[MothasParticipant]

Had my first PAD treatment at UCH yesterday. The chemo suite is done very nicely, in fact the whole Cancer centre is really top notch. Anyhow some detail:

I had a bad weekend in the lead up, bad tempered and poor company. I?m normally quite good and taking things as they come, breaking down difficult situations into ?chunks? but I was a bit thrown this weekend. It made the whole ?return to illness? seem very concrete. I will adapt as ever. I will start my mindfulness practice again soon.

Before the chemo I had a bone marrow biopsy which as you all know is a bundle of fun. The doctor said don't worry, he'd done around 1500 of them! He was excellent, talking me through the entire process and we had a good chat about tests and ongoing research into MM.

The appointment was at 2.00, had to wait approximately 20 minutes before led to a bed and a cannula was fitted to my left hand. I had a saline flush through a drip, followed by a squirt of anti-nausea meds (Ondansetron). Following that I was fitted with a line carrying the Doxyrubicin (also called Adriamycin) which is a rich red colour and produces red urine. I then had a subcanteous injection of Velcade (Bortezomib) in my tummy which stung a bit but wasn?t too bad. To top it all off, I had a 4mg squirt of Zometa. I'd had 40 mg of Dex in the morning prior to coming in.

And that was that for the first day. Following the treatment I was cleaned up, the cannula was removed without drama and I toddled off for my first red wee.

[b]Side effects after first round of chemo:[/b]
No nausea, dizziness and no increase in symptoms of neuropathy (I have slight tingling in feet and hands and have done for some time, no pain).

Dex: not to bad, feel a bit hyper, slept reasonably after having sleeping tablet. 10.00 ? 3.45 then woke up. Managed another couple of hours after reading and mindfulness techniques which always help me sleep.

I realise that side effects are likely to increase as I progress into treatment, so I expect I've got off quite lightly. Beginners luck.

all the best

Tom

[ali49Participant]

Hi Tom

what a pain that you are back on chemo, it's feels such a slap in the face to be back on treatment and 'reminded' that we have a condition to cope with.
Hope you will soon be feeling your positive self again. I was on PAD last year and apart from the usual dex effects (dex-fx !) I had no problems at all.
Hope it will be the same for you and that you respond quickly,

best wishes
Alison

[VickiParticipant]

Good luck Tom, hope the dex doesn't keep you awake too much!

It is always a blow when the reality of mdedication strikes but its the hammer that cracks the mm condition on the head 🙂

Keep going 🙂

Vicki and Colin 🙂

[EvaParticipant]

Dear Tom,
The beginning of a new stage treatment is such a milestone…. Waiting for it must be difficult. My treatment began on the same day as diagnosis, so I had no time to think about it.
UCH sounds really good. I like the fact they're taking care over every bit of the process. I'm impressed by your commitment to mindfulness. I hope you can have some special activities planned. When I was on induction treatment it took a few weeks before it really started to bite. My husband had ordered a few reading surprises for me from Amazon and when I felt tired in the afternoons I was able to rest with a new book.
Don't forget to drink a lot and get some exercise when you're up to it. I went through some phases of withdrawal from company; at other times I really appreciated when friends called and I was able to focus on their lives as well.
Let us know how it goes.
Best,
Eva

[tomParticipant]

Hi Tom

Well Good Luck with this lot M8 and am sure you can and will crack it.
lets hope side effects are kind to you.
Tom Onwards and upwards

[meganjaneParticipant]

Hi Tom,

Good luck with the PAD treatment, I hope the side effects continue to be minimal. My husband Phil had no real side effects except for neuropathy in the feet, be sure to tell your consultant if the neuropathy gets any worse so they can look at adjusting the dose. Phil is recovering well from his SCT but the neuropathy is still an annoying side effect that is lingering on from his treatment. If you find that your stomach gets sore from the Velcade injections you may want to alternate having the injections there and in your upper arm, Phil did this when his stomach became bruised and tender.

Megan

[MothasParticipant]

Thanks for all the replies people.

I had my second set of squirts yesterday, Ondansetron and Doxyrubicin. Usual red wee from the doxyrubicin he, eh.

Side effects after 2nd round of chemo:
No nausea, but did feel a bit fuggy headed in the evening and very slight but noticeable increase in neuropathy so will keep an eye on that.

Dex: not to bad, I'm tailing off the final dose this week to avoid going totally mental. I've found that sleeping tablets give me a good solid 5 hours, which is much better than I was getting before. I can then normally manage a good couple of hours of lighter sleep after that, so not too bad.

[MothasParticipant]

Hi Eva

I picked up my guitar for the first time in ages yesterday, so I'm making time for creative things. It helps, along with the meditation.

I've also set myself a saving target to buy a new guitar, so by the time that I get through the other side of the transplant I'll be able to splash out a bit. I haven't told the wife yet 😉

[EvaParticipant]

Hi Tom,
Yes, anything that's like a 'flow' activity where we can lose ourselves for a while is very important in order to relax.
I read your other posting. Can your myeloma be tracked via bone marrow biopsy?
best,
Eva

[MothasParticipant]

It looks like a bit of a false alarm, on that front Eva so one less thing to worry about. Thanks for your concern.

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