ICE ICE baby

This is an old post I forgot to publish - the chemo brain is certainly coming back!

If only it were as fun as the fancy free Vanilla Ice song... my ICE is less sexy and a bit more tiring and toxic.  Today is my third and last day of infusions until April 13 (thank god).  I do have to go into the hospital tomorrow to get my Neulasta shot, yes bring on the bone pain.

All in all things have been going pretty well - I have been lucky enough to get a bed each of the days which makes it sooooooo much better, this way I can actually get a real nap and peace. However, my curtain mate is definitely snoring right now so I am thankful I brought my headphones for my afternoon nap.

My nausea is totally different this time than with ABVD - it is more a subtle belly ache that gives you the urge to vomit than a more constant wave of nausea.  Last night for the first time I totally gagged but chose taking the Mesna again was a worser evil than dealing with the vomit.

Let me break down this Mesna business for you: in a nutshell I am intended to consume for three days 20mL of IV fluid. Yes, you read that correctly, I have been ingesting IV fluid that is intended to be put into the body intravenously.  Every night, we have been coming home and B has been making me this "cocktail" of hot chocolate and Mesna (which if I was forced I would liken to battery acid, rusty nails and many many other disgusting compounds.)  Being the genius he is, B commandeered my Magic Mouthwash (a lidocane based substance) to numb the mouth first, then has me coat the mouth in peanut butter and then endure the worst cocktail known to mankind.

To also put a bit of perspective around all of this, this stuff is so terrible they give you two doses -- one to consume and the other as a backup in case you vomit within the first hour.  On the flip side, it is actually really crucial to the chemo process because it helps protect the kidneys and the bladder from bleeding and severe irritation.

Well I am getting super sleepy so it is time to sign off.

T