Well, here I am again in familiar territory. Some time Friday morning the extreme pain and uncontrollable vomiting started. I have had a few issues with some nausea after a chemo shot, but not to this degree. I tried to wait it out as long as I could, but it eventually got so bad that Kurt had to call 911 to come get me. I can honestly say that this is one of the worst bouts of this kind of episode that I have had. And I can never tell if it is the pain that drives the nausea and vomiting or the other way around, all I know is it feels like hell and it just takes a while for all of the meds to do their thing. One problem, and there really is no way around it, is the stigma associated with the pain medications. Even if the doctors know me and my history, most seem to be very conservative on how they treat my pain and nausea. I feel like most know I have a higher baseline than most people, but I think they probably get questioned or don’t want to raise any red flags while treating me. This is especially true in the ED. Once I am admitted things seem to fall into place much quicker. The problem is that time in between. From when I call or have Sonja drive me in, I am writhing in pain…literally! It is so bad I feel like I am going to die…it is so bad I am afraid I won’t! So in my unique case, the magic concoction seems to be 25 mg Phenergan, 1 mg Ativan, and 3-4 mg Dilaudid. After a couple of cycles through this, and things begin to settle down, or at least tolerable. How long it lasts is different each time. Maybe it depends on how quick I can get into the hospital. This is where Sonja is so awesome! She knows me and this disease so well now, she can tell when to go in. I was alone this time and tried to ride it out. Mainly because I have had such a good run without being sick. My training has been really good and consistent. Training with Tom Danielson and CINCH Cycling as my coach has been such a positive and productive experience, that I just can’t put into words how awesome his program is! I highly recommend trying it!
So that is it for now. They are bringing my food in, and I am starving! I think I am in a place to hold it down now. Take care all! Talk to you soon! KG
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I so admire how you are working so hard to deal with all the trials your cancer and its treatment inflict upon you. Thank you for your excellent blog.
Kudos also to Sonja and her sons for their wonderful help in your journey.
Blessings!
Rachel,
Thank you so much for your support! I’m glad you like the blog! I’m new at this so look for it to get better and better as I engineer my way through this!
And you are soooooo right! Sonja, Kurt and Tanner have been great and supportive, and just more than I can explain how much I love those people. I also have a great son, Patrick, who still lives in Indianapolis. He is a fantastic young man that, as you can imagine, is supportive beyond belief!
KG