Oxcarbazepine

 01/28/18-08/04/22 - No seizures. 

08//06/22 - I woke up in the ER at Yale-New Haven Hospital (thinking that it was actually a dream for a while) after I was previously and unknowingly taken to Middlesex Hospital due to my first seizure since having brain surgery.

This isn't a very exciting post...

I have now been prescribed 600mg of Oxcarbazepine per day (300mg every 12 hours) to treat the further potential of seizures.

Turn, Turn, Turn...

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

For me, my Journey to Wellness is about to take another turn...

Today, May 12, 2020, I received a call from my ID doctor re: my blood count from Thursday's (05/07) recent test shows that my white blood cell count is dropping. Being that this is the potential issue from the Linezolid that I am taking, I am being switched (again) to a different antibiotic. Tomorrow, I get to go to New Haven for a 3+ hour infusion with a vancomycin-related drug - Oritavancin.
The overall plan is to do this IV tomorrow and Wednesday of next week. Of course, the weekly blood tests on Thursday will continue to happen in order to monitor the future progress of my WBC.
After we (I) am done with the IV next week AND the results from the following blood test, I'll be going back on the Linezolid for another week to finish off the 6-week antibiotic plan...

As it stands, we'll see how things go with this turn...

Wow! (Round 2)

About a year ago, I posted Wow! ...or, Should I Say, "OWWW!"... Today, I m adding to the Wow! of my life experiences.

What I have done all of my life was/is to wake up (at some point of my day), eat my breakfast, and then brush my teeth and other morning routines like shower, shave, etc.

Well, today, my current routine has changed for various reasons.

1. I have a test planned for Covid-19 to makes sure that I am "clean" for tomorrow's surgery.
2. Given my 'planned' surgery for tomorrow, I need to stop eating before 8 pm, tonight.
3. I have stopped taking my supplements due to the surgery (supposed to be clean for 7 days, prior to surgery).

As I type this, we are in the car and heading to the location for the virus test.

Prior to this, I brushed my teeth. Moments after brushing my teeth, I thought about the fact that if I didn't eat breakfast, that would effect my hunger through the rest of the day and tomorrow due to the necessary fasting for surgery.

...excuse my absence for a bit... It's pretty difficult to type this out while on the road (using my phone) to the test...

Well, I'm back home and back on the laptop and running Conan the Barbarian in the background...

Now, according to the note they handed me, the test results will show up on MyChart is 5 days... 

From my personal experience, without the ability to confirm or deny any viral infection, I can only compare my physical condition to those that may appear if I am infected. According to CDC:

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus are:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• New loss of taste or smell.

So far, I have been clear of all of those symptoms! As well, with my experience this morning, I am even more sure of it. 

Over the last couple of months, I have been intermittently fasting through the day(s). Generally, my intake of food has happened between noon and 8 pm. As a result, waking up and brushing my teeth/mouthwash happened 4-5 hours before eating anything.

Today, with my upcoming fasting due to surgery, I decided to shift my intermittent fasting from 12 pm-8 pm to 8 am-4 pm. Of course, I decided to make the shift after I brushed my teeth. That meant that I made and ate my breakfast with a relatively clean mouth. Let me tell ya... while I grew up with the mindset that it made more sense to clean my teeth/mouth after eating my breakfast (as opposed to going through the day with the remnants of the crumbs from my breakfast) and going through the rest of the day with a clean(er) mouth, I'm turning to the idea of brushing my teeth first.

Not a big factor in the survival with life, but..

At any rate, there has been NO loss of taste or smell!

A Change of Pace; Round 2

My current plan is to drop almost all of my vitamin supplement intake for multiple reasons:

1. For at least a week, prior to surgery, I am not supposed to be using ANY supplements. After 6 surgeries, I'm still not sure why I can't use vitamin supplements.
2. The cost of buying supplements.
3. The waste (given my minimal disabilty income) of purchasing single vitamins (A, C, D, E, etc.) and a multivitamin is a little much.

Well, my first reason is probably my least impactful. back in March, when Surgery 7 was originally scheduled, I stopped my vitamin intake. When the surgery was canceled, I went back on my use of supplements. The main reason that I'm thinking of this is that I will eventually have to stop using the supplements prior to the surgery - whenever it finally happens.

The second reason is a little more impactful. With the current situation, income is very limited. The last thing that I need to spend it on is my supplement intake. 

The third reason is just by my own choice. I found a good multivitamin through Vitacost. It uses 2 capsules per day, according to nutritional info. My goal was, and still remains, to use one per day just to insure the intake of the vitamins. It also increases the number of days that one bottle wil last.

So, after I run out of my current stock on hand, my plan is to stick to the multivitamin and the vitamin D until the week before my surgery final occurs. After that, I will re-evaluate how things are going...

A Change of Pace

With the thrill of Covid-19, lots of things have changed while some remain the same... (Now, I have The Song Remains the Same going through my head!)

Today, two days earlier than expected, I received my recent order from Amazon: a case of Bai Puna Coconut Pineapple, Organic Chia Seeds, and Organic Stevia Powder. While I have consumed both the Bai Puna and the chia seeds, this will be my first attempt to use stevia powder. Sure, I hve consumed several things with stevia as a sweetener all ready included on the list or ingredients. The difference is that I don't add sugar/sweetener to anything. For instance, the tea I drink is always unsweetened.
One of the things that I like to drink, though, is Kevita's Lemon Cayenne water kefir. That uses stevia as the sweetener and it delivers only 5 calories per 8 oz. serving. I really like the limit in sugars, the taste, and the probitic effect that the kefir provides. I don't really like the price that one bottle costs, though. The best price that I can find it for is about $3. Not really expensive, but...

So, here's my plan! I'll brew some tea - either green tea or Bigelow's Lemon Ginger tea - and add some lemon juice, cayenne, and the stevia powder. I'll be lacking the benefit of the kefir but I'll gain the benefit of the lemon/cayenne. Bigelow's Lemon Ginger IS marketed as probiotic. It includes the ingredient of Ganeden BC30 probiotic (follow the link to learn more about that).
The RIGHT thing for me to do would be to squeeze my own lemons (and use grade B maple syrup) for the Master Cleanse, but that's not my current goal. I simply want to add the benefits of the lemon/cayenne beverage to my consumption without the price.
For dinner tonight, I'll be consuming about 5g of net carbs for the whole meal... chicken, cauliflower, cheese, and lemon ginger tea with the said added ingredients.

I definitely plan on increasing my lemon/cayenne tea over the next, couple of days. So, we'll see how well the added stevia powder works for me - I may just not like it...

Comedy or Tragedy

I think that I had a dream where I was performing on stage... No, wait... I DID perform on stage for many years of my life. 

What I have recently been thinking, though, is that maybe it would be a good thing to do to return to the stage. However, to do so as a stand-up comic! I mean, I have a LOT to talk about. As well, I could react to my experiences with either comedy or tragedy... The way things currently stand, I'll be going back in for surgery - the current planned date is Wednesday, May 13. The result will be having a dent in my head. Given previous experience with this, said "dent" will be a sizable concave in my head as seen is the following picture:

I am only guessing that the result from the upcoming surgery is going to mimic this appearance.

I could definitely be depressed from the results of my health. I could blame the things that happened to me during my life. I could be sequestered and isolate myself at home.

...Or

I could enjoy the good things in my life. I could share the experiences with others and, maybe, encourage people.

I actually looked in to visiting the hospital after my own recovery to visit the patients. I would share my story and/or get their stories... Basically, just to let them know that they are in the best hands.

While this is still a possibility, I'm not sure if is the best thing for me to do.

Laughter is the best medicine...

The other side of the coin is that stand-up comedy can be a very healing tool to use - not just for the comedian, but also for the audience. I mean, if I can go on stage and just get a laugh from the hole in my head - well, why not? Further, if I can encourage others by relaying my story through humor, I think that would be a great thing. Granted, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I need to revisit my past and construct my comedy bits. While I have worked with comedians - from follow-spot for Jay Leno to security guard for Joan Rivers - and have performed comedy skits and plays on stage with others, I have never been a comedian. So... Why not now?

Seventh Inning Stretch...

May not be the best title for this post due to the fact that the MLB is currently on hold due to the Coronavirus that is going around. This is, however, my own stretch...

I was scheduled for the 7th surgery for my skull to remove the implant on 3/11. It didn't happen because the surgeon, himself, was sick. (Hmmm... Coronavirus?) The surgery has been rescheduled for 4/15. Today, I got the call that ALL surgeries are being delayed even further. Instead of 4/15, I'm looking at 5/13 for the planned surgery.

The good news? I was finally given the permission to WASH MY HAIR! Due to the most recent surgery - and the resulting stitches - I have not been allowed to even get my head wet. I was starting to develop cradle cap! I'm still limited to using baby shampoo to wash my head - but, at least I finally can! As of this writing, I have been able to "clean up" the cradle cap. It didn't happen entirely with the first shampoo but, as of today, I'm all back to normal - well, MY normal at least!

Further, other thoughts have come to mind...
...but, I'll update you on that in another post!

The New Chapter: Whole or Hole? That is the Question!

Six days ago, last Tuesday, I had the appointment to remove the remaining stitches from my head. Unfortunatly, the seam didn't completely hold... I had about 2 mm split open as soon as the stitches were pulled. In the picture below, you can see the scab representing that opening. The 'dimples' also visible in the picture are from the fact that my skin that is covering the insert filling the hole in my skull is extremely thin.

Today, I went back to visit the plastic surgeon, Dr. Alperovich, to see where I can go next. Basically, I was given two options... (I was given these options at the previous visit, but more detail was provided at this appointment):

1) I could go back to having the hole in my skull - thus, requiring a helmet.

OR

2) Have a relatively major step to 'fix' my skull by taking muscle from a different area of my body (likely, from my back - the latissimus dorsi, specifically), replacing the 'plastic' part of my skull with a new one to avoid further infection, and covering my head with the scavanged muscle from my back - sans skin.

This is rather upsetting to only have those 2 choices - neither choice being all that wonderful.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that I'm going with the hole in my head option over the muscle-head option! (After making that statement, I'm even more convinced that that is the way to go...)

I think that the major downside to this part of my journey has resulted in a weight gain that I'm not thrilled with and the relative lack of exercise due to the limitations placed on me by the stitches. I basically wanted to positively effect the recovery of the implant/stitches by strictly following the instructions that I was given. It didn't work...

I was in the best shape of my life - with some difficulties that I had to deal with - when I had the hole in my skull. I had already taken on the keto diet to starve the tumor in my brain and was continuing with that aspect. I was at 15-ish% body fat and at the right-ish weight for my 6'2" height due to the exercise that I was doing. My overall mobility was cosiderably more limited than it was even one year prior, but I dealt with it through other means. (As I finish with this post, I've come to a conclusion...)

My plan is to go forward with keto, exercise, and a hole in my head!

Busy Day...

Today, I had 2 different doctor visits and stopped for a blood test between them.

The first was wth Dr. Baehring. With this, we verified that I have at least two more cycles of Temodar chemotherapy followed by another MRI to judge the progress.
My next cycle will start about 10 days from now and after I get another blood test next week to make sure things are doing well. Also, I'm taking a mini vacation next weekend, so I want to be back home before I start the chemo.
After these next two cycles and the MRI, it is expected that I will be done with chemo!

The second appointment was with Dr. Alperovich. He's the surgeon that has been closing me up after the last 3 surgeries - trying to fix the skin on my skull. In this meeting, we discussed when and where we will be going for the next 6 or so months...
Three weeks from now, I am going in for a CAT scan. This will start the next process. I will have a balloon installed under the skin on my skull. After that, the balloon will be inflated every week for several months to stretch my skin. Depending how it all goes, the plan is to reopen my skull, remove the balloon, and replace the missing bone of my skull with an inactive compound - an internal 'helmet' - that fits the hole in my skull.
The weekly pump of the balloon is expected to start in October, proceed until January or February, and have the rebuilding of my skull after that.
This is not a speedy process!

Here I Go...

Tomorrow, I start the next phase of chemotherapy. Instead of giving PCV another chance, the doctors are switching me to Temodar. This seems to be a fairly basic chemotherapy... For the next 5 days, I'll be starting the day with the anti-nausea Zofran on an empty stomach. 30 minutes later, it's the Temodar - 300 mg of one oral capsule. An hour later, I can go through the day as I normally do. 21 days after the next 5 days, I get to go in for a doctor's appointment to get a blood test and a follow up.

I hope everything goes well...

Wow! ...or, Should I Say, "OWWW!"

Alright, "Owww" might be a little too intense to describe the current muscle soreness; I'm just somewhat surprised by how I'm feeling right now. "Why?" you say?

Well, I'll Tell You...

[music begins playing, the townspeople begin dancing and singing, "He's going to tell, he's going to tell!"]

...sorry for the reference to "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

On Sunday, a delivery was made to my front door... The source was Amazon - the person who ordered it is still unknown. In the box was a 7" Amazon Kindle Fire! Well, that was great! For no other reason, using the tablet meant that I could use my MacBook Pro a lot less! The only downside to the tablet - it doesn't use the Google or Apple app stores. Some of the apps that I would like to use on it just aren't available.

The Good Thing...

My 51st birthday - the first year of the second half-century of my life - was Wednesday, March 20. I decided to look into one of the things that I have wanted to do for a long time - yoga! For one reason or another in the past, I just never had the opportunity to really give it an attempt. Well, while browsing the Amazon app store, I discovered several yoga-learning opportunities. One of them - unrelated to the physical yoga - was 'Brain Yoga.'

"Well! That could be cool!" was my thought. So, I downloaded it. Today - Friday - makes the third day that I have used this app. I'm pleased with the app - even though I really haven't dug too far into it. We'll see how it goes...

Not meant to be my main focus, Brain Yoga didn't end my search... I also found 'Simply Yoga'. This had 2 versions - Free and Pro. While the Pro is only $4.99 and given my lack of experience with yoga, I didn't feel right - or, ready - to be going with the Pro version just yet.

Yesterday, I discovered that the app could be viewed on my Fire TV! This made it a lot easier to view the video while learning how to do the different positions.

The Results...

Well ...hence the title of this post... I AM SORE!

I started my day, yesterday, with free range eggs and grass-fed cheese to make my omelet. After doing some chores, I did some calisthenics like I normally do. I am always trying to improve myself physically.
After lunch of plain yogurt, Garden of Life Protein powder, chia seeds, and hemp seeds along with some KeVita water kefir, I decided the weather was not good enough for me to go for a walk that I wanted to do. As a result, I decided to give 'Simply Yoga' a try. I mean, why would I download an app if I was never going to use it?

I didn't very far into the 'work out'! Due to my current lack of physical abilities, I was unable to do the 'Sun Salutation' movement. I am just not that mobile to work my way from the standing 'Mountain Pose' through the 'Sun Salutation' and back to the standing 'Mountain Pose'.
The third pose - and, my main target! - was the 'Warrior II Pose'. As it begins from the Mountain Pose, I was all ready to go. This went really well - except for the shakiness in my hands by the end of the pose!
The next two poses were the 'Chair Pose' and the 'Deep Forward Fold'. Considering this was the first time for me, I handled them fairly well. I definitely need some work on them, though...
Sixth in line was the 'Tree Pose'. There were two reasons that I couldn't go through it, though. 1) This pose required me to stand, balanced on one leg, and 2) I was already too tired to even give it a shot!

We'll See...

As it goes, we'll see how much more I might be able to handle some of these yoga poses. I'll try to learn more and try to master the ones that I can do. Hopefully, my overall movement and abilities will improve.

Recent Update Re: MY Life, the Universe, and Everything...

42

Thank you, Douglas Adams. I couldn't resist using a quote from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series in the title of this post.

So, on Sunday, I had an MRI to check on the progress from the PCV chemotherapy with an appointment on Monday to review the results... Well, there wasn't any growth from the tumor. The downside is that there was also no reduction in the size on the tumor. The discussion that we had kind of still supported PCV. Basically, it seems to be too soon to really see any positive results.

However, due to the other things that I had experienced from PCV led my neurologist to switch me off of it and onto Temodar chemotherapy. First off, it seems that Temodar is even more simple than PCV. With this, there is a 28 day cycle, but only 5 of those 28 days involve orally taking the Temodar. 23 day later, I'll repeat the cycle. Of course, during the 28 day cycle, I'll need to get blood tests to monitor the results/recovery from the side effects of the Temodar. Otherwise, there is no IV involved like there is with PCV. As well, there are no diet restrictions like the two weeks of the "P" during the PCV. The only similarity is to take the oral meds on an empty stomach.

No Rush to Chemotherapy

Due to the recent (round 4) surgery, we are also not rushing into Temodar. We are going to wait until the stitches are removed before we move forward. Currently, the plan is to have a follow up on 03/15 with the surgeon to do that very thing - to remove the stitches. If it is a go, then I will meet again with the neurologist to plan the schedule for Temodar. Hopefully, once I restart on chemo, I won't experience similar issues with the side effects!

Wishes, Dreams, ... Life

Here it is. I've been writing this 'poem' for a couple of months - really, it has been since surgery #3. I wasn't too focused on it, but just writing down some thoughts as they crossed my mind. Last night was when I really focused on it and decided to make the video behind it, too.

So, here it is... Let me know what you think?

Wishes, Dreams, ... Life

A Busy Two Weeks!

OK, so... LOTS of unexpected events in my life over the last two weeks!  ...and, not for the best.

Today, I returned home from my surgery (round 4) and hospital trip, but here is where it all began...

Monday, January 28 - 

This was day 21 of my PCV chemotherapy - the last day of taking "P" (Procarbazine) during this cycle. Everything had been going just fine - until this point.

Later that day, I started to break out in HIVES! In addition to that, I got extremely dizzy when I stood up. Twice, I had to let Ginger out to take care of her business. She made it out the door....I made to the floor! I didn't pass out, but I totally lost my balance. Fortunately on both occasions, I didn't hit anything but the floor on my back.  No major pain, but we did call 911 the second time and I ended up at Middlesex Hospital. All they did while I was there was to measure my blood pressure in 3 different positions - lying, sitting, and standing. Due to the major drop in blood pressure while I was standing - 61/40!!! - they determined orthostatic hypotension being the cause. They basically just told me to keep hydrated to compete with the results.

Tuesday, January 29 -

After returning home, things went fine - but only for the next day. This time, when the dizziness kicked in, I didn't land as well! As a result, we drove to Yale-New Haven Hospital. They came up with the same diagnosis, but the hives had also really blown up! My arms and feet got really swollen! I was admitted to the hospital, but had to wait for a room. While I was in the emergency, they took a biopsy from one of the hives and started me on Claritin. Things progressed in my visit, got better, and I went home a couple of days later.

Monday, February 4 -

This time, I noticed that the stitched seam in my head had reopened in two places - again! Off to the hospital - again! Once again, I had to camp out in emergency until a room opened up, but surgery was planned for Wednesday. Rae, not having to work on Tuesday, stayed with me hoping to see some progress...

Tuesday, February 5 -

I WAS scheduled for the IV of the "V" (Vincristine) on this day - day 29 of PCV - but that had been cancelled due to the breakout of the hives the previous week. The MRI that was also planned didn't happen (and, I hadn't gotten the results from the biopsy!) Without any other progress, Rae had to go home to get some real sleep before her job on Wednesday.

I got the visit from most of the surgery team. The plan was to have the neurosurgeon present, but only would jump into action if there were problems that he needed to work on. Otherwise, the plan was to have the plastic surgeon to remove the titanium mesh that replaced the section of bone and restitch the seam.

Wednesday, February 6 -

Well, they moved me out of the emergency division into a room. About an hour later, I was headed to surgery...

...a couple hours later, I was back in the room and had a major headache (I wonder why!?!). Recovery began. Considerably uneventful. I had two IV imports, but never had either of them used after surgery. My only negative issues that I experienced during my stay had to do with the seeming miscommunication between the doctors and nurses. Depending on who I talked to, there were different rules for me. No major problems, though.

Friday, February 8 -

As I type this, I am back home. I now have the pleasure (please read the sarcasm) of wearing a helmet any time that I go outside! Considering that my skull is no longer complete, serious damage to my brain could happen with any trip, fall, or other hit to my head. Otherwise, everything should return to normalcy. We'll see how things go over the next couple of days.

MRI?

PCV round 3?

As Chicago would sing, "Where Do We Go From Here?"

Chemotherapy - Round 2, Day 21

Today, I finished with the "P" of the PCV chemotherapy. So far, there really has been no issues with the possible nausea from the medication! I still haven't bothered/needed to take the prescribed Zofran to fight the nausea.
Next Tuesday, day 29 of the PCV cycle, I'm heading to the hospital for the intravenous "V" and have also scheduled an MRI to take a closer look to see if there is any progression of the tumor - positive or negative.

I really need to comment on how blown away I am at the simplicity of chemotherapy for a tumor in my brain! Knowing what I did about chemotherapy - not previously having experienced it, personally - I didn't expect it to be so simple. The only downside - that I have experienced - is the time that I have to spend at the hospital during the cycle. The actual IV only takes about 15 minutes. The visits for the IV take about 2-3 hours! Of course, they have to get the vitals - temp (98.4!), blood pressure (124/82!), weight (164.6!), etc. - and draw some blood to test those levels. While the lab checks the blood, I wait...and wait...and wait. Also during that time, my doctor comes in to do a quick check-up. Considering that the IV visit is only twice during the 29-day cycle, I really can't complain.

Other than the chemo, my focus today was to get some exercise! My goal was to do several sets of the 'kettlebell swing' among other things. Can I just say that I love that particular exercise?!?
I wanted to go for another walk after my weight training, but it is just a bit too cold. I mean, it IS January, after all!

With all things considered, it has been a great day!

Chemotherapy - Day 10

Things are going fine, so far. Rather than wasting your time reading these posts, I decided to only add a 'chemo-post' if things start to go wrong...

Chemotherapy - Day 9

Day 9 - 

Prescribed:

• Procarbazine (Matulane) - 100mg (for chemo)
• Doxycycline, 100 mg (for previous infection)
• also Zofran - 8mg  (to prevent nausea)

6:30 AM - Again, I didn't take the zofran to prevent nausea. There seemed to be no issue, yesterday. If nausea kicks in, I can/will see if zofran works for me... As it is, I only need to take the procarbazine for chemo, today. I still have to avoid the tyramine foods.

8:30 AM - I'm supposed to give it one hour after the "P" before I eat, but I wasn't in a hurry - or, terribly hungry. I ended up cooking an omelet - just eggs and shredded cheese - and I'm not having any issues...

10:00 PM - No issues today. I just took the doxycycline and done for the day. I'm pleased with the way the day went.

Chemotherapy - Day 8

Day 8 -

Prescribed:

• Procarbazine (Matulane) - 100mg (for chemo)
• Vincristine - intravenous (for chemo)
• Doxycycline, 100 mg (for previous infection)
• also Zofran - 8mg  (to prevent nausea)

6:30 AM - While I now have Zofran on hand, I don't want to use more than I need. I'm giving today a test. If procarbazine - the "P" - doesn't cause me to get nauseous, I'm not going to take the Zofran. As such, I only took the prescribed 100 mg of "P," this morning. I'm drinking a lot of water with it.

Today also introduces the need to avoid the tyramine foods. This shouldn't be a major problem, for me. There are many things on the list that I don't like to eat, anyway. The problem is that aged cheese is on the list and I do like to eat a lot of cheddar and Swiss cheese - also, I'm not supposed to eat any beef jerky...

7:45 AM - Breakfast. Here comes the real test for nausea. It's one thing on an empty stomach but, now that I'm eating, we'll see...
At any rate, I'm sticking to the keto diet.

9:30 AM - just got blood drawn for testing the levels before the IV and waiting for the results.

10:15 AM - I just got the results through email! It's really scary that I have access to the results this fast through the internet! Everything looks normal except the BUN - that's a little high. Still waiting for the doctor to approve the "V" as a result of the blood test.

10:45 AM - Doctor meeting... Still waiting for "V" - this time, for the pharmacy to fulfill the prescription.

12:00 PM - Finally heading home. The IV shouldn't have taken so long. Literally, it was a 2 mg dose of the vincristine in 25 g of saline.

The rest of the day was uneventful. No negative reaction to procarbazine or vincristine - yet!

Chemotherapy Begins...

Not an exciting title to this post. Sorry...

Today, 11/16/18, I began the PCV chemotherapy and I decided to log my experience with it. I will be  updating the post as the day progresses and will continue to do so in my real-time.

Day 1 - prescribed:

Lomustine/CCNU, 210 mg (for chemo)
Doxycycline, 100 mg (for previous infection)

5:30 AM - The only thing scheduled for PCV today is one dose of the "C" - lomustine/CCNU (210 mg). Taken on an empty stomach. I was supposed to have a prescription for ondansetron (Zofran) (8 mg) to treat any nausea caused by the lomustine - taken 30 minutes before taking the "C" - but the prescription wasn't issued in time for me to pick it up, yet.
I'll brew some pau d'arco/taheebo tea for the day (my plan is to brew enough to fill one of my 64 oz. growlers for later use).

11:00 AM - So far, so good. No reaction to the "C" but the morning got away from me and I am just getting my breakfast! I was not intending an intermittent fast. I'm taking my multivitamin with my 'brunch.' We'll see how it goes.

5:30 PM - Just got back from the pharmacy to pick up the ondansetron prescription. Fortunately, I haven't needed it! Prepping/eating dinner. So far, I haven't experienced any nausea. With my dinner, I'm taking niacin (500 mg), potassium (200 mg), omega-3 (1500 mg), vitamin D3 (2000 IU), vitamin E (400 IU), and vitamin K2 (100 Mcg).

8:30 PM - Snack for dinner. Supplements: niacin (500 mg), potassium (200 mg), magnesium (160 mg), omega-3 (1500 mg)

10:30 PM - doxycycline

Good Times, Bad Times...

Thank you, Led Zeppelin  - "Good Times, Bad Times, you know I've had my share..."

That's been my share for the last couple of months - good and bad times. As I mentioned in the last post, here, I didn't start with the chemotherapy due to the spiked creatinine levels and potential kidney issues. Well... shortly after that, I ended up back in the hospital for a third surgery! The stitched seam from the second surgery had *popped* open and exposed my brain to the air. As a result of the surgery, I ended up back on vancomycin. This time, they only scheduled 1,250 mg twice a day instead of 1,500 mg three times a day. I didn't have the same negative reaction - Red Man Syndrome - this time!
Due to the possible source of the creatinine spike - muscle soreness - I didn't do ANY exercise during the recovery time... 6+ WEEKS of NO exercise! As usual with vancomycin, my appetite disappeared. This time, I tried to eat every day, but my intake was still only about 1,000-1,500 calories each day. On June 1st, I weighed in at 210 lbs., 24% body fat - fairly normal for me. As of today - Nov. 13th - I weighed in at 160 lbs. and 13.6% body fat! At one point, I was down to 156 lbs. - at 6'2" tall, that's not a terribly healthy weight!

...good times, bad times.

...excuse me for a minute - I need to answer the phone...

Well, while I'm sitting here and typing this post, I got that phone call... Apparently, I should expect a delivery for one of the three components for the PCV chemotherapy - specifically, the "C" - tomorrow morning. I haven't gotten any information regarding the second component - the "P" - as to when I should be receiving that but it will come from a different pharmacy than the "C." As far as the "V" is expected, that is actually an IV that I will have to spend at least an hour at the hospital for.
Once I start the cycle, I will take "C" on day 1. Then, nothing until day 8. On day 8, I start the day with the "P" on an empty stomach and, later, head to the hospital to get the IV of "V" that will take about an hour. I, then, stay on "P" everyday from day 8 through day 21. The last part of the cycle is a second IV of "V" on day 29 BUT, I then need a blood test every week until I restart the cycle. Oh, and an MRI.

...good times, bad times.

More on the "good times" side than the "bad times"...
Given that the doxycycline *apparently* didn't have much impact on the creatinine, I'm back to exercising!