Well day three started off much the same as the last two days. Woke up incredibly tired but not nauseas. I had the 10:30am appointment so starting off a little bit later but time goes by fairly quickly. As long as the nurses can get the prescription from the pharmacy in a timely manner the actual IV only takes about an hour and a half.
Received a pleasant surprise when a good friend and collegue, Chris K, showed up to visit for a while. It had been about a year since we met so it was really good to catch up.
They seem to be concerned with my blood pressure. So far this week I have been in the 150/110 neighborhood which puts my in the hypertension catagory. However this can be one of the side effects of the drugs I am on. They suggested I go to my GP to have it checked out.
My GP said it has been normal for the last few years but loaned me a blood pressure monitor to check it at home and to call him Monday with the results. I may need blood pressure meds on top of everything else. Oh well just need to do what needs to be done.
I did go for a few pints last night though. Well an extral large tea which was the size of a pint and about 4 pints of water. It was good to get out but I did feel very lethargic afterwards.
Day 4 ended up a bit more of an interesting day. Woke up again feeling like shit due to an incredible lack of sleep. Checked my blood pressure in the morning and it was still high. Chemo went without a hitch as has been the case thankfully all week. Afterward I ended up having to take the street car home which wasn't an inconvenience at all, however, I began to feel a tightness in my chest. No pain just a shortness of breath. Now I wasn't particularly concerned. However, due to the amount of literature given to me by the hospital I did remember seeing this symptom listed as a side effect pertaining to one of the medications. Once home I dug out the information sheet and perused. Under the "What you should do?" section it said to "Call your doctor", and so I did.
Marsha, my nurse, returned my call a few minutes later and asked a few questions relating to the discomfort and suggested that to be on the safe side I should call 911 and get checked out at the hospital. Within minutes a Fire Truck arrives at my door and sits me down, applies the oxygen mask and repeats to ask the questions I have already answered twice before. Moments later the Ambulance arrives and I am whisked off to Toronto General.
Long story short, 6 hours later I am released with a clean bill of health. After a couple of ECG's and blood work they determined that my heart was just fine and determined that the situation was caused by the medication.
Back in the hospital in 10 hours for my final treatment of the week.
This is more of an expedition that a freaking journey!
4 down 17 to go.
Livestrong!
Livestrong!!
ReplyDelete