Monday, December 7, 2009

I'm getting sick and tired of being sick and tired...

Day 11 of this cold, which remains in my chest and sinuses. No real change -- it doesn't get worse, but it doesn't get better. I don't have a fever, there's no sign of infection or anything like that -- but I don't have the immune system needed to clobber it.

I'm getting very tired of coughing all the time. I remember when I had just left the hospital earlier this year, I was literally coughing about 200 times a day. I remember starting to go stir crazy from it. I'm not there, but I'm probably at 75 times a day and it's very irritating.

I could tell last night that I was going to have trouble sleeping so I took an Ambien and I got a good six+ hours. I don't want to become reliant on the stuff but I had to get rest to break the cycle.

The plan, based on feedback from some of you here and some other folks as well, is to use Tylenol PM tomorrow night and see what that does. I may also, depending on whether or not the clinic approves this, take the dex at night instead of in the morning, with the hope that I will be wired on Wednesday morning and that by Wednesday night it will be hopfully on its way down. If I can get by with 1-2 nights a week of Tylenol PM, that would be great. However I don't want to screw up the cadence of administration -- the dex, Revlimid and Velcade synergies are important so I'm going to clear this concept with the clinic.

Have a good week, folks! At some point soon, I'm going to post all my blood numbers over time so that we can look at the impact the therapy has had on everything. I'm sure you will be on the edge of your seat waiting for that! :P

6 comments:

  1. Good luck on kicking the cold... Most of my M/M blog friends have it including me. I'm also on about the 10 -12th day with the stupid thing. I'm no where close to where you are, with the M/M cancer but it is still a bother. I also hope that you get to change your schedule for a better nights sleep!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agreed, same cold here....on day 15...starting to see signs of maybe an end...just has knocked the crap out of me...so remission does not me immune system restored...

    ReplyDelete
  3. that should have read.....so remission does not mean immune system restored....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry you're still fightin' the cold...rest, rest, rest!!! I've always found that drinking absolutely obnoxious amounts of water (ie. over a gallon a day) helps me get over a cough more than anything else. Drinking sodas, in particular, seems to actually make it worse, so I try to avoid those when fighting a cold. Water and OJ!

    Positive thoughts, immune-system-boosting vitamins, and any some spare white blood cells heading your way! :-)

    Craig

    ReplyDelete
  5. I had colds off and on since transplant in April. In October my nasty cold and cough was actually a stubborn sinus infection found during a Pet scan. So I must have had it for quite a while. Put on 20 days of antibiotics. The Dr. has now put me on IVIG (Immunoglobulin IV) once a month through the winter to boost my immune system. I had the first infusion in mid November. Have not had a cold or infection so far.
    keeping my fingers crossed. Kris

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's not that couples don't want their relationships to work; they just haven't been taught how to make them work, which leaves them unable to negotiate the relationship "minefield" in most cases successfully. Therapist Cincinnati

    ReplyDelete