THE DEATH WATCH-THIRTY-SIX
Random Thoughts
12/10/2007 5:16 PM
Today, Monday, I had a 10:15AM appointment for taking more blood for the Clinical Trial and an interview with the nurse practitioner. They took 16 vials of blood. I was going to discuss my sleeping problems and my pain management with the nurse practitioner and she suggested that I try a narcotic patch which stays in place for 72 hours. In that time period the pain medication is released slowly and is supposed to level off my pain to a manageable level. I can still take the pain meds I am taking now to supplement the patch. Sue put the patch on as soon as I got home and she got the prescription filled. The nurse practitioner also suggested I double up on the sleeping pill I’m taking at bedtime. I have to be very careful because one of the side effects of the patch is dizziness. I sure got a lot of attention while I was there because I told them I was hurting since I drove myself and didn’t want to drive while under the influence of the pain meds. There was the nurse practitioner, Laura, the test coordinator, Katie, the nurse, Kathryn and the trial doctor. Since I had also told them about my fatigue they said it was probably due to a few factors. The cancer is a contributing cause and this trial medication is also a contributor plus the fact that I am slightly anemic. Since I am not taking chemotherapy they cannot offer me a booster shot for the anemia BUT they can offer me a blood transfusion. I will give that some thought. The transfusion will require about two hours to completion. I don’t think I will try to drive myself to the hospital any more. This whole experience today just took too much out of me.
12/11/2007 4:49 AM
How exciting! I just woke up after a really good night’s sleep. I went to bed last night at 11:30PM after taking the pain meds and two sleeping pills. This is the best sleep I’ve had in a very long time. I got up to go to the bathroom on very shaky legs and gave myself the pain meds but I felt too shaky to get my breakfast. I feel OK sitting up but standing is an adventure. We’ll see what happens next.
12/11/2007 5:31 PM
I have had a really drowsy day. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open for very long. This new patch has kicked in and it certainly makes me feel comfortable and pain free. Tomorrow I will try to drive Letha to the bus and pick her up from the bus as well as drive her to her sewing class. It’s too cold to sit in the car for sewing class so I just hope I don’t sleep through her pick-up times. I will use the same routine tonight for getting to sleep and I can then look forward to a good night’s sleep.
12/12/2007 5:24 AM
I was actually up at 5:00AM, planning my strategy and getting ready to start the day. I am having my breakfast now. The night was AOK so I feel very well rested. The house heater just kicked on so I’m starting to get warm. I hear stirring in the house so others are up too. I will be ready to start the day when my food runs out.
12/12/2007 10:05 AM
I have been in and out of sleep all morning. I barely got through page one of the paper. I took Letha to the bus at 7:15AM and I got back to my chair but it took me about an hour to get up and give myself the water bottle. This new patch has really changed my lifestyle. I wonder what’s going to happen this afternoon when I have to take her to sewing class and then to dinner. It feels like I can sleep all day. My mind is definitely affected since I have to talk myself into doing anything. I’m going to try to read the paper now and then maybe read some of my book. I don’t have any concerns about the pain so I guess it must be working. In general I would say I’m feeling pretty good.
12/12/2007 7:25 PM
I made it to the bus to pick her up and I dropped her off at sewing class as well as picked her up again. I made a dinner for her and made my own dinner set-up. I got plugged in for dinner as soon as I voided myself and then promptly fell asleep until the dinner ran out. I’m just sitting here now getting myself ready to take on the water.
12/13/2007 8:55 AM
I’m going to try to explain yesterday afternoon even though I’m not sure I understand it myself. Sue came home just before eight and she was surprised I wasn’t watching TV. I never did turn on the TV all night. I had the laptop in my lap, open, and ready to write more for the blog. The next thing I remember was it was about 9:30PM, the lap top was still on an on my lap and I had been fast asleep. The cat was in the laundry basket and I had run out of water. Sue put the water in my feeding bag and I promptly went back to sleep. I woke up at 10:25PM and decided to make preparations to get to bed. 12/12/2007 10:40PM I was still trying to figure out what to do next since I had a headache. I found some Tylenol and took them along with the sleeping pills and the pain meds. It was a sequence that seemed like it took place in a dream.
I woke this morning with big plans for the day but it seemed I was unable to carry even the slightest chore because I was so fatigued. I hope a restful day will do me some good.
12/10/2007 5:16 PM
Today, Monday, I had a 10:15AM appointment for taking more blood for the Clinical Trial and an interview with the nurse practitioner. They took 16 vials of blood. I was going to discuss my sleeping problems and my pain management with the nurse practitioner and she suggested that I try a narcotic patch which stays in place for 72 hours. In that time period the pain medication is released slowly and is supposed to level off my pain to a manageable level. I can still take the pain meds I am taking now to supplement the patch. Sue put the patch on as soon as I got home and she got the prescription filled. The nurse practitioner also suggested I double up on the sleeping pill I’m taking at bedtime. I have to be very careful because one of the side effects of the patch is dizziness. I sure got a lot of attention while I was there because I told them I was hurting since I drove myself and didn’t want to drive while under the influence of the pain meds. There was the nurse practitioner, Laura, the test coordinator, Katie, the nurse, Kathryn and the trial doctor. Since I had also told them about my fatigue they said it was probably due to a few factors. The cancer is a contributing cause and this trial medication is also a contributor plus the fact that I am slightly anemic. Since I am not taking chemotherapy they cannot offer me a booster shot for the anemia BUT they can offer me a blood transfusion. I will give that some thought. The transfusion will require about two hours to completion. I don’t think I will try to drive myself to the hospital any more. This whole experience today just took too much out of me.
12/11/2007 4:49 AM
How exciting! I just woke up after a really good night’s sleep. I went to bed last night at 11:30PM after taking the pain meds and two sleeping pills. This is the best sleep I’ve had in a very long time. I got up to go to the bathroom on very shaky legs and gave myself the pain meds but I felt too shaky to get my breakfast. I feel OK sitting up but standing is an adventure. We’ll see what happens next.
12/11/2007 5:31 PM
I have had a really drowsy day. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open for very long. This new patch has kicked in and it certainly makes me feel comfortable and pain free. Tomorrow I will try to drive Letha to the bus and pick her up from the bus as well as drive her to her sewing class. It’s too cold to sit in the car for sewing class so I just hope I don’t sleep through her pick-up times. I will use the same routine tonight for getting to sleep and I can then look forward to a good night’s sleep.
12/12/2007 5:24 AM
I was actually up at 5:00AM, planning my strategy and getting ready to start the day. I am having my breakfast now. The night was AOK so I feel very well rested. The house heater just kicked on so I’m starting to get warm. I hear stirring in the house so others are up too. I will be ready to start the day when my food runs out.
12/12/2007 10:05 AM
I have been in and out of sleep all morning. I barely got through page one of the paper. I took Letha to the bus at 7:15AM and I got back to my chair but it took me about an hour to get up and give myself the water bottle. This new patch has really changed my lifestyle. I wonder what’s going to happen this afternoon when I have to take her to sewing class and then to dinner. It feels like I can sleep all day. My mind is definitely affected since I have to talk myself into doing anything. I’m going to try to read the paper now and then maybe read some of my book. I don’t have any concerns about the pain so I guess it must be working. In general I would say I’m feeling pretty good.
12/12/2007 7:25 PM
I made it to the bus to pick her up and I dropped her off at sewing class as well as picked her up again. I made a dinner for her and made my own dinner set-up. I got plugged in for dinner as soon as I voided myself and then promptly fell asleep until the dinner ran out. I’m just sitting here now getting myself ready to take on the water.
12/13/2007 8:55 AM
I’m going to try to explain yesterday afternoon even though I’m not sure I understand it myself. Sue came home just before eight and she was surprised I wasn’t watching TV. I never did turn on the TV all night. I had the laptop in my lap, open, and ready to write more for the blog. The next thing I remember was it was about 9:30PM, the lap top was still on an on my lap and I had been fast asleep. The cat was in the laundry basket and I had run out of water. Sue put the water in my feeding bag and I promptly went back to sleep. I woke up at 10:25PM and decided to make preparations to get to bed. 12/12/2007 10:40PM I was still trying to figure out what to do next since I had a headache. I found some Tylenol and took them along with the sleeping pills and the pain meds. It was a sequence that seemed like it took place in a dream.
I woke this morning with big plans for the day but it seemed I was unable to carry even the slightest chore because I was so fatigued. I hope a restful day will do me some good.
posted by Michael at
9:21:00 AM
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