Day 3

These first few days have not been easy. Didn't think they would be, but I perhaps underestimated the nastiness of this procedure. Three days in and I'm pretty damned ill. But all will hopefully be better in a few short weeks.

I've reached some kind of terrible crossroads of fatigue, weakness, nausea, lethargy, boredom, irritation and other less mentionable things. This leaves me as nothing more than a lump on a log.

My white blood cell count has now reached almost zero. This is the chemo and radiation doing their things, a necessity before my new cells can take over. Now the antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals and immunosuppressives get their turns.

I've been asked by some folks going through similar things what the best anti-nausea meds have been, so I can touch on that here. Basically, use whatever works and use lots of it proactively. It's easier to prevent the nausea than treat it. I've had good luck with Zofran, which seems to be standard use with certain chemos. I had great luck with Emend previously, but that might only be an option with good insurance (which I'm fortunate to have). I've recently started on Olanzapine and Maxeran, so the juries are still out on those (I think one of those doubles as an antipsychotic for other uses). I use Stemetil on an as needed basis when I feel the nausea creeping up, and it works well. I tend to pop one before getting into the car, 'cuz my lady likes to drive like Burt Reynolds in White Lightning. Reason #402 why I love her so.