Chemotherapy 3: Better News

    

"It is a Warrior's drink!"

       Following up on the last post -- I didn't get results and last Saturday I did go to the ER, which was a complete bust.  I do not advise going to the ER for constipation.  They gave me a bottle of Magnesium Citrate and then an enemy (Freudian slip -- I meant to type "enema"), which did not work at all.  Then they wanted to give me the stuff they give for colonoscopies, but I refused in horror and told them I just wanted to go home.  Actually, they seemed to expect the Mag. Cit. to work instantaneously, but it doesn't do that with me.  After I got home, it started up and worked for 24 hours.  I'm not exaggerating.  I was absolutely miserable and had my first nausea in the middle of the night.  I did take a Zofran and it fixed the nausea, and I'm happy to say I've been fine since in that regard.

       I could have bought the Mag. Cit. and taken it myself at home -- it's over the counter.  That's what I'm going to do the next time.  However, I did get some good advice from the doctor in the ER.  Miralax twice a day for a while.  I'm happy to report that seems to have worked.  Now if I can just get everything regularized permanently ...

But now for the good news!

       I had blood drawn on Tuesday and they ran the CA125 test.  That's the test for the cancer antigen.  It's not always reliable for diagnosing cancer, but they use it to measure whether the chemo is working.  And apparently it is, because

my level was originally 107 and now it's down to 11!

And a little Googling revealed that normal levels are below 35, so it looks like things are on track!  I take my next treatment next Thursday.  I hope it doesn't get worse as it goes along.

Hair Report

       I had been told that hair doesn't begin to come out for a couple of weeks, and lo and behold, they were right!  Last Thursday marked two weeks since the first chemo treatment, and on Friday (yesterday) I started to shed like a long-haired cat.  It's not coming out in clumps, just five or six hairs at a time.  I get a few if I tug on it, and it's always hanging down over my glasses or tickling my nose.  When I look in the mirror with the sun shining on me, I can see a bunch of hair on my shoulders.  Wonder what my bald head will look like.  Will I have weird knobs or protuberances?  Maybe I'll discover I'm growing antennae!  LOL