Dosage do-si-do
Yesterday, 6/21 was the first day of summer here, greeted by Ohio's generally unpredictable and sometimes unpleasant summer weather - hot with thunderstorms, heavy rain, humidity. I have always felt bad in that type of weather and yesterday was no exception.
I spent my day driving to an appointment in Columbus with my OSU oncologist, Dr SC - just a checkup. It's only an hour away but somehow fighting the traffic exhausts me - one reason I moved from Columbus 16 years ago. Dr SC seemed pretty pleased with how I'm doing - I have gained weight (about 15 lb since last year this time), I am as active as I've ever been, my side effects are minimal. We reviewed my meds and I outlined the current dosage schedule for Nexavar.
I've always reacted pretty strongly to medications and in the past, when I could take such things, was prone to split over-the-counter drugs in half. It seems that the same holds true with Nexavar. My oncologist in Cleveland, Dr G, has been working with me to adjust dosages since I went on Nexavar in January. With Nexavar, a full dose put me in the hospital, and I exhibited side effects on a half dose (hand-foot syndrome in particular). We dropped to a quarter dose from March to May - no side effects. We increased the dosage to three-eighths from May to June, with no side effects except that my hair started falling out. Last week I moved back to a half dose - too early to tell what this will do. I do notice that I'm more fatigued and I'm not feeling as good as I did on the lower dose - almost not worthy of notice, but there it is.
When I say "side effects are minimal," why would I complain about them? I'm starting to feel a little nauseous, with a little stomach upset, and my toes are starting to tingle. Big deal? Maybe not, but having had a couple months' respite from years of feeling bad has spoiled me pretty badly. I'll consult with Dr G, grit my teeth and see where we go from here. In the meantime I've been showing tumor shrinkage throughout. That does make it worth it in the long run. At least I'm not in a trial where dosages cannot be adjusted - you meet the criteria, you take the dosage being tested, and you go off when/if you can't take the side effects and/or there is disease progression.
I spent my day driving to an appointment in Columbus with my OSU oncologist, Dr SC - just a checkup. It's only an hour away but somehow fighting the traffic exhausts me - one reason I moved from Columbus 16 years ago. Dr SC seemed pretty pleased with how I'm doing - I have gained weight (about 15 lb since last year this time), I am as active as I've ever been, my side effects are minimal. We reviewed my meds and I outlined the current dosage schedule for Nexavar.
I've always reacted pretty strongly to medications and in the past, when I could take such things, was prone to split over-the-counter drugs in half. It seems that the same holds true with Nexavar. My oncologist in Cleveland, Dr G, has been working with me to adjust dosages since I went on Nexavar in January. With Nexavar, a full dose put me in the hospital, and I exhibited side effects on a half dose (hand-foot syndrome in particular). We dropped to a quarter dose from March to May - no side effects. We increased the dosage to three-eighths from May to June, with no side effects except that my hair started falling out. Last week I moved back to a half dose - too early to tell what this will do. I do notice that I'm more fatigued and I'm not feeling as good as I did on the lower dose - almost not worthy of notice, but there it is.
When I say "side effects are minimal," why would I complain about them? I'm starting to feel a little nauseous, with a little stomach upset, and my toes are starting to tingle. Big deal? Maybe not, but having had a couple months' respite from years of feeling bad has spoiled me pretty badly. I'll consult with Dr G, grit my teeth and see where we go from here. In the meantime I've been showing tumor shrinkage throughout. That does make it worth it in the long run. At least I'm not in a trial where dosages cannot be adjusted - you meet the criteria, you take the dosage being tested, and you go off when/if you can't take the side effects and/or there is disease progression.
Labels: side effects
posted by rcclive at
7:15 AM
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