15/10/19

Saw Dr.Ch again at Springfield. he says OK to go ahead with the chemo starting on the 16th.

I reported the excessive urination I've been having for ten days or so and as I expected he added glucose to the bloods I had done after seeing him. If that turns out to be high - and I doubt that it will - that will be followed up by a fasting test. I'm keeping this card up my sleeve for now, but I have a blood glucose monitor and have been keeping an occasional eye on my  glucose levels for years, just in case. I haven't had a 50+ year Type I diabetic as a good friend for all that time without learning a  thing or two. My usual level 90+ mins after a meal is 6.5 to 7.0, and I've just tested at 7.2  (still comfortably below the <7.8 standard for non-diabetics). Not that I monitor BSL obsessively - I may go months without checking, just as I do with blood pressure. However, increase in BSL is a recognised side-effect of steroids like high-dose dex, so good to keep an eye on it.

The chemo regime for my 5-week cycle will be, as I understand it:

Velcade / Bortemozib by subcutaneous injection, Day One of weeks 1 - 4, not week 5. four to six cycles altogether, depending on how it goes.

Dexamethasone 20mg Day One and Day Two of weeks 1 - 4, not "recovery" week 5.

Thalidomide (dose unknown) daily throughout week 1 - 5.

Plus assorted antibiotics, anti-virals, etc. etc.. Schedules as yet unknown.

Sounds like fun...