Day seven since I received the Cytoxan (chemotherapy) in preparation for the stem cell collection.
Everything has gone pretty much according to the plan, as far as I can tell. The only exception that I’ve been aware of is that the central line was installed in the jugular vein, not the subclavical vein. Not sure why, no one really bother to tell me. I imagine it had something to do with the location or size of the subclavical vein.
The other bit of information that I misunderstood is that I “would be feel better by Monday”. Now, I’m guessing that was referring to any potential nausea. Which really wasn’t a problem at all because of the good anti-nausea drugs that they gave me for the first four days. But, the ‘feeling better’ part didn’t include the fatigue and wiped-out feeling. It wasn’t until Day 6 (yesterday) that I started to feel like I could probably manage on my own. And then, that has just been for parts of the day. At least I feel like eating now.
Currently I am getting two shots every morning to stimulate the production of stem cells. Probably around day 12 (Monday) or 13, I should be producing enough extra stem cells that they overflow into the blood system and they can be collected. The shots are no big deal. It helps to have “a little” around the midsection. I guess those fat cells don’t have any nerve endings — thats pretty cool.
Just one more big event coming up in the next few days — no more hair. I think this will be more of an issue then I originally planned for. I’ll keep you posted. I may need some emotional support.