The First Day Of Chemotherapy Treatment

 

My first infusion as part of my R-CHOP treatment happened on Wednesday, May 28, and it did not go well. There are four drugs that are part of the infusion. Rituxin, an immunotherapy drug, was the first. It’s administered slowly to see how the patient responds. I did not respond well. Part of that is related to disabilities from other diseases. If a nurse asks about breathing and pressure on my chest, I have to say yes, I have pressure on my chest. They stop the drug immediately and a team comes in to investigate the issue. I had to explain that pressure on my chest has been coming and going since 2018 and if I feel it today, I don’t know if it’s the drug or my “new normal.” They re-started the drug at slower rate. Then two hours later I began to shake uncontrollably. Far worse than shivering. It was endless muscle contractions all over my body and very frightening. The team showed up and a nurse practitioner took control, administering a number of drugs, including the narcotic, Demerol. I  was completely wrapped in hot blankets and there was also pain in my lower back. Gradually the shaking stopped and a while later the back pain went away. Finally they re-started the flow of Rituxin. This is how it went all day. The infusion of Rituxin was finally finished at 7pm, which left no time for the other drugs. I was in the hospital for almost 12 hours. I had to come back the next day for the other three drugs. That took about 4 hours. It was grueling but I felt OK. I had a big lunch and took a walk. Then the side effects started to kick in and this morning I was constipated and felt awful. No appetite.

When I last posted about R-CHOP I didn’t realize that the regimen requires daily doses of other drugs. I’m taking 4 drugs every day and will have to do a self-injection once during each 3 week cycle. That comes tomorrow. All of the drugs have their purposes and they all have their own side effects, often overlapping with each other. Hence the constipation, which I have taken care of.

Today I’ve already had two calls from the infusion team. They’re checking up on me and there is some chance that they may want me back. We’ll see. In any case, I like my doctors, I like the entire team, and I am so grateful for the nurse practitioner who stopped the shaking.