Quick Update on Chemo #9

Insurance company's play a role in my treatment as well. They send nurses/doctors through hoops to pay for a certain test, so the nurses/doctors may find a different cheaper test that is also acceptable, or the insurance companies will give them the info about this less expensive test and encourage them to use it.

In regards to my tests two blogs ago, the Echo is a cheaper test than the MUGA.  My nurse/doctor team has started to twitch ( I meant to say switch, but what a great freudian slip) to the Echo because of insurance companies.  I wish their reason also included the increased exposure to radiation, but what do I know, maybe it does.  I haven't talked specifically to my doctor about this detail; sometimes the true reasons for a change can be convoluted when I don't go to the source of the information.

Another example of insurance-company envolvement is the choice of my nausea drugs.  I had EMEND during this chemo in addition to the ZOFRAN.  I've been getting more nauseous with the chemo treatments (cumulative effects are normal with ABVD - the type of chemo I'm receiving.).  It had been subtle, but I have been getting slightly more miserable; I see my knuckles turning white - figuratively - during post chemo days.  My nurse simply wants to nip this additional strain in regards to the nausea in the bud quickly; she said that if I were to puke once during post-chemo, patient comfort tends to get considerably worse for future treatments (fear and anxiety increase significantly ... what else could get worse?  Maybe puke begets puke).  EMEND - you've guessed it- is an expensive drug that the insurance companies don't like doctors to use as the first line of treatment.  Zofran isn't as good of a drug, but is cheaper and is generally used as the first line of treatment. 

So, I'm on EMEND and so far so great!  I didn't have any initial side effects when they were administering the drug; this is when the patient can have side effects (the danger that I was worried about.)  Some people get restless (I heard anxious which isn't my cup of tea), but luckily none of this happened. 

AND the nausea is minding it's own business thank you very much! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Alright, back to bed.  It's the night after chemo so the steroid wakes me up about this time, but the Adivan is starting to kick in so I can sleep again.  yeah.  Have a good day and someone remove this consistent rain over the Chicago area for me.  I'm finding that I can only picture myself as a sprouting plant enjoying the rain for so long; my plant-self is getting overwhelmed by the deluge too.  We're all in this together ... go away rain!