Yes an F1 reference, but I’m not starting any races anytime soon. Unless it’s to the bathroom at the infusion center as I push my IV pole down the hall! So the 5shots to boost my neutrophils from 0.4 got me up to 2.1. I really had been hoping for higher, bc the range goes up to 11 and sometimes they push you past for buffer. Anyway, 5shots of a higher dose of this medicine only getting me to 2.1 indicates to me the importance to continue this protocol for the last 2 cycles.
That’s right, I said it. Last TWO cycles. I feel encouraged by this, finally. I’ve been fully dreading the last few cycles, bc of my liquid only diet continuing for so long. However this chemo delay allowing me to be able to eat solid food for about 7 days was much appreciated. I feel more capable of doing liquid diet for the remainder of chemo, if needed.
Additionally, I do believe not only the break, but my oral hygiene routine has helped with the return of some taste ability that I might not get to the liquid only diet again. So I say for your chemo friends who struggle with this my routine was: brush teeth, scrape tongue until the scraper is only showing clear mucus/spit on it, oncology mouthwash available on Amazon (white bottle with orange and blue label). I do this 3-4 times/day routinely and when my mouth is just feeling the build up. I’d start this routine at the beginning of chemo if I had to do it again, but please no thank you! The recommended saltwater wash 4x/day wasn’t enough for me.
Also on the break I had a bit more energy despite being neutropenic, and it seem that some of my hair grew back. The drawbacks about extending the timeline of treatment are obvious. Some of the lesser-known drawbacks for me with delay/neutrophil treatment are that my peripheral neuropathy gets worse meaning lots of burning in my feet, and the return of some bone pain. The docs say to take Claritin and Tylenol while on this medicine to prevent bone pain, however, I was doing it wrong. I took Claritin every morning as I do every morning on or off this med, but I waited to take Tylenol until the bone pain started. I was corrected to take both at the same time, bc these medicines work in tandem to prevent the bone pain. I only started this yesterday, so I’ll know if the theory/data plays out.
One more note of concern. Because I had been so fatigued, I wasn’t able to take walks to keep up my muscle tone. I did leg lifts and stretching in bed, but between being bed/recliner bound for so long and being on the liquid diet for about 8 weeks, I seem to have lost some muscle mass. My knees have been giving out sporadically as I walk or stand for too long. The good news is the break and being less fatigued helped me realize this. I will be asking for physical therapy referral for when I finish my last cycle to tone back up.
Alas, this was a long update. Congratulations for reading this far!
Onward!
