A temperature leads to a visit to the Emergency Room

In Todd's fourth round of Vidaza, on day 2, August 12, 2014, he began to get chills and then spiked a fever of 101.5. Anytime a chemotherapy patient gets a fever over 100.4, you are advised to contact your physician because it can be a sign of infection. 

Todd had been having headaches with this round of Vidaza and was taking Tylenol about every 4-6 hours for relief.  He had been feeling flushed and hot mixed with chills.  He covered up with a blanket and then got ready for bed, taking another dose of Tylenol for the headache.  He still felt hot about midnight, when Abby was on her way to bed.  She went hug him and immediately felt heat from his body.  I grabbed the thermometer, and we took it several times to verify it before calling his local oncologist.  The doctor advised him to go to the emergency room to have it checked out. 

Todd was very reluctant to go, he was tired, and by this time the Tylenol was working to reduce his fever.  However, we were concerned that there still could be an infection and feared the Tylenol could have been masking the fever longer than just that evening.  The only thing that convinced him to go was that they could take blood work to verify an infection and that we didn't want to jeopardize the transplant process with an infection that could get out of hand if not treated. 

So, my daughter and I packed him up and took him to the emergency room at our local hospital.  They took blood cultures looking for infections, a chest x-ray, and a urinalysis.  Everything came back showing NO Infection, but his white blood counts were very low: 1%.

He was released after 4:30 a.m.  The flushing, headaches, and itching symptoms as a result of the Vidaza continued through his fifth day of treatment.  No 6th or 7th days of treatment was given in his fourth round due to the insurance cancellation. (See post).

Day 3 of Vidaza, May 7, 2014

Well, there was no good humor today.  Todd had a horrible day yesterday.  He was sick to his stomach, nauseous, and extremely tired.  He had difficulty with hot and cold flashes, where he couldn't get warm or couldn't cool down.  He drank his fluids, but found eating difficult.  He barely got out of bed, and when he did, it was only to sit in a chair.  I was worried; we didn't want this for five more days!

He was actually angry that he was so sick this morning. He was hoping to at least be functional. I had a hard time getting him up and out of bed to go to his chemo appointment, which was at 8:30 a.m. this morning instead of 8:00 a.m.

He said, "I can't believe anyone could go to work while doing these chemotherapy treatments."  He was glad he had put in to take time off work during this time.

He is supposed to try to eat before the appointment, but I could barely get him to eat a few saltine crackers with water and then some hot tea.  Later that morning he had a bagel with a little cream cheese and for lunch a fruit smoothie. 

Before starting his treatment today, the nurse asked how he was and when we explained the nausea, diarrhea, and extreme fatigue, she discussed talking to the doctor about prescribing him some anti-nausea medication.  Luckily, today was the day they gave him Aloxi, an IV administered anti-nausea drug, into his IV 30 minutes before his treatment.  Apparently, they only give this medication to him every other day because it is supposed to stay in his system for a couple of days.  So, that means they gave it to him on Monday but not yesterday.  What a difference this made! 

Today, he felt more like his normal self.  He got around, was able to keep a hair cut appointment, and drive.  There was no way he could have done any of that yesterday.  While he is still suffering from an upset stomach, it is manageable.  He did take a nap after his treatment too, which helped give him some energy before doing anything else.

Tomorrow, we will be asking for more anti-nausea mediation!  If they can't give him more Aloxi, then we will ask for some other kind of prescription anti-nausea to help get him through the day.  We don't want to have another "down" day like yesterday.

To learn more about Aloxi:
http://www.aloxi.com/

1st Day of Outpatient Treatment: May 5, 2014

Todd started his first day of Vidaza. It is given for seven days in a row, usually beginning on a Monday and going through Friday the first week. Then finishing the last two treatments the following Monday and Tuesday. Then the patient needs to wait 28 days before they are eligible to begin a new cycle. How many cycles of Vidaza a patient should have varies depending on the patient and what stage or risk level they are at.

Right now Todd is only scheduled to do one round.

At first he was concerned with the dosage. The doctor prescribed 165 mg. Todd had read on the Vidaza website that all beginning doses start at 75 mg.

So, the nurse verified the dosage. It is 75 mg/meters squared according to your body mass. The 165 ml was the correct dosage according to Todd's height and weight. 

The Vidaza was administered through a IV with saline solution. They put a IV port into the front of his left forearm. This port will stay in until Wednesday, when it will be replaced with a new one. 

Side affects: he was tired and took a nap; his extremities felt cold, and then he woke up very hot, but not sweating. By late afternoon and throughout the evening he complained of a dull headache. 

He was told to drink lots of liquids to help flush out the chemo and to eat as normal if possible. 

More about Vidaza:

www.vidaza.com