TARIN KOWT

As I mentioned last week, our oldest daughter is a Healthcare Administrator. In short, Healthcare Administrators are the ones who operate hospitals and large clinics. That is what our daughter does in the Navy. She thoroughly enjoys her job and the professionals she works with. She enjoys her work so much that she has repeatedly said that joining the Navy is one of the best decisions she’s ever made. There is one thing though that she has wished would happen: she wants to take a turn at being deployed to serve in the theatre of global operations.

Some may wonder, why. Well, it seems that it is only natural that if someone is patriotic enough to join the military that she is patriotic enough to want to serve where there is the greatest need. It’s in the character of our daughter to want to take her turn at serving the greatest need. There’s another aspect at play too. If you remember, our daughter’s first master’s degree is in history. I suspect she has a desire to experience and interact with some of the different world cultures. It’s a great combination that she can interact with the cultures while serving their healthcare needs and those of our military personnel. Therefore, she has consistently checked with her career detailer to see if any deployments had opened up. Deployments aren’t as easy to get as one might think in certain fields. Especially with the budget cutbacks, deployments have been fewer and longer.

Well, an opening occurred in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Our daughter jumped at the opportunity. However, although she has had some of the specialized administrative training needed, she didn’t have the year of experience needed for the assignment. She was disappointed but not deterred. She recently got word that there was a different opening in Tarin Kowt (Tarinkot), Afghanistan. Her name was submitted and she got the assignment.

She will leave at the end of January to go to Ft. Dix in New Jersey for Afghan training. She’ll be there for about five weeks before heading to Afghanistan in March. She’ll be assigned to the hospital in Tarin Kowt doing much the same as what she does in South Carolina. She’ll be in Afghanistan for about seven months. As a hospital administrator in Tarin Kowt, she will be out of harm’s way. However, Afghanistan is still an untamed frontier. We are very proud of her and keep her in our prayers. I know she’ll do a great job.

TRUTH

A friend told me that he woke up resolved to be more truthful. So, he has gone on a crusade to always be truthful. In fact, he said, he had already ticked a few people off with his truthfulness. So, in good humor he warned me not to ask him anything unless I wanted to hear the truth.

First, I congratulated him on his new crusade but I also suggested a little truth of my own. I told him that just because we know a truth doesn’t mean we have to unload it on someone. He thought about that for a moment and said he liked it. He could see how that could allow him to avoid unnecessary conflicts while still being a truthful person. In other words, just because someone got a bad haircut he doesn’t have to volunteer the information.

Of all the words we say, the words of truth are often the most powerful. Truth seems to cut through all the various defense mechanisms that we as humans put forward. Even if we outwardly reject truth, truth still seems to pierce the shell of our resistance. Yet, even though we know the truth about something, the truth is we need to be careful how we dispense it. There is a right way, wrong way, right time, wrong time, right reason and wrong reason to download truth. Truth is very powerful and we should be careful how we use it.

BACK HOME

We had a great visit in Illinois but we’re glad to be home, especially after a little situation that I’ll mention in a moment. First though, Eileen’s mother (Eunice) is doing remarkably well. She has very little post-surgical pain; she is on a pain killer. An interesting note is that her post-surgical pain killer is the same thing I take: Tramadol. I know Tramadol is supposed to be a great pain killer but I’ve only noticed marginal results from it…but it’s far better than nothing!! Anyway, Eunice is able to walk with a walker quite well and is able to do all her hip/leg exercises. She’s gotten stronger daily.

While Eileen was bringing Eunice home from the hospital, Eileen’s nine siblings held a meeting to schedule themselves to stay with their mom and bring in meals. They’ve been doing quite a bit of this since Eunice first broke her hip earlier this year. Their service of love and devotion is a great tribute to their mother and a great testimony of themselves.

Our time in Illinois was very busy but also very enjoyable, minus the times I was sick. I abstained from my pain pills the couple of days before heading up there so that I wouldn’t be too tired to drive and interact. Well, that didn’t work so well. Already nauseated from the oral chemo Gleevec, the arm pain was intense enough to make the nausea come to full bore. However, I did feel better for a while after each vomiting session. I went back onto the pain killers.

As we were getting gas on the way home, I noticed that our front left tire was low. I filled it up. About two hours later a light came on the dashboard that I had never seen before. Eileen looked it up in the car manual and saw that it was a low tire pressure indicator. I pulled off the next exit and put air in the tire again. About forty minutes later it went off again. This time we tried putting some Fix-a-flat in the low tire. Evidently there was still more pressure in the tire than the Fix-a-flat can had; it just made a mess everywhere. After several more times of airing up the tire and the indicator light going off, I was in the middle of nowhere when the light went off again. By the time I got pulled off at an exit the tire was nearly flat. I really didn’t want to unload the car in the rain and change the tire, especially not remembering if the spare tire was a “donut” or not. We decided to try Fix-a-flat one more time. Eileen went into the gas station to get another can while I situated the car next to the air pump and bled more air from the tire. When Eileen returned, she had some fella in tow shaking the can and smoking a cigarette. The guy went right to work on the tire while I held the umbrella over him. The smoke was a little strong but it was the best smoke I smelled in a long time…since it was attached to help!! After struggling a little with the process, he aired it up and wished us well. We tried to pay him but he refused saying, “I’m glad to help; it could be me next time.” The Fix-a-flat helped a lot and we only had to air the tire up one more time between Montgomery and home. Nursing the tire, after getting caught in a traffic jam from an accident, turned our travel time into a 14 hour return trip. We got up there in 10 ½ hours.

So, we had a great visit; Eunice is doing well; and we’re glad to have made it home without too much trouble.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Everyone is so busy these days but it’s good to stop and give thanks for our blessings on a regular basis, not just at Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, this is a day that has become the traditional day that we have set aside to especially remember our blessings. I hope that your blessings are many and at the tip of your tongue.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

TRAVELING

There’s a chance that Eileen’s mom will get out of the hospital a day early (Wednesday) and Eileen won’t be going to the hospital to stay with her. If Eileen’s mom doesn’t come home early, then it’s still anticipated that she’ll come home on Thanksgiving. If Eileen stays at the hospital, she will take the computer with her. Her master’s degree work continues on. So, without the computer, I’ll make a Thanksgiving greeting that I’ll schedule to post Thursday. Otherwise, as I mentioned the other day, I’m not sure if the daily blog posts will continue over the Thanksgiving holidays. If not, I should have a post ready for Monday.

I’m writing this post on Tuesday morning. I took Eileen to school this morning so that we can pick her up after school and be on the road to Illinois. On the way to school, Eileen called to check on her mom. Her mom has a few things that need tended to but she is doing well. After dropping Eileen off, I met a friend for coffee before topping off the fuel tank and heading home. I then packed the car except for a few last minute items like the computer and then ordered some flowers for Eileen’s mother. I need to remember to tell Eileen that I ordered the flowers so that she knows what her mom is talking about when she thanks her!!

The weather is calling for rain most of the trip to Illinois. By the time you read this we will hopefully have made it safely and without incident. We will have packed sandwiches for supper and will make ultra short stops on our push to get up there without unnecessary delays. We should be going through most of the larger cities at good times of the night, so that traffic shouldn’t be too bad. Hopefully there will be plenty of police out to help keep the crazies off the road. We hope to make good time not by speeding but by hurrying when we stop only for gas. Hopefully, the restroom stops will only be necessary when we get gas. We don’t usually like to travel at such a hurried pace but when we consider that we will arrive between 2am and 3am, every fifteen minutes here and there quickly pushes the arrival time later and later. We have a busy next few days and we don’t want to get it started by arriving any later than we have to. If you are traveling for Thanksgiving, we hope that God blesses your way.

HIP SURGERY

Eileen’s eighty-five-year-old mother traveled two hours yesterday morning to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville, Indiana to repair a hip that didn’t heal after being fractured earlier this year. There she will undergo a hip replacement surgery to a hip that already has a rod in it.

It’s unfortunate that she has had to have the additional surgery; it’s also unfortunate that she has to go so far from home to get it done. I suppose one of the disadvantages of living in rural America is the paucity of nearby doctors that the family is comfortable with doing the surgery. Circumstances are stacked against Eileen’s mom but she is a strong woman. She would welcome any and all prayers.

The surgery went well for Eileen’s mom and Eileen will stay in close contact with her. Eileen talks to her mother almost daily and she will be visiting her in the hospital Wednesday morning. If all goes according to schedule, Eileen will spend the day and night with her before bringing her home on Thanksgiving.

As we head up to Illinois late Tuesday afternoon, we will go right through Evansville. However, it will be about one o’clock in the morning. We’ll continue to Eileen’s mom’s house where we’ll spend the rest of the night. Eileen will get up in the morning and take her mother’s car back to the hospital. Our oldest son’s family will arrive at Eileen’s mom’s house Tuesday night, several hours before we arrive. I’ll spend the next day with them before heading to St. Louis in the late afternoon to pick up our oldest daughter from the airport. There will be a lot of moving parts to this visit but one of the most important is that Eileen’s mother recovers well.

SHOOTING COMPETITION

Our oldest daughter is a Healthcare Administrator. In short, Healthcare Administrators are the ones who operate hospitals and large clinics. That is what our daughter does in the Navy. Currently she is the Healthcare Administrator at the Marine Corps “Branch Clinic” at Parris Island, SC. She also serves the Navy hospital at Beaufort. She really enjoys her work and she also takes advantage of the ancillary opportunities available to her.

For this past week, she has been participating in the Parris Island Marine Corps Rifle & Pistol Intramural Competition. Instead of going to work each day, she has been spending at least 12 hours a day briefing and shooting the M-4 rifle and M-9 Beretta pistol. Despite the long hours, there were several days that she still went into the office afterwards. Anyway, yesterday (Sunday) was the shooting finals for qualifications and team selections. Although our daughter shot well all week and in the preliminaries, she shot her best at the finals. On the M-4 rifle she shot a score of 220 which is rated as “Expert” and she shot a score of 324 on the pistol for a rating of “Sharpshooter.” She missed being one of the top four qualifiers on her rifle team so she won’t be shooting in the rifle team competition held today. However, she was the top qualifier on her team for the pistol. Even so, since their team pistol scores were comparatively low, they were withdrawn from the competition. So, in today’s competition she’ll serve as the “captain” of the rifle team which is the team organizer.

Our daughter really enjoyed the week of learning and the competition. She said her team had a great coach who prepared them well. I’ll have more news about her career in a week or so. For now, she is enjoying her job and the other opportunities the Navy provides for her, while being stationed on a Marine Corps base.

KOHL’S

On Friday, our youngest daughter got a call from her new employer, Kohl’s. She’ll start working part-time the first of December. The job is for the Christmas season. If she wants to continue working, she has to reapply after the season. Although our daughter is still a senior in high school, now that band is over, she wanted to get started on earning money to pay for her part of her college education. She has the Bright Futures Scholarship award and we will help. The rest will be left to her.

Our daughter has found out that even for seasonal work the job market is tough. She put in many applications but Kohl’s is the only place to call back. Part of the problem is that there are so many people who need jobs who have experience. Lack of work experience seemed to overshadow my daughter’s application. However, there is one thing that helps offset lack of experience: A good recommendation.

One of our oldest daughter’s best friends has worked at the local Kohl’s store for quite a few years. I happened to be in the store the day after the online application process kicked our younger daughter’s application out; I suppose for lack of experience. I saw the friend and asked her about it. She said it does that sometimes and gave me a paper application to give our daughter. She then said for my daughter to return the application to her personally and she will see that it gets to the right people. Our daughter did her part and I suppose the friend did her part. From the vast sea of applications, at least Kohl’s got someone that has a personal reference from a current Kohl’s employee.

Of course, Kohl’s will downsize again after the holidays but this will be a great opportunity for our daughter to get some work experience and it will give Kohl’s an opportunity to see if they like our daughter. Who knows, this may be a foot in the door for her.

SPREADING THE LOVE

It’s pretty certain that I had a bug since Eileen is now having some symptoms from it and our daughter might be too. It seems like I always bring something home from the doctor’s office. Maybe I need to do like some suggest and wear a mask. I’m still doing better but I had a long and busy day (Friday). Now as it turns 9pm I’m tired and weary. I’m sure it’s just the aftereffects of the bug and that I’m still on the mend.

I only took two Gabapentin today and I hope to be off of it by the end of the weekend. We’ll have a busy weekend in the household as we prepare for our trip next week to Illinois. Our younger son has decided that he needs to stay home because of his engineering classes. The coursework is heavy and the professors aren’t too concerned about those who want to take days off to travel.

Speaking of Illinois, I don’t know how much I will blog while up there. With Eileen’s mom having surgery and a couple of round trips to St. Louis thrown around Thanksgiving, my opportunities might be much less than optimal. I’ll just have to see how things go. I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, we’ll just hope to have everyone healthy from this bug I’ve given them.

FEELING BETTER

I slept well last night and felt pretty good when I awoke. My throat was a little sore from entertaining all the gastric juices on their way up and out of me yesterday. After assessing my status, I decided to give a friend a call who I had planned on helping put up a deer stand the day before but had to cancel because of my sickness. I told him I may not be much help but that I’d like to get out as I was confident that I wasn’t contagious. So, he picked me up and out to the woods we headed. As we rode, I started getting hot again and the nausea intensified. I was about to have him pull over when I could see the destination. We arrives and he loaded the deer stands in the back of his truck while I helped very little. It was then a short drive into the woods. The truck ride again was not too good but we arrived in short order. Once I started walking around and helping him I started feeling better. In fact, I got to feeling a lot better. We finished up and started back.

I tolerated the ride fairly well but was starting to get sick again. We pulled into a Whataburger restaurant. I ate half a sandwich and some fries. He then took me home. I continued to feel better as the afternoon progressed.

As I wean myself off of Gabapentin, I took only one capsule this morning and plan on only taking only one this evening. Is that the right way to come off it? Who knows!! I’m also not sure what aspect of Gabapentin bothers me more…taking it or the withdrawal. I’m seeking to find a good balance as I come off it. I’ll be glad to get rid of it. I haven’t called the neurologist’s office yet to cancel my appointment. I want to make sure my system stabilizes first and my arm is back to some degree of its usual status before canceling.

TRIAL AND ERROR

In discussing my doctor’s visit, Eileen had one main question: “What does he mean by, “Slowly come off of it?” referring to my doctor’s recommendation to slowly come off Gabapentin. Well, I know one thing; it means don’t go cold turkey like I did with those last medications!! So, instead of taking six pills yesterday I took three. Eileen contends the doctor should have instructed me how many pills to take per day in coming off the medication. She is right. Gabapentin is supposed to be hard to come off.

I had a lot of trouble yesterday evening and into the night. I didn’t sleep at all, not even for a minute. Chiefly, I had strong arm pain and intense nausea… despite being on two anti-nausea medications. The arm pain wasn’t severe but it had a hard edge which kept at me. I took my doses of Tramadol (narcotic-like pain killer) yesterday but it has to build back up in my blood stream; so it didn’t do much good. To say the least, it was a long night; I’m just glad my arm was fairly well behaved compared to how it can be. Oh, did I mention leg cramps too?!

Anyway, being mindful of Eileen’s question, I don’t know if I’m coming off the Gabapentin at the right pace or not. I searched the internet; it didn’t yield much help. So, I took my morning dose of Gabapentin today but now I have progressed to heavy sweats and frequent vomiting. I don’t know whether it’s from Gabapentin withdrawal, arm pain sickness, or whether I picked up a bug at the doctor’s office. My arm pain will often reach the intensity of increasing my nausea and causing me to vomit. However, while last night’s arm pain wasn’t pleasant, I’m certain it didn’t rise to that level. So, I’m not sure what’s making me so sick. Frankly, I have my moments in which I feel like I’m a lab rat to which these guys experimentally make their trial and error recommendations. They seemingly go home at the end of the day and come back to their offices the next without a thought to the repercussions of their recommendations. Meanwhile, I’m strung-out and sick. In reality, I’m sure the doctors are doing their best and are concerned, but this all gets very frustrating. Ever get to the point in which you start praying while vomiting? I’m there!! I’m starting to lean towards thinking I contracted a bug at the doctor’s office...my first significant bug since starting Gleevec for my leukemia.

With all my sickness this morning and afternoon, along with some naps, it’s taken me several hours to write this blog. It’s mid afternoon and I’m happy that the nausea is starting to ease a little.

Even if this is a bug I have, what do you suppose the chances are that I’ll cancel my appointment with the neurologist? I’d say the chances are pretty high!! Besides, Eileen made a good point. She said that the neurologist ostensibly gave me his best recommendation: Gabapentin. From there it’s probably going to be trial and error like I’ve anguished through for years already, perhaps even with the same drugs. I don’t see myself going through that again. I’ve about concluded that I’d rather deal with my arm pain the way I have been than to be a lab rat at the hands of trial and error.

FAMILY DOCTOR

Especially over the past few days, the side effects of Gabapentin have really kicked in. I’ve been taking two capsules three times a day for two weeks. It has provided no help with my arm pain. In fact, my arm is now less tolerant and more susceptible to being provoked than before. Moreover, the side effects of Gabapentin make me almost dysfunctional with ravaging weakness, lightheadedness, and feeling totally wiped out by late evening and it’s getting to where I have to monitor how I’m feeling during the day before I drive. That’s not a good drug side-effect at anytime, especially when it’s not providing any arm relief. Besides that, we’re driving to Illinois next week and I’m making a round trip to St. Louis from Illinois (2 ½ hour trip each way) on Saturday. I have to be able to drive next week.

It just so happened that I had an appointment with my family doctor today (Tuesday). I had a 7:30am appointment and I got there about 7:10. The first thing I noticed was that there wasn’t anyone in the waiting room. Just last week (same day of the week) it was packed with people getting their blood tests. I waited 50 minutes last week. If things were scheduled a week later I wouldn’t have been sitting there so long. Anyway, after checking in and paying my co-pay, I sat in a chair being sure not to touch the arms of the chair or anything else. Soon after sitting down the nurse called me in.

In the past, my blood pressure has been borderline normal, sometimes a bit high and other times okay. It’s been this way for many years, and with my family history, the doctor has hinted several times at putting me on blood pressure medicine. He is well aware of my disdain for medication and my poor compliance at times. So far he hasn’t made the recommendation. Nevertheless, I always feel a little pressure before getting it checked at his office. I try to totally relax and think “happy thoughts” while the nurse prepares the blood pressure machine. Thankfully, my blood pressure this time was much better than normal. The first phase of my visit went well.

The next phase was the scales. Patients on Gabapentin typically gain weight through fluid retention, metabolic changes, and increased appetite. Without changing a thing in my diet, I gained seven pounds in a week. Although vanity is not my chief concern in life, the weight gain did not make me happy. I stepped on the scales and had never seen it register so much!! I was sure the doctor would have a comment or two about my weight gain.

I was escorted to a treatment room where I sat for a few minutes. It was there that I remembered that I had blood test results to go over. This is usually an item of contention. Ever since my blood chemistries have ever been checked, even as a collegian, my cholesterol and triglycerides, etc. have never been very good. In fact, before the days of Gleevec, I was prescribed statin drugs. I didn’t take them in the manner prescribed. Nevertheless, my numbers turned good just in time for me to come off them. Statin drugs and Gleevec don’t play well together. The last several tests have shown my numbers to be to where I know my doctor was itching to put me on something. As I sat there, I wondered what my test results would show.

Soon the doctor came in and greeted me. Showing me my test results, he was glad that they were all normal; even my cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL were within normal limits. I’m not sure why; it doesn’t seem that I’ve done anything different. Then the doctor asked me about my arm and Gabapentin. I described my symptoms and he said that it is Gabapentin doing that to me. He advised I slowly get off of it. He said just tell the neurologist that I wasn’t tolerating it. I discussed with him Tramadol. I said although the neurologist said not to take it, it had helped me the most of anything that’s been tried over the years. The doctor asked why the neurologist took me off it. I replied that he said it was because of an interaction with my anti-nausea medication causing sedation. He responded that it was a tolerable side-effect considering the benefit I get. I had been thinking the same thing. So, he recommended that I go back on the Tramadol. I said I would.

That leaves the question of the neurologist which I see in a month. I told my doctor that I don’t want to go back to him because I don’t want to be experimented on with an endless array of drugs. I’m willing to use Tramadol to minimize my residual pain and just deal with the rest of it like I have been for years. The doctor encouraged me to give the neurologist one more chance. I’ve thought about it ever since I left my doctor’s office. I think I’ll cancel the neurologist appointment. There’s no sense going through all of that. I can handle the sedative effects of Gleevec and Tramadol; it’s going to be less than what I was on before. These effects are sure a lot easier to deal with than Gabapentin and perhaps the other exotic drugs the neurologist will try on me. Again, I’m just not in the experimentation mood right now.

So, I left the office with my prescription for Tramadol. I’ll be off the Gabapentin in a few days and I feel more confident about the drive to Illinois. I have a month to decide what to do about the neurologist. Once I discuss it with Eileen, she’s at work right now, I’ll decide. If I cancel the neurologist’s appointment, I want to do it as soon as possible so as to free up my appointment slot.

All in all, I feel good about my appointment with my family doctor. I had good blood pressure, good liver and kidney tests, good cholesterol results, and I’m going off Gabapentin…and he didn’t mention my weight!! I have to see him again in six months. I hope to have my weight down a bit by then…after the holidays that is!!

“Less Friendly”

Sometimes when I blog I wonder how many of my readers feel the same way about a subject. In fact, I sometimes wonder if mainstream America sees what I see. I was reading an article about the new Archbishop of Philadelphia, Rev. Charles Chaput, when his words resonated. He said, “The America emerging in the next several decades is likely to be much less friendly to Christian faith than anything in our country’s past. It’s not a question of when or if it might happen. It’s happening today.”

I don’t think we have to really be all that objective to see the systematic removal of God and Christianity from our daily lives. It’s even gotten to the point where Christmas has to be celebrated as something other than a Christian holiday, as we see in the banning of nativity scenes and other Christian symbols. Soon enough, if not already, Santa Claus will be the sole figure of Christmas. For those who want to tell me that even when we celebrate Santa Claus we are celebrating St. Nicholas…I have my standard response. Christmas isn’t about St. Nicholas either!!

President Obama declared that this is no longer a Christian nation. My friends, we will rue the day that is a true statement. As we enter this Christmas season, it’s time to strengthen our faith and stand for our beliefs. As America becomes “much less friendly to Christian faith,” it becomes much less friendly to God. It’s time to gird ourselves, be strong, and speak out when the opportunity arises; the battle is at hand.

VISITING

Our granddaughter, Lindsay, and her parents left to go home late Sunday afternoon. We had a great visit and it continues to be so fascinating to watch Lindsay’s personality and personality traits develop. She is thirteen months old and is at a stage where her individuality is beginning to really demonstrate itself. As the busy holiday season approaches, we’re glad that seeing her and the rest of the family will be at the center of it all.

We will be making our annual pilgrimage to Illinois at Thanksgiving where all of Eileen’s family will be gathered too. At this point, it looks like all of our kids will travel there too. Thanksgiving will be a little different this year though. Eileen’s mom has to have surgery on the hip she broke earlier in the year. It hasn’t healed correctly and has to be redone. That’s not good news for an 85 year old woman. She will have the surgery on the Monday before Thanksgiving and we will arrive late Tuesday night. Eileen will go to the hospital and stay with her mother until bringing her home on Thanksgiving. I’ll be heading to St. Louis to pick up our daughter who is flying in. Anyway, the Thanksgiving celebration will proceed as usual…with one important participant arriving a little late. Our thoughts and prayers are with her.

We will celebrate Christmas at our house with all of our kids making it home. At this stage of our children’s lives, we consider it a great blessing when all of our children are able to gather. I’m sure there will be years in which that is not possible at Christmas for us, just like there are so many who are unable to make it home because of where they live, their jobs, or because they are serving our nation in distant parts of the nation or world. In fact, we have a nephew who has just arrived in Afghanistan for a deployment that will last many months through and past Christmas. Whether our children and families can gather at Thanksgiving or Christmas, we try to fully appreciate each time we are all able to gather. In that respect, every gathering is as special to us as a holiday one. I hope it is for you too.

A CURE

A friend posted an article on Facebook about a cancer vaccine being developed in Israel. The article sounds promising and predicts a viable cancer vaccine in about six years. Of course there have been all sorts of positive prognostications over the years for many cures, especially cancer. However, thus far a cure or vaccine has been elusive. Nevertheless, there are a lot of dedicated people working to rid humanity of this terrible disease. As many people once hoped and prayed for a cure for polio, people now hope and pray for a cure for cancer.

I’m very thankful that my cancer is in remission for the time being. Yes, I’m quite aware that my particular variety of CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia) is supposed to go active at some point. Nevertheless, I’m happy and thankful for my current status. In fact, other than being labeled with cancer, most of the time I don’t really feel like I have cancer. I don’t really deal with the effects of my cancer per se. I deal with the complications of the chemo drug I take designed to control my cancer. Although I don’t like the chemo side effects, it’s comforting to know that my cancer is in remission.

Remission, however, is not a realistic hope for many with cancer. Remission can only be brought about by a Divine action for some. We all know people who have suffered terribly with their cancer, chemo, and the dying process. Let’s all remember to pray for a cure for this dreadful disease, and the people who suffer from cancer. Let it be in our prayers that the researchers in Israel and throughout the world are successful in their endeavors against cancer.

PARADE

Parades are one of those things that I like to be at but I usually don’t like going to. The Pensacola Christmas Parade is the exception. I like everything about it: The large crowds, the excitement in the air, the floats, bands, the exhilaration of the children, and catching/dodging all the candy and beads thrown to the crowd. The Pensacola Christmas Parade is a very large parade and even if it is sometimes a little cold, there’s special warmth from the event.

Yesterday was another special parade. Our youngest daughter was in the Veteran’s Day parade as a member of her high school band. This parade draws only a few hundred but it’s gratifying to see the representatives of those who have served as well as those in the ROTC programs who are likely to serve. I get a real sense of appreciation as I watch a breed of people willing to sacrifice so much for the freedoms we love and often take for granted.

I almost didn’t make it to yesterday’s parade. The overnight temperature was in the 30’s and it was still cold when I dropped our daughter off for the parade at 8am. After dropping her off, I drove about a mile-and-a-half to the finish area where I parked the car. I was dressed as warmly as possible with scarf and all. I walked away from the parade direction to a nearby Waffle House for a cup of coffee. The sun was shining, the air was brisk but I was fine. After getting my coffee, I walked the entire parade route backwards to the starting area. I have done that year after year as three of our children have been in the band. By the time I got to the staging area, I had my outer jacket off. Soon the parade started. I waited until the combined high school bands came past and I spotted our daughter. I then kept pace with the band until it reached the parade’s conclusion.

Our granddaughter Lindsay (and parents) got into town Thursday night and we were up really late with them. Then Eileen and I got up at 6am to get things ready for the day. After the parade and lunch, I decided to take a nap. It’s my first nap since getting off all the sedatives. I slept fairly well except for the leg cramps and the increasing arm pain. If that Gabapentin is helping, I would not like to know what it would be like without it!! My arm was hurting quite a bit before the parade; I did fine at the parade; but it sure has been acting up ever since. Even if the parade did aggravate my arm somewhat, it was worth it; this is my daughter’s last year in band.

SERVICES

I took one of our cars into the dealer to fix a problem that they supposedly fixed last week. In the dealership waiting room, I sat next to a man in a military flight suit. The name tag on his flight jacket indicated that he was a captain in the Air Force; he said that he was serving in Pensacola as a flight instructor. He was a B-52 pilot who spent the first several years of his military life as an enlisted Marine Corps helicopter mechanic.

We talked about many military issues and some current government policies. He was very interesting to chat with as he seemed to have given these issues considerable consideration. After a while, his ride came and he had to leave. I stood up to stretch and then checked my watch. It had been an hour-and-a-half. Looking around the vast service lot, I noticed what appeared to be my car just sitting unattended off to the side parked by a bunch of other cars. I presumed they hadn’t even started on it. That didn’t make me happy because I had an appointment. I decided to talk to my service manager. This is a big dealership and they have many service managers. I saw that my service manager was busy with a customer. As I waited, I considered what I should say. I thought about the cruddy communications and service that I’ve gotten in medical offices lately. I recalled the medical office problems that my mother-in-law is enduring. I called to mind a friend who recently told me that she had a medical procedure done two weeks ago but hasn’t gotten a call regarding the results although she has gotten the bill. She went on to say that she got a stove from Lowe’s; it had a problem and Lowe’s called her three times to keep her informed of its status. It seemed that Lowe’s ran a better operation than her doctor’s office!! Anyway, as I thought about what to say, I thought of a quip made by a friend: “Throw a fit.” I finally decided to say, “I had an appointment; I hope that’s not my car out there.” Well, as my service manager finished up with a customer I approached his station. He approached me and spoke first. “Your car is finished; they’ll drive it up in just a moment. We replaced a vacuum hose. There is no charge.”

I’m glad that he spoke first and I’m glad that I didn’t display a lack of character. However, as I drove away, I still thought of my mother-in-law and my friend’s medical experiences against the backdrop of my own. I know that automated answering machines, convoluted policies, and indirect medical access allow medical clinics to hire less staff. However, medical care should necessitate ample human interaction. There are few things more aggravating when one is sick or elderly than to have to duck and weave through the bureaucracy of a medical clinic or hospital. It just shouldn’t be that way and the defining reason that people get into health care ought to raise a conscious objection to the way their medical facilities operate. Health care administrators should be reminded not to overly compromise the personal aspect of patient care when trying to provide medical care at as low of an overhead cost as possible. I realize that personnel are the most expensive parts of a business, but personal service and interaction are necessary aspects of conscientious patient care. In fact, I’d recommend that healthcare administrators think in terms of providing patient care rather than in terms of delivering medical care. It’s a nuance perhaps, but it’s a profound paradigm shift in the approach to patient care. My daughter is a healthcare administrator; I think she’d agree.

MEDICINES

I seem to be doing better in one great respect. The changing of my medicine has removed three sedatives. Well, they aren’t true sedatives but the drugs’ interaction with each other created three distinct sedative drug outcomes. Now that I’m rid of that, my ability to stay awake and alert has dramatically increased. It’s like a new lease on life. As you can imagine with anyone on three sedatives and being anemic, I was having quite a battle staying awake and engaging life. Looking back, wow, was I out of it!!

I understand that doctors of medicine are experts at medicine. If you have a complaint, they have a medicine. It’s why I’m somewhat hesitant to say too much. As I reflect on how I feel right now compared to how I have felt for the past several years, I really regret being on all that pain medication. I have a high pain tolerance and I was only getting marginal relief from the medications anyway. I can see now just how much of my life and energy the medicines tried to rob me of. Being on three sedatives, I fought through a lot to be active and engaged with my family and friends. I mean sometimes it was a real fight. It’s nice being fully awake and aware. I didn’t realize what that medicine slowly did to me. The real kicker, again, is that is gave me marginal pain relief. I’d rather have a bit more pain and feel alive than have a little less pain and be a zombie!! I’ve almost done more dishes, shopping, and cooking in the past two weeks than in the past two years. Even that is hard on my arm but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, even if my lemon pie didn’t turn out so well!!

I’ve been on Gabapentin for a week now and can’t tell one bit of difference in help for my arm pain. In fact, I can tell my arm is much more sensitive than it was when I was on the other medicines. I don’t like the increased sensitivity aspect of my arm, especially with winter coming on, but I don’t want to go back to being a zombie. I’d rather fight the pain like I’ve been doing for twenty years than be disengaged from life. I still don’t think I’m over my withdrawal symptoms as I still get cold chills, temporary dense fog feeling, lightheadedness, weakness, and unsteadiness. It all began when I stopped taking those addictive drugs but it’s not as bad or as often as it was. Some of the symptoms may be from Gabapentin because I tend to get more of the symptoms in the evening. Sometimes, I need full concentration to type or perform simple tasks; I get to feeling so washed out but not tired. That’s after having taken the third dose of the day of Gabapentin. Anyway, if I’m still dealing with these symptoms next Tuesday when I have my doctor’s appointment, I doubt that I’m going to say a word; I don’t want another medication added too!!

BLOOD TEST

If you were wondering, the lemon pie didn’t turn out too well. Everyone thought it tasted okay but no-one was willing to say they’d have more of it!! So, I guess I’ll stick to cooking on the grill and leave the finer culinary arts to others.

I was scheduled to get my blood tested at my family doctor today (Tuesday). For the twenty years that I’ve been going there, blood tests were by appointment. Now there are no appointments. I showed up for my fasting blood test a little before eight in the morning. After signing in, I asked how many people were ahead of me. She said several. For fifty minutes I sat there waiting my turn to get my blood tested. It was ridiculous. For all these years I’ve never waited nearly that long under their appointment system. One guy, who came after me, only waited about fifteen minutes before “throwing down” and saying that he was going to leave. They took him right away. When I finally got called back, I informed them that I had been waiting fifty minutes. She apologized. I asked why they don’t do it by appointment anymore. She said that the medical clinic operates under a new computer software program and the program doesn’t allow them to make appointments. I then said, “So the only way to not have to wait nearly an hour is to throw a fit like the one fellow did, since you took him ahead of the rest of us.” She again said that she was sorry.

Well, I didn’t want to push it much farther than that because I don’t like to upset someone who is about to stick me with a needle!! Besides, the new system was not their fault; someone in management needs to become a patient in their own clinic. Having operated a clinic before, it amazes me that these clinics I encounter have so many practices that are so unfriendly and unhelpful to patients. The bureaucracy of these clinics is way too encumbering for quality patient care.

There’s another aspect to this. I have a lowered immunity; my resistance is quite a bit lower than normal. Dr. Tan (my oncologist) reminds me to be careful about my exposure to germs. The last place I want to be sitting for nearly an hour is a doctor’s office full of sick people. I cringed at every cough and sniffle. I was uncomfortable the whole time I was sitting there and I bet my blood pressure was spiking too!! Although I feel fine right now, I commonly contract something from even short visits to doctor’s offices. The whole fifty minutes waiting time is just an unnecessary process and exposure, especially when they had a better system. To think that this all because of the computer program they purchased. Nevertheless, I did notice that people come early for their blood tests since they are fasting. Next time I will go later in the morning, hopefully after the big rush. I don’t mind waiting to eat breakfast but I do mind sitting in a doctor’s office for that long.

GABAPENTIN

My blog post today begins with a medicine update. I started taking the Gabapentin several days ago. This is the medicine that has a prominent warning: “You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected ways and you may become suicidal (thinking about harming or killing yourself or planning or trying to do so.” I haven’t noticed any of these type of tendencies so far and hope that my drive for contribution to life is strong enough to overpower any such feelings. Nevertheless, I’m on the watch for any downturn in my attitude.

Although I’m taking two Gabapentin tablets three times a day, I don’t think I’ve noticed any other side effects. I can’t say that I’ve noticed any pain relief affects either yet, but I know the medicine has to build up. Anyway, I still have symptoms but it seems that it’s a continuation of my withdrawal symptoms. I would think that the withdrawal symptoms would be gone by now but I’m still struggling to keep the ship upright sometimes. Maybe Gabapentin took over where the other left off.

One good thing about being off of those other medications is that I’m down to one drug combination instead of four that acts as a sedative. Although I still fight fatigue as a result of Gleevec and anemia, I’m not nearly so tired all the time. In fact, I haven’t taken a nap in about a week. That’s a record for me since starting all this mess about two years ago. There’s one other bit of unfortunate news, as you may recall, Gleevec patients average a weight gain of over 20 pounds due to fluid retention, metabolism changes, and increased appetite. I’m glad I gained much less than that. Unfortunately, Gabapentin does the same thing. In fact, I’ve gained several pounds since taking Gabapentin without adding a thing to my diet. That doesn’t make me happy but if it’s the worst side effect I end up with I’ll be content.

A neighbor gave us some lemons and satsumas (oranges) from her father’s tree. I decided to make a lemon pie. I’ve never done that before and a friend suggested that the medicine is affecting my mind for me trying!! Pie making apparently isn’t my calling. I think the pie turned out fine but I started with a recipe for two pies!! I was trying to get the mixture to thicken. I boiled it and boiled it. Then I noticed that half my mixture was gone. So I stopped cooking it. I went to pour the mixture in the two pie crusts but only had enough for one!! I then attempted to make meringue. It was a disaster. After scooping the meringue back out and off the pie filling, I put the pie in the refrigerator. It has thickened up and looks good. We’ll have to see later how it tastes!!

THE FROG AND ME

My oldest brother took me out to the woods today. He was going to be hunting deer while I brought a camera and a video camera. I’ve never been much of a hunter. I was stationed in an elevated shooting hut while my brother was in a tree stand about a hundred yards away. I climbed the stand and opened the door. One of the first things I noticed was a little tree frog on the back of a chair. I moved the chair to a better position but just left the frog alone. Soon though, he was on the ledge of one of the windows. I took its picture.

Just sitting there is what I did for several hours. Time passed by quickly though as I watched for deer, looked through binoculars, did some texting, and just sat and thought. My brother said, “He does his best thinking in the shower and tree stand: The tree stand uses less water.” That kind of applies to me too. The serenity of being out in the woods is amazing. It gave a lot of time to just sit and think. At times I just sat there and looked at the frog on the ledge.

Soon the sun went down but I hadn’t seen a single deer. It was time to pack up and head back. I guess the little frog had to leave too because I checked on him just before I climbed out of the tree stand. He was gone. My brother drove the four-wheeler with me on the back through the paths in the woods and then on the dirt roads back to the car. It was a great afternoon chatting with my brother and being in the shooting hut for several hours with just the frog and me.

DUAL ENROLLMENT

Our youngest daughter is a senior in high school. She plans on studying business in college with a specialization in finance. During her high school years, she has taken some Dual Enrollment classes which are college classes which give both high school and college credits. Having been preparing for college through high school, she has not only taken several college classes but she has fulfilled all her high school requirements a semester early. Therefore, she has decided to take a full load of Dual Enrollment classes at a local college for her spring semester of high school.

The good thing about Dual Enrollment classes is that it is funded through the high school. Therefore, there isn’t additional cost to the student/parents for the classes or books. Again, the classes are actually college classes so they count both for high school and college. The dual enrollment college classes our daughter will be taking this spring are College Chemistry, Economics, Accounting, Statistics, and Psychology. She’ll have her hands full but she is a hard worker.

Our daughter’s choice to take dual enrollment classes will save her time and money in college. After this spring semester, she will have 43 semester hours of college credit upon graduation from high school. That’s just a strong semester worth of credit hours away from having completed her first two years of college while in high school.

BRIGHT FUTURES

Many state lotteries have sold themselves by advertising that they fund education. Of course what usually happens is that monies made by the lottery are offset by other cuts to educational funding. So, rather that the lottery being a big boon for education it is really a boon to the general fund. Nevertheless, Florida is one of the states that decided to use some of its lottery money to fund a special scholarship program called Bright Futures. It’s one of the few non-needs based scholarships left; it’s achievement based. Originally if a high school student attained a certain grade point average, scored high enough on the ACT/SAT, and did a prescribed number of community service hours, then Bright Futures would pay either 75% or 100% of in-state tuition, depending on the respective achievements. At the 100% achievement level, $300.00 of book expenses was covered too. Those were the guideline when our three oldest children began college. Now things have changed.

A few short years later as our youngest child is about to begin college, the 100% level has dropped to 56%. The 75% level has dropped to 42%. The funding has dropped almost 20% in the last year. It’s not a case that the lottery business in Florida is hurting. Once again the state’s general fund is siphoning off money that was intended for education. It’s hard to trust legislators with finances.

THE DOCTOR’S CALL

I thought about not giving the letter to my family doctor and just wait to talk to him at my appointment in two weeks. I decided that I can just tough it out until then. However, as the weather began to turn again, I decided I better stop being relatively passive about my arm and force something to give. So, after going to Whataburger for coffee with a friend, I drove to my doctor’s clinic and gave the letter to the receptionist. I asked that she makes sure that my doctor gets the envelope. I had put the letter in an envelope with his name on the outside. I wrote “personal” at the bottom of the envelope and underlined it with a yellow highlighter. I then went home to await a call from his office. I don’t imagine he’ll get a chance to see it before lunch so I’ll make sure I hang around the phone until after the lunch hour. If they don’t call by then, it could be later in the afternoon…if at all!!

So, I started this blog post while I wait for the call. While I’m waiting, I want to share part of a conversation I had with our oldest daughter yesterday. She commented about me referring to Gabapentin as my “suicide” medication. She reminded me that I raised them on positive concepts and didn’t tolerate possible negative self-fulfilling comments or thoughts. I laughed when she said that as I thought, “Hey, maybe some of that stuck with the kids after all!!” So, I told her that she was right and that I wouldn’t call Gabapentin “suicide” medication any longer. The point is that if I have to actually take Gabapentin, it’s not a good thing to have programmed my mind that it is “suicide” medication. I suppose I should practice what I preach!!

Okay… I waited by the phone until after the lunch hour. Then I left the house for about an hour. When I got back there was a message on the answering machine from the doctor’s office. I called back but got the voicemail. Later in the afternoon the doctor’s nurse called again. She assured me that the doctor had responded to my phone message but apologized that the office dropped the callback. She said that she was out of the office that day and the next several. The doctor had given the substitute nurse his directions for me. She didn’t follow through in calling me. The nurse again apologized and said that if I ever have any questions to ask for the direct line to her; don’t leave a message with the message center. Then she got down to what my doctor wanted me to do. She said that the doctor wants me to follow the neurologist’s recommendation but come off the Tramadol and Lortab slowly. She said that the doctor himself has taken Gabapentin and was confident I’d tolerate it fine. Since I already have an appointment in two weeks he’d check with me then, unless I develop problems with it. I told her that I was already off the Tramadol and Lortab for a week although I might decide to take one now and then if these withdrawal symptoms don’t go away. The nurse reiterated that the doctor wants me off of it so not to use it too often.

Now I wish that I hadn’t been calling Gabapentin “suicide” medication!! I’ll suppose I’ll probably start taking them once I get my mind right… because I need to do something.

THE SAGA LIVES ON

As you’ve read my last several posts about my medications, you probably think the discussion has run its course. Not quite so fast. Until I get my medications settled, I’m likely to have plenty to say yet!! As I still endure some of the effects of coming off not only Tramadol and Lortab, but coming off both at the same time, I’m not very happy with the way this has transpired. Similarly, I’m not happy to be facing this colder weather without some help. So, I blog on about the culprits in this situation.

First of all, the neurologist: He knew that I had been taking both medications for years. For all he knew, I was desperately taking maximum doses instead of minimal to moderate dosages. If what I’ve been going through in the form of withdrawal is any indication, God help those who are heavier users trying to go off the stuff. Anyway, it sure would have been nice if the neurologist would have warned me or offered me some help. I suppose he didn’t think I’d give the narcotics up, so he didn’t bother. I hope that isn’t the case but I have little else to explain it. I don’t know whether I feel abandoned or like I was sent to slay a dragon with a pea shooter. Meanwhile, I still have my unused “suicide” medication sitting next to me. For new readers, that is what I call the Gabapentin that I’m supposed to take two tablets of three times a day. The reason I’ve labeled it such is because the warning on the medication says: “You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected ways and you may become suicidal (thinking about harming or killing yourself or planning or trying to do so.” Calling it “suicide” medication might be a little too uncharacteristically negative of me, but right now I’m not sure I’d take a Milky Way candy bar if the neurologist prescribed it!!

Secondly, there is my family doctor’s office. I’m still giving the doctor the benefit of the doubt and presume the communication problem is in the bureaucracy of the office. However, I know this kind of poor communication happens to a lot of people and doctors shouldn’t tolerate it from their staffs. As life often presents itself, I have an appointment with my family doctor in two weeks. We’ll have a nice chat then. Meanwhile, if his office would have answered my questions about me going off the Tramadol and Lortab, and going onto Gabapentin, I could have been spared my “cold turkey” drama. Since I followed the neurologist’s admonitions while waiting to get it confirmed by my family doctor, well, I had some unnecessary troubles. Surely, my doctor would have helped me come off them correctly… if he agreed for me to come off them at all. It’s too late though; I’m not inclined to go back onto them until and unless there’s no other way.

Thirdly, there is myself. When things were getting a bit tough, Eileen suggested (several times) that I take a dose to help ease the pain in my arm and the withdrawal. She didn’t use the word “withdrawal” and the word never really entered my head until I was through the worst of it. I suppose it is because the arm pain and stomach pain can make me rather ill. I wish I would have thought of and researched “withdrawal” much earlier than what I did. As usual, I should have listened to Eileen instead of finding a fine time to follow the neurologist’s directive: “Stop taking the Tramadol and Lortab.” Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be left to patients to research and double check their doctor’s pharmaceutical advice. I instinctively don’t like taking medications and I guess I was a bit jubilant in the opportunity to get rid of two medications that were adversely interacting with each other while adding one that didn’t interact adversely with any of them. Only later did I find out what it was that the neurologist wanted me to take instead… and what going off the medications would be like.

Well, life goes on but prescription drugs are pretty serious things to be inattentive about. Chalk it up to another lesson learned at the hand of my doctors.

UPDATE: After another rough night, I decided to write a letter to my family doctor. Tomorrow morning I’ll deliver the letter his office. It’s a very gentle letter as I continue to give the doctor the benefit of the doubt, but it makes the point. I’ll let you know what happens.

DRUG ADDICTION

With great interest I read the article by John Roberts, “Report: Prescription Drug Deaths Skyrocket.” The article said, “In 2008, the most recent year for which there are statistics, there were 20,044 overdose deaths from prescription drugs. Of those, 14,800 were from narcotic painkillers.” “It’s astonishing”, says Dr. Frieden. He adds that many addictions begin innocently.” “Despite modest inroads, CDC researchers say the epidemic of prescription narcotic overdoses has continued to worsen. In today’s report, they caution doctors to only use narcotic painkillers in patients who are carefully screened and monitored, and for whom non-narcotic medications are insufficient.”

There are a lot of people who have terrible pain and they don’t really care if they are addicted to the pain medication or not, as long as they get some relief. However, I’m sure they do care if they die from overdosing because the addiction requires more and more to get the same effect!! I’ve had my share of narcotics and narcotic-like drugs, but I’ve never been to the point where I craved more and more of them. It’s probably because I despise them so much that I’ve taken as little as I could. Nevertheless, coming off my pain killers has not been delightful. Knowing what I know now, I’m sure there was some sort of physical dependency. I wish the neurologist would have given me a little more guidance in coming off the Tramadol and Lortab since I had been taking them for years. Earlier today I read:

“Tramadol withdrawal can be extremely unpleasant. It can be so uncomfortable that people start taking the drug again in order to relieve these symptoms. In order to limit withdrawal, you should not stop taking Tramadol "cold turkey."’

“Even when Lortab is prescribed and used in the correct way, stopping the medication will still involve withdrawal symptoms.  Recovery from these withdrawal symptoms, takes effort and time, and is best done at an outpatient detox facility. The dependence makes it very difficult to stop or dramatically reduce the dosage, due to the occurrence of traumatic Lortab withdrawal symptoms.”

That information might have been useful before I went through the heebie jeebies, cold sweats, palpitations, lightheadedness, shakes and such!! Thank God I have a determined (stubborn) streak!! I’m pretty well over it now but my system hasn’t totally calmed down yet. What’s worse? Although I’m going to give Advil and perhaps the “suicide” medicine a chance, I could be back on Tramadol and Lortab if this is a rough winter. When things get bad enough, addiction is only a problem if you can’t get enough medication or it makes you dysfunctional. It’s too vivid of a memory for me of when I’ve been in situations when I wouldn’t have much cared about being addicted if that is it took to get some arm relief. Having said that… I will endure a lot before going back on them. The above mentioned article is a little scary.  I would be sorely disappointed in myself and my role as a husband, father, and grandparent if things progressed to the point that I lived the life of a drug addict.

PILLS AND A FOOL

Here I still sit waiting for my doctor’s office to return my Thursday call. I say that facetiously as I know they won’t call back. I’ve likely been lost in the bureaucracy that separates doctors and patients. Somewhere in their office are my unanswered questions of what I’m supposed to do with these medications. If the actions I take with these medications are really that important then surely they would have called me by now. Ha, ha!! I might call them again; I might just figure it out myself.

Ever since the neurologist advised me to stop taking the medications I was on, in lieu of the one he wants me to take, I’ve been withdrawing myself from them. I use that word “withdraw” because my body has not liked being without the addictive pain medications it has had for years. So, as my body is getting cleared of those medications, I’m now only taking Gleevec for my leukemia and the anti-nausea medications. Well, that’s all the prescription medications I’m taking. Left to my own ways, I’ve relied on an old friend a few times.

Throughout the years, I’ve been on some incredibly powerful pain medications including Oxycontin and other narcotics. They have only been marginally successful in helping with my arm pain. Oddly and weirdly enough, the medication that has helped me the most is little ole Advil. There is something about my chemistry and Advil that helps. It can often take the edge off the pain and help me get to sleep like nothing else I’ve taken. Nevertheless, on the advice of my pharmacist, I stopped taking Advil over two years ago.

When I got my first oral chemo prescription for Gleevec, the pharmacist said that I absolutely can’t take Advil, Tylenol, or Aspirin while on Gleevec. So, I stopped. My most effective agent to help manage my arm pain was stricken. Well, when the neurologist gave me the paper with the list of all my adverse drug interactions, I noted the website he used. At home, while waiting for my family doctor to return my call, I got on the website.

At this website, the drug interactions are classified as Serious Interaction, Significant Interaction, or Minor Interaction. With the concoction I was on, I had nine drug interactions: One “Serious,” four “Significant,” and four “Minor.” When I took out the medications that the neurologist wanted me to stop taking and added Advil, I’m left with zero “Serious Interactions,” zero “Significant Interactions” and three “Minor Interactions.”

Checking other drug interaction sites, they all said that Advil “Moderately” interacts with Gleevec and to monitor usage closely. Even then, taking Advil with Gleevec would leave me with two moderate interactions compared to two Major and five moderates. The problem is that Gleevec has interactions with more than 300 other medications. It’s hard to find something to go with it. By the way, the drug the neurologist wants me to take does not interact with Gleevec. It just makes one suicidal and everything else!!

Having one website say that Advil interaction with Gleevec is “Minor” while the other websites say the interaction is “Moderate and must be monitored,” I decided to call my oncologist’s, Dr. Tan, office. He may not be willing to sort through the medicinal mess between the neurologist and family doctor but he will tell me whether I can take Advil with Gleevec. I called my “Patient Navigator” at Dr. Tan’s office and left a message. She called me back ten minutes later to tell me that Dr. Tan was out of the office. She said she’d call me back as soon as she gets in contact with him. I think she will.

I very well know sayings such as, “A doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient.” In this case though, the Fool might be on to something!!

Update: Dr. Tan’s office called and he said that Advil makes Gleevec stay in my system longer than recommended. He said I “can take Advil but take it sparingly.” Well, “sparingly” is not what I wanted to hear.