Two Down, Five To Go

Well chemo number two went okay, I felt less nauseous this round. I honestly think increasing my water intake helped flush the toxins out of my system. I usually struggle to drink 1.5 liters of water but this round of chemo I forced down 3 liters a day. It really was a struggle to drink so much water but I felt less nausea. I did still feel just as fatigued and 'unwell' though which is unfortunate. Normally with chemo even with all of the anti-nausea drugs I feel like I am going to vomit and I really struggle to eat. This time I ate fairly normal and just had moderate nausea. I will test my theory again and see if it works for me for round three which I have tomorrow.

I ended up admitted to hospital this round with neutropenia for 4 days. I was admitted on the second Saturday post chemo so cycle day 8. When I was admitted to hospital it was for fevers but my neutrophils were a low 0.2 so they admitted me into isolation to prevent me from picking up any infections or bugs. They did the usual tests, blood cultures (several), blood tests, chest x-rays, and swabs. I was immediately put on high dose IV anti-biotics. On Sunday about 10 hours after admission they re-tested my blood and the levels were 0.0 so I was at high risk of catching a virus or bacterial infection. Thankfully I avoided infection by being on isolation and got out of hospital on Wednesday.

Now I have round three of chemotherapy tomorrow and I hope it goes well. I had a great day today and although I really wanted a few days to feel good my blood levels required enough to continue with chemotherapy. I am disappointed but satisfied at the same time. My oncologist seems to think I will end back up in hospital with neutropenia because it gets worse with subsequent cycles. I am hoping I can avoid another admission because it will be during Easter Weekend and I would really like to have a great Easter weekend.  So fingers crossed I can be home and enjoy it with the family!