Your normal neutrophil count is between 2,000 and 7,500 per cubic millimetre of blood. When you don't have enough neutrophils you are said to be neutropaenic.
Chapter 9b - the medicine cupboard is not big enough
In the first few days of chemotherapy, we designated a bedside cupboard for the nasty medicines, and fitted a padlock to it. Eriska is fascinated and loves to rattle and pull the lock.
As my side-effects multiply, the proliferation of prescribed medicines is remarkable.
During cycle two (of which I have reached day 19 of 21) I had a perpetual runny nose, and I felt washed out more of the time. As in cycle 1, I was prescribed antibiotics for a week. At about 7 days, I developed a couple of sore patches on and inside my lip. One of them was simply caused by my accidentally biting myself while enjoying a delicious meal provided by a kind neighbour. They were the sort of sore patches that I'd normally expect to heal up and go away, but they stayed and grew and became steadily more painful. So, last week, I went to my GP, who prescribed mouthwash 2 and goop 1, and who encouraged me to phone the hospital; the hospital said "come on in", so, after a lovely bike ride, I spent most of the next day waiting to be seen, and then was given mouthwash number 3 and a new antiviral medicine and was advised to use goop number 2. The antiviral thing is five tablets per day, on top of the 8 tablets per day of capecitabine (cytotoxin), 4 tablets per day of omeprazole (to reduce stomach acidity), and 2 iron pills per day (to reverse my anaemia).
The viral infections have been making me feel quite glum - aching teeth, sore ulcers both keeping me awake at night; ulcers sometimes very painful while eating; general grottiness.
Today I went in to the hospital for my end-of-cycle check-up and told them how I was feeling. The doctor prescribed mouthwash number 4 (to replace mouthwash 3) and mouth-spray number 1, and put me on a new course of antibiotics (2 pills per day). He also recommended using over-the-counter goop number 3. And told me to stop taking the chemotherapy pills for a few days, to give me a chance to recover. (Hurray!)
It turns out my neutrophil count has dropped in the last 12 days to 0.48 billion per litre. (Normal range is 2-7.5 billion per litre.) So I'm especially vulnerable to infection, and my next chemo cycle is being postponed a week, because of both the neutropenia and the slow-to-heal mouth ulcers. I've been told if I have any signs of having a temperature, I should not even wait to phone the emergency number, I should just go straight to the hospital as quick as possible.
To cheer myself up, I aim to read a Lord Peter Wimsey novel.
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| A Red Admiral in our garden on a very sunny Sunday. Notice her black and white stripey antenna! |
Chapter 9b - the medicine cupboard is not big enough
In the first few days of chemotherapy, we designated a bedside cupboard for the nasty medicines, and fitted a padlock to it. Eriska is fascinated and loves to rattle and pull the lock.
As my side-effects multiply, the proliferation of prescribed medicines is remarkable.
During cycle two (of which I have reached day 19 of 21) I had a perpetual runny nose, and I felt washed out more of the time. As in cycle 1, I was prescribed antibiotics for a week. At about 7 days, I developed a couple of sore patches on and inside my lip. One of them was simply caused by my accidentally biting myself while enjoying a delicious meal provided by a kind neighbour. They were the sort of sore patches that I'd normally expect to heal up and go away, but they stayed and grew and became steadily more painful. So, last week, I went to my GP, who prescribed mouthwash 2 and goop 1, and who encouraged me to phone the hospital; the hospital said "come on in", so, after a lovely bike ride, I spent most of the next day waiting to be seen, and then was given mouthwash number 3 and a new antiviral medicine and was advised to use goop number 2. The antiviral thing is five tablets per day, on top of the 8 tablets per day of capecitabine (cytotoxin), 4 tablets per day of omeprazole (to reduce stomach acidity), and 2 iron pills per day (to reverse my anaemia).
The viral infections have been making me feel quite glum - aching teeth, sore ulcers both keeping me awake at night; ulcers sometimes very painful while eating; general grottiness.
Today I went in to the hospital for my end-of-cycle check-up and told them how I was feeling. The doctor prescribed mouthwash number 4 (to replace mouthwash 3) and mouth-spray number 1, and put me on a new course of antibiotics (2 pills per day). He also recommended using over-the-counter goop number 3. And told me to stop taking the chemotherapy pills for a few days, to give me a chance to recover. (Hurray!)
It turns out my neutrophil count has dropped in the last 12 days to 0.48 billion per litre. (Normal range is 2-7.5 billion per litre.) So I'm especially vulnerable to infection, and my next chemo cycle is being postponed a week, because of both the neutropenia and the slow-to-heal mouth ulcers. I've been told if I have any signs of having a temperature, I should not even wait to phone the emergency number, I should just go straight to the hospital as quick as possible.
To cheer myself up, I aim to read a Lord Peter Wimsey novel.
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