Chemo (part 1 of 8)

December 1st (Monday) was my first chemo. There's a lot of waiting involved. First, you wait in a big waiting room. Pay your co-pay and wait some more. Then you go get your blood drawn. (It hurts when the needle goes in to my port, but it stops hurting after 2 seconds). Then wait in a smaller waiting room. Then fill out this rating form of your symptoms on an electronic tablet. Then wait some more. Then go talk to the doctor or nurse-practitioner, who tells you what your blood work looks like and gives you a script for some meds. Then wait in an even smaller waiting room. Then go sit in a recliner for chemo. I told my doctor way before my first treatment that I was a nervous type, so my pre-meds include Ativan, which when given through IV, make me feel a little loopy. :) Getting the chemo wasn't bad at all, just sitting there basically. Mom took me to chemo and Elizabeth met us up there. After chemo, came home to a clean house (thanks to my MIL). Got in bed, was a little nauseated, and pretty much just slept. All in all, wasn't too bad. The next day (Tuesday) is when I went for my Neulasta shot. Neulasta boosts your white blood cell counts to help you not get sick (because a cold can be pneumonia in a chemo patient, etc.). That shot hurts and takes a minute to give and hurts the whole time. Bleh. I felt pretty good the rest of that day though. Wednesday is when the Neulasta pain kicked in. Every tiny piece of my body hurt. Luckily I have Vicodin leftover from my port surgery. Thursday I still hurt but not as bad. Friday I felt better from chemo, but had sinus issues. By Sunday I realized I probably had the same sinus infection that Cody had (even though he'd been sleeping in the guest room so as not to get me sick!). Called the nurse Monday to get some meds for it and felt better by Tuesday. The Neulasta pain and sinus infection were the worse parts of Chemo round 1.