Hey Friends!
It's been a busy week - I spent time away from home and away from the doctor's office, hard to believe I know. It started Tuesday with a day at work. Actually only about 4 hours spent at the store helping out with a project but it seemed like a full day.
Now on to the reason for the title to this blog posting - Jessie and I had a great invitation this week from our friends Jerry and Anna. Jerry offered to push my formerly-fat-rear-end around the State Fair in a wheelchair for a day. What a tremendous offer! So Friday we met them in the handicap parking area and got to tour some of the fair. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the most cooperative-it was in the 90's with similar humidity so we spent a large chunk of time in the air conditioned buildings studying the ginsu knives and cookware offered by eager vendors. No sales here though! So a special thank you to Jerry & Anna - I never would have gone to the fair without you!
Another exciting event this week was Jessie's family reunion on Saturday. The maternal side of her family does an a good job holding an annual reunion in Waupaca. However I admit even after 30 odd years of attending this event I forget more names than I retain. And how many more kids get added every year? It's just too much to keep track of. Anyway, we enjoyed catching up with the people I do remember and talk to more than once a year. It was relaxing because we drove up Saturday (another stinky hot & humid day), stayed overnight, and drove back today.
As far as the health update portion of this blog post it's been so-so. Definitely still better than last month but I've been struggling with a few episodes of nausea again. I still don't have a handle on why it happens or what triggers it but I've started keeping notes on what I feed myself, the amount, and the speed. I'm hoping to discern some pattern soon.
Thanks for checking n on me again - I really appreciate your support. Thank you for the prayers and love sent my way.
Be Well - Be Blessed!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Finally Some Progress!
Hey friends!
I finally have some good news to report! I bet you were getting really tired of listening to me whine all the time, but I now can tell you that my stomach feels MUCH better than it has in at least a month. So what happened? I'll tell you that it took a logical approach by me that finally got us on the right track. I told you last time that I had several appointments last week and hoped for better results. At the first appointment I could tell no one had any new ideas so I said "How about we go back to the medicine routine I was on before all this started?". They said that was not a good idea because I had such severe hip pain before the changes were made. I said you are right but we made several changes at once and we have been guessing which one or which combination is causing the stomach issues. Let's go back and make changes one at a time and see what happens. I'm willing to risk pain for a while as long as I know it's only for the short term. They looked at me like I was some kind of idiot but I got everyone to agree. And guess what? It worked great! I am back on the patches (and only half as many as before) for long term relief and liquid oxycodone for relief from breakthrough pain and I couldn't be happier with the results. Very little hip pain and a much more contented stomach. Sometimes you have to look past the experts and apply a little logic in order to get where you want to be!
Another thing that helps is I've changed the way I feed myself. Instead of manually pouring my formula into my feeding tube I am using a drip bag. It's kind of like an IV setup where I put the formula in the bag, hang it up, and then let it drip into my tube. Doing it this way means I can control the speed much easier. Feeding slower means less issues as well. Plus there is the added benefit of having my hands free so I can work on the computer or read while I "eat". It works great!
So it has been over a week since I made these changes. They said it would take a full week for all the old meds to be flushed out of my system and that would be the real test if the new protocol is working. Well it definitely is! I plan to continue this until something changes that forces me to change. But so far so good!
I am still on the Nexavar, that has been about 6 weeks now. At the end of this month I will have scans and lab tests to see if the drug is having any effect on my tumors. I am speculating that the Nexavar may be helping to reduce the pain by shrinking my hip tumors. It's only a guess but we will find out in about a month. Anybody want to make a wager on it?
So I'm glad you got to read some good news for a change. It's much easier to write these posts when I'm not feeling like death warmed over so here's hoping more posts like this one are on the way.
Be Well - Be Blessed!
I finally have some good news to report! I bet you were getting really tired of listening to me whine all the time, but I now can tell you that my stomach feels MUCH better than it has in at least a month. So what happened? I'll tell you that it took a logical approach by me that finally got us on the right track. I told you last time that I had several appointments last week and hoped for better results. At the first appointment I could tell no one had any new ideas so I said "How about we go back to the medicine routine I was on before all this started?". They said that was not a good idea because I had such severe hip pain before the changes were made. I said you are right but we made several changes at once and we have been guessing which one or which combination is causing the stomach issues. Let's go back and make changes one at a time and see what happens. I'm willing to risk pain for a while as long as I know it's only for the short term. They looked at me like I was some kind of idiot but I got everyone to agree. And guess what? It worked great! I am back on the patches (and only half as many as before) for long term relief and liquid oxycodone for relief from breakthrough pain and I couldn't be happier with the results. Very little hip pain and a much more contented stomach. Sometimes you have to look past the experts and apply a little logic in order to get where you want to be!
Another thing that helps is I've changed the way I feed myself. Instead of manually pouring my formula into my feeding tube I am using a drip bag. It's kind of like an IV setup where I put the formula in the bag, hang it up, and then let it drip into my tube. Doing it this way means I can control the speed much easier. Feeding slower means less issues as well. Plus there is the added benefit of having my hands free so I can work on the computer or read while I "eat". It works great!
So it has been over a week since I made these changes. They said it would take a full week for all the old meds to be flushed out of my system and that would be the real test if the new protocol is working. Well it definitely is! I plan to continue this until something changes that forces me to change. But so far so good!
I am still on the Nexavar, that has been about 6 weeks now. At the end of this month I will have scans and lab tests to see if the drug is having any effect on my tumors. I am speculating that the Nexavar may be helping to reduce the pain by shrinking my hip tumors. It's only a guess but we will find out in about a month. Anybody want to make a wager on it?
So I'm glad you got to read some good news for a change. It's much easier to write these posts when I'm not feeling like death warmed over so here's hoping more posts like this one are on the way.
Be Well - Be Blessed!
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