Round 2

Numero Dos

Aaron,

Yea, 10 hours could interfer with your social life ! I think I recall that you get no rituxan today ? If you do not, it will dramatically reduce your time there.

I usually got to the infusion center around 7:45, and was hooked up by around 8:00 AM. I was normally gone by 4;00 PM, or right at 8 hours. But, that was with rituxan.

Conversely, my neighbor with NHL took some kind of horrible treatment, and he had to be admitted as an inpatient for three days each infusion. He said that the nurse had to have a conversation every 30 minutes or less, to ensure that he was not having "neurological issues." Then, it was home and to bed until next treatment, 3 weeks later. He was not seen outside for over six months, and looked like he had just crawled over the barbed wire at Auschwitz when I did see him. A 30 year old guy, about 6'0', 275 when he started. About 170 when he finished.

Therefore, there are worse things than an 8 your infusion day. I do not know what his meds were, and he cannot remember. I do hope to get him to look it up some time. He got severe shingles shortly thereafter, something there was a discussion on for a while here at the Boards. MY NP told me to get a shingles vaccine soon, but others have said there are counter-indications for getting the vaccine. But you do not worry about that issue for now.

On the sub, every guy had an animal nickname; mine was "The Hog," because I liked to "Hog up all the fun." Translated: work all day and night.

Do not hog up all the fun there !

May it go quick and easy.

Note: Your hair will probably drop out within a week or so, so be psyched for that milestone. (Usually happens a few days after the second infusion on abvd.)

Keep us up to date,

max

.

You're doing great
Hey Aaron ☺,

You're doing fine. I agree with Sue, two down, four to go.
Max is right about the hair. If you haven't just buzzed it off yet,
it helps to do it yourself and get it over with. You and your family
can make it fun by finding silly headgear to wear. I mostly wore
fun "dew rags" and bought a cheap fedora too so I could look like
a "gangster" .

I had to renew my drivers license last November (one month out of chemo)
and now it's a reminder of what I looked like. They wouldn't let me wear
a hat but told me I could come back and do another picture.
I actually show it to people and they can't believe it's the same person .

Since I'm talking so much about hair, you will lose it elsewhere on your
body too - just think of it as a nice re-visit to pre-puberty . I have
a fairly hairy chest and thought my pecs were pretty decent until I lost
the hair. It was then I realized I had "man boobs" - LOL.

Just think - when you get this done, you're 1/3rd of the way to the finish
line! Hope your mouth is feeling better and it won't be an issue this time.

Hugs to you and your family,

Jim

Aaron said:

I wish
Thanks y'all, actually Jim I have 10 infusions remaining and I had hair to the middle of my back and donated it to locks of love before my first infusion. My ANC count was 500 even today and my Onc gave me treatment anyway so I'm on " house arrest " for 2 weeks for whatever reason she doesn't want to give me a nuprogen shot. They believe it can alter the efficacy of the treatment. So I'm on infection watch, I'll be doing plenty of posting.

Hairy Beast

Aaron,

You may know this already, but when they say "chemo will make you lose your hair," they mean ALL hair. Actually, a few chemo drugs do not cause hair loss. I have had two close friends on chemo for prostate, and neither lost any hair.

I lost my eyebrows, eyelashes --even my nose hair !

My mother-in-law said "Lots of guys shave their heads. Bald is popular today."

But, people bald from chemo do not look like people who have shaved their heads; there is a glaring difference. For one, you are not "bald" -- you are HAIRLESS. This is a different look.

Trendsetters -- that is what we are.

max

ThisisLife said:

Good luck!
Hey Aaron,
I hope this infusion is quicker and that you don't have to deal with mouth sores this time around.

Bummer about house arrest!!! Oh well, we gotta do, what we gotta do!!!! Interesting that your doc doesn't want to give you the Neupogena.

I went and got a light "sleep aid" from my doc today. Only going to take it after the next infusion for a few days. I found that the either the prednisone or the dexamethasone did a number on my as far as not being able to sleep. Then bang! I hit a week and I've had two sold days sleep!

Looking forward to your update!

Yep
Yep, good old prednisone... You sound very similar to me - CRASH after it
wore off. I was given Ambien and was on Atavan as well during treatment
in the hospital and could only sleep maybe 3 hours at a stretch. I did
cat nap alot.

Thinking of you
Hi Aaron

I am sure you are home by now, but wanted to say that I am thinking of you. So sorry to read that you need to be at home. But if it keeps you safe from those bad germs, then it is so worth it. Just enjoy spending time wity your dear family.

I will try to post more this weekend.
Stay strong, you can do it.

Hugs
Lisha