It has been two weeks since I completed my first chemo treatment and tomorrow is treatment 1B. At this point I feel mostly normal with the exception of some slight neuropathy (numbness) in my fingers and a really annoying mouth sore. Both are fairly common adverse effects of ABVD/SGN-35. The lymphadenopathy in my neck has reduced greatly and I have not experienced any B symptoms since treatment day.
Here is a daily breakdown of my experience starting with the day after 1A infusion:
Wednesday: I was moderately nauseous and fatigued but never felt like I was going to vomit. Appetite was normal but food, especially water, tasted strange.
Thursday: Nausea was about the same as Wednesday but I had no interest in food at all for most of the day; all I could stomach was ice cream and a small amount Gatorade. I was very fatigued and spent most of the day in bed.
Friday: Morning and afternoon were similar to Thursday. I spent most of the day in bed and didn’t eat until 3PM, but I did go out in the evening and did not feel terrible most of the time I was out of the house.
Saturday: Nausea had mostly subsided by Saturday morning, but I was still very fatigued and my back and legs were very sore (probably due to spending a lot of time standing the night before). I did not eat much during the day and spent the day in bed but the guys came over for poker in the evening and Timbe brought me turkey dinner leftovers (thanks again dude), which probably meant I ate a sufficient number of calories for the day. Dinner Saturday seemed to stimulate my appetite; I was hungry again not long after and have not had any issues eating since.
Sunday: Still very fatigued and sore. Spent most of the day in bed.
Monday-Wednesday: Fatigue had passed and I was feeling pretty normal in the morning but in the afternoon of each day I started feeling nauseous again (WTF; I thought I passed that part already).
Thursday: Nausea passed and my energy levels were pretty good. Numbness in my fingertips started.
Friday: Developed a mouth sore. It is not in an area I chew with so it does not interfere with eating too much, but it is painful and annoying.
Saturday-Current: No change.
I spoke with my Onc yesterday about the nausea and loss of appetite and we decided to adjust my antiemetics for the next treatment. In addition to the previous protocol I will take Aprepitent (Emend) the day of chemo and for two days following and will take Ondansetron (Zofran) the day after chemo (as opposed to only on the day of). Hopefully this will do the trick. In the 10 days following chemo I lost 6.1lbs; we do not want that happening again.
Rinsing with a teaspoon of baking soda and warm water twice a day will help to restore the pH of your mouth and help get rid of that mouth sore. Once it's gone, rinsing daily or every other day (especially just after a chemo session), will help keep them away.
ReplyDeleteI also heard that fresh pineapple will help heal the mouth sores, but I can't promise that will help, as I never tried it.
Best of luck managing the nausea, I hope the extra zofran does the trick.
if you're still having problems with weight loss might i suggest adding whey and milk to you're diet. Also start juicing fresh fruits and vegetables, this was the regimen of my girlfriend when she was on ABVD. She tolerated chemo quite well and even managed to avoid hair loss.
ReplyDeleteHope you're doing better.