Chemo #3

Its been 5 days since my 3rd chemo dose and I'm still in Anchorage and still in bed. I was given another new anti-nausea med which did seem to alleviate the extreme nausea like I had last time. Unfortunately, I seemed to trade in the nausea for a migraine. The day following chemo, Thursday, my head hurt in the morning and just got progressively worst throughout the day. It was throbbing, felt like it was going to split open, my eye sockets hurt, and I was sensitive to the light. I ended up taking a cab to the ER that afternoon where they decided to draw blood, give me a CAT scan, and do a spinal tap before ever even trying anything to reduce the pain. Eventually they gave me a shot of Imitrex, which proved unhelpful and last they gave me morphiene which took the headache away almost instantly. By that time I had had a severe migraine for about 11 hours. I left the ER feeling a little woozy, but without a headache. I went to bed and slept well. The next morning I woke up with another throbbing headache. It was different than the day before though. It felt like extreme pressure and was markedly worst when I was sitting up or standing. As long as I remained laying down, it seemed to be at least bearable. The ER doctor and Mike both told me about the possibility of a headache from the spinal tap and I knew that I just needed to lay flat and let it pass. Friday it didn't pass and Saturday was worst than ever. In addition to the pressured headache I was also experiencing a lot of nausea. Whether it was from the chemo or the headache or the pain killers I don't know. Sunday morning the headache was still persistent so Mike took me back to the ER. The doctor felt like it was clearly a result of the spinal tap and explained that the way to alleviate it was to do a blood patch. The way I understand it is that when the spinal tap was done the fluid in my back didn't fill back in the way its supposed to so the blood patch is simply injecting my back with my own blood to fill in that space. . . or something like that. Seemed simple enough, but unfortunately it didn't fix the problem (which they said sometimes happens). The anesthesiologist wasn't exactly gentle either. He injected the numbing medicine three times and tried the blood injection four times, all of which I felt extremely well. He didn't take the time to position me with anything for balance aside from an ER tech who was doing his best to keep me from falling over as I screamed in agony while trying to curl my back in the position the doctor needed. I was dripping sweat, felt like I was going to pass out, puke, or both and now my back and my head hurt. I was shaking like a leaf for quite a while after the procedure. They layed me back down and gave me IV fluids, but still no relief. In the end, they gave me some more morphiene and sent me home in worst shape than when I arrived. The headache is still here. The only relief is that it is positional and as long as I stay flat on my back I am not in extreme pain. The pain medication doesn't seem to do all that much besides make me feel sick and knock me out. Like clockwork though I wake up 3-4 after taking a pill, head pounding. I'm trying to be patient, but I'm feeling really miserable and helpless right now. Mike has been here for me and trying to do what he can, which has been emptying my puke bowl and keeping me supplied with water and watermelon (the only thing I really seem to want to eat). Kate took me to the chiropractor today because I thought that maybe an adjustment would help. It did provide some momentary relief, but the headache was back within minutes. The car ride there and back was torture that unfortunately wasn't worth the adjustment. I was supposed to go home to Nome on Saturday, which I changed to Monday, which I've now changed to an open ended return. I can't even sit up long enough to drive across town so I don't think getting on a plane is an option right now. All I can do is lay here and wait as patiently as I can. I have an appointment with my oncologist tomorrow so maybe relief will finally come?