Thursday, March 20, 2008
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off to Work I G---what? What NOW?
I went back to work Monday, March 10 and was happy as a clam to not only be out of the house, but to once again be useful to society. Unfortunately, by the evening my neck/chest/shoulder area began to burn and itch so badly that I cried at my appointment the next day. So I didn't have infusion--they can't treat me with chemo until the skin condition clears up; instead, I went back to the dermatologist to get more of the giant blue horse pills, many boxes of lidoderm patches, and a medication called lyrica (used to control seizures, treat nerve pain and fibromyalgia). From there, I was referred to the pain center to see about getting something called a "nerve block."
Nobody told me to fast or have someone else take me to the appointment, so they could not actually do the block that day.
The doctorlet took my health history and consulted with the actual doctor, who decided I should be on more of the lyrica but should spread out the dosage over the day.
I thought this was a little weird, as the medication label indicates that I should not operate machinery or drive until I knowhow this will affect me...I was also to take Pamelor (since discontinued in light of my extreme fogginess and impairment), which boasts the same warning, and ultram (same warning) instead of Ibuprofen.
Loaded up with so many medications--my arms feel noodly and I was/am definitely in a state of "keep Janet from driving and don't let her make important purchasing decisions right now."
I tried again on Tuesday to have infusion, but Dr. Hayes wants to continue to delay the chemo. It was suggested to me that I not try to return to work and that I should probably not plan to go back for another four weeks or so.
I'm worried about my medical condition right now, but having to stay home again when I was so happy to feel like things were getting back to normal is the hardest to bear. I don't really know if it will be four weeks, either, because assuming my idiotic nerve issue gets taken care of, there's no guarantee that I will immediately tolerate the chemo treatments well, and sometimes the follow-up appointments can be unpredictable.
I went to the dermatologist yet again--they attempted to do another scraping test to see if I need a third course of an anti-viral (tests were inconclusive, but it is the attending's opinion that the lesions do not look active, they look like they are healing). The doctor I saw this time at the derm office remembered me--"Wow! Your face looks great!" She is the one who treated me for my horrible steroid-induced acne.
I should be grateful the skin on my puffy moon-face looks great.
The skin on the back of my head and neck is very broken down and I have wound care products to cover the worst of it.
The very bad thing (aside from being in ridiculous discomfort from the nerves in my neck and shoulder all going BLEARRRRRGHHH!) is that without chemotherapy, my liver function is certainly not improving. It was Dr. Hayes' and Lita's opinions that Adriamycin was no longer working for me at the time I had my brain episode. So the plan is to switch me to Xeloda and Gemzar. However, one doesn't do chemo while doing whole-brain radiation. And one doesn't do chemo while suffering shingles. And one doesn't do chemo when suffering a re-flare of the shingles that's even worse than the first time around.
I had a CT scan recently, and it occurred to me that Lita has not given me the results, which is a little unusual. I am worried about what my liver is doing. I really need to be on chemo, and haven't been for about two months. Naturally, other problems are occurring as a result.
So if anybody needs me, I will be at home shaking my impotent fist at the heavens and watching bad daytime tv. I am itchy, bloated, have swollen ankles, and my liver and spleen are probably busy applying for their own zip codes.
Nobody told me to fast or have someone else take me to the appointment, so they could not actually do the block that day.
The doctorlet took my health history and consulted with the actual doctor, who decided I should be on more of the lyrica but should spread out the dosage over the day.
I thought this was a little weird, as the medication label indicates that I should not operate machinery or drive until I knowhow this will affect me...I was also to take Pamelor (since discontinued in light of my extreme fogginess and impairment), which boasts the same warning, and ultram (same warning) instead of Ibuprofen.
Loaded up with so many medications--my arms feel noodly and I was/am definitely in a state of "keep Janet from driving and don't let her make important purchasing decisions right now."
I tried again on Tuesday to have infusion, but Dr. Hayes wants to continue to delay the chemo. It was suggested to me that I not try to return to work and that I should probably not plan to go back for another four weeks or so.
I'm worried about my medical condition right now, but having to stay home again when I was so happy to feel like things were getting back to normal is the hardest to bear. I don't really know if it will be four weeks, either, because assuming my idiotic nerve issue gets taken care of, there's no guarantee that I will immediately tolerate the chemo treatments well, and sometimes the follow-up appointments can be unpredictable.
I went to the dermatologist yet again--they attempted to do another scraping test to see if I need a third course of an anti-viral (tests were inconclusive, but it is the attending's opinion that the lesions do not look active, they look like they are healing). The doctor I saw this time at the derm office remembered me--"Wow! Your face looks great!" She is the one who treated me for my horrible steroid-induced acne.
I should be grateful the skin on my puffy moon-face looks great.
The skin on the back of my head and neck is very broken down and I have wound care products to cover the worst of it.
The very bad thing (aside from being in ridiculous discomfort from the nerves in my neck and shoulder all going BLEARRRRRGHHH!) is that without chemotherapy, my liver function is certainly not improving. It was Dr. Hayes' and Lita's opinions that Adriamycin was no longer working for me at the time I had my brain episode. So the plan is to switch me to Xeloda and Gemzar. However, one doesn't do chemo while doing whole-brain radiation. And one doesn't do chemo while suffering shingles. And one doesn't do chemo when suffering a re-flare of the shingles that's even worse than the first time around.
I had a CT scan recently, and it occurred to me that Lita has not given me the results, which is a little unusual. I am worried about what my liver is doing. I really need to be on chemo, and haven't been for about two months. Naturally, other problems are occurring as a result.
So if anybody needs me, I will be at home shaking my impotent fist at the heavens and watching bad daytime tv. I am itchy, bloated, have swollen ankles, and my liver and spleen are probably busy applying for their own zip codes.
Labels: acne, Adriamycin, CT scan, Dr. Hayes, Dr. Sachs, Gemzar, Lita, liver, lyrica, pamelor, shingles, spleen, ultram, Xeloda
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Steroids may be the culprit
I had an appointment with the dermatologist (one of the dermatologists who is interested in how cancer treatments can affect the skin) on Tuesday, and she was puzzled because my symptoms are not typical of the cancer drugs she has looked at. Some of the chemotherapy drugs can cause acne, but I am not on one that tends to have that effect. Avastin can cause a skin rash, but it tends to present on the hands and does not resemble acne.
When I commented that I have been on Avastin consistently and the rash did not start until after resuming Abraxane, she wanted to know if they were giving me any other medications with it. "Yes," I told her. "They give me decadron."
Decadron is a steroid designed to combat the chemo side effects. In addition to making me not puke, it also makes me consume Lucky Charms like there is no tomorrow.
She suggested that she could do a biopsy of my skin to see if it looks like other cases she has seen of the skin being affected by chemo drugs, but in light of what I told her, she instructed me to ask if I had been getting Decadron while on Avastin alone (I don't think so, but I can't recall for sure) and gave me some prescriptions for a couple of goops to try. One is a topical antibiotic to be used daily and the other is a cousin of Retin-A to be used every other day. They may cause drying of the skin, but anything is better than the incessant redness, pain, itching, and daily crop of new whiteheads.
It just occurs to me that both the bottle and the tube may be larger than four ounces, so I wonder if the airline will let me take them on board an airplane when I travel. I am going to a conference in May.
When I commented that I have been on Avastin consistently and the rash did not start until after resuming Abraxane, she wanted to know if they were giving me any other medications with it. "Yes," I told her. "They give me decadron."
Decadron is a steroid designed to combat the chemo side effects. In addition to making me not puke, it also makes me consume Lucky Charms like there is no tomorrow.
She suggested that she could do a biopsy of my skin to see if it looks like other cases she has seen of the skin being affected by chemo drugs, but in light of what I told her, she instructed me to ask if I had been getting Decadron while on Avastin alone (I don't think so, but I can't recall for sure) and gave me some prescriptions for a couple of goops to try. One is a topical antibiotic to be used daily and the other is a cousin of Retin-A to be used every other day. They may cause drying of the skin, but anything is better than the incessant redness, pain, itching, and daily crop of new whiteheads.
It just occurs to me that both the bottle and the tube may be larger than four ounces, so I wonder if the airline will let me take them on board an airplane when I travel. I am going to a conference in May.
Labels: Abraxane, acne, Avastin, Decadron, dermatologist
Monday, March 19, 2007
Insult to Injury: or, who is that alien in the mirror?
If it's not bad enough to be bloated and mostly bald, with eyebrows that are jumping ship even as I type, now I am dealing with an issue I really haven't had to consider for a while.
I laugh when I see those moisturizer commercials which promise you can have skin that looks "ten years younger." I currently have the skin of a fifteen-year old. I have acne all over my face, head, and neck. It's around my ears, blanketing my forehead, dripping down my cheeks. The bumps are mostly small, at least, but there are more of them than I remember ever seeing before. I never had acne like this even when I WAS fifteen, and I by no means had clear skin.
In fact, I had acne well into my twenties but it had finally gone away. I was happy to have clear skin; I felt I deserved it after years of misery and over-the-counter treatments.
Dr. Hayes seems to think it is a reaction to the Avastin. I dunno. It started after resuming Abraxane; I don't know why adding back Abraxane would make the Avastin suddenly produce this effect. My head itches constantly, and most of the bumps are mildly painful. Acne products do no good, they just make my skin more red and peely. I have given up wearing my red wig because placing red hair on top of a red face looks awful. I have (mostly) given up wearing my brown wig because wearing stuff on my head is itchy and uncomfortable. I'm wearing hats to work, but they are hot, itchy, and uncomfortable. I don't leave the house on weekends because it's too much effort to try to cover the blotches, paint eyebrows, ring my eyes with liner so that I look like I have actual eyeballs and not currants sunk into my red, lumpy head.
I wanted to call in "ugly" to work today.
Next Tuesday I will be seeing a dermatologist for the first time, who will probably go, "hmmmm. You have a rash." I wonder if he or she will have the miracle cure.
I laugh when I see those moisturizer commercials which promise you can have skin that looks "ten years younger." I currently have the skin of a fifteen-year old. I have acne all over my face, head, and neck. It's around my ears, blanketing my forehead, dripping down my cheeks. The bumps are mostly small, at least, but there are more of them than I remember ever seeing before. I never had acne like this even when I WAS fifteen, and I by no means had clear skin.
In fact, I had acne well into my twenties but it had finally gone away. I was happy to have clear skin; I felt I deserved it after years of misery and over-the-counter treatments.
Dr. Hayes seems to think it is a reaction to the Avastin. I dunno. It started after resuming Abraxane; I don't know why adding back Abraxane would make the Avastin suddenly produce this effect. My head itches constantly, and most of the bumps are mildly painful. Acne products do no good, they just make my skin more red and peely. I have given up wearing my red wig because placing red hair on top of a red face looks awful. I have (mostly) given up wearing my brown wig because wearing stuff on my head is itchy and uncomfortable. I'm wearing hats to work, but they are hot, itchy, and uncomfortable. I don't leave the house on weekends because it's too much effort to try to cover the blotches, paint eyebrows, ring my eyes with liner so that I look like I have actual eyeballs and not currants sunk into my red, lumpy head.
I wanted to call in "ugly" to work today.
Next Tuesday I will be seeing a dermatologist for the first time, who will probably go, "hmmmm. You have a rash." I wonder if he or she will have the miracle cure.
Labels: Abraxane, acne, Avastin, baldness, Dr. Hayes, eyebrows, hair
