A few of you have been curious about any side effects of the drug I am taking. The first few weeks, I was not sure which ailment was caused by the drugs, versus normal occasional indigestion and feeling tired. Each symptom is not huge enough to knock me down. I just feel a little uncomfortable. It is just enough to zap my energy and make me a little less exuberant! Yes, I nap daily. One month down, 10 to go.
INJECTION PROCESS: I administer my injections on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I do the shot in the evening so I can sleep through the worst side effects. This timing works great for me. I used to spike a huge fever and feel ill. Now, I just sleep through it. To inject the Interon (Interferon Alpha), I get vials from the refrigerator. One is a powder, the other is a clear liquid. These vials are delivered monthly in a cooler from Aetna. I first have to warm up the Diluent (dilute) in my hands. Then I prep by staging my needle, syringe, band-aid, alcohol wipes and cup of meds (Benadryl, Compazine, Ibuprophen). I wash my hands before opening everything, and then treat my hands with hand sanitizer after everything is opened. I set to work sterilizing the vials, extracting diluent, mixing diluent with the powder, and extracting the Interon. I clean a part of my skin (either arm, near naval, or on right leg) and pinch the skin, then inject the meds. Then I pop down the pills. I am done.
SIDE EFFECTS: After writing this I thought, holy heck – I am “hurting”. I did not realize how many side effects I was experiencing. They really are not show stoppers. I sometimes dance through my day, and sometimes just plod through.
Fever – This is by far the most prominent side effect. I run a fever of 100 to 101 the morning after my injection. (Ice cream helps!) By the next day I am running 99 to 100.
Dehydration - It seems my body is not absorbing the liquids at a good rate. Maybe the fever is the issue too. I have to always be drinking water. If I am feeling depleted, I have a Gatorade.
Nausea – The compazine helps with the saucy stomach. I tend to eat very little because I don’t feel like eating. It seems I walk around all day with an queasy stomach. You would think that this leads to huge weight loss. Well, it doesn’t! I am gradually losing weight, but needed to drop 30 anyhow (from all the surgery and sitting around). I lost 10# so far.
Diet Changes – I dislike spicy foods, so that keeps my stomach on more of an even keel. (I used to love spicy foods, but now I can only have one bite. The blander, the better. I don’t like the taste anymore.) I can’t drink a cup of coffee anymore. I barely get through a small cup. (I used to have two mugs in the morning, one before work and one at 10 am. And, I had to force myself to not drink more!) After reading two books on Cancer and Nutrition, I am taking two new supplements (Probiotic & Milk Thistle) and am also steering away from junk. However, I have developed a hankering for ice cream. A bowl at 10 a.m. the day after an injection is heavenly. This probably explains why I have not drastically lost weight.
Hair Loss – Whoa! My hair is so thin, I can’t use an elastic to hold it back. I have to use a clippie comb thing. When I go swimming, you can really see through the hair to the scalp. I am okay for now with not wearing a head cover, but I do have some web pages book marked and am ready if I need to cover up.
Tired Feeling – This is probably due to the fever and not eating much. My muscles are achy. I also have not been active daily. I have to get the energy going at the gym. The muscle atrophy in my left leg needs to be worked too.
Rash @ injection site – The injection site is a little tender to the touch for a few days after the injection. A red discoloration of my skin (about the size of the palm of your hand) appears, but I am told this is normal.
Organs and tissues - We check my blood monthly. I need to be diligent with hand sanitizer and keeping away from germs. The following blood screen items were low on my last check: ANC, ALC, WBC, Hgb, Hct, and Platelets. Although they all were out of tolerance, the White Blood Cells and Platelets showed grossly out of range. I’m leaving this analysis up to the doctors.
Shortness of breath – The day after my injection, I get “winded” just going up the stairs. I don’t give in to it. I push harder because I don’t want this whole process to age me too fast. I just stop to catch my breath and then, when ready, move forward.
Itchiness – The benadryl is supposed to help with this. I use a back scratcher more often and have the light sensation of itchiness on my skin at times.
Mental Impact – I have difficulty attributing this to just the treatments. Much of it is aging and some of it was already prominent before the treatment. I have difficulty concentrating. My short term memory is very poor. Some days it’s a strain to answer simple questions like: how old are you? I really find conversations exhausting.
Dizzy Feeling – I am told that I will have occasional low blood pressure. So, at times, when I move from squatting to standing, or when I get up our of a chair, I get a dizzy sensation. If it continues, I sit down and rest a bit.
Vision impaired – I have the worst eyesight the day after my injection. I have to wear my reading glasses for everything. The impairment lessens the following day, but still, I seem to need my glasses for everything. Once this is all over, I need to get my eyes checked again!
Vision impaired – I have the worst eyesight the day after my injection. I have to wear my reading glasses for everything. The impairment lessens the following day, but still, I seem to need my glasses for everything. Once this is all over, I need to get my eyes checked again!
Catch this video of my going off the rope swing: Well, I think the video is not playing...try this link
Peace,
Greta
