The pre- and post-treatment regimens are different. When I was doing Taxol, I took 20 mg of dexamethasone steroids the night before my treatment. As you may recall, the steroids were causing my breakouts so I was glad to learn from Dr. Chui that I didn't need to take them the night before anymore. Unfortunately, I still have to take the dexamethasone--I take it along with Zofran immediately prior to my treatment, and then I take 4 mg each morning the three days following the treatment. This is to attempt to fight nausea.
I also don't have to have the Benadryl before treatment anymore, which is great because I don't get all dopey. I get an IV of anti-nausea meds (the name of which I forget) before I get the AC.
The "A" half of the drug gets "pushed" in over a 15 minute period of time manually by the oncology nurse. She said this is really for people who don't have a port because the drug is so hard on the vein. But the introduction of the drug is the same regardless.
As you can see, the drug itself is red...and the red gets into your system...
Next they hang the "C" half of the bag which gets pumped in over a half hour period. So, although I'm getting two drugs now, it's faster than the Taxol was. And I'm not a dopey mess afterwards!
The day after my chemo, in addition to taking the Dexamethasone, I have to go in for my shot of NEULASTA.
All in all, I would say that although I feel better the day of chemo thanks to no Benadryl, I do not feel better in the days following the chemo. I am nauseous, though not vomiting. I feel the same sort of spacey-dehydrated that I did before. I'm puffier in the feet and hands. And I don't have much in the way of an appetite. I am eating, but I don't really want to...I'm also a bit more tired which is a bummer. As I type this, G & O are out enjoying the Jantzen Beach Merry-go-Round. I really wanted to go with them, but I couldn't get myself rolling.
I hope that resting through the weekend will give me the energy to get through the week. And the bonus is, I have two weeks between these treatments to gather my strength. PLUS: with only 4 treatments that means I'm already 25% done!
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