Pain Management

I've been home since last Friday night going through my daily routine of taking care of myself. It involves a lot of planning and patience.  The days seem to go by quickly when you have something to do every 4 hours, like taking Tylenol. My daily routine now involves taking pills, giving myself shots, frequent mouth washes, skin care for my face and neck, daily IVs for hydration, deciding what to try to eat and taking the time to try and eat. Sometimes the medications change. For example, by the time I left the hospital on Friday, I found out I was neutropenic. My white blood cell count was low enough to put me in "protective isolation". I had to wear a mask any time I was out in public and take extra care washing hands and watching what I eat and breath in.  We had to remove the living plants from our home because I was more susceptible to getting a respiratory infection. The doctors added another shot of Neupogen to my routine to help boost the white blood counts. By Tuesday, I was no longer considered neutropenic.

It is interesting how quickly side effects come and go. Mouth sores don't last very long. About 3 - 4 days, but one of the biggest issues I have had with the mouth is mucositis. Mucositis has made everything I do a challenge. Sometimes I can't even swallow the pain pill or Mucinex that helps to reduce or thin out the mucus in my mouth. The inside of my throat and esophagus are as raw as the outside of my neck making swallowing even water painful. So, I've learned that I must be diligent about taking the pain medication every 4 hours. Waiting longer could lead to many other problems. It's best to manage the pain.

I had to go into the hospital again last night (Wednesday) because my fever spiked to 102 at 10:00pm. Thanks to one of my supportive neighbors for taking me all the way across the city, Karla was able to stay home with the kids. I arrived at the ER at around 11:00pm. The usual tests were done and I was finally admitted in my room at around 4:00am.  As much as I dread having to go down there, I realize how important it is to constantly monitor my blood counts while I am having chemotherapy. It's now 3:30pm on Thursday and I am back at home with Karla and the kids.  I'm hoping to keep the fever under control so that I can proceed with cycle 4 on Sunday.