So Monday started with writing the previous blog, I had been thinking of different ways to further secure the data on the project I was working on as it’s all personal data, grand if it’s my own but if I was to set it up for anyone else there would be issues. So I’ve made it pretty secure, can’t access the page directly and basically need a login to see the details, I’m pleased with it and will certainly do the job for me.
That killed most of the morning for me, after that I was looking into some hobbies I could do with suggestions from others, as I’ve been listening to audiobooks I was looking through a few of them and realized at the moment I’m just listening and not really doing much else when I do and so I got a few ebooks to read, not that I didn’t already have a bucket load of ones I’d already got on offer. It’s been a long time since I’ve properly got into books but there’s nothing better than getting a book and not being able to put it down, and so this appears to be my main hobby now, book suggestions are welcome, anything at all really.
I went for a bit of a walk, I was getting the premeds for the chemo at 3 and didn’t think I would be in much of a form to be able to do much the next couple of days with getting it. This is the second chemo I’ll be getting, obinutuzumab. The first day is a trial run, I’m only getting 100mg rather than the full 1000mg, the 900mg will be given tomorrow. All went well with the infusion although it took 5 hours to complete so it was fairly late getting it off, but not that it really interferes with much it just makes things awkward. The whole thing went ok though, had no reactions and it just went in really.
The following day I was fine, felt nothing from the chemo, the steroids which I’m on 60mg and it’s part of a premed too, were having a bit of an effect on me, just being a bit more hungry than normal, but I didn’t mind that. I wasn’t expecting to sleep the night before due to them as well but I went to sleep about 12 and wasn’t till 6 I woke up which is pretty normal for in here.
The docs were happy enough with everything and so it was a go-ahead for the rest of the chemo on Tuesday evening, the day was spent reading and went for a bit of a walk as I was feeling ok. My temp all day was sitting around 36.5, which is has been since I got the heart stuff all sorted and was checked again at 3 for the premeds, of course in typical Alan fashion at 4 when I was due to start the chemo the temp shot up to 38.5 and they had to delay, I seem to like complicating things. They took blood cultures and started me on antibiotics again, this is their procedure, they were told to check the temp an hour later and if it was settled again that we could try again to start the chemo otherwise we’d have to postpone till the following day which I wasn’t overly keen on.
It was strange I thought the room was just getting warm, as it normally does about that time and didn’t think it was me, thankfully at 5.30 the temp was back down to 36.5, I joked with the nurse that she just read it wrong but she did check a couple of times to be sure. And so the chemo was started, it was increased in speed every 30 mins. If it was kept at the speed yesterday it would have taken 45 hours. I think it was about 11 that it was finally finished, I didn’t take any reactions to the chemo itself and all seemed to go smoothly.
I guess in a way if I was to have a temp it was a good time to have one, before the chemo starts rather than during which may have delayed it longer and at least we know it wasn’t the chemo that done it. Soon after finishing the chemo through the nurse came back and put on fluids which would run for 9 hours or something so would be off for lunch the next day.
Again on Wednesday, I was feeling grand had no side effects and was feeling ok. I went for a walk around the hospital and killed time. I was expecting to be wrecked and having to watch tv all day so it was nice that that wasn’t the case and I was able to do something. Today the steroids had quite an effect though I was hungry constantly and just kept eating and eating and eating, I was impossible to fill.
Thursday was something similar to Wednesday, nothing much really happened, which I suppose is a good thing, I kept myself busy and had a nap in the afternoon as I didn’t sleep much the night before, it was a mixture of the steroids and listening to music, I rarely ever fall asleep listening to music and the combination with steroids certainly didn’t help but not like I was busy doing anything the next day.
And so now to today, don’t really plan on doing much, maybe a walk, tv, some football later. They have stopped the steroids which I was unsure about at first but then why spend weeks weening off again when I’ve only been on them a couple of weeks and maybe best just getting off them asap so I was happy to go ahead with this.
I did come to the realization that I probably won’t be home for Christmas, with starting the antibiotics they are normally a 10 or 12-day course and so with starting them on Monday it wouldn’t be till boxing day until they were finished. But in all honesty, I don’t mind this, everyone is unwell and I am not taking any chances, plus I’ll be too tired to be doing much. I’ve been sitting about for 3 months and I’m certainly not going to just get out and be able to go here and there, I’m not doing it, I’m taking it easy and relaxing and not putting myself under any pressure, I also don’t want to get sick this early on, everything is bad enough without adding in getting an infection too. So I am quite content being safe here away from everything. Saying that I am missing home home just doing my own thing when I want to, properly relaxing.