Note to self: drink lots of water before IV placement.
I lost track of time this morning and forgot to drink plenty of fluids before chemo today. That's bad. If you're dehydrated when getting an IV placed, the valves in your veins are much more sensitive to fluid pulling in the wrong direction and they'll seal tight like the vaults at Fort Knox. And when the valves seal up, the catheter in the IV usually won't go in. If it does go in, the fluid in the IV won't flow. I found this out the hard way 4 times today. 1 1/2 hours and 5 cups of water later, we finally had success on the 5th try. If you already guessed that I didn't have the IV taken out after today's treatment, you're right. It's bundled nicely in neon-blue ace-wrap to prevent it from ripping out. Let's hope I don't toss and turn too much tonight. Tomorrow, I'll wrap it up nice and tight in Saran wrap a couple times and then shower. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Other than that, everything went well today. The food at the hospital was slightly better, and I read a good joke, too:
Q: Do you know what the difference between an oral and rectal thermometer is?
A: The taste.
Okay, sorry to gross you out, but man that made me laugh.
Christi and I picked up Claire from daycare today, and it was great to see her again. Grandma and Papa took good care of her Wednesday and Thursday night while Christi and I adapted to the on-the-fly schedule changes needed to enter the trial. Thanks Grandma and Papa! The first thing Claire wanted to do when she got home was sweep the floor with the broom and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." After dinner, we went for a nice walk.
My neutrophils fell to 1.0 on Wednesday, so they're likely even lower now that I've had 2 rounds of chemo. I should get a complete report on Monday, the last day of chemo. The real danger zone with neutrophils is 0.5 or lower. At that point, no eating out, cook food thoroughly, no raw vegetables, and no fish. Hopefully, I won't drop below .7. Regardless, I'm avoiding crowds and contact with others for the time being (especially now that the Mexican swine flu has me freaked out). My doctor has prescribed an antibiotic, Bactrim, that I'm to take for the next 3 to 6 months on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 am. It's intended to prevent certain bronchial infections that would otherwise be devestating if not stopped early on.
That's all for today. I still haven't felt many side effects from the chemo. I expect that after tomorrow, some serious lethargy will start to kick in, but we'll hope not.
Til tomorrow
I lost track of time this morning and forgot to drink plenty of fluids before chemo today. That's bad. If you're dehydrated when getting an IV placed, the valves in your veins are much more sensitive to fluid pulling in the wrong direction and they'll seal tight like the vaults at Fort Knox. And when the valves seal up, the catheter in the IV usually won't go in. If it does go in, the fluid in the IV won't flow. I found this out the hard way 4 times today. 1 1/2 hours and 5 cups of water later, we finally had success on the 5th try. If you already guessed that I didn't have the IV taken out after today's treatment, you're right. It's bundled nicely in neon-blue ace-wrap to prevent it from ripping out. Let's hope I don't toss and turn too much tonight. Tomorrow, I'll wrap it up nice and tight in Saran wrap a couple times and then shower. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Other than that, everything went well today. The food at the hospital was slightly better, and I read a good joke, too:
Q: Do you know what the difference between an oral and rectal thermometer is?
A: The taste.
Okay, sorry to gross you out, but man that made me laugh.
Christi and I picked up Claire from daycare today, and it was great to see her again. Grandma and Papa took good care of her Wednesday and Thursday night while Christi and I adapted to the on-the-fly schedule changes needed to enter the trial. Thanks Grandma and Papa! The first thing Claire wanted to do when she got home was sweep the floor with the broom and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." After dinner, we went for a nice walk.
My neutrophils fell to 1.0 on Wednesday, so they're likely even lower now that I've had 2 rounds of chemo. I should get a complete report on Monday, the last day of chemo. The real danger zone with neutrophils is 0.5 or lower. At that point, no eating out, cook food thoroughly, no raw vegetables, and no fish. Hopefully, I won't drop below .7. Regardless, I'm avoiding crowds and contact with others for the time being (especially now that the Mexican swine flu has me freaked out). My doctor has prescribed an antibiotic, Bactrim, that I'm to take for the next 3 to 6 months on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 am. It's intended to prevent certain bronchial infections that would otherwise be devestating if not stopped early on.
That's all for today. I still haven't felt many side effects from the chemo. I expect that after tomorrow, some serious lethargy will start to kick in, but we'll hope not.
Til tomorrow
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