Hurts so Good

Since the Catapress patch had the slightly undesirable side effect of causing brief white outs and mild dizziness when I stood up, the doctor decided it best that I discontinue use of the drug. In addition to the fascinating side effects (my favorite being the itchy rash), the patch also counteracted pain at the spinal cord level as well as eased the transition to and the reduction of methadone. I'm now taking 20mg a day of methadone, half the dose I started with a few weeks ago. Good. After lowing the pain meds significantly, we did the only logical and sadistic thing…turned the screws on my hand and wrist as tight as they would go. Man, I love new hobbies.

Straightening Up My Act

I call this particular cast "The Bear Claw" for obvious reasons. These things are dangerous. I hit myself in the head dancing at a wedding last weekend and almost knocked a tooth out the other morning when I woke up on my back and let my hand fall on my open mouth. So be it, they seem to be working. You can tell from this last photo that they've actually started bending my wrist back slightly, making waving so much easier.





My attention at this point is focused on two main goals, other than the ultimate one. The first is straightening my hand and the second is taking as little pain medicine as possible without needing a stick to bight.

Excitement levels are down, which is a good thing. During the straightening of the hand and lowering of the drugs, I'll keep the blog updated with weekly photos and milligram counts and of course reports from the always rousing CT scans. Other than that, hopefully, I can start writing less chronicles about cancer treatment and focus more on surviving the condition.

Mad Love,

CP

Cakewalk

After taking somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000mg of oxycontin this is the last 10mg dose that I finished today at 8:00pm.

It was an amazing medication to help me deal with some unbelievable pain. Now we'll just systematically back down the lyrica and methadone and figure the minimum amount I need to handle any residual pain.

Frankly, I’m surprised how easy it was to transition. Working with the pros “is awesome,” as Bret would put it.

Where's Blogo

Go to the "Lost in Transition " post for all updates until I'm off oxycontin completely. That will be Sunday by the way.

Better Late than Never

At 3:23pm, being somewhat curious as to the results of a CT scan of my chest, I sent the following request:

Dr. B,

I had the blood work and CT scan of my chest today. I know you're in
surgery. If you receive the results and could just email them if you
don't have time to talk, I'd be happy to discuss them later at your
convenience. Ashley and I are both eagerly awaiting the results.

Thank you,
CP

Before going to bed a little after midnight, I checked my voicemail and email one last time to find this:

Clyde,

No new nodules are seen on the chest CT. The tiny nodules that we had previously seen are unchanged. There is some normal postoperative change related to your recent surgery.
This is great news!
Sorry I am getting back to you so late.

B


This is great news indeed. The results couldn't have been better and I'm extremely excited to see my doctor’s enthusiasm. He shares our desire to succeed as well as most everyone’s confusion of whether to call me CP or Clyde. I'm eager to continue this positive momentum. Thank you for all your love and support, including both thoughtful gifts and correspondence.

I'm seriously falling asleep at the computer, holding one eye closed to read the screen and keys. As of tomorrow I'll pretty much limit my blogging whiplash sessions to the "Lost in Transition" post. Things should get interesting when I cut my oxycontin dose in half to 40mg (which is one third of my original dosage).

What a joyful relief!

CP (or Clyde)