Shake and Bake

This picture shows me towards the end of Day 1 infusion. Literally, shaking from chills and baking because of a fever. I had a warm blanket draped over my head, several layers of warm blankets on me and then my big fleece coat on top of the blankets. I was so cold. (By the way, it's ok if you laugh at this picture, I actually think it looks pretty funny).

I got hit pretty hard on Day 1 with Rituxin. That caught me by surprise because I had Rituxin in 2006 and didn't even blink. That wasn't the case this time. I became dizzy and nauseous within 30 minutes of starting the drug. The nurse gave me an anti-nausea drug which solved that problem. Then my heart rate climbed to around 85 and stayed there. My pulse is normally around 52. My blood pressure dropped adding to the dizziness. Then a severe headache, along with chest congestion, coughing, and the fever & chills all took it out of me Monday.

Tuesday started out much better, fully rested and most of the drug responses behind me. The Rituxin did a nice job of clearing out alot of the cancerous cells from my bloodstream. It also dropped my platelet counts to a low level, but not to a level that requires any action. If my platelets drop too low, I will need a transfusion of platelets. There was also some collateral damage to my red blood cells, making me anemic. Apparently, fairly typical responses from Rituxin. So, I'll take that as a good sign.

I cruised through today with infusions of Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide (cytoxin) not even blinking. I have two more days of those drugs. I feel so good today, that I figure it is the calm before the storm.