Tuesday, 11:45 PM
High-Level Journal Summary: Day 1 of my new Carboplatin + VP-16 treatment. I learned enough today to report exactly what happened. From the full range of drugs taken to photos from several telling moments, I am beginning to learn how this will unfold.
Countdowns:
1.) Recovery time from radiation is officially over as the next treatment began today.
2.) Carboplatin + VP-16 IV-based treatment will continue on 3/26/08, through the end of the work week. Only VP-16 will be administered for the next on the 26th and 27th. As it turns out, Carboplatin is only delivered once per cycle.
2008 Seizure Activity:
1.) Last Simple Partial Seizure, or SPS, was 2 days ago.
2.) In 2008, I have had 43 SPS's in 85 days. This is an average of 1 SPS every 2.0 days.
Website Updates:
Highwinds is our partner for videos for 38 Lemon. Highwinds is an international company with a President & CEO I have know since he was born. Working together like this is joy towards a cause we both want to help. Here is the new feature on 38 Lemon, now posted on their website.
Actual Journal: This new Carboplatin + VP-16 treatment is indeed a "treatment." It is NOT a chemotherapy treatment, as questioned in the 3/22/08 Message from Kristy. I confirmed this with my nurse today, Janine. Somehow, it's nice to have some variety in all the things we are doing.
What happened today
Things came at us quickly today. The first question I wanted to have answered had to do with anti-nausea medication. When I took chemotherapy, I needed time to take this drug and give it time to kick in. I was concerned that this detail had been overlooked. Fortunately, the medical team was ahead of me. Here is what they had set up the day.
1.) 0.5 hour to put IV in and get set up.
My center chair for hours of IV treatment. Not bad!
2.) 0.5 hour for pre-medications.
• NS 0.9% solution, inj. This is saline and is used for hydration.
• Dexamethasone sod phosphate, inj. This is 10 mg of Decadron steroids. This is being delivered to prevent nausea and reactions.
• Granisetron hcl, inj. This is Kytril and is also used for anti-nausea.
• Lorazepam, inj. This is Ativan and is also used for anti-nausea.
The IV-based needle stuck with precision by Registed Nurse (RN) Janine.
3.) 1 hour of Carboplatin.
I found that there is actually a beauty in this setup of IV-based drugs.
4.) 2 hours of VP-16.
Smoothly changing bags during the IV-based treatment process.
Drugs at home
Now, I have a few anti-nausea drugs for home. During the day, I take Compazine (Prochlor). During the evening, I take 1.0 mg of Ativan. Ativan is what I will take as I roll into sleep. A full 1.0 mg will pack a punch and make me sleep all night long.
I will also sleep well because I was able to sleep during my treatment today. I slept from 1 PM to 3:30 PM in the IV treatment room of Dr. Patel's office. I had to sleep in the same chair all 4.5 hours, but it could lean back fully. In any case, that was a decent amount of sleep and the timing of it was perfect.
There is so much to share, but it will come slowly over the next several days. Just a step at a time, as has been suggested to me by other patients who have undergone such treatments. That is advice well-followed, I believe.
