kvolland
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Caroline –
I have taken Oxycodone off and on for years due to a fouled up knee surgery years ago. I can definitely say I an NOT addicted to it but it makes life so much better at times. The medications are usually prescribed as every 4-6 hours AS NEEDED for pain so you only take it when the pain is really to a point that it makes you uncomfortable. If at night seems to be the worst then maybe just one at night before she goes to bed and see how that does.
The other way is to use that pain scale of 0-10 with 0 being no pain and 10 the worst pain she ever has….pick a number that she doesn’t like it getting higher than like say 4 and dose as it gets to 4 or is at 4. Keep track of when she takes it and how well it works ie she took it a 9am at a 6 and it made it a 2. That helps you decide when you need to ask for an increased dose.
There is nothing wrong with asking for an increased dose either, it does not mean addiction it just means your body is having more pain and it will take more to achieve the same effect. Your body also gets used to the pain med so it may take more to achieve the same results.Biggest side effect is constipation and there are a variety of over the counter things you can do to counteract that. The other one that happens occasionally with some people is that it makes people jittery and awake rather than tired and sleepy. If that happens ask for another med. The first couple of times she takes she should monitor carefully how she feels and definitely not drive until she knows how it affects her.
I am a big fan of using pain medications when one is in pain. There is so much negativity about pain meds due to the media (some of it understandable and justified) but there is no reason for one to be in pain. Always remember if you have any effects that you don’t like on one medications there are others.
Hang in there and we are always here if you have any questions.
KrisV
Getting your radiology results and sometimes lab results means asking whoever did them. I know that with some hospitals and clinics those two things are actually outsourced to another provider and all your doc sees is the reports or looks online to see the actual film. And I know for labs at Providence where I work, you need to ask the lab for them since they are a contracted provider.
I would ask your doc’s office or look at your Explanation of Benefits from your insurance to see who they paid for those. You may have to fill out a release for your medical records for them too but it’s easy.
Also look at see if there is an online portal for your clinic. At Virginia Mason we are able to log on to our health record and print out labs. We still have to call and specifically ask for radiology.
You probably will need to send the labs and radiology films/CD’s to get an opinion or they will have you come and do it with them.KrisV
Lainy –
Things are going pretty good. I am afraid to brag too much since I am sure that will cause issues. He just finished round 8 with 4 more to go. Numbers are all great. He’s only a tiny bit anemic but not enough to worry about. Platelets good. White count is elevated….he has another sinus infection so started antibiotics last night. We’ve actually both been working.
Our son is three hours away at college and is doing good too. Started therapy finally for his shoulders.
Our chiropractor has a massage clinic next door so I get a massage then see him if needed. They know the full story so I get a break on the cost too. Great people. It amazes me how thoughtful and generous people can be.KrisV
Dorien –
You are right about not knowing where we will be. This with both husband and son this summer had really moved that to the forefront for me. We try really hard to live each day today and not worry too much about tomorrow (try is the key word, I struggle with that one some days). I am constantly taking pics which sometimes drives my family nuts.
And being the caregiver is tough….you have to make time for yourself too. I have every other Friday as MY day. It’s between chemo doses and I have the day off anyway so I do what I want…..I usually get a massage and then laze around the house. Everyone knows that is my day and try to leave me alone. The only exception is if someone is sick then of course I lose it. I found that helped quite a bit once I was able to.KrisV
Okay, I will have to give the baking soda a try since having my gallbladder out I limit the acidic foods since it give me heart burn. That would give me one more thing I could add back.
Caroline –
Welcome to our little family here. So sorry you had to join but you will find the support above par.
As for traveling and eating out, my husband and I have been fairly regularly although we try to limit his being out from days 7-11 after chemo as our ONC told us that is when his counts would be the lowest. And we try to stay away from any place that has crowds so sometimes we limit family interaction during that time (all of our immediate family had their flu shots to that helps and NO ONE is allowed around it they are sick). Hand sanitizer is great although I might suggest one more….some sort of anti-microbial wipe…there are a lot of different wipes even something like Lysol bleach wipes or something like that. We use them to wipe surfaces down such as grocery carts and things like tabletops at restaurants. They can be used once and tossed.
The other thing I might suggest is making sure that meats are well cooked rather than anything that is on the rare side.KrisV
Fouad –
The pain from constipation can be pretty uncomfortable so getting that taken care of would be the best.
There are several things that may help. Lactulose certainly would and it can be given at varying doses to help….more if needed.
You could also try Stool Softeners something like Docusate Sodium which helps make it easier to pass and then Senokot which is a natural fiber laxative and can be given twice a day to help (up to 8 tablets a day – 4 tablets twice a day).
Sometimes even prune juice heated up a little can help and you can do a “Brown Cow” which is prune juice with milk of magnesia in it….works pretty well.Talk to your hospice/palliative care people and they should have suggestions too.
Good luck with this.
KrisV
Dorien –
Sounds like things went pretty good. I guess if having the Y-90 would have my husband cleaning bathrooms I would be all for it.
I think having the holidays off for chemo would be great. We luck out and don’t have the chemo the actual week of the holidays except New Year’s so it won’t be too bad. Have some great holidays and enjoy the family.KrisV
Mary –
Welcome aboard the roller coaster no one really wants to ride. So sorry you had to join us. I am with everyone else on the site….keep asking questions and get as many opinions as you feel comfortable with. My husband’s tumor came from the same area and was encroaching on the portal vein but he was able to have successful surgery in June….14 hours but they said they got it all. Only one lymph node was positive. He is now just over halfway through his 6 months of chemo to follow up.
We didn’t get any other opinions although it turned out alright anyway. We got lucky. Looking back on it I guess I would have done more research and asked more questions. Although I am not sure I would have changed anything.
Good luck and keep us posted.KrisV
Hi Don –
You already got the answer about he mm to cm ration. The mL or ml is usually referred to as milliliters and is used to measure liquids. On one of my husband’s CT’s they used ml’s to quantify the amount of ascites they thought he had. I would think that they were using ml’s to estimate some sort of fluid collection but without seeing the report I wouldn’t say for sure.
And second, third and even fourth opinions are wonderful. Keep us posted on how you are doing.KrisV
Nikki –
Our oncologist told us not to worry about it. It was 75 at the beginning of chemo and he says it is trending downward but he doesn’t tell us the exact number. He also said that a lot of different things can affect the CA-19 including having had surgery. My husband had a Roux-en-Y which is similar to the Whipple in June but does not involve the pancreas, just the liver and bile ducts. He said that we are more worried or more looking at the CT scans to see if there is any visible disease. So far we have to evidence of disease.
I would do some more reading on it too because I am sure that I read somewhere that it’s not a definitive test for CC like it can be for other cancers……but I can’t remember where and if I really did read it…..too much on the brain.KrisV
Susanne,
Sounds like wonderful news. Hope that you get your wish for Christmas. And I will keep my fingers crossed that the ferries are all running and you are blessed with wonderful weather when needed.KrisV
Aticon –
Sounds like things are going so well for your mother. Wising her – and you – all the best. And the words resection are the best in the world to hear with this disease. We will all be keeping out fingers crossed for February.KrisV
Dorien –
Good luck to both you and Kyle. Here’s to hoping that all goes well and as expected. Wishing you both well.KrisV
Mary –
So sorry I didn’t answer your question sooner but I think you may have already found the answer. I really don’t think that the flavor of the Milk of Magnesia matters. Sorry that the Senna is giving cramps. That usually works without doing that.
One thing I can say is that if you stools are still pretty hard, I would increase the Colace a little more.
Lactulose can work too although sometimes it works too well. Some people have a problem with the taste though….it’s pretty sweet. It will still work if you mix it with something like orange juice. Also if you are diabetic it will affect your blood sugars.
Also something else that can work well for some people is sugar-free candy. The sweetener they use in that can loosen you up….ask my youngest son after he ate a whole bag of sugar-free cough drops one day. It was funny and I only felt a little sorry for him since I told him to stay out of them.
Who would have ever thought that our world would be reduced to worry about when we used the bathroom? Drives my husband nuts because I am always asking. Right now we hit it pretty aggressive just before chemo so he’s a little loose before we do chemo. It does seem to be getting a little worse with every dose so now we have added Dulcolax 5 mg 2 tabs twice a day for a couple days and he had glycerin suppositories.Good luck with it all! It’s really no fun.
KrisV
At least you are prepared to ask questions about surgery going into it. We were in such shock about the diagnosis and the cancer word that I don’t think either one of us could even tell the doc our names. It had been drilled into my head to ask questions and seek out second opinions but we just rolled along with it. And are so lucky that it turned out good.
I am happy for you that things are to the point that surgery can be an option. I will keep my fingers crossed that it all works out for you.KrisV
