Janet's blog

Am out of my five days of anti-nausea drugs - didn't take the last domperidone in a bid to rid myself of some very stomachy side effects. Seem to have got away with that and ginger tea is helping with lingering nausea now.  Now need to gather myself to argue for best combination next time. Aim - get through the night without feeling sick. What can I find out that makes sense to me? Thank you netdoctor.co.uk, drugs.com, drugbank.ca, medscape.com, medicines.org.uk, wikipedia and sorry for the inevitable oversimplification. There is a brain area called the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ). It's chock-a-block with nerve cells and different chemical and neurotransmitter receptors so it can respond to: (1) nerve messages which get sent from the gut when irritants are detected: and (2) directly to some substances in the blood e.g. chemotherapy poisons. It reacts by sending out the shadowy Substance P (a cover identity for neurokinin-1) which activates neurokinin-1 receptors in the vom...

 On third full day after chemo. Been a bit sticky, TBH, and not just because of the muggy weather.  Send-home anti-emetics were domperidone and dexamethasone. I should have revised my blog and drug chart from last time and remembered that I need a bit more. On the first night I woke up at 2:30 am, tried not to feel sick but soon realised that if I was going to stick to prevention, I would need to take my domperidone at 3am instead of before breakfast. Then I had to take dexamethasone at 6am, just in case, which also meant breakfast at 6am. More domperidone at 9:30, which only left me one for the rest of the day and  night - not going to be enough.  Chemo Hotline (when I got through) did not want  me to add in an extra domperidone at the end of the day - on maximum dose already. During the bit of a cock-up that was to ensue, I asked this again, twice, but they did stick to their guns. Instead, they got a doctor to prescribe something different. I was expecting so...

Liposomal doxorubicin going in first - they said it would be red. I'd say it's more the colour of those Italian day-glo aperitifs - Campari or Aperol. But I'm having to get my kicks from pre-meds dexamethasone and ondansetron. No anti histamine this time, so less dozy (so far). They said to expect red pee and red poo for a few days too. Not yet despite usual high frequency peeing after lots of fluids going in. While I'm waiting, I might try a new  tongue twister - red pee? yellow pee, red pee? yellow pee...  All over and home to finish lunch. Arm a bit sore - hopefully just temporary irritant effect in vein. Think I'll go to allotment to do some very gentle watering with hose.

Chemo day has arrived. Miserable though it is, waiting for it was becoming a bit onerous. As I won't be having visitors, and will have no one to send out for snacks, I consider it very important that I bring enough stuff to keep me, my tummy and my anxious brain occupied. This presents little conceptual difficulty as carrying too much stuff has been a lifelong character defect. But I do have to physically carry it. So in a day sack and a tote bag I have, in no particular order: Book - Plot 29 Allan Jenkins - my choice for book club - haven't started it yet Kindle in case Brunetti self-anaesthetic required 😄Private Eye - tee hee -  Snacks - ✔️flapjack (thank you flapjack maker/donor), ✔️carrot, ✔️celery, ✔️greengages and some ✔️unaffected slices of a wormy apple. Really not sure how long this is going to take with waiting periods, but I'm assuming there will still be the offer of a hospital lunch.  ✔️Tablet - typing on it now ✔️Phone- thank you, daughter, for links to enter...