Unfortunately the joy of being able to restart my chemo after three months of delay lasted for about 48 hours. The Tuesday treatment day itself went so well that as a little treat we called in the chippie to save cooking on returning home. Twenty-four hours previously the thought of eating fried fish would have turned my stomach, but all was well now. No it wasn't.
Wednesday wasn't to bad, but on Thursday things started to go wrong. Sickness and diarrhoea decided to put in appearance, something I've never had to contend with during previous chemos but common side effects so I didn't think too much about them. However doses of Loperamide and/or Domperidome as appropriate seemed to put that right within 24 hours. What was worrying was that I was starting to get short of breath, particularly first thing in the morning.
As the days passed by this problem got worse, and I got to the point where just walking from the bedroom to the bathroom left me breathless and in need of a sit down. I started waking up with pains in my neck so bad it was quite a while after getting up before I could hold my head up unsupported. Also during this period my appetite went to pot as my taste buds and stomach were telling me I didn't want to eat anything. Not only did I feel ill, people were telling me that I looked ill, and since my cancer journey started that's the first time anyone said that to me.
Having had this type of chemo before without anything like this the question "now what?" was going through my mind. By Friday, ten days after chemo, I was almost out on my feet, although I did notice that as the day progressed these problems seemed to abate a little, and by bedtime I was starting to feel a little better.
Now this may seem a bit strange, but I thought I might try and cheer myself up with a little tot of something even though I felt so rough. With this in mind I scanned the leaflet that came with my blood pressure tablets to check whether or not a small intake of single malt would harm. Lo and behold, there was the answer. No mention of alcohol, but amongst the possible side effect were:- "feeling tired and weak, muscle and joint pains, shortness of breath and wheezing, tiredness, feeling sick, indigestion, loss of appetite, problems with taste". Wow, my last week summed up beautifully!
Why did I get some relief as the day went on? I decided that because I was dosing at night, as the hours passed by the effect wore off. I decided not to take Friday night's tablet, and when I woke yesterday I couldn't believe the change. I was able to get washed and ironed without knocking myself out, and actually cooked myself egg on toast for breakfast. As the day went on I was able to eat normal meals, and by early evening I was ready for anything. Right now I feel on top of the world.
As my blood pressure is still a bit on the high side I may have to take something, but I see the oncologist tomorrow (Monday) so I'll get him to sort it out. To be fair I've taken Ramipril before without problems, but NOT with chemotherapy.
My chemo drugs are Avastin, Irinotecan and 5FU. It may be that it doesn't clash with other drugs and it may be possible that others on Ramipril and the same chemo as me will have no problems. However if you do then you should immediately consult your oncologist and/or GP, and save yourself a lot of grief.
UPDATE - Friday 23rd March. This week's chemo has gone well. That means that I have had five sessions with my combo of Avastin, Irinotecan and 5FU, (plus of course other medication given during or after treatment, such as steroids (in my case, Dexamethasone) and calcium folinate). All I know is that for four sessions were without any trouble, and only one with serious problems, and that was the Ramipril week. I don't think you have to be a doctor to put two and two together to get four here!
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