On Monday Karen got her first injection of the drug at about 8:45am. Flu like symptoms seem to be common with these immune system oriented treatments. So around 1pm, over 4 hours after the injection, Karen started getting these flu like symptoms. It started with a headache and some neck cramping, followed by a fever, chills, and nausea shortly after that. And in another 15 minutes all of her muscles were shaky and cramping, along with miscellaneous aches and pains. All of this triggered a migraine, but she had her migraine medication with her and they OK'ed the use of it. She had to take several different medications to help with the nausea. They give her Tylenol about an hour before the shot, so she was able to take more as it wore off. The worst of it seemed to pass in an hour, and she slowly recovered over the day. She still had a small headache in the evening along with a little nausea, but after taking some more medication she seemed quite comfortable and was able to eat. A small dull headache seemed to follow her halfway into the following day, but by the end of the second day, the only symptom that persisted was sleepiness.
Today's treatment starts later in the day, perhaps because we don't have to be around so long for observation. Also, with the shorter observation period we will be back home before the symptoms hit. Hopefully, she'll be more comfortable at home. I believe we have all the medications they gave her Monday, at home already, from past rounds of chemo. I'm a little concerned her reaction may be worse this time around since the side effects of chemotherapy were worse the second time around. However, the nurse has suggested the symptoms might not be as bad. So I'm not sure what to expect.
