Now is a good time to update you on my first cycle of chemo which began on 7th September.
I felt good over the first few days, apart from a rather suppressed appetite but I noticed that over the weekend, I had only had one very small bowel movement. I didn't think much at the time but come Monday morning (day 4) I had the worst constipation that I've every experienced. I rang the hospital, who referred me to my GP. As I was also unable to pass urine, the GP was concerned enough to call the hospital, who advised me to come straight away. I was admitted to the Ambulatory Care ward that evening and was initially treated for bladder retention. However, by the middle to the week, my blood count had fallen like a stone and I was immediately put on a saline drip and IV antibiotics. I was then moved to the cancer ward, where they monitored my condition until yesterday afternoon, by which time my blood count had recovered enough for me to be sent home. The discharge letter to my GP said that I had been treated for neutropenic sepsis. As I only had constipation when I was first admitted to hospital, I can only assume that this infection had been picked up in the hospital between the time of admission and when I was moved to the cancer ward (a worrying thought considering the apparently serious nature of this condition).
I am now trying to get my strength back now I am home and assume that this will happen gradually as my blood count continues to rise. I have a good supply of laxatives, which I will take as soon as I go a day without a bowel movement.
This chemo is certainly a shock to the system.