Five days after #6

Doing very well.   Got through 5 days of steroids with only one completelt sleepless night.  The hacking cough has NOT returned !   I'll see if it resurfaces over next couple of days while I'm still taking neupogen type shots to restore white blood cells.  Main issue is very low energy.........I can deal with IT!

We leave on road trip to California on Monday.  Will swing back buy Albuquerque on way home, December 7th  for #7.

Day 1 After #6

Infusion #6 was same old, same old.  Back home first night, steroids wolk me up at 2:00 AM....wide awake till 5:00 AM.  Have moved around slowly all day.  I'm ready for the 5-6 day steroid non-sleep grind!  If that's the worst I got then HEY !     No hacking cough yet.  When I went for infusion I mentioned coughing to infusion nurse and she said that another patient had been given some codiene cough syrup and it worked well.  When the oncologist came by I had a list of all my malidies, including the cough.  She didn't say anything, so I mentioned the nurse's reference to the codiene and asked if I could get some and she said SURE.  You gotta be your own advocate!!  Don't expect a specialist to tend to all of your needs automatically. 

Day 10 After #5

Thursday......after taking last neupogen shot on Tuesday.   The hacking cough and mild bone pain has ceased, very suddenly.  I'm am now sleeping very well.  I woke up on Wednesday morning with a deep dull pain in my lower spine.  Took two over the counter pain pills.... back pain ceased and never returned.

So, as expected, starting with Wednesday PM, all major side effects are gone, except low energy.
I will spend the next week trying to completely recover energy and any lingering remnants of the chest cold that I had.

Day 8 after #5

The chest hacking cough finally subsided enough such that I didn't get out of bed till 5:00 AM last night.  Today is last neupogen shot.  I've got pretty low energy during the day.  Looking for everything to improve starting tomorrow!!

Day seven after #5

I am sleeping much better aftter ending steroids.  Still struggling with chest hacking all night.  Looking forward to seeing how hqacking tapers off after last "neupogen" shot tomorrow evening.  My prediction is that on Wednesday/Thursday hacking will taper off and I'll resume healing of lingering chest cold caught 2 months ago!

Day 6 after #5

Quit steroids on Friday............finally sleeping Saturday night !!! what a relief!  Chest congestion is slowly healing.  I don't really have lungs filled up.  It's like my lungs slowly develop phlegm and I continually cough it out.  When I'm also on steroids, the nights spent awake and coughing are no fun, but I can grin and bear it, knowing that it passes after stopping the steroids.  I'm beginning to feel a little bone pain again, that I assume will abate aftter I stop taking the white-blood-cell-building shots on Tuesday.