6. Unexpected signs of improvement

Mile 3 Downhill, easy
For the first few miles you have to dodge past slower runners who started ahead of you, while being overtaken yourself by the quicker ones behind, but you gradually settle in with those going at your pace. Just don’t get carried away when it seems easy, you might go too fast and think you can keep this up all the way.

It’s obviously too early to judge but I’ve had a boost this week with my back feeling much better, but more of that later.

This week saw cycle 1 day 15, my third visit to Montefiore Hospital and I’m an expert now.  Familiarity with the routine certainly takes away a lot of the stress.  Sue knows her favourites from the lunch menu and we are well armed with books and puzzles to pass the time.  We will soon be asking for ‘the usual, please’ both for refreshments and the meds.

Bloods this week and thankfully I have good, big veins to get them from.  These are tested straight away to make sure I am fit to take this week’s meds.  Our nurse mentioned that, at this stage in the cycle, around days 10 – 14, the platelet count drops, leaving the patient with low immunity, so I think that is what they are checking before they inject the main chemo drugs.

While chatting with the nurse we talked about how this had all come about so soon after I retired and asked her if that was often the case with her other patients. She answered with a silent look that said yes, all too often.

An hour later the results come back and I’m good to go, so it’s time for this week’s Medication of the Mile. Each week I’ll highlight one of the drugs I’m taking, starting with Dexamethasone.

They aren’t really this big. I take ten 2mg tablets, they are tiny and fiddly, but do they pack a punch. I’m pretty sure they make them this small so you have to be careful with the dose. You wouldn’t want to take too much by mistake.

“Dexamethasone mimics the action of a naturally occurring hormone produced in the body. It is effective at killing myeloma cells and can make other anti-myeloma drugs work better. Dexamethasone can also prevent inflammation which can help to reduce pain associated with myeloma bone disease.” From MyelomaUK.

It is by no means just for cancer treatment either, and is used to treat a wide range of conditions including severe cases of COVID.

The side effects are hard to attribute to a particular drug since I am taking so many, but it seems likely that this is the one responsible for my high energy levels, increased appetite and sleepless nights. I take it on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so Thursdays and Fridays I’m buzzing and there’s no need for a proper night’s sleep until Saturday. Others in the Facebook Myeloma support group frequently write about dex days and nights, having snacks all night, watching TV and trying to keep off the online shopping. I’m trying to stick to reading my Kindle in bed overnight. At least that way I am resting my body a bit, though I am getting through the books quicker than usual.

Dex is possibly the drug behind the sudden improvement in my backache this week. A few weeks ago I was limited to standing or laying down, sitting was too painful. Getting out of bed was a struggle, but on Thursday and Friday I was much more agile. I have increased my step count up to about 7,000 a day from less than 3,000 a little while back. By Saturday the effect was starting to wear off but if I get two pain free days a week, I’ll take that.

I have been out and about a bit more this week, meeting up with friends and getting out of the house. I never knew there were so many garden centres. Also, thanks to those friends who popped in for a surprise visit or dropped off a card. It has been great to see you.

With the weather picking up and the days getting longer I’m sure this will continue to lift my spirits. Hopefully my main worry will remain thinking of enough marathon analogies to keep this blog going.