Another miserable day at the oncologist cancer mill

I have complained in the past about the organization change at the oncologist's office, now they switched to electronic medical records and it got worse.

First off, they forgot about us in the waiting room. After sitting there for over an hour, I complained and they said, "Oh sorry - they day after a holiday is so busy, we had over 200 patients today." BS!

So then we are in the Doctors office. I did not have much to discuss, I just wanted the Rx for the Chemo and get out of there. The nurse hands me the Rx and proudly proclaims 'we electronically transmitted this to your local pharmacy". I read it over and wouldn't you know it - it was wrong - 100mg/day rather than 400mg/day. "Oh my, your right -  I thought I fixed that." The nurse says. She goes back and types more into the computer, and comes up with a corrected Rx, again stating that it was already sent to the pharmacy. Nice.

On the way home (about 30 minutes later) I called the pharmacy and asked them what prescriptions they received. I was guessing 4, they said none were received. I told them not to fill anything till I talk to them in person. I have seen this before - they fill the wrong one (even though I told them not to)  then the insurance company will deny the correct one. I do not need this.

I have a MRI scheduled for June 28. If you are following this blog, I am sure there will be more excitement then. 

Went on short bike ride - didn't crash.

Biking is one of my favorite pastimes. When the doctor said no more I was hurt. I do not have any serious balance issues, so I gave it a whirl today, just around the block with my daughter. Nothing fast. It felt great!

Next round of chemo starts in a week. Looking forward to knocking another bottle off the wall. Sing it with me, Twelve bottles of Temador on the wall, Twelve bottles of Temador. Knock one down, pass it around.......well not that part. 

Exhaustion and Tummy ache continue

I am coming up on 3 months since the radiation treatment completed. The doctors say that the exhaustion from the radiation should start diminishing now, but I am still very tired day to day. This is probably because of the ongoing chemotherapy. It is disheartening that the effects of the once a month chemotherapy last more than one month. This basically means I am going to be 'sick' for the next year. I keep telling myself  '2 down, 10 to go'. The next round starts a week from Monday.


p.s. - Check out the new History section to the right. I cant believe I made it through November, 2010.

Problems in 2nd round of 5/23 Chemo

The second round of 5/23 Chemo was not pretty. I missed work Thursday and Friday. I had severe headaches that would not go away with any medication I have, a very raw digestive system, zero energy....etc. I was in bed till 5:30PM on Thursday, and about 2:30PM on Friday. I was able to eat on Saturday, and am feeling OK today. The previous level I did not miss any work.

On the lighter side, I have some hair growing back (more like peach fuzz), but only on the left side of my head....where is was not supposed to fall out in the first place. The right side (where the tumor is) is still way bald.

Anexity going into Month 2 of 5/23 Chemo Cycle

I picked up the prescription for the Temodar (Chemotherapy pills) today. Don't tell anybody, but I only got 400mg/day dose (The Rx was for 405mg/day). The goofy insurance would have counted the extra 5mg/day as another prescription, and charge me another copay. My cheap ass was not about to pay another $10 for a 5mg pill when I am already taking 400mg.

To answer a question from the comments, the dose increased for two reasons, the first was a 'ramp up' from the initial dose, and the second was an adjustment for body weight. I should stay at 400mg/day from here out unless something goes wrong.

To answer another question from the comments concerning exhaustion, my doctor said to try other forms of caffeine, even just less coffee. I bought some caffeinated green tea and have a cup after lunch. That seems to be helping out. He also has the opinion that the exhaustion is a side effect of the radiation, not the chemo. The side effects from the radiation can take 2-3 months to subside.

Now on to the subject of this post. In the past couple of days, my appetite has taken a nose dive, my stomach cramps have come back and the metallic taste in my mouth has returned. I believe this is all from anxiety from my does going up to 400mg/day. Things were rough on 300mg/day last month. Dang rat poison.

Doctors Visit May 3, 2011

Holly and I went to go see the neuro-oncologist today. This was a basic visit to make sure I was doing well enough to continue with month 2 of 5/23 Chemo. The doctor was not concerned about the fever I had two times in the last two weeks. He said that if there was some serious underlying reason, the fever would not go away.

I also gave up coffee in a attempt to help with my headaches. My headaches are not as bad, but now I am very tired. The Doctor said to either take caffeine pills or drink more coffee to get my energy up. I need to find a happy medium.

My last and biggest concern is body aches. I constantly feel like I took a 10 mile hike yesterday. He said that this is probably a side effect of the Chemo and I should try to live with it before taking a prescription for it.

So I walked out of there with a prescription for 5 days of Temodar at 405mg/day. The dose last month was 300mg/day. This starts on Monday.