getting morphine. ;-)
Kinda funny about that today. Around an hour before the game, the nurses made rounds and gave all the patients stronger shots of morphine. The nurses disappeared until after 2:30. mmm... Patients were roaming the halls crying out "Nurse! Nurse! Nurse please!". Ok. NOT.
Back to whats real. Cathie, family and my Dad visited much the last 2 days and continue to give me a light to look for at the end of this tunnel. Cathie was there when I was in pain. She rubbed my feet and back, gave me encouragement galore. It was hard for her to see me in that state and I hated to let her see me like that.
Thank you for all your support!
Doctor says I'm progressing well.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hurrah for your awesome comeback! We had been concerned about the lack of news and vowed to call Cathie if none came Sunday, so we did. Cathie is a tower of strenghth and a pillar of compassion. She explained all your symptoms and progress coherently, though I don't know how, and we are very amazed at her depth of faith. What a wonderful antidote she must be for you. Well, maybe it'll be a SanDiego-Packers SuperBowl. How about that scenario? Shall we send green and gold stuff yet? Gotta go, work calls.
Keep up with the healing.
Love and prayers,
Katy

Anonymous said...

Hey Jim,

So glad you've found the right drug combo for your pain and nausia...remember vividly as a kid having several bouts of stomach flu
and how awful it felt...can't imagine what YOU are going through.
You're sounding quite chipper now which to us is so comforting. Hope your week is awesome....Go Pack & Bolts !!

Pat H

SoftwareEngineer said...

Sounds like the pain is under control and that's great. We're grateful that Cathie is there for you.
Praying for you every day,
William Chadwick

Duane said...

Very happy to hear that things continue to move forward, Jim.

I check your blog everyday and am thinking about you.

Russ said...

Jim - Cathie gives us frequent updates, but your blog is the best.
Glad to hear you were able to enjoy the Chargers game. I hope you cant get some autographs for me at the golf tourney.
Also, remember to save those leftover pain meds to share with friends and family.
Thinking of you everyday. You amaze us all.