Kris is doing fine. Her tongue is still not happy, at all. Tomatoes are almost too spicy and mouthwash/brushing are… not fun.
A new item on the horizon that may be aggravated by the chemo but we do NOT feel is caused by it is that her arthritis is getting worse. Bad enough that I sent her packing to a rheumatologist who said ‘ho hum’ as it’s just the normal ‘wear and tear’ type of arthritis, not something like rheumatoid arthritis. She prescribed Celebrex which Kris has hardly taken any of, but, the time she did use it was quite pleased with the results.
Kris’ blood pressure is still high. Hovering about 140/100. Again, the 100 is the scary number. Dr. Moran is ok with where this is at and has not adjusted her anti-hypertensive drugs since the last time. Kris has not had any symptoms that imply high blood pressure problems since the last (and only) headache that seemed to be related to high BP. Long and short is that this is worrisome but it is in the ‘noise’ category of chemo therapy (much like the tongue issues).
My apologies for not sending this out sooner, things have been hectic for the last little while. Not much of an excuse but I’m clinging to it for all I’m worth!
From: David Hart [mailto:david.hart@colorado.edu]
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 11:53 AM
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Subject: Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Round 3, Chemo #10
Wednesday 3 Mar
Kris called me at work at about 6:30 am. She woke up with a blinding headache at about 4:30 am and took non-aspirin and went back to bed. No good, so she got up and bustled about her day dealing with the headache. While feeding the cats and parceling out Nekos drugs she got nauseous and threw up. So, she took her temperature: 93.3. She took it again not believing the results: 93.3. She waited about 5 minutes and took it again: 93.8. She turned on the fire place and warmed up by it and called me. We decided to take her to Urgent care and while on the phone she got nauseous and tossed her cookies again. I got home we made it to Urgent care about 7:20 am… they didn’t open until 8. When she finally got in to see someone, she got cold again and her blood pressure was 158/100! The Dr. that saw us also took her blood pressure and it was in the same ball park. He gave her anti-nausea medication and sent her to get a cat scan just in case there was an ongoing bleed in her head. Scan was clear. The Dr. explained that the symptoms were fairly common Migraine symptoms and that as far as the high blood pressure was concerned it was a chicken or egg question. Migraines/pain will increase BP. High (VERY high) BP can cause headaches. While her BP wasn’t high enough to cause a migraine (well, for typical cases) he could not rule out that as a possibility. Sent us home with a pain med prescription and told Kris to watch her BP and relax.
Friday 5 Mar
In for an infusion. Dr. Moran seemed concerned about her high BP (the nurse read it at about 140/100, we were thinking it was higher as we watched Dr. Moran take it). He doubled her prescription for Lisinipril (anti-hypertensive medication) which he had prescribed for high BP (though much less so than now) earlier. We are considering getting a cuff so we can check her (and my) BP at home. We also discussed the pain Kris is having in her fingers and the consensus is arthritis, take Ibuprofin… This is a wee bit controversial given that she’s on blood thinners but he said that it’s not enough of a concern to not take it if the join pain gets to be too much. We are by far more concerned about the high BP. Kris’ infusion went without a hitch save that she beat me, again, at Pickamino.
For those who don’t know, I’m sending this from home. Friday was my last day with IBM. I will continue the Blog and these emails but have shifted over to my home email account. If there is a change I will let you know. If, perchance, you find that I am not getting someone that I used to (or who wants to hear), please let me know, send their email to this address, and I will add them to the list (with their permission please). Oh, and as always, anyone who doesn’t want to receive these, please let me know and I will update my list. IBM was a good ride but the fact is that now is a good time for me to move on.
Dave H.
“Do not come in early! Do not stay late! There will be overtime!” Anon… for now.
