One of my regular daily pills has been Allopurinol, which is a treatment for gout. More precisely, it reduces the level of uric acid in the blood. It took me a couple of days after receiving my Cycle 2 package of pills from the Springfield Pharmacy to realise that I had no Allopurinol left. Mild panic ensued...
Three possibilities:
1. The pharmacy failed to issue it,
2. The pharmacy did issue it but I somehow managed to mislay a whole pack of the pills,
3. The pharmacy didn't issue it because I'm no longer supposed to have it.
I phoned the chemo nurses to explain the problem, and had to go in there today anyway for more bloods. It turns out that explanation 3 is correct. Daily Allopurinol is for the first five-week chemo cycle only, after that it's "on demand" if uric acid levels go up or gout-like symptoms develop.
Nobody told me that. It would have saved a lot of worry time if I had known in advance that it was only for the first cycle. I'm now left wondering how many more little surprises like that are lying in wait...
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