I am sorry I didn’t blog yesterday … I definitely wasn’t feeling up for it.
On Thursday of last week Cathy and I went to Mayo to speak with someone from the Palliative Medicine team. My pain level had escalated and I needed a change in my pain medication. The decision was made to switch me from fentanyl patches to methodone. On Friday night I was more or less unable to sleep because my pain was too intense. Cathy was on the phone with Mayo; and she even went out at midnight to get a new prescription for a new breakthrough medicine (dilaudid) to replace oxycodone. I also was told to double my intake of methodone. Thus, in an attempt to control the pain, we used a new breakthrough medicine and an increased dosage of methodone. Nothing seemed to help, so we went to Mayo hospital on Saturday. They put me on yet a higher dosage of methodone and an increased dosage of dilaudid. I had a pump that allowed me to deliver the dilaudid as needed (within limits). We had the pain under control, and we convinced them to discharge me on Sunday so I could be at Piper Monday morning to start the new clinical trial. Unfortunately, my pain escalated again and I was unable to sleep Sunday night.
We made it to Piper Monday morning, but for various reasons, the decision was made to not start me on the new clinical trial. One of those reasons was that we wanted to wait on the results of the molecular profiling of the tumor on my liver, to see if there might be a better chemo cocktail. Another reason is that they wanted me to get my pain under control. That all makes sense.
We went home from Piper in the afternoon on Monday, and decided it was time to go back to Mayo hospital. We were directly admitted (didn’t have to go through ER). So far so good, in that the methodone – administered orally – alone has kept my pain under control. It is possible that it simply has taken this long for the methodone to reach its peak performance. I will be in the hospital at least one more day, but I am optimistic that we have the pain under control.
We have consulted with a member of the Pain Anesthesia team regarding my pain management (in particular, the methodone vs. a CT-guided nerve block vs. an implantable pain pump). For now, since the methodone seems to be controlling the pain, we are likely just going to go with it, knowing that we have other options available should we need them.
Laura and Cathy have spent a great deal of time at the hospital. It has been great to have them here. We’ve had NBA playoff basketball to watch, which has certainly helped pass the time. I’m lucky to have so much support from my family.
Today we had the special treat of Liz’s mom playing in a string quartet (assuming I counted correctly from my vantage point) in the lobby of the hospital. She is so talented, and of course it was nice to see her and speak to her, if ever so briefly.
I will try to write again tomorrow, although I need to get the progress report for my grant done soon, so I may need to keep my blogs short.
Cathy and I appreciate all the support we receive from you all. It means a great deal to us. We keep fighting, though the foe is certainly formidable. It takes a team, and we have the best one around. Go Team Bacon!