April 2011 chemo

What a day I had yesterday! Uggh. It was my third TDM1 treatment, which is supposed to be a speedy 30 minute infusion that was scheduled at 12:45. I thought I'd be out of there by 1:30 and home by 2:30 or so. Ha ha ha, was I ever wrong!

First of all, my oncologist was running an hour late. No big deal, my husband and I took a walk (in the 100 degree heat) and had a nice talk. Then we went back to the waiting room, when the trial nurse walks by. "Hey! Great echo numbers last week!" she says. I look at her. "Huh? I didn't get an echocardiogram last week, what are you talking about?"

Then it hits me. "Um, wait! Oh my gosh, oops! I was supposed to get an echo last week and I forgot!" Turns out she was looking at two-month-old results and thinking they were current. I had totally missed an echo test last week, despite actually being there at the center that day for a blood test. Talk about chemo brain!

The nurse tells me I can't get treatment #3 without a new echo, so they call over to cardiology and squeeze me in for a 3:00. I do the test, pass with flying colors (yay!), but now I have to wait for the results to get to the infusion center.

I finally start my infusion at 5:00. When it's done, the nurse comes in to unhook me and says "Hey, what's that big red rash on your chest?" And sure enough, my chest is bright red like a lobster and I am feeling really lousy. So she makes lots of phone calls, decides I am having an allergic reaction to the TDM1, and finally gives me 12.5 miligrams of Benadryl, a drug I have never had before.

Oh...my...gosh. Within minutes I am totally slurring my speech, and when I go to get something out of my purse on my lap, my hands won't move. My head falls back, my mouth falls open, and my tongue is lolling out. It is like being on anaesthesia. I am now so totally drugged, slurring, and out of it that they leave me to sleep it off for an hour, and finally they have to bring a wheelchair to get me to the car so my husband can drive me home. The two of them can barely lift the inert dead weight of my body from the chemo chair into the wheelchair. I finally stumbled from the car into my house at 9:00 PM, barely even able to speak. 

This morning I woke up so hungover I could hardly walk or dress myself, and I have not been able to drive or "operate heavy machinery" all day.

So what's the deal? Has anyone else had this reaction to Benadryl? It can't be a standard response, since even my nurse was weirded out, saying that was the lowest dose she ever gives and it shouldn't have had that effect on me.

I want them to put it in my chart to NEVER give me Benadryl again. Yikes!

So is it the same if you take it as a pill? People take it all the time and I never heard of them having anything like this!

Articat: Do you know what dose they gave you? And by stoned, was it like I described, unable to use your hands or speak clearly?

windlass, i can't remember how much benadryl they gave me with my first taxol, but i  aksed them to decrease the dose b/c i was feeling just how you were feeling. that s**t is freaky. i trusted them (docs/nurses) and would not have thought to ask them to decrease the dosage until i learned it was possible (after reading a post from one of these forums on bco). anyway, with the full dosage of whatever that gave me, i was out of it for like 2 days or so.....most def that first day.

with the new dosage,  i am able to function a bit after tx. i like that much better. i do still get sleepy during tx, but it wears off a few hours later. i did ask them to lower it again since it was obvious that i do not have a reaction and they said that i got the lowest dose possible and they could not lower it any more.......

Here's something fun we can contribute to -- Greeting cards for breast cancer!

It's a great idea, and the lady creating them needs ideas.  Chime in!

Big Bad Cancer Cards

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/7/topic/771980?page=1

Yes Windlass, I am done with chemo and am heading to radiation starting Monday.

Holy cow Windlass...that sounds like some ordeal with the Benedryl.

Linda I'm with you on the uneven thing. I love my foob, but when I'm not wearing it I hate the uneven thing. If I had the decision to make over again I'd have them both off.

Articat your posts always make me smile, and usually make me laugh right out loud. You are such a gift.

Merilee...thanks for blazing the trail for us. I'm off to radiation after one more chemo....and you have the best way of comunicating information in a understandable way.

I hope you are all handling the heat.

much love to you all.

sue

WOW!! alot has happened since i have been on here! i had to leave work early today because i could not slep last night and felt like the walking dead! i try not to take anything to sleep but then when i don't i can't sleep! Its the hot flashes!i only have 1 more treatment next tuesday for my big chemo.my onc told me when i started that i would just get more tired as it went by and she was right! i felt great yesterday and i think i over did it.i spend most of my time being ticked off since i fell so weak all the time.

the whole sex thing....i just wish i had the energy for it!!! i was quiet pissed off when i first read about all these changes that were to come our way! i was like i am way to young! i enjoyed that part of our life before and now it is too much like work!my onc said that it should get better when the chemo is behind us. which will be in like 25 days start to finish the cycle!i just want my life back!!!!thanks for always listening gals!i sit here and read how everyone is doing and know that all of you understand what i am going through when our family and freinds don't...

hang in there ladies! 

I tried to cut and paste but didnt work. Go to the Forum: Surgery - Before, During, and After. >Topic: Shopping/Packing/To-Do list for Surgery and Recovery. Sometimes you can find it right away in the Active Topics but once I found it I saved it as a favorite. Lots of good info there about before and after surgery, what to expect, etc.  Thanks Merilee for the info too. 

CONGRATS Profbee!!!!!!

I am happily exhausted.  The veteran's team at my agency had a lunch today and invited me!  We all wore Hawaiian shirrts and received leis and the menu was (sort of) Hawaiian.  It was great!  One of the guys kissed the top of my fuzzy head and said now he knows how women feel when kissing a hairy guy!  It was great!  So many hugs and much love.

I have my last infusion on this coming Wednesday!!!!!  TAC #6!

Okay - a new SE - my toes are peeling!

Windlass, we're all sticking around...no worries!  I got another whole round of chemo starting after my surgery (and surgery will determine if I'm doing rads too).  

It was nice and cool this morning, but now the sun is out and I think it's going to heat up FAST!  arrgh.  I'm itching for some sort of project, but I really need to clean my messy house--that's no fun.    

My oozing gross fingernails and toenails are totally grossing me out.  YUCK!

pawprint and profbee: which tx are you on....? i am wondering about the nail damage? is it from taxol? are you guys on weekly or every two weeks. i am soooooo not looking forward to that drama.....grrrr. also, when does it start happening? when does tne neuropathy (sp? start).....

hello everyone!