Last week was rough...

daBeachBum

Hey gang,

I'm not sure if it was because of my allergic reaction to Oxaliplatin last Friday, the ascites, or an impaction, but this last week really sucked, even worse than the last one. I was pretty miserable.

I hadn't been able to eat for a long time and it got to the point where I couldn't even keep water down. My belly was swollen up like a balloon. On Tuesday my sister came down from PA and we went to the ER at Penn after calling my onc. The ER was packed, but they got me in after about 3 hours. Luckily I had a room, the ER was so packed they had ten people getting treated in the hallways! The poor lady outside my door was there the whole time I was :-(

I stayed there that night and most of the next since the hospital had no rooms left. They poured liters of saline into me and gave me a paracentisis Wednesday. They drained 5 liters of fluid from my abdomen - nothing like losing 12 pounds in half an hour :-o In the middle of the night Thursday they moved me to the Onc floor. I saw some of the nurses and aides that were so kind to me when I spent January there.

I felt a ton better but still was very uncomfortable when I got home Thursday. I had really bad constipation which I never do. When I could go, I struggled and the results were rock hard marbles. I did a couple of rounds of milk of magnesia and drank a ton of water. I ended up clearing wayyy in excess of what I should have based on the minimal food I had over the last few weeks. I think I was carrying that crap around for a long time.

Feeling much better now that I am hydrated and not all swollen up. I'm hoping this was just a glitch and not the beginning of "the slide"...

Strength and Love!

Ray

smokeyjoe

Oh no, that sounds so
Oh no, that sounds so horrible, I am so sorry you are going through all of that. Hope you feel much better soon.

tommycat

Sounds like a couple things
Sounds like a couple things conspired to make you feel miserable. I hope you can find what foods plug, and which ones help you go to give you some control over your bowels.
Things will get better~

Kathleen808

Ray
Ray,
So good that you got to the ER but it sounds like it was rough. I hope you bounce back quickly. I'm glad your home.

Aloha,
Kathleen

pete43lost_at_sea

love and strength to you
hi ray,
what a rough time, had a couple marbles myself. not fun.

5 glasses of water should help with constipation. also try prune juice.

i really hope your stay feeling well.

hugs,
pete

PhillieG

Ray
Besides that, how are you?
Wow, what a rough time. I'm very sorry to hear that you had to go through all of that. It does bring back some unpleasant memories of my bowel obstruction. It is somewhat comforting to recognize the staff at a hospital but I'm sure you'd rather see them in a restaurant or in a store than at their job.
Please, don't even think about "the slide" as you put it. A lot is going on inside you and there are bumps to be expected. When I've been on chemo that caused constipation, I would take stool softeners daily in small doses as a preemptive measure.
Pete had some good suggestions. We all probably know we should be drinking water, some prunes or prune juice could work as well as a softener. It's about what works for you now. You don't want to get to the point you were and then have the opposite happen. Finding the balance can be tough, especially when doing chemo.
Glad you got through it Ray, hang in there.

I'm reminded of a joke...
Q- what does a Mathematian do when their constipated?
A- they work it out with a pencil
I didn't say it was a funny joke!
All the best
- p

laurettas

Rough time
Sorry to hear about your rough time, Ray. It can be pretty scary and frustrating when so many things go wrong at once, huh?

I wonder about the allergic reaction, too. It was after my husband's allergic reaction that he ended up in ER twice. Totally different problems than you, but still they occurred the week after the allergic reaction. He has been fine since, however, if that makes you feel any better. Hang in there, the ride is always exciting!