After the Sixth Chemo: More Throwing Up
This time around, the nurse didn't even give me anti-nausea pills before the chemo began, administiring the medicine straight though the IV. While I was hoping that what happened duing the previous session was a fluke, I was relieved not to have to take them and find out the hard way.
As I got out of chemo, I mass-texted my mom, annanov, cherrymaryberry, randirogue and tweelore that I wasn't throwing up this time... yet.
Adding that qualifier turned out to be rather prescient.
As I walked out of the hospital, I felt an overwhelming urge to throw up. I rushed for the nearest lawn and... while it sure felt like throwing up, I didn't actually expell any content of my stomach. Just some spit an, toward the end, the liquid form of what I recognized as anti-nausea medication.
I decided to call it "phantom vomit." And I figured that, if it was the worst it was going to get... I could live with that.
Usually, my mom and I meet after chemo, and she takes me out for lunch. But this time, she was busy at some conference. While tryign to supress some flu-type illness with loads of medications. So... because I liked my traditions, I wound up getting some lunch myself.
I took a bit of detour to the downtown comic book store... And it was there that I started to feel weak. My muscles hurt. So I decided to head back home ASAP.
As soon as I got back home, I threw up. For real this time. I was pretty sure that about 2/3rds of my lunch wound up in the toilet.
At this point, I felt tired. Very tired. Part of me wondered if my muscle pain signalled something worse, something that I should go to the hospital for...
And then... My people have this great word - "отрубился." It means that I fell asleep so quickly and so utterly it was like someone flipped a switch.
I woke up around 8:00 PM. I had a message from my mom and my editor. I called back my mom, to let her know that I was conscious and doing as alright as I could be. My editor wanted to ask me some questions about the article I turned in earlier. I called him and left a message, but I don't think I sounded terribly coherent. I started drifting off. I took the anti-nausea med and fell asleep.
I woke up around 8:00 AM next morning. The soreness in my muscles was gone. And while I felt a bit tired, I wasn't as tired as I usually got on weekends after chemo (the aftermath of the 3rd chemo session nonewithstanding). I stayed awake almost the full, regular day. In retrospect, I probably could have been more productive, but, to translate a Russian saying, the best ideas always come too late.
Today, I woke up at around 11:00 AM. After I finished showering and brushing my teeth, I had another Phantom Vomit. This time, my organism seemed really determined to expell the yellowish remains of the anti-vomiting meds I took on Saturday (without incident).
We'll see what the next few hours will bring.
I got six chemo sessions down, and six left to go. Which means that, yes - I'm at the halfway point. While I wish It would have gone better, it's still a milestone.
As I got out of chemo, I mass-texted my mom, annanov, cherrymaryberry, randirogue and tweelore that I wasn't throwing up this time... yet.
Adding that qualifier turned out to be rather prescient.
As I walked out of the hospital, I felt an overwhelming urge to throw up. I rushed for the nearest lawn and... while it sure felt like throwing up, I didn't actually expell any content of my stomach. Just some spit an, toward the end, the liquid form of what I recognized as anti-nausea medication.
I decided to call it "phantom vomit." And I figured that, if it was the worst it was going to get... I could live with that.
Usually, my mom and I meet after chemo, and she takes me out for lunch. But this time, she was busy at some conference. While tryign to supress some flu-type illness with loads of medications. So... because I liked my traditions, I wound up getting some lunch myself.
I took a bit of detour to the downtown comic book store... And it was there that I started to feel weak. My muscles hurt. So I decided to head back home ASAP.
As soon as I got back home, I threw up. For real this time. I was pretty sure that about 2/3rds of my lunch wound up in the toilet.
At this point, I felt tired. Very tired. Part of me wondered if my muscle pain signalled something worse, something that I should go to the hospital for...
And then... My people have this great word - "отрубился." It means that I fell asleep so quickly and so utterly it was like someone flipped a switch.
I woke up around 8:00 PM. I had a message from my mom and my editor. I called back my mom, to let her know that I was conscious and doing as alright as I could be. My editor wanted to ask me some questions about the article I turned in earlier. I called him and left a message, but I don't think I sounded terribly coherent. I started drifting off. I took the anti-nausea med and fell asleep.
I woke up around 8:00 AM next morning. The soreness in my muscles was gone. And while I felt a bit tired, I wasn't as tired as I usually got on weekends after chemo (the aftermath of the 3rd chemo session nonewithstanding). I stayed awake almost the full, regular day. In retrospect, I probably could have been more productive, but, to translate a Russian saying, the best ideas always come too late.
Today, I woke up at around 11:00 AM. After I finished showering and brushing my teeth, I had another Phantom Vomit. This time, my organism seemed really determined to expell the yellowish remains of the anti-vomiting meds I took on Saturday (without incident).
We'll see what the next few hours will bring.
I got six chemo sessions down, and six left to go. Which means that, yes - I'm at the halfway point. While I wish It would have gone better, it's still a milestone.