food, drink, and my trusty Kindle. And after a session was concluded, I was truly exhausted. That’s why Linda (and sometimes, Adam) came with me, especially for the first several visits.
Almost immediately, I suffered some of Xeloda’s more serious side effects: nausea, vomiting, a fast heartbeat, diarrhea, and splitting skin on my fingers. As a result, I stopped taking Xeloda IMMEDIATELY. Dr. Vacirca advised me that the two-drug regimen would be nearly as effective.
By no longer taking Xeloda, the worst side effects went away. But throughout chemo, I had frequent bouts of nausea and diarrhea. And periodically, my white cell blood count got too low; so I needed to take extra shots. A couple of times, I required an iron IV. For nausea, I was given two drugs to take with meals: Creon and Zofran. They worked quite well; and I still take them. Lomotil helped with the diarrhea. And while it may be hard to believe, during all that chemotherapy time I remained upbeat and optimistic. Yes, I was a lucky man!!
A couple of anecdotes, one serious and the other rather amazing (looking back). Serious: A few times I had to “persuade” the doctors that I was OK to have chemotherapy, when my bloodwork was too iffy. Pleaded was more like it. I explained that I had to be good to go for my daughter’s wedding. That was the driving force for me at the time. They usually went along with me. But I had to get extra medications. And yes, I realize they were looking out for me and my well-being.