The Good
Yesterday (Gemzar only), was my last treatment in round one. Compared to cisplatin, gemzar is very tolerable--I haven't taken a single anti-nausea pill in a week.
Only two more rounds to go.
The Bad
My veins have grown increasingly shy, and need a lot of poking and prodding and pushing the IV needle around searching for a workable spot. Needless to say, this is painful and requires the ipod volume to be turned up another notch. And gemzar--unlike cisplatin--burns when it goes in. But, it's a short session, and I was in-and-out in an hour.
My platelet count, in one week, has dropped from 187,000 to 77,000. In a normal adult, the platelet count is about 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. If platelet levels fall below 20,000 per microliter, spontaneous bleeding may occur and is considered a life-threatening risk. That's one of the effects of gemzar, but I was more than a little surprised at how dramatic the drop was. Next week is my week off before the second round, so the numbers should rebound somewhat.
The Ugly
I discovered today that one of the main ingredients in saline IV drips is dihydrogen oxide (also known as dihydrogen monoxide), which has been used for years as an industrial solvent and is a major component in acid rain.
Dihydrogen oxide is composed of hydrogen gas--very explosive--and oxygen--an ingredient in battery acid. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It contributes to "greenhouse effect," is used in nuclear powerplants, as a fire retardant, and may cause severe burns.
After learning this, you can imagine how ill I felt. I went straight to bed and was far too sick for dinner.
Update:
Oops. My wife just informed me that dihydrogen oxide is another word for H20--ordinary water. Suddenly I feel much better.
