Arrived at hospital at 8.30 for my first shot of chemo with my wife - good to have her back with me for this one (she missed the kidney function test - which is the only appointment she hasn't been at so far - did'nt like it - it felt wrong). we were both understandably a little on edge as didn't really know how it was going to go.
Started in a reception area with a few other (what turned out be to) newbies to this too, all having different types of chemo obviously. We all went through an orientation session where they explain what's going to happen, all very friendly and upbeat, made me feel more comfortable. The talk was followed by a short video - the main purpose of which was to drive home the importance of contacting the chemo department if you experience any cold / flu-like symptoms during treatment - this is critical as your body's white blood cell count will be low and therefore less able to fight off infection -possible visit to A&E required for anti-biotics via cannula.
Next, a one on one chat with your allocated nurse. She explained possible side effects and the process, then sign a consent form and we're off.
Step 1: bag of saline solution to flush the kidneys via cannula, didn't have the whole bag, but this went on for what must have been an hour. At the start of this there was also an injection of steroids (also via cannula) and an anti-sickness tablet.
The strangest bit was the steroid injection, nurse said it will feel like you have "ants in your pants" - I assumed she meant that I would feel twitchy and on edge when the reality was a lot more literal - I actually felt like I had ants in my pants - for maybe 30 seconds I had an intense tingling sensation between my legs which was one of the strangest feelings I have ever had. This subsided quickly.
Step 2: bag of chemo turns up, now I was starting to get nervous, but it was done in such a casual way that I didn't really get a chance to think about it - very little ceremony, just switch the saline drip over to the chemo, speed up the drip and I was off.
This was all being done in a communal room with what was now 13 other patients - 8 women and 5 men (my wife counted), and I watched people get hooked up to what seemed like some pretty big bags of chemo, some were in for a few hours doing multiple bags. I was quite relieved to see that my bag wasn't as big a some others, and the drip was set for one hour. The bag was pretty much the same size as the saline bag.
The older lady sitting opposite me said that she always got some pain in her arm so always requested a heated pad that you can lay on your arm to relieve this when the drugs were being administered. I was obviously paying close attention to what it felt like going in, but couldn't work out if it felt cold or hot - definitely felt something - but after a while that feeling subsided and all was well.
I watched a programme on my ipad downloaded from BBC iPlayer and by the time that had finished so was the bag. as the place is so busy, you tend to be finished with machine bleeping away for a little while before you're unhooked, but they warned us about this in advance. Eventually they removed the bag and attached another saline bag that they flushed through for five minutes, and that was it.
I was given anti sickness drugs and steroids to take home, with specific instructions on when to take them. I also got lots of paperwork with phone numbers to call and details of my NHS number etc. to carry round with Me.
Overall, it was a bit of an anti-climax really, didn't feel any different Immediately, so we went off to the pub to have lunch and a pint (I was told to carry on as usual where possible -but to listen to my body for signs of tiredness etc. - and yes, beer was allowed, but not recomended in large quantities as it would just make me feel more sick than I was already likely to feel - why make a bad situation worse?).
By the time we reached the pub I was feeling slightly groggy - the closest feeling I can think of is being stoned but without the drive to fall asleep - I was VERY hungry and had a steak sandwich and chips - had a single (low percentage) beer and felt fine. I think eating afterwards is a good tip as it tends to settle your stomach (I've since found out that eating is a good thing all round!).
For the rest of the afternoon the groggy feeling was replaced by feeling a little wired - definitely more alert and awake than usual, must be the steroids. Went home, had a lay down, but couldn't really settle. I did eventually grab 30 minutes sleep, which I was pleased about as some had said it was difficult to sleep on the first night - gave me hope for a favourable outcome.
So far, no feeling sick, not particularly tired. All very positive and nowhere near the kind of impact I was expecting.
Had some cheese on toast for tea, and some ginger cordial purchased from sainsbuy's as an additional measure against nausea. After watching a couple of catchups of the Tour de France, I Went to bed to try to sleep. Glad to report that was a success - although it took me longer than usual, I dropped off nicely. And only woke to have a pee a couple of times - considering I had made the effort to drink lots of water, not too bad really.
More updates to follow.
Simon
