Longest Chemo Appointment Ever

   Today I started Taxol and Herceptin. My appointment was at 9:15, but I had to take Kyle to work of course, so I was already up and just left early to run some errands. I definitely need to avoid the Family Dollar near the hospital because the same guy is always there when I go, and he's super creepy and I'm pretty sure he's on drugs.
   I got to the hospital at exactly 9:15, and they hooked up my port and put me in a room right away. They're switching everything over to some new system, so I heard Dr. C in the other room yelling about things not getting authorized in time. I was worried he was talking about me, because he said they would have to delay the start of Taxol until next week, but thankfully he wasn't or they got it straightened out.
   He said the Taxol's usually easier on the blood counts than the previous chemos, but knowing me, that might not be true. And the major side effect to look out for is neuropathy in my fingertips. I can't remember what he said they do to prevent it from becoming permanent. Stop or shorten treatments I guess? I kind of need my fingers, especially if I'm working with computers all the time...
   With the Herceptin, the side effect they're most concerned about is weakening heart muscles. My first MUGA test had a score of 65, and the one I had last week was 55, so the Adriamycin did weaken my heart a little, but Dr. C said the numbers can be somewhat off. I have to get a MUGA scan every three months while I'm taking the Herceptin to make sure it's not doing any damage, and they'd have to postpone some treatments if the score goes below 50. But since Herceptin's not actually chemo, I shouldn't have any other major side effects.
   My blood counts were good (I didn't get the specifics), so I was sent back to wait for treatment. I got a bed this time "in case of an allergic reaction." That was reassuring. The nurse got me started on an anti-nausea med and a steroid, which took about 30 minutes, which I spent reading a book on my (now hacked and even more awesome) Nook ebook reader. But then she came to give me Benadryl through my IV, and from previous experience I knew I was gonna pass out after that. About 10 minutes later, the words on my ebook reader starting jumping around, so I gave up and tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately, the steroids were fighting with the Benadryl, so I was super dizzy and tired, but I couldn't actually sleep. She started the Taxol a little while later, and I got up to pee (for like the 5th time, sooo many fluids), and by the time I got back to the bed, I was past the typical amount when people usually have the bad reactions. So that was good. The nurse told me to let her know if I felt like I was having breathing problems or stabbing pains in my back. I just dozed off again.
   The Taxol took at least an hour, but I don't really remember. The Herceptin was over the course of 90 minutes. They like to do both of them slow the first time "just in case." Next time, I'll just be given a pill for the Benadryl (still gonna knock me out), and they'll do the Taxol and Herceptin faster. I did get a decent nap in somewhere in there, and was woken up by the nurse telling me I was done. She asked if I needed to call someone for a ride. Ha. Yea, my husband still can't drive so that wasn't happening. But I felt perfectly fine after that nap (just had to pee AGAIN). It was 3:50 when I finally left the hospital. Six-and-a half-hour appointment. The next 11 appointments should be shorter..
   The side effects from the previous chemo didn't really kick in until a day or two afterward, so I'll see what I feel like tomorrow. No more Neulasta shots though! We hope. And my fuzzy hair might hang around through Taxol, but we'll have to wait and see.
   Today was also the last day of classes for the Fall semester. Two of my classes didn't have finals and I took their last two tests Thursday and Saturday, and even recorded a narrated powerpoint for a project I had to "present". I got As in both Networking and Databases. My final for Programming Concepts is the 14th, as long as I pass I don't really care about the grade. Those As will balance it out anyway. It's so nice having all this free time after a brutal semester of schoolwork and chemo.