Bone Pain and Oxycodone

MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2008 08:38 PM, CDT
I just spent a lot of time writing out a journal update to only have it lost. I hate when that happens. Oh well...time to retype my thoughts.
First...thanks to those who have written on my guestbook. I check that periodically and definitely appreciate all of the support and prayers people have sent out.
Today is day 11 in this round of chemo therapy. Last time around I started losing my hair at day 15, so I don't have much time left to enjoy my beautiful head. This time of the cycle is pretty boring. At this point I've started to regain my energy and the frequent and uncomfortable trips to the bathroom have subsided. I take a bunch of pills every day, and give myself a shot of neupogen every night.
Neupogen is a drug that stimulates growth of neutrophils in the bone marrow. Since the chemotherapy can wipe my white blood cell count down to dangerous levels, this drug is important to help my immune system rebound. Giving myself the shot isn't such a bad deal. I just have to inject it into the skin and not the vein, and after a few dozen times it becomes pretty routine.
The drawback of the Neupogen shot is it causes bone pain. The pain is usually a dull pain that is frequently in my shin, thigh, shoulder, or jaw. Unfortunately for me today I had the pain in my lower back where the spine meets the pelvis. Not only was the pain in an uncomfortable place, but it was as sharp as I've ever felt. I spent the early morning shifting positions trying to get comfortable, but nothing seemed to work.
I don't care for drugs and usually try to tough things out. However, I decided to hit up the oxycodone that was prescribed to me. I took one pill in the morning and felt absolutely no effect from it. The pain was still sharp and I couldn't get comfortable to sit or lay down. Around noon when I was ready for another dose I decided to make it a double. That did the trick. I had a pretty good buzz going all afternoon, and while I couldn't sleep it off, I did manage to lay on my back in a semi-conscious daze. Hopefully I'll be able to get to sleep tonight without heading to the medicine cabinet tonight, but I don't think its going to happen. Well...at least everything else seems to be going well. I was able to do some grilling tonight and play baseball with Isaiah. So despite the pain I am getting back to normal a little bit. It will be great if I can stay energized and feeling good for the next week and a half.