5.22.2008

Immediate Effects

  • My eyeballs ache
  • My fingertips are tingling
  • My lips are starting to purse involuntarily
20 minutes later:
  • All 10 fingers feel like they have fallen asleep
  • My voice is cracking
  • It's a little uncomfortable to swallow
Hour later:
  • Tip of my nose is numbish
  • Thighs are tingling (stop snickering, pervs)
  • Yup, still hurts to cry
3 hours later:
  • Continued facial spasms
  • Some in the hands as well
  • I'm pooped

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great big 6-way hug from me, NJ, and Addie to you, J, and V. Squeeeeeeeze!

Ed said...

Sugar,

Sometimes I feel like my comments are an unwelcome wet towel, but I need to suggest that you keep careful track of all of the symptoms and side effects that you are experiencing. I had some smallish tingling after the first few treatments, and swallowing was interesting at times (like my body forgot how to do it), but most of my heavier effects came toward the end (and ultimately forced the reduction and then cessation of my treatments). You need to be sure to tell your hemonc nurse as well as your oncologist(s) everything about what you are experiencing, as it will inform their dosage decisions.

And the annoyance of repeating the drug regimen is there to help protect YOU from harmful interactions. I was very lucky to be in a clinical trial for a new combination of drugs, which gave me nearly-instant contact with a pharmacist whose training and research revolved around the drugs I was on. Maybe you could find out if you can ask questions directly to the pharmacist that concocts your oxaliplatin... it has to be mixed right after the weigh-in and drug recitation exercise, so there's someone nearby to your clinic.

I never had tingling anywhere other than the soles of my feet and in my fingers until long AFTER the last treatment, when I started to have some painful tingling on the top of my right foot.

Thanks for sharing the details, too. I found that it really helped me and my support group to stay on the same proverbial page about how I was feeling at any given time.

Megan said...

As a bit of a follow-up to Ed's comment... when i finally told my nurse about the facial ticks she changed my anti-nausea meds and they went away toot sweet (as they say in France). I think I was on compazine and the they switched me to, um... well, most of chemo is now a blurry mess (not really such a bad thing, really) that I don't know what they switched me to. But there were no more facial ticks.