Stop! The Side-Effects Will Kill You!

I’m On A Crusade

Some time ago in this blog I alluded to the fact that the side effects of the meds I was prescribed turned out to be far worse than symptoms they were intended to treat.  Of course, when you feel bad what do you do?  You go to the doctor, fully trusting that he knows his stuff and will advise in your best interest.

Call me naive.  If you can appeal to my logic, I’ll usually buy your concept hook, line and sinker.  For me, it was a no-brainer to consent to chemo back in July of this year.  I had great success with treatments back in 2002 and my lymph glands went into a six year remission before they began to balloon out of control starting at the end of 2008.

However, this year my oncologist advised that he was adding an extra drug to the regiment I had seven years ago.  He appealed to my logic that not only were the visible glands in my neck and groin area grotesquely swollen, but this time the swollen lymph nodes were filling my lungs.  He needed to be more aggressive.

There was a sense of urgency in his voice the day he talked to Maggie and I about the proposed treatment.  At the same time, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that he was holding something back on me.  For the past seven years, he was simply monitoring my blood levels.  I can only imagine that when he ordered and reviewed the CT scans of my lymphatic system, he had to be saying to himself, “Oh SHIT!”

It’s Always a Gamble

Chemo therapy is a race and a huge risk.  Your body is injected with nasty chemicals targeted to get the ‘bad’ blood cells.  They simply can’t help but attack the ‘good’ guys as well.  The gamble is that the bad guys will be killed off before the good guys.

At the time of my consent, I was still feeling relatively fine.  I was fully functioning, with more than enough energy to do all the things I wanted to do such as grocery shopping, my share of the laundry, and cooking for the family, teaching for a couple of days besides writing articles for my blog.  During the first three rounds of chemo from July through September, that would change dramatically.

While I was elated at the change in my appearance in such a short time, the way I felt certainly did not match the visual results.  My blood cell counts dropped to all time lows and I developed four different infections simultaneously.  Chemo therapy was stopped immediately.  It became a juggling act as to which infection to treat first.

All of the scrips my doctors wrote for me seemed logical.  I took them without question, fully trusting that they would be the ‘magic bullets’ to get me back on track.  From October to December, I kept getting weaker and sicker.  On December 11 I did something that I rarely, if ever do… I canceled two days of students.

I couldn’t even get out of bed.  However, even though I was now confined to bed, I wasn’t sleeping.  I was coughing ’round the clock.  I was also  getting up to urinate, sometimes as often as every 15 minutes.  I was now totally dysfunctional!

I had suspected for quite a while that various drug I was prescribed had dangerous side-effects.  But as I also mentioned, I’m a logical guy and can be convinced, especially by professionals in whom I place my complete trust.

First an Important Disclaimer

The following strong opinions and compelling findings are mine and mine alone.  In no way is any of this information to be taken as medical advice.  You are to do your own due diligence with your health care professionals.  I cannot be held responsible for any decisions you render based on my personal experiences.  Our bodies are all different and your results will definitely disagree with mine.

The Slippery Slope to Hell

Before my first treatment, I was counseled by the chemo teaching nurse as well as the pharmacist about what I could expect from the treatments.  I was given a neat little folder with handouts on the drugs and their possible side effects.  Everything was minimal to say the least.  I’m sure the intention was not to overwhelm and scare the patients in these already disconcerting times.

My further (and much later) research on these following chemical side effects would reveal much harsher consequences, many of which I experienced in the short six months of treatments.  Let’s go through the list of meds I’ve been on since the start of chemo in July.  You’ll note that some of the side effects of the various drugs are similar to each other.  It is therefore impossible to say which specific drug is the actual culprit.  However, I’m certain that the combination of all the drugs did nothing but exacerbate the problems.

Fludarbine Injection – Logical Appeal:  This was the chemical that worked so well in 2002!

Common Side Effects (all of which I experienced)

• Blood in urine
• Chills
• Cough
• Decrease in white blood cells leaving you at greater risk to infection
• Extreme fatigue – unable to carry on self-care activities
• Fever
• Nausea
• Pinpoint red spots on skin
• Poor appetite
• Shortness of breath
• Lip sores
• Sweating
• Taste changes, metallic taste
• Weakness

Cyclophosphomide Injection – Logical Appeal:  The oncologist suggested we needed to be much more aggressive this time around as the lymph nodes had filled my lungs.

Common side effects include:

• Blood in urine
• Decrease in white blood cells leaving you at greater risk to infection
• Fever
• Frequent, urgent, burning urination
• Hacking cough
• Loss of Strength
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Sore throat
• Lip sores
• Unusual tiredness and weakness

Dexamethasone Tablets – Logical Appeal – Used to control nausea caused by the chemo drugs.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Heartburn
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Muscle weakness

Apo-Metoclop – Logical Appeal – Used to control nausea caused by the chemo drugs.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Chills
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Fever
• General feeling of tiredness or weakness
• May not react well with Tylenol
• Nausea
• Restlessness
• Trouble sleeping
• Unusual irritability (ask Maggie and the kids)

Apo-Azithromycin – Logical Appeal – Used to treat viral infections in the ear, throat and lungs.  Since I’ve been coughing up a storm non-stop for months, this seemed VERY logical.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Abdominal or stomach cramps
• Difficulty breathing
• Dizziness
• Fever
• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting

Apo-Granisetron (Kytril) – Logical Appeal – Used to treat nausea caused by chemo drugs.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Feeling tired or weak
• Headache

Emend Tri-pack - Logical Appeal – Recommended as the BEST anti-nausea med for cancer patients.  How do you argue with that?

Common Side Effects Include:

• Constipation
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Hiccups
• Upset stomach including belching

Mylan Acyclovir – Logical Appeal – Used to treat or prevent infections caused by certain kinds of viruses.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Headache
• Nausea/ vomiting
• Pinpoint red spots on skin
• Trouble passing urine
• Unusually weak or tired
• Upset stomach

Avelox – Logical Appeal – Used to treat bacterial infections (not viral infections)

Common Side Effects Include:

• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Trouble sleeping
• Vomiting

PMS – Metronidazole – Logical Appeal – Used specifically to treat lung infections and infections of the internal organs by attacking bacteria.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Dry mouth
• Headache
• Lightheadedness
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Sharp metallic taste
• Stomach pains or cramps

Nasonex AQ Nasal Spray – Logical Appeal – This is designed to stop post-nasal drip and constant runny nose leaving supposedly nothing in the throat to cough up!

Common Side Effects Include:

• Headache
• Sneezing
• Sore Throat
• Wheezing
• Trouble breathing
• Shortness of breath

Vigamox OP – Logical Appeal – Use for eye infections

• Dizziness
• Trouble breathing

Apo – Sulfatrim DS – Logical Appeal – Used to treat infections of the bladder and lungs.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Loss of appetite
• Mouth sores
• Nausea/ vomiting
• Unusual tiredness/ weakness
• Blood in urine
• Drowsiness
• Difficulty breathing
• General feeling of illness

In fact, I turned up a recent internet report yesterday that said this medication has been banned since 2002 in the UK where deaths and other extremely serious complications have been noted.  However, in North America, powered by the massive drug cartels, doctors are still handing out scrips as if this is the miracle drug of all time.  Because the doctors really have no idea about the underlying cause of my symptoms, the quick, easy solution of course is to throw another anti-biotic at me and hope my symptoms – and perhaps even I  – go away.  Right now, that seems to be the harsh reality.

Detrol LA – Logical Appeal – this med was supposed to lower the frequent, urgent, burning urination.  It did nothing of the sort.  Out of all the medications, this was the one that I felt the most disabling side-effects.  It was also the last in the series to be prescribed.  Perhaps it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.  In merely five days I could barely move my head off my pillow.  I had to cancel all my classes; something I almost never do.

Even though I could barely get out of bed, that doesn’t mean I was able to sleep.  On the contrary, I was urinating even more frequently with as much urgency as ever, sometimes as much as every 20 minutes during the night.  And the incessant coughing just would NOT STOP!  I was beside myself with exhaustion.

Common Side Effects Include:

• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Dizziness
• Dry eyes
• Dry mouth
• Fatigue
• Gas
• Headache
• Heartburn
• Vision changes – difficulty adjusting to distances
• Bloody or cloudy urine
• Difficult, burning or painful urination

Again, with most of these medications, there were a few more detrimental side-effects listed.  The ones noted above are the ones I experienced first hand.  Because of so much duplication of the side effects, it is nearly impossible to determine which one was the biggest culprit.  Without a doubt, I believe the combination of all the meds over the past six months have only exacerbated the problems.

An Important Disclaimer Revisited

This paragraph is so important that it must be repeated for everyone’s protection.  Please read VERY CAREFULLY!

The above strong opinions and compelling findings are mine and mine alone.  In no way is any of this information to be taken as medical advice.  You are to do your own due diligence with your health care professionals.  I cannot be held responsible for any decisions you render based on MYpersonal experiences.  Our bodies are all different and YOUR results will definitely disagree with mine.

A Final Note

Having said all this, understand that your doctors are HUMAN… in my case, they are all baffled as to what is causing me to cough non-stop.  They just don’t know.  Many things they do are experimental, “We’re going to TRY this and see what happens.”  This approach worked well for Edison when he was inventing the electric light.  However, I don’t think I have the time and/or the patience to wade through 9,999 failures just to get the ONE that works!

However, I still believe that everything has a reason and that it always all works out for the best.  In fact, the hardest experiences are where we gain the most growth.  In the end, this too shall pass.  I will look back someday with great pride, knowing that I overcame some of life’s greatest health challenges.

Soon, happy days will be here again.  I cling to that vision with all my being.  Right now it’s all I can do to ‘Love That Feeling’, but I know that when I keep on keeping on, everything will be alright.

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Tagged as: drugs, rapidly declining health, side effects