Things last time sounded messed up. Well, they got worse, sorta.

They might have gotten one drug alergy right, but that wasn't the ONLY one...

They let me out after a few days... They THOUGHT it was C-Dif... But, in retrospect, my oncologist thinks it was "just" an alergic reaction. :-( Why you may ask... Well, after I recovered from that last stay, we scheduled and I finished my chemo (recall it was two (2) days every four (4) weeks)... And while there, getting my second drug I started spiking a fever... We got it down then and there (okay a few hours later) and called it an alergic reaction (Thank you Benedryl, Ibuprophen and Tylenol). I did get to go home - and things were 'okay'...

Meanwhile, they had me on a drug (propylactic) to keep me from developing PCP again. Every time I took that drug - 30 minutes later, I'd feel like pin pricks all over my body off and on for about twelve (12) to fifteen (15) hours! NOT FUN!

To make a long story short, my doc asked me to get a second opinion... His first reaction was to switch my drugs, but he was having some questioning thoughts... I'd had way more complications than was normal. So - Off to a university medical center to see another specialist... He ordered a big pile of blood tests (all told 24 vials of blood! I think I'd have given less had I been donating a pint!) as well as a PET scan and a MUGA scan. The long and the short was that the old drugs had been doing a good job with my disease, my heart was still healthy and the diagnosis was confirmed. Turns out one of the drugs I was on (only approved about two years) is more toxic than early trials had indicated and the reaction I had was common to 40+% of patients. He recommended I switch back to the older first line regimine. (Apparently the older regimine also has a better track record with longer times of remission as well.) I'm also changing which propolactic med I'm on for the PCP.

I just finished the first week of the new chemo today (it's three days of chemo, then a shot to keep my white blood count from gowing down Tooo low... I get the shot on the fourth day). So far, things seem to be going okay. My skin - while still dry - is returning to normal (whew)... And, the reaction to the drugs? I'm wiped out today (I crashed about 8:30/9:00pm last night...But couldn't go to bed quite yet... Made it through today working, but I'll not be up late, that's for sure.

Oh - and among all of this, I got a few thousand words written - on two different stories (More Hidden Gifts and more of the Bedtime Story - which was put on hold after Gabi passed away - she'd been my editor there)... So, there's a chance I might get something posted before the end of the year! :-)

Life continues. I'll be commuting to the DC area off and on through the end of the year as well... Not sure that's a good thing or not. LOL

Thanks for reading. Hope the tedious details weren't too booring.

Annette