The last couple of weeks have been filled with medical appointments, acupuncture, and Christmas preparation and celebration. I continued to feel good during round one, with my main complaint being the bone pain from the Neulasta injection. The fifth and sixth days after the injection I would get an intense, pulsating pain in my low back. It kept me from sleeping even after taking two Vicodin! But I would rather deal with something like pain than nausea or just the ickiness of feeling unwell. My energy level and appetite have remained high. I know how bad it can be, though, so I'm going to refrain from my usual jokes about how I wish my appetite weren't so good... It's not a guarantee, but the good experience I've had with round one is hopefully a sign that all four rounds should go fairly smoothly.
Thursday the 22nd I had an MRI of my arm. I was almost due, but my arm did light up a bit on the PET scan (likely due to the inflammation) so Dr. O wanted to get it done - and I was ok with that. However, I was concerned about going through another MRI - if you've read previous blog posts you might know that for my arm I'm in the MRI machine a long time, and last time was quite uncomfortable, started hyperventilating, and had to be pulled out of the machine twice. In addition, the pain from the recent pnuemothorax was quite similar to that I felt while lying in the MRI tube (there must be something to this - if I figured it out, maybe I would figure out what's going on with the MRI. Any ideas?), so I was even more concerned about going through another MRI at this time. Also, prior to my PET scan I had taken an Ativan (an anti-anxiety medication), and it didn't seem to make much of a difference - I had the same pain toward the end of that exam as well. As a result of all this, I ended up having IV sedation during the MRI - made even more convenient by having my port.
Totally the way to go. A nurse was near me the whole time. I would raise my index finger if I needed the anti-anxiety med (Versed), another if I needed the pain med (Fentanyl). It didn't take care of all the pain and anxiety, but definitely lessened it. And made the time go much faster! I'm requesting Versed and Fentanyl for every MRI I ever have on my arm again.
I'm not a stranger to versed. A bone marrow test is how the presence or absence of leukemia cells is assessed. Twenty years ago, I had many, many bone marrow tests. The first one or two were done just with xylocaine, a local pain med. Then Demerol was added. That, experience, and increased confidence regarding the results increased the ease of the tests. But then, shortly after my transplant, when I still had a port, I had Versed. Wow, I'm not even sure I knew I had a bone marrow test. I also have received Versed as heading from pre-op to surgery a few (five!) times this year.
Contrary to how all this sounds, I'm not a pill taker. This last year, I needed to be encouraged to take pain meds. I didn't even have Tylenol in my house when the bone pain started (thanks, Pat!). But when it comes to Versed (ok, maybe Demerol too), I'm all over it.
Back to the MRI. Got the results the next day at my appointment with Dr. Blaes, then talked to Dr. O's nurse that evening. No sign of recurrence! My arm is quite swollen - more so than in the October scan - but everything else looked good.
To recap: PET scan, good. Lymph node, no sign of cancer. Arm, looking good. Just have to worry about that pesky, 1.3 cm lone tumor. And we're taking care of that right now (I'm actually sitting receiving round two as I write this).
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