Karen's second injection was Wednesday. The sleepiness seems to be one of the hardest thing to shake when it comes to these new injections. She slept through most of Wednesday, and as such, seemed to sleep through the worst part of it. She didn't have the whole-body joint and muscle pains, although she did get some pains in her hands and neck. Karen thinks the joint and muscle aches she had Monday might be related to the chills she experienced at the same time, and since she was covered so well in bed at home, she didn't get them this time. I think the bigger part of it was just how deeply she was sleeping.
The headaches are another thing that really seem to drag on, even through most of Thursday. I'm not sure if it's because she's prone to migraines, but this is certainly a big source of discomfort. I'm concerned they may start to reach from one injection to the next. She's still getting fevers the day of the injection, and I thought the headaches may be tied to that. This one seemed to come on later in the day Wednesday and didn't break until after 3pm the next day.
That said, we managed the nausea perfectly this time around, despite the fact it was so severe on Monday. There's a pill she takes the night before that helps immensely. The drug is olanzapine, and it's actually an antipsychotic, but given at extremely low doses it helps prevent nausea. She took some Zofran (ondansetron) preemptively after the injection, and managed to go the entire day without nausea.
I guess I'll also mention that since Monday Karen's been having loose stools. This is different from straight out diarrhea and tends to be more regular. She goes once, maybe twice a day. It isn't a big concern for her, especially as she had been struggling a little with constipation before we started this trial. I asked her if she'd rather have loose stools or constipation, and she said loose stools.
She does seem to be feeling close to 100% the night before the next injection. Hopefully we can find some medication to help minimize the other side effects, but we don't see anyone special to help manage the symptoms like we did when we were on chemotherapy. We still have our treasure trove of pills from chemo, and we can always call and ask if it's ok to take something, but I liked sitting down with someone and talking about the symptoms before a treatment. It's something I'm looking into.
I realize it's Friday now, and she has gotten her third injection, but it's easier to say how things went after the fact, rather than post a constant stream of updates. If Karen did develop a dangerous side effect, I would certainly post about it right away, or if things really went south, I'd even call or text friends and family right away. Headaches make her sensitive to light, and the light of her phone - especially in a dark room - can bother her as well. Add in the hand cramps and pains and she might have a tough time responding to texts from friends and family, but please don't be offended or worried if you don't hear back from her right away on the days of her injections: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
