Thursday was a terrible day, everything pointed to a relapse. There's almost nothing else that fits in with drenching night sweats, fever and my inability to gain weight other than Hodgkin's, menopause or Tuberculosis. (I think we can rule out the last two).
Then Thursday night came and I had no sweating, same again on Friday night. I really, really hope this continues! My PET scan is booked for Friday 31st October (next week) so I will know for sure either way in about two weeks time.
The doctors in Germany are putting together a plan in case of relapse and will advise me early next week. It would be great to be able to tell them it was a false alarm. They have advised me that my stem cells are in perfect condition and awaiting my direction as what to do with them. I shall wait for the PET result before deciding on whether to bring them back to NZ.
Meanwhile I have my first motorsport event tomorrow. It's a street sprint at Port rd, Seaview. I took my race car out for a drive yesterday to see how it felt. It's been six months since I last drove it. I floored it just once as I overtook a slow moving van going up Haywards hill. I kept it in third gear rather than down changing to second even though I was only going 40kph, regardless of this the acceleration still slammed me into my seat and I was almost on the vans bumper before I had turned the wheel enough to steer around it. In just two or three seconds seconds I'd well and truly broken the speed limit and had to brake hard to pull it back down to 100kph before I attracted unwanted attention.
The adrenaline made my hands shake and my heart pound for about 5 minutes after. I'm not sure how I'm going to do at the actual race. With my system so fragile at the moment and adrenaline being such a powerful toxin, I will have to be careful.
I'll let you know how I go. I must say though.. it's a lot more exciting than a stroll in the Bavarian country side!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Night sweats and fever consistant with relaspe.
It's been a bit of a stressful week. I've had a few night sweats again. This seems to be preceeded by a high temperature before going to bed. One night it was as high as 38.5, another 37.8. Almost everything I have read on the subject all comes back as Hodgkin's Lymphoma as being the most likely cause of both unexplained fever and consistent night sweats. Bugger!
I've been in touch with Pacific radiation as to why they had not yet confirmed a date for my PET scan. Apparently they were waiting for more info. Just exactly when they were planning to ask for it I have no idea. I dropped in a copy of the treatment details from Germany to them today and have been told it is likely I will have my scan next week.
Both Sarah and I are pretty upset about what looks to be another treatment failure. It's still early yet, and there is a minute chance it's not a relapse, the scan will confirm.
Either that or if I suddenly have no more night sweats, I'll know either way. I went to the Doctors today and saw a relieving GP, he agreed it did seem to point to Hodgkin's. We decided to try a course of antibiotics (Augmentin)to see if that helped my dry cough and fever.
I've also emailed the Klinik and asked for Dr Kopic's opinion.
I've been in touch with Pacific radiation as to why they had not yet confirmed a date for my PET scan. Apparently they were waiting for more info. Just exactly when they were planning to ask for it I have no idea. I dropped in a copy of the treatment details from Germany to them today and have been told it is likely I will have my scan next week.
Both Sarah and I are pretty upset about what looks to be another treatment failure. It's still early yet, and there is a minute chance it's not a relapse, the scan will confirm.
Either that or if I suddenly have no more night sweats, I'll know either way. I went to the Doctors today and saw a relieving GP, he agreed it did seem to point to Hodgkin's. We decided to try a course of antibiotics (Augmentin)to see if that helped my dry cough and fever.
I've also emailed the Klinik and asked for Dr Kopic's opinion.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Kind of an update.
Having been back now for just over 2 1/2 weeks, I've come to the conclusion that I will be forever cursed with paranoia. Every little twinge of my back, every symptom makes me worry that the disease has returned. That really annoying dry cough that I had right up until I arrived in Germany has returned. It actually started two days before I left. It may be asthma, it may be a chest cold. I seem to have been afflicted by it almost the whole time I've had Hodgkin's. However I have also had dry coughs that go on for months before in my life, long before Hodgkin's came along, so it may not be related. It may have something to do with my crappy immune system.
I made a discovery the other night. I took a sudafed before going to bed, to see if it helped with my cough. I get a runny nose and it runs down the back of my throat and causes me to cough. It's like when you inhale water or food. Anyway I completely soaked the bed in sweat during the night. I woke up feeling like my whole world had just crashed around me. When ever the disease has been active I suffer from night sweats.
In the morning I did some research and found that a leading cause of night sweats can also be paracetamol! I checked the active ingredients of Sudafed and sure enough it contains 500mg of it. Phew!! It also explains why I was having so many sweats in conjunction with the back aches in the weeks before I left. It may be that the pulsing back ache is my only true B-symptom as I was taking paracetamol for it.
Since then I've avoided paracetamol and have yet to have another night sweat. However I've still been waking up quite clammy during the night. Again this could have several causes. A chest infection (that dry cough) is one likely culprit. I've had no word yet on when I can expect my PET scan to take place. I had asked for early November. I'll feel a lot happier once it's done and the results come back, hopefully negative (clear).
..Ron
I made a discovery the other night. I took a sudafed before going to bed, to see if it helped with my cough. I get a runny nose and it runs down the back of my throat and causes me to cough. It's like when you inhale water or food. Anyway I completely soaked the bed in sweat during the night. I woke up feeling like my whole world had just crashed around me. When ever the disease has been active I suffer from night sweats.
In the morning I did some research and found that a leading cause of night sweats can also be paracetamol! I checked the active ingredients of Sudafed and sure enough it contains 500mg of it. Phew!! It also explains why I was having so many sweats in conjunction with the back aches in the weeks before I left. It may be that the pulsing back ache is my only true B-symptom as I was taking paracetamol for it.
Since then I've avoided paracetamol and have yet to have another night sweat. However I've still been waking up quite clammy during the night. Again this could have several causes. A chest infection (that dry cough) is one likely culprit. I've had no word yet on when I can expect my PET scan to take place. I had asked for early November. I'll feel a lot happier once it's done and the results come back, hopefully negative (clear).
..Ron
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