[10-27-08] The Early Bird

[2:37pm]
     Yesterday was crazy.

     It started with my dose of Gemcitabine and Navelbine -- both drugs that I tolerated relatively well last time... well, except for a headache.
     Yesterday started out no differently, but it quickly turned South. It started out with some pretty bad bathroom-related problems, then ended up turning into some pretty annoying nausea and general icky feeling.
     At around 8pm, the nausea got worse and I could feel that familiar burning sensation in my eyes -- I knew I had a fever. The temperature read 100.4, so I decided to take some Tylenol and check again in 20 minutes or so. The second reading was 101.4, so we decided to head to Stanford.
     The thing is: I knew that this fever was due to the Gemcitabine/NAvelbine -- in fact, my nurse told me to ignore any fevers that I may get for the first dose of these two drugs. But, since I am so close to the transplant time, it's better safe than sorry.

     We walked right into the BMT unit and I presented myself. I told the nurse that I was instructed to report to the BMT unit if I had a fever for my second dose of this chemo, and that it was probably caused by the chemo. Apparently, I should've called first. Strange, I thought they explicitly that I didn't need to call first -- "Do not pass go, head straight to BMT ward."
     But that wasn't the first mistake I made this evening. I also shouldn't have taken the Tylenol -- since my fever could be naturally be higher than it was at present. Then the nurse asked: "Where's your mask?" Apparently, I was supposed to be wearing it this week, even though my white counts were perfectly fine. Ack! Oh well...

     So, the nurse decided to admit me. She also had to call the attending physician -- who had to drive from her home in San Francisco at 10:30pm -- to evaluate me. By then my fever was 102.0.
     They hooked me up on various fluids and anti-biotics, and re-checked my vitals every 20 minutes or so. I also had more Tylenol, but my fever would not budge one bit. In addition, my nausea seemed to get worse along with the fever -- I couldn't lie down because that would make me feel sick. Mostly, I tried not to move. Then, my mom went home to collect my belongings and bring them to the hospital.
     Things got even more frantic when they noticed that my blood pressure had dropped to 86/40, when it was normally 125/70. They restricted me to my bed and kept asking whether the room was spinning or that I felt dizzy. I only felt a bit dizzy when I stood up, but I did feel a bit weird. Then more bags of stuff were brought in and I had my vitals all throughout. They also did some blood cultures and urinanalysis.

     Long story short: it was a very tough night. I had an interruption every 15 minutes or so -- it made sleep quite difficult.

     Fortunately, my fever broke around 9:00am this morning and I feel much better. My blood pressure is normal. All that's left is a food-phobia and headache. By food-phobia, I mean that the mere concept of eating real food makes me feel a bit sick. Get this: I had eggs and bacon this morning, and I didn't eat anything, including the bacon! You know there's something wrong when I don't eat my beloved bacon.
     So, all I've been eating today is Jello and Apple Sauce. I'm actually quite hungry, but what can I do?
     The strange thing is that I've never had an aversion to food, even throughout all the chemo I've had. Why start now? Gemcitabine and Navelbine are truly vicious drugs.

     So, anyhow, I've been admitted into the BMT ward and will be placed in my isolation room later today. My in-patient BMT starts early!
     I think to myself: After last night, I'm in for quite a tough ride. It's only going to get worse from here on out.

     It brings to mind what my doctor said when he went on rounds today. He told me about how they like to do psychiatric consults early in the BMT process, so that "you can answer coherently because you wont be on a bunch of pain medications yet." So it looks like I can expect a level of pain that would require a lot of gnarly medications. Eep!

[5:53pm]
     Mwa ha ha! Large interweb pipes; Austin happy.