That was actually dose 8. The doctor says that we're done for this week so now I have to recuperate enough to go home. Friday or Saturday I'd guess.

Skipped one dose but I got dose 7 at 7am.

Day 3

Blood pressure up and down. Weakness bad but not as bad as last time. Not holding food down at all. 6 doses so far!

checked in

We got checked in and hooked up. My first dose is coming up soon!

IL-2 part 2!

In a few hours I check in for the next round of IL-2. No more Starbucks coffee every morning! I've got my netbook and mp3 player packed up to keep me entertained with a bunch of podcasts and books downloaded to my newly improved player that now holds 16 gigs! I'm packing a lot lighter this time since I know what I'll feel up for while I'm weakened. Just when my muscles are coming back: kapowie...back I go. Darn. Or yay?

Today will be my last 3 mile daily walk for some weeks. Then its back to the recliner for tv and listening. I still have some numbness in my hands but it's much better. I'm typing now with no increase in numbness although my right hand fingertips are a bit numb. Endurance is still reduced but it had been slowly improving.

I had my last meal out pre-IL-2 yesterday with friends Bob Madore and Bill Newton. A chili-size burger at Keno's--it was very tasty and they were entertaining to dine with as usual. Cheri got me a cinnamon roll for my last home breakfast. After these two IL-2 weeks I'll have to start eating better for the long haul back to normalcy!

So will the side effects hit me right away and limit me to a few doses or will we start fresh and go all week?

Second phase of IL-2

My scan last week showed 5 tumors: 3 shrunk and 2 grew. The doctor suggest that I do the other rounds (week on, week off, week on) of IL-2. On 4/21 I will get a PIC line put in and on 4/25 I go into the hospital to get started. Doctor Quinn doesn't know if the problem with the doses lowering my blood pressure will come back again right away or at all but they'll give me what doses they can and as long as it kick-starts my immune system, which even a few probably does, then we should see results.

Partial response

I talked to the doctor's assistant and she said that I had a partial response to the treatment and that the doctor would like to proceed with the next round of high dose IL-2. There was some shrinkage and some that stayed the same. I go in today with Cheri to set the dates and get more details. And we'll have to hit Phillipe's french dip sandwiches on the way back!

Insurance

My insurance has seemed pretty correct about what it pays except one CT scan at the beginning (9/24/09). They redid it 6 times and it came back the same every time. Their rules are complex enough that the clerk you call for help would say that it was wrong and promise to redo it but it somehow came back unpaid every time. I finally filed a grievance when they sent a letter saying they were denying it and they came through and paid.

I've had a bunch of Explanation of Benefit forms come back for this year now so I need to fill in a spreadsheet to see how they look because a couple have some amount that they are not paying. It could be proper but I need to audit it.

Next phase

They scanned my chest, abdomen and pelvis. IV contrast and oral liquid contrast was used: ick. I'll see the results 4/14.

I still have low endurance and chest congestion so that is a bit worrisome going into the next phase but I suspect it's typical.

Side-effects still

Last week I had really bad arthritis as a side-effect for a few days. It was hard to even push to rise from a chair till I'd take Tylenol and then it completely went away for the whole day. That only lasted about 3 days. I'm walking about a mile a day but I still get weakness often when I first stand up that lasts for maybe 1/2 a minute. I have to wait for it to pass. I'm doing some work but it's hard when my fingers go numb after typing a little. Hopefully the symptoms fade out before I need to start the next round. On 4/7/10 I get scanned to see what the first rounds did for me and I see the doctor on 4/14 to get those results and see if I got on with IL-2 or get treatment options for other medication if the IL-2 did not work.

Side effects

The IL-2 had a cumulative effect with the first week still working on me during my second week. Shaking off the side effects has not been as quick as I'd hoped. Nausea and water retention both went away quickly. Weakness, lack of endurance and numbness in my hands is taking much longer. Darn.

Scan

April 7 I get scanned to see how the IL-2 did for me. I see the doctor April 14 for those results and to schedule the 2nd and final round of IL-2 or to move on to another medication that won't involve hospitalization.

Next up!

My blood pressure is back to normal. I had 17 doses in my two weeks: still slightly over the average of 16. I'll get scanned in about 6 weeks to see how I'm doing and so I know whether to go on with two more sessions of IL-2 or to go on to something else.

Not enough pressure!

They couldn't get my blood pressure up so off to home I go! I've got lots of energy but am still weak. I'm guessing I have 5-10 days to be about whole.

Tuesday

My blood pressure dropped and got very so they put in int care. I haven't had a does since 3am which was dose 4. The doctor is in England right now and we're waiting for word from him after he reviews the numbers to see if we should go on or not.