26 October 2023
My friends keep a close check on me. The other day, Judith and Chris asked if they could stop by and deliver some flan to satisfy my sweet taste buds since I seem to have lost salt, sour, and bitter. I think I have the umami but not in a good way. When they arrived with the flan, Chris had put together a beautiful bouquet of flowers from his yard.
The beautiful red flowers are Caesalpinia pulcherrima, sometimes called peacock flower, red bird of paradise, or pride of Barbados. It’s a member of the bean family. The blue/purple flowers are Chromolaena odorata, sometimes called Jack-in-the-Box, Christmas bush, and devil weed. It’s a member of the aster family. Chris has a green thumb and can grow pretty much any native plant in his yard. The arrangement was spectacular!
I admit to feeling better today. That’s even with very little sleep. It seems not only does a saline infusion make me feel better but it keeps me wired all during the night.
That’s even after I took a souped up Xanax called Temazepan.
Even with the lack of sleep, I feel 100% better than yesterday. I may even try to do a little yard work sometime today – between naps. I need to trim the Heliconia again and it’s time to turn the sprinkler system back on since we’ve officially entered the dry period of the year. Of course, that means re-working the sprinkler heads to get rid of clogs.
As I got up this morning, I looked at my bedside table/chest of drawers and was overwhelmed by the number of medications on the top. I decided to group all the medications together and get a real idea of what I’ve been taking over this period of cancer. Understand that all these medications have nothing to do with the cancer treatment I receive. These are medications to relieve the side effects of the cancer treatments. Check it out below.
| Medication | Dosage | Purpose |
| Jardiance | 10mg 1x | Lowers A1c, combats heart disease due to Herceptin infusion |
| Claritin | 10 mg 1x | Holy Cross recommends to prevent bone and joint pain when receiving white blood cell booster injections |
| Allegra | 180 mg 1x | Originally to combat itching prior to surgery but I use it when Claritin doesn’t work |
| Tramadol | 50 mg 1x | Narcotic for pain |
| Cyclobenzaprine | 5 mg 1x | Skeletal muscle relaxant – I have mini-muscle spasms all through the night |
| Temazepan | 15 mg 1x | A stronger version of Xanax – used as a sleeping aid in my case |
| Prednisone | 5 mg 2x | To wean me off the steroid Dexamethasone |
| Dexamethasone | 4 mg 1x | Helps counteract the effects of Taxol and Herceptin. I took a dose the night before an infusion and received a dose during the infusion |
| Alprozoam | 0.5 mg 1x | Basically, Xanax to reduce anxiety – not that I have any |
| Ondansetron | 8 mg 1x | To prevent nausea from chemotherapy |
| Cephalexin | 500 mg 1x | Antibiotic prescribed during all the surgeries |
| Prochorperazine | 10 mg 1x | Anti-psychotic and anti-nausea drug |
| Budesonide | 3 mg 1x | Decreases inflammation in digestion tract. This was for all the effects of diarrhea |
| Loperamide | 2 mg 4X | Prescription Imodium-AD for diarrhea |
| alpha lipoic acid | 600 mg 1x | To treat numbness in toes and fingers |
| Gabapentin | 100 mg 1x | Anti-convulsant to decrease seizures |
| Diphenoxylate Atropine | 2.5 mg 4x | Prescription Lomotil for diarrhea |
That’s 17 drugs and doesn’t include the Pepsid and Zofram and Benadryl they injected during the infusions. It also doesn’t include the urinary ketone test strips required when I take Jardiance. What sticks in my mind is the old scientific law “for every action, there’s an opposite and equal reaction.” How much of what I’m going through is the Taxol/Herceptin treatment and how much is affected by the medications to treat the side effects?
On the 23rd of October blog I put a time line of diagnosis, surgeries, treatments to help me keep things straight. Holy Cross has now provided me additional dates into January for treatments. Here’s the breakdown in case you are curious.
| Date | Treatment/Visit |
| October 27 2023 | Hydration infusion |
| November 3 | Hydration infusion |
| November 7 | Herceptin infusion |
| November 8 | Dr. Fingado for arthritis in hands |
| November 10 | Hydration infusion |
| November 17 | Hydration infusion |
| November 28 | Herceptin infusion |
| November 29 | Acupuncture with Dr. Sear/Dr. Dunhill Wellness check |
| December 1 | Hydration infusion |
| December 8 | Hydration infusion |
| December 15 | Hydration infusion |
| December 18 | Dr. Burgers post-op visit |
| December 19 | Herceptin infusion |
| December 22 | Hydration infusion |
| December 29 | Hydration infusion |
| January 5, 2024 | Hydration infusion |
| January 9 | Herceptin infusion |
| January 12 | Hydration infusion |
| January 29 | Dr. Tepper Cardiologist |
Somewhere in here I’ll have another echocardiogram or MUGA scan – probably in January.
Forgive any typos. With the numbness in my fingers, I can’t feel the little bumps on the “F” and “J” keys to find the home keys and sometimes when I type, I’m on the wrong letter.
Stay tuned!