February 12th - 18th Summary

Another hard week in the record books.  I haven't written much because I've just been so fatigued with treatment and pain that I only have enough energy to go to my medical appointments, deal with the necessities and veg on the couch the rest of the day.  I finally got myself together enough to get in front of a computer and do some writing.

So I finished up my radiation treatments last week on Thursday.  I'm telling you the last few days were sheer hell.  I've already written about the pain.  The final week was by far the worst.  Add to that the thick, ropy saliva that I could either try to swallow (pain) or spit out (pain).  The least painful way to eliminate it is to just hold my mouth over a sink or cup and let it fall out because any strain of the muscles in my mouth would cause, you guessed it, pain.  When the saliva got too think feeling like it was gumming up the inside of my mouth I would take some warm water and swish it around and then just let it fall out into the sink.

In addition to the saliva the mask the put me in for treatment seemed tighter and more constrictive making breathing and swallowing more difficult.  So I would rinse out my mouth as mentioned above just before going into treatment this would help for a few minutes but the last few minutes I pretty much felt like I was drowning in my own saliva.  It got so bad that the last day I was about ready to tap out, but I pulled it together and made it through.  If I never see that mask again it will be too soon.  If I had anymore treatments scheduled I probably wouldn't have gone.

I was also supposed to finish up my last chemo sessions on Thu. and Fri. but they delayed them a week because my white blood cell count was low.  So they scheduled me for Leukine shots over the next five days to stimulate my bone marrow to produce more white blood cells.  I'm kind of glad the chemo did get delayed because I was not in the state-of-mind to have to deal with that too.

My oncologist's nurse did get me a prescription for Fentanyl a pain relief patch that lasts 72 hours.  That saves me the hassle of having to dole out Hydrocodone every six hours.  It does a pretty good job of relieving general pain.  If the pain ever does increase I can always take Hydrocodone to supplement because they're different types of pain killer.

My oncologist also gave me a prescription for an antibiotic since I was having a low grade fever.  The fever has subsided now, so that's good.  I'm not sure whether that was coming from an infection from my g-tube or my throat.  Both have seemed suspect lately.  I've been having occasional green mucus coming from my mouth which is especially hard to expel.  It's taken me some practice to expel it with the least about of pain but I'm finally getting the hang of it.

I've also gone back to gravity bags for feedings because they allow the formula to enter the stomach at it's own pace instead of forcing it in with a syringe.  Since I'm on medical leave and not doing much but sitting on my ass all day it's not that much of an issue.  It's just a bit tedious.

My reasoning in going back to gravity bags is I have concerns about my g-tube again.  There's some hardness under the skin, and a little redness and some slight discharge.  I don't know if the discharge is puss or formula.  There's also a slight crampy feeling the left side of my abdomen.  I described and showed my oncologist today and he said it looked fine.  If there is an infection going on there hopefully the antibiotic he prescribed me will take care of it.

So now I start my recovery from radiation, thank God!!!  I can't wait for my mouth to start feeling better and begin eating normal again so I can get this cursed g-tube taken out.