Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Killer Itch: or, how I wish I could totally scratch my skin off
The blisters on my neck are mostly gone, the redness is gone, I look better, but the itching just won't stop. The cream the dermatologist gave me doesn't help, and I've already completed the course of anti-viral medication. It is driving me to distraction and I may have to start going around naked just to keep anything from irritating my neck and chest.
I just wanted to give y'all advance warning.
Hopefully I can get this resolved without resorting to such drastic measures.
I just wanted to give y'all advance warning.
Hopefully I can get this resolved without resorting to such drastic measures.
Labels: dermatologist, shingles
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Maddening Itch
The dermatologist called yesterday morning to assure me that another one of the tests confirms my diagnosis of shingles. She asked me if I had seen any "improvement" in the five or so lesions.
Yes, they have "improved" impressively: I now have what looks almost like a port wine stain wrapping around the left half of my neck, along my jaw, behind and inside my ear.
The itch is driving me to distraction. I can't scratch it, because it hurts. She called in a prescription for a topical ointment that has done squat, as far as I can tell. I get extremely temporary relief from calamine lotion, but I can't wear that stuff out and about. My clothing is uncomfortable. I get to think about the itch frequently at night as I deal with decadron-induced insomnia.
I will continue taking the stupid giant anti-viral pills, but it seems I have to mostly wait for this thing to run its course and be miserable. In the meantime, I am told to avoid being around pregnant women and babies.
There were lots of babies at Ikea on Sunday.
Chicken pox! Getcher chicken pox here!
Yes, they have "improved" impressively: I now have what looks almost like a port wine stain wrapping around the left half of my neck, along my jaw, behind and inside my ear.
The itch is driving me to distraction. I can't scratch it, because it hurts. She called in a prescription for a topical ointment that has done squat, as far as I can tell. I get extremely temporary relief from calamine lotion, but I can't wear that stuff out and about. My clothing is uncomfortable. I get to think about the itch frequently at night as I deal with decadron-induced insomnia.
I will continue taking the stupid giant anti-viral pills, but it seems I have to mostly wait for this thing to run its course and be miserable. In the meantime, I am told to avoid being around pregnant women and babies.
There were lots of babies at Ikea on Sunday.
Chicken pox! Getcher chicken pox here!
Labels: Decadron, dermatologist, shingles
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Because Brain Mets Just Aren't Enough:
Shingles, which has me crabby.
Talk about insult to injury--I've been almost unreasonably optimistic and chipper since regaining my ability to communicate. I started noticing a couple of blisterlike red spots on my neck a few days ago and thought perhaps it was a reaction to the radiation. They were uncomfortable, so I put lotion on them. Today they had doubled in number. They are irritated when anything touches them, they itch, and moving my head makes the skin stretch and become more uncomfortable.
This morning I was told three times that lotion can intensify the beams and make it worse, so it was really my fault.
The techs went to get the nurse, who went to get Dr. Hayman, who decided it might be shingles and went to get a physician's assistant, who concurred but went to call the department of dermatology to have me see them today.
The doctorlet at the department of dermatology decided it was shingles, but went to get one of the supervising doctors, who agreed completely. They then asked me if it would be ok for the medical students to come and look. I said "ok," not realizing there would be about ten of them, a few of whom wanted to poke and prod. (I hope they've already had chicken-pox.) Then I had one of the blisters scraped, and under a microscope they detected a viral load, so I now get to take--in addition to the stuff I was given for the brain thing--the most enormous dark blue pills I have ever seen in my life. Dermatology is doing follow-up tests, as well.
At least Dr. Hayman told me it wasn't related to the radiation per se (I wonder if the steroid is suppressing my immune system) since it is directed at my brain and not at my neck/chest area. What, am I under stress or something?
The good news about today is that Brian and I went to Zingerman's in Ann Arbor for some really excellent sandwiches and baked goods. I now know where to get gelato, too. Their foods all rock, and you might want to check them out. We also managed to get out of a ticket possibly by having a hospital Radiation Oncology tag hanging from the rear-view mirror.
Labels: brain metastases, Brian, Decadron, dermatologist, doctorlets, Dr. Hayman, radiation, shingles, whole-brain radiation
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
June 11, 2007: Proteethius Unbound
They need to take impressions for retainers and remove the braces at appointments that are one week apart from each other. Since Mondays in May are rather spoken for, I will have to wait until June 4th to have the impressions made, and June 11th to have the bands taken off.
I plan to go to Famous Dave's for ribs and corn on the cob. Anyone care to join?
Also, I saw the dermatologist yesterday, who agreed that the first batch of creams was insufficient ("You should be way more dried out than that"), so I now have a cream that combines an antibiotic with 5% benzoyl peroxide, and a cream that is a stronger retinoid than the one I've been using. I am to use the antibiotic cream all over my face and scalp twice daily, and the retinoid at night only on my face.
They were doing "patient appreciation" at the dermatologist's office (the lab area was doing a bingo promotion for staff...it must be Wacky Activity Week at the hospital, or something), and I was invited by the checkin lady to help myself to some snacks and goodies. They had fun size candies, cookies, donuts, coffee, bottled water, and fruit. So help me, I really wanted an apple, but I will have to wait for that. I was then asked to fill out a "patient satisfaction" survey. Sure, bribe us with cookies THEN ask us how happy we are...devious. My cookies were pretty good, though. I was satisfied.
At my infusion, I discovered that my Decadron dose has been cut in half. I feel pretty good today, so hopefully will not have horrific symptoms and nausea. Brian called me at the appointment and brought carryout from Wendy's to my infusion. The nurses all got jealous and were wistful about the Wendy's at the hospital being closed down.
Baxter was a little spastic when we got home, but settled down eventually. He did an awesomely clever housetraining thing: he pulled his wee pad out of the crate downstairs, and then peed on THAT instead of on the carpet. (We had taken him out recently, but I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go.) We have a genius puppy! Now if only we could convey to him that chewing on hands/feet/wires/curtains/furniture is a bad idea. We should have named him Proteethius.
I plan to go to Famous Dave's for ribs and corn on the cob. Anyone care to join?
Also, I saw the dermatologist yesterday, who agreed that the first batch of creams was insufficient ("You should be way more dried out than that"), so I now have a cream that combines an antibiotic with 5% benzoyl peroxide, and a cream that is a stronger retinoid than the one I've been using. I am to use the antibiotic cream all over my face and scalp twice daily, and the retinoid at night only on my face.
They were doing "patient appreciation" at the dermatologist's office (the lab area was doing a bingo promotion for staff...it must be Wacky Activity Week at the hospital, or something), and I was invited by the checkin lady to help myself to some snacks and goodies. They had fun size candies, cookies, donuts, coffee, bottled water, and fruit. So help me, I really wanted an apple, but I will have to wait for that. I was then asked to fill out a "patient satisfaction" survey. Sure, bribe us with cookies THEN ask us how happy we are...devious. My cookies were pretty good, though. I was satisfied.
At my infusion, I discovered that my Decadron dose has been cut in half. I feel pretty good today, so hopefully will not have horrific symptoms and nausea. Brian called me at the appointment and brought carryout from Wendy's to my infusion. The nurses all got jealous and were wistful about the Wendy's at the hospital being closed down.
Baxter was a little spastic when we got home, but settled down eventually. He did an awesomely clever housetraining thing: he pulled his wee pad out of the crate downstairs, and then peed on THAT instead of on the carpet. (We had taken him out recently, but I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go.) We have a genius puppy! Now if only we could convey to him that chewing on hands/feet/wires/curtains/furniture is a bad idea. We should have named him Proteethius.
Labels: Baxter, braces, Brian, Decadron, dermatologist, nausea
Saturday, April 21, 2007
I should probably also mention...
My CT scan results came back showing improvement. Since there was still some concern about why my liver counts were off, I had to wait until the blood test results were back on Tuesday before going to the infusion area.
It took hours.
It was possible that the Abraxane had ceased to be effective or was causing the liver problems, in which case Dr. Hayes mentioned having me participate in a research study that involves two chemo medications taken orally.
Whereas I wouldn't mind being able to take pills, the prospect of having to move on to the next chemotherapy drug did not make me happy. There's a limited number of chemo drugs available, and I have to hope that production of new effective medications (to which I am not allergic) outpaces my disease.
Anyway, the numbers came down so I went to go be infused as normal.
I did discuss with Lita the possibility of reducing my dosage of decadron, but in the mean time am using Prescriptives foundation to at least look better. I have concluded that the acne creams are not doing squat and will need to have words with the dermatologist about it on Tuesday. Monday I am going to have words with the orthodontist, so hopefully soon I will be able to floss and eat corn on the cob.
It took hours.
It was possible that the Abraxane had ceased to be effective or was causing the liver problems, in which case Dr. Hayes mentioned having me participate in a research study that involves two chemo medications taken orally.
Whereas I wouldn't mind being able to take pills, the prospect of having to move on to the next chemotherapy drug did not make me happy. There's a limited number of chemo drugs available, and I have to hope that production of new effective medications (to which I am not allergic) outpaces my disease.
Anyway, the numbers came down so I went to go be infused as normal.
I did discuss with Lita the possibility of reducing my dosage of decadron, but in the mean time am using Prescriptives foundation to at least look better. I have concluded that the acne creams are not doing squat and will need to have words with the dermatologist about it on Tuesday. Monday I am going to have words with the orthodontist, so hopefully soon I will be able to floss and eat corn on the cob.
Labels: Abraxane, blood tests, braces, chemo, CT scan, Decadron, dermatologist, Dr. Hayes, infusion, Lita, liver
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
