One of the most frequent questions I get about my treatment is why it takes so long for the whole process to happen. By now I’m personally used to the fact that if I go into the hospital on a Tuesday for a treatment, I most likely will be getting out sometime on Friday afternoon even though originally it was thought that I might sometimes get discharged sometimes on a Thursday night. This is because I know by now that things don’t always run smoothly like you’d hope in the hospital. Don’t get me wrong, I have yet to have a “horrible” experience; nearly every nurse or nurse’s assistant I’ve had have been really great, competent and accommodating. However, between nurses tending to other patients who need immediate care or nurses changing shifts, sometimes medication administration doesn’t happen as quickly as I would like it to. Remember also, that there are only certain nurses that can administer chemotherapy medication to me, and if a non-chemo certified nurse is assigned to me, that is one more hurdle to get over before my medication can be given.
I decided that during this visit I would try to log each step of the way including the schedule of when I received medication both orally and intravenously through my PICC line so everyone that’s been asking could more fully understand a) that the process is long and tedious; b) the medications I take and the regime I follow to take them; and c) that I DON’T get bored while I’m in the hospital like you might think. This is because between being waken up to receive each of these medications AND getting my vital signs checked frequently, (I didn’t even try to keep track and write down every time that took place), AND being visited by the cleaning staff, food services people, ministers and my doctors, I mainly just try to get as much sleep in as possible and don’t have much time to get bored. The attempts to log each step of the way started off easy, but for most of the day on Wednesday and Thursday this week, I was feeling very nauseous, unlike the previous 2 times I was in for treatment. That being said, the times I got my medications might be a little off, but it isn’t very important to understanding everything else. Hopefully after reading this post/schedule you’ll have a better understanding of the experience I have in the hospital when I’m in for my treatments! Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 1st
11am- Admitted to the hospital
12pm- PICC line team started the procedure to place my PICC IV
1pm- PICC line team completed placing my IV
1:30pm- Taken for x-ray to confirm PICC placement in chest
2pm- Came back from x-ray
2:30pm- Started the 6 hours of hydration (Sodium bicarbonate) administered through PICC line
Also, I got anti-nausea meds (Zofran) for 15 minutes and then a flush bag for 15 minutes at this time (both through PICC line)
6pm- Oral anti-seizure medication (Keppra)
8:45pm- “Premeds” (anti-nausea (Zofran) and Dexamethasone steroid) given through PICC line for 15 minutes followed by flush bag for 15 minutes
9:15pm- Start chemotherapy (Methotrexate) through PICC line for 4 hours
Wednesday, February 2nd
1:30am- Finish chemo medication
2:15am- Start 24 hours of hydration with Sodium bicarbonate through PICC line. This hydration continues constantly from this point until the time I leave. I believe that during this round of treatment I went through 6, 1000 mL bags of these fluids. (If you were wondering, YES you do visit the bathroom A LOT and YES they do keep track of how much you go; So each time the nurse has to be called to dump out your pee! Fun times!)
9am- Keppra, Pepcid, Dexamethasone taken orally
6pm- Keppra taken orally
9:45pm- Zofran through PICC line for 15 mins followed by flush bag for 15 mins
Thursday, February 3rd
12:45am- Blood drawn to determine blood cell count and chemo (Methotrexate) level – This info is needed to determine if you will be able to leave the hospital after the scheduled 6 doses every 6 hours of the antidote to the chemo medications and if a higher dose of the antidote to the chemo (Leucovorin) needs to be given.
1am- 1st antidote (Leucovorin) dosage given through the PICC line in “push” manner. “Push” means that the drug is injected through a syringe by the nurse over a course of 3-5 minutes instead of hanging in a IV bag.
7am- 2nd Leucovorin push
9am- Keppra, Pepcid, Dexamethasone, Claritin given orally
10am- Zofran through PICC line for 15 mins followed by flush bag for 15 mins
1pm- Bloodwork to check Methotrexate levels was redone because previous bloodwork was “never received by the lab” i.e. the bloodwork got lost, was dropped by someone during transportation, etc. **I was told that things like this happen frequently and don’t seriously affect my treatment, but they DO affect the schedule of events when it comes to leaving the hospital. (I was supposed to be done with treatment this round at 7 am on Friday morning and be discharged by 9, but since they had to wait until the results from this bloodwork were processed by the lab to discharge me, I didn’t end up leaving the hospital until 2pm on Friday).
1:15pm- 3rd Leucovorin push
6pm- Keppra taken orally
7pm- 4th Leucovorin push
10pm- Zofran 15 mins/flush bag 15 mins
Friday, February 4th
1am- 5th Leucovorin push
7am- 6th and final Leucovorin push
9am- Keppra, Pepcid, Dexamethasone, Claritin given orally
10am- Zofran 15 mins/flush bag 15 mins
12:45pm- Doctor visited and discharged me
1pm- I took a Leucovorin pill orally while still at the hospital. Normally, I take 6 pills of Leucovorin every 6 hours orally after leaving the hospital, (starting 6 hours after my last IV dose), but since I was still AT the hospital 6 hours after my last IV dose, I had to take it there.
1:15pm- PICC line removed by nurse
2pm- Left the hospital
Sorry if this post was boring -- I just thought it might be helpful to those who wanted a little more detail as far as what my treatment is all about! If anyone ever has questions about anything I post here, feel free to leave a comment below or e-mail me at cem1414@gmail.com (That way might be easier since you need a gmail e-mail account to leave a comment on these posts).
Anyway, that’s it for now! I’ll be back sometime later this weekend to talk about the basketball game event that is being held in my honor this coming Tuesday!
xoxo,
*Casey
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