Skip to main content

Another indicator I'm getting the "good" stuff!


I'm just getting ready for my next infusion.  The last three weeks have been quite eventful.  About three weeks ago, I began having pain in my back and stomach.  It would come and go.  I began thinking that if I could just get to my next treatment and scans, I could find out what was going on.  I had never been in that much sustained discomfort ever without knowing what was causing the problem or pain. 
Last Thursday, I was at home and suddenly my tailbone felt like someone was attempting to pull it out of my back.  It hurt so bad I couldn't stand up. I sat down and the pain went away.  When I sat up to get into bed, my back began hurting.  I woke up on Friday and felt OK so I went to work.  I was OK sitting down but as soon as I stood up for any length of time, my back would hurt so bad I could not move!  My wife, Nicole, had already called Huntsman to ask Dr. Grossman what we should do.  About 3 pm, Nicole called me to tell me Dr. Grossman wanted me to go to the ER to have scans done.They were worried the cancer may have come back and was now in my bones.  Nicole and I went to UVRMC ER and 7 hours later, learned that it was not the cancer but they did not know what was causing the pain.  Over the weekend, I felt nauseated as well as in a great deal of pain.  On Monday, I went to see Dr. Brett Thorpe, a Gastroenterologist, regarding the pain.  Dr. Thorpe felt the pain was coming from problems with my esophagus or stomach.  Dr. Thorpe decided to do an EGD.  On Thursday, I had the EGD and found my esophagus, stomach, and duedenum were inflamed and ulcerated.  I began taking medication prior to eating that seems to help. 
I continued to have some pain in my back.  We did some more tests and found that my gall bladder was bad.  They removed my gall bladder right before Spring Break.  About a week before Easter, I began to break out in hives.  I was miserable.   I went to HCI and learned it was not directly related to my treatment.  I went to a dermatologist at the U of U and learned that they did not know what had caused the hives but it could be related to an infection.  They began me on a large dose of antihistimine that I had to increase to get the itching to stop.  The medicine made me really onery and my wife said I had no filter.  On Thursday, prior to Easter, I found out at another doctor visit that I had a sinus infection.  After taking the antibiotic, the hives finally went away. 
I have been able to continue doing everything.  I play basketball twice a week and umpire.  I recently umpired my first D1 baseball game and just umpired the 3A championship game. 
I know this entry is late, but you can see it has been busy.  I am getting ready for my next treatment in a couple of weeks.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finished the Clinical Trial!!

So it is done!  I finished the clinical trial this month!!!  It has been three years and now it is complete!!  My scans were clear!!  Dr Grossman even said that he was surprised how clear my scans were and how well I have been doing!!!  We did talk about the future.  I will go back and see him in 3 months and get scans again in 6 months.  I will see him every 3 months for 2 years but will only get scans every 6 months. We talked about risk of re occurrence.  I take this for what it is, statistical, because of going 7 years before re occurring.  Statistically speaking, things look very good for me!!!  What  I do know is that melanoma is a monster and can come back at any time and disrupt life!!!  The good thing is I know now some of the things that create a greater risk than others and can mitigate those risks as much as possible. The good thing is that this bout has not slowed me down.  I play basketball twice a week a...
Post a Comment
Read more

This treatment I felt like a pin cushion!

It's been about a week since I completed my latest round of treatment. Of course I went up on Thursday for blood draws and CT scans. About three weeks ago, I was at UVRMC getting an MRI of my back. During the last three months, I have experienced pain in my hip especially if I sit down for more than about a half hour. The pain will radiate down my right leg. Nicole spoke with Dr. Reichman about it and he wanted the MRI. So, I tell this because I was given contrast during that MRI and had to have an IV started. When I went to HCI on Thursday, I went to the lab to get my blood draw. Normally, to prevent getting "stuck" multiple times, the lab will leave the IV in until I come back on Friday and get the infusion. After leaving the lab, I went to CT. In CT, I was told the IV I had would not work because it was in my hand and the test that was ordered required a larger needle and the IV to be above my elbow. Unfortunately, the tech missed the first IV, in my left ...
1 comment
Read more

Still Clear and Loving Life!

As many who have had a bout with melanoma know, it is not something that is "cured".  As I have experienced with my 2 bouts is that is can come back at any time and without any warning.  One of my big reasons for doing the clinical trial was because I wanted the best chance to catch the "next" melanoma as soon as possible.  As part of the clinical trial, I have regular visits with my doctor and regular scans.  Though I have had a few scares, luckily I have had clear scans now for 4+ years.  As the doctor at Huntsman told me, I am currently the patient who has been in the trial the longest at Huntsman.  It is to the point now that I it has been recommended that I return to seeing a dermatologist and my visits to Huntsman will not be as frequent. Though the news is great I still have in the back of my mind the question of when the "next one" will surface. Because I have decided not to worry about what I can't control, I am moving on cautiously but not ...
Post a Comment
Read more