First lets start with the "hives." I have had these red marks starting to appear since around the 10th of this month. I assumed they were a normal skin reaction to the meds but when I called my nurses to let them know about them they were a bit startled and said they sounded more like hives and then sent me to same day dermatology (which is a great new thing here btw!!) Doctors there said the same and upped my allergy meds and put me on a topical steroid gel. The red marks are not itchy but man they are painful and sensitive. They started to appear more and more and the same ones were there from the start - they didn't come and go. After about a week of using the additional allergy meds and gel the marks weren't getting better and were increasing in size, quantity and sensitivity. My nurses then got me in to see someone in their clinic who works with cancer lesions and he agreed with me that they weren't typical hives - and most likely were something deeper. He took biopsies of two (dang big biopsies I will say) and we will find out more when those come back.
That night I carried on as normal, took my meds and headed to bed. That's when the side effect party started. Now I have been having chills here and there as well as night sweats for a little over a week so I wasn't surprised that I had some chills. Usually they subside with the help of a good amount of blankets and possibly some puppy snuggles. This night was different. They weren't budging. Then came the joint aches and head ache as well as nausea. Then fever. Then more chills. Then vomiting. More fever. More aches. More nausea. It was not a good night/day. I was able to finally eat something around 3pm and then quickly returned to my cocoon and things seemed ok. I was able to reach my medical team and they decided to pull me off the meds for at least the weekend to let my body rest and rule out whether it is med related or a virus I picked up. That night I had chills, fever, joint aches and night sweats like crazy. It didn't last as long thankfully, but it was still a rough night. I am pretty positive it is med related so it makes me nervous whether or not they will let me continue on them going forward or if they don't feel it is safe since most side effects are compounding. I am thinking they will let me know Monday or at my appointment Wednesday. I guess we will have to just wait and see and just work through these side effects for now and enjoy not being on anything for a couple days at the least.
You never know what to expect with cancer... One day at a time!!
Biopsy #1 (6mm punch)
Biopsy #2 (8mm punch)
They look like nothing hear but there are dozens of the red marks that feel like deep, deep bruises
Looks like a bruised ankle but they are the marks
Life of a Patient!Also look at that neck! Can't even see there were tumors there!!
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