Bad Day just gets worse.

So a little update. I went in for my neulasta shot today and ended up being in the hospital for 5 hours. Since I haven't been able to hold anything down I of course am becoming dehydrated. So before they would give me my shot they wanted to pump some fluids into me and some more meds. I told them the meds they have me on are not working but alas they still have me taking them and won't give me anything else. I have to go back in the morning for another round of fluids and drugs by IV. As of today I have lost a total of 20lbs since last monday. Now don't get me wrong I needed to lose some weight but I did not want to do it this way. So I am going to try and talk to my Dr tomorrow instead of his nurse. I have stopped drinking the gatorade and started drinking flat sprite *yuck* and my nurse said not to drink more than 2 teaspoons at a time of anything or more than likely it will come right back up. So until tomorrow I will leave you all with a hope your all having a wonderful night and not to busy.

Travis
 
Sassafras said:
Try nibbeling on ginger snaps. Ginger is known to be an antinauseant, and when I had hyperemesis when pregnant (landed in hospital multiple times) it was one of the few things I could keep down.
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I actually just picked up some ginger type crackers today. Tried making ginger root tea lastnight but didn't like it so I bought some of that today as well. I have read that ginger is great for nausea so I have wanted to try it and see. Hope it works.
 
EmtTravis said:
I actually just picked up some ginger type crackers today. Tried making ginger root tea lastnight but didn't like it so I bought some of that today as well. I have read that ginger is great for nausea so I have wanted to try it and see. Hope it works.
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I think the stuff is nasty, but its the only thing my grandfather would use through his cancer treatment, so go for it. Also, don't let the nurses tell you how much you can eat or drink without getting sick. Find our yourself and stick to that.

PS: Talking to the doc is always a good idea. The nurses can't change your meds, and they may just be being lazy by not going to the doc to get things fixed (don't quote me on that).
 
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So I just got back from getting my fluids and meds for the day. I feel pretty decent today and was finally able to eat something without getting sick. But it turns out the place where I went to get all this done gave me the wrong bone marrow shot yesterday even though when they were giving it to me I asked if it was my *neulasta* shot and the nurse said yes. Turns out they gave me neupogen *sp* instead. I know its basically for the same thing but still how hard is it to look and see what the pt is supposed to be getting? I am waiting for my Dr's office to call me back because I am going to tell them that the next time I need my neulasta shot I am not going back to that hospital since they screwed up and didn't even have the decency to tell me until I asked why I was getting another shot for bone marrow. Well I am off to take me a nap and enjoy feeling decent for once in over a week. Hope everyone is having a good day.
 
Ok this throwing up crap is really starting to get irritating. Sassafras the ginger cookies didn't help and still my dr won't prescribe anything else. I think I am going to get ahold of my primary care dr and see if he can give me something. I feel ok but yet when I get up and move around to much like letting my dog out I end up getting sick.. Really starting to piss me off lol.. I want my food to stay in my belly.
 
EmtTravis said:
Ok this throwing up crap is really starting to get irritating. Sassafras the ginger cookies didn't help and still my dr won't prescribe anything else. I think I am going to get ahold of my primary care dr and see if he can give me something. I feel ok but yet when I get up and move around to much like letting my dog out I end up getting sick.. Really starting to piss me off lol.. I want my food to stay in my belly.
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You can try for a Marinol script, but honestly, actual weed is likely a whole lot better for that purpose.
 
You're in the loop now and part of the game is that you are limited in the control you have. Because you are weakened, and they seem to be not paying attention so hot, maybe you should see if you can hook up with what's called a "Patient Advocate"; someone you could turn to readily with questions who could actually get answers or action taken.

I'm basically saying is if YOU now have to be your own watchdog, then it's time to get someone to help you out.

Them administering the wrong drug is not a good sign. You only have one job now, Travis, and that's to rally your life-force to make use of the stuff they're pumping in to you. Get help to make sure they don't make your job harder.

Blessings to you, Brother.
 
I know that I have not posted on here in a while, but EMT Travis, I have been following your story. I hope things are starting to look up for you now and I hope you are getting better.
 
Travis, something you may want to discuss with your oncologist and primary doctor is participating in a clinical trial. I know this may sound unappealing as the thought of being a lab rat may be the picture you conjure up. This could not be further from the truth however.

What is possible is a team of doctors and scientist developing innovative therapies. What is really beneficial in this is that you are afforded top quality medical care at no cost to you.

I spent a summer interning at UCSD as a Data collection lab tech for a clinical trial and I can assure you that the quality of care was second to none.
The first place I would start is a discussion with your doctors. From there you may want to do do your own research into clinical trials. Depending where you are at in your treatments you may still be a candidate for a trial participant. It is worth a look. Check the following link as a starting point, after talking to your doctors.
http://www.cancertrialshelp.org/trialcheck/?gclid=CP29yJu_g6YCFQkPbAodkj4PmQ

Well, just a thought and best of luck to you.
 
Sandog said:
Travis, something you may want to discuss with your oncologist and primary doctor is participating in a clinical trial. I know this may sound unappealing as the thought of being a lab rat may be the picture you conjure up. This could not be further from the truth however.

What is possible is a team of doctors and scientist developing innovative therapies. What is really beneficial in this is that you are afforded top quality medical care at no cost to you.

I spent a summer interning at UCSD as a Data collection lab tech for a clinical trial and I can assure you that the quality of care was second to none.
The first place I would start is a discussion with your doctors. From there you may want to do do your own research into clinical trials. Depending where you are at in your treatments you may still be a candidate for a trial participant. It is worth a look. Check the following link as a starting point, after talking to your doctors.
http://www.cancertrialshelp.org/trialcheck/?gclid=CP29yJu_g6YCFQkPbAodkj4PmQ

Well, just a thought and best of luck to you.
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Lord I hope you're okay Travis, please check in!

I need to place this as counter-point. It's an article about one more breakthrough drug that is being shown to be a breakdown.

I would like to know the overall statistics of the rate of fatal complications that result from experimental drugs that are scrapped. NO ONE IS TALKING.

You see, the thing is, pharmaceutical companies are paid to develop and test new agents and are not penalized for failure. Many, MANY drugs/treatments/therapies are being offered to live patients with little understanding of the side-effects until, for many, it's much too late.

Double-blind studies take years to compile before accurate determinations are made, and the patients are generally kept in the dark. "We have something that may have some success with your case." is another way of saying, we don't have a clue and we're hoping you don't get too badly burned.
 
I have been following this closely as well. Travis, I hope your doing ok and get to feeling good soon. Update us when you find out anything, or if anything with you changes. We would love to hear what's going on with you. Best wishes, Luke.
 
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Anyone heard from Travis?
 
EMS brother, I hope everything is improving for you. Thoughts and prayers for your speedy recovery and your family. Hang in there, we're all here for you!
 
Hey everyone. I know I haven't been on here in a while. Well my last day of chemo was christmas eve. It made for a very crappy christmas. As of right now *and hopefully forever* free of cancer. As I said before the last round of chemo just about did me in. I lost 25lbs in a week and a half after round 4. I appreciate everyones thoughts from the forum. I've been trying and trying to find another ems job but so far no luck. Right now I am working at a little pizza place just trying to make some type of money. I go back to see my oncologist and get xrays at the end of the month to see if all is still well. I took this last semester off from school because after not withdrawing from my classes while doing chemo I dropped my gpa by a full point but did pass all of my classes. I am returning to school this summer and will start my medic classes in the fall with a few friends of mine. I am currently fighting with medical bill collectors and collection agencies *fun let me tell you*. I finally got insurance through my wifes employer but everything is considered pre existing so they wont pay any cancer related medical bills for atleast a year. Its costing us $400 a month for that insurance. Needless to say my marriage has been stressed through all of this and we argue and fight constantly which I hate and try to avoid. I applied for and was denied both temporary disability during the time after my surgery and during chemo and also for state medical aid. I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe out there.. I will be more active on the forum again. Again thank you everyone for your thoughts and well wishes.

Your friend,
Travis
 
Travis,

Good to hear from you, thanks for keeping us updated. You continue to be in my thoughts. Keep us updated!

Take care,
 
You're Alive!

...and I'm really happy to hear from you!

I know this has been a grueling time for you and the space in-between your posts was tough to bear, but it's so very good to hear you're back on track and still haven't lost interest in EMS or US!

As always, you can rely on us for support, and as an aside to the Community-at-Large I have to say I'm quite proud of how many people stood by you as best they could!

Here's wishing you well and a big Thank You for sharing with us while you were going through your changes. That's real teaching in my book!

I think you understand me when I close with...

Love the time you've been given!
 
thanks everyone.. I forgot how hard it was to get into a ems job as a basic lol. I go to sign up for my medic classes tomorrow yay
 
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