I have a giant cancerous tumor in my chest and I almost get capped by a multivitamin? Seriously?
Let me explain. I arrived to get my chemo (the good stuff) and
after a couple of days they then re infuse your stem cells. I had three
bags - it was two but apparently I had so many white cells in the mix
they added another bag. This would be impressive (and apparently good)
except the re infusion made me a little nauseous so the extra bag was
not as appreciated as might be expected.
I got nauseous because the preservatives that store your stem cells
and white blood cells smell and taste like creamed corn while being re
infused. This apparently lasts for a few days but luckily I only
smelled it during re infusion (those around me however, not so lucky).
Anyway, after that you start to head down the road of feeling
crappy. I will admit that this process really kicked my ass (compared to
the previous chemo or radiation treatments).
Your blood counts are dropping (red blood cells which increase
fatigue as they get lower, white blood cells and neutrafils which
indicate your immune system, and platelets that help clot the blood) and
that makes you feel worse. This also can lead to secondary symptoms
such as dryness in the throat.
This is where the multivitamin comes in. They were providing a
series of medicines to take orally to help while my immune system was
shut down - anti biotics, anti virals, vitamin K, etc. They also
provided a horse pill that they called a multivitamin. The thing was
huge. Anyway, I started having throat issues earlier than most and on
Day 2 I choked on the multivitamin. In fact I could not breathe. I
managed to shift it but it was still stuck in my throat and causing
considerable pain. This aggravated my throat issue and I was not able to
swallow. I was not able to swallow anything and so did not eat or drink
for 9 days. I hate to say it... but I may have post-pill traumatic
syndrome.
Anyway, that is the story of how I almost got taken out by a
multivitamin. Let's just say that going forward, I will be looking for
the Fred Flintstone gummy bear multivitamins.
Good news is I am starting to swallow again (slowly) and my blood
counts made a VERY rapid recovery (platelets, white blood cells and
neutrafils - red blood cells (for fatigue) will take at least 3 months
to recover) so that I should be going home tomorrow. This will include
me trying to drink 2L of fluid a day and eating what I can (so far
watermelon, cooked carrots, apples and applesauce and soup).
I look forward to seeing my kids (who I have not seen in 2 weeks) and just settling in at home.
More to do after this of course and no testing for a couple of
months to see how I am doing but in the meantime, I will continue my
dietary restrictions, see the shaman once I am feeling up to the travel,
and generally try and get healthy again. I have a ways to go to
rebuild muscle and energy levels.
If you want to see me, I will start seeing people again around
Tuesday (I want the weekend to be family only). While I do have an
immune system and I do like visitors, lets continue the no visiting if
you are sick or were recently around someone who was sick. I will not
be attending any large group events for a little while (at least a
month, maybe two) so please do not take it personally.
Call me if you want to visit next week.
All the best,
Rob
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