20/05/20

I've been learning a bit more about the new oral bisphosphonate pills I'll be starting soon. They are necessary to counteract the bone-destroying effect of steroids like dex at high doses.

They are going to make a mess of our morning routines. You have to take the first one of the day first thing in the morning with plenty of water, and then you can't eat or drink anything except  more  water for an hour. So there goes my early morning cup of tea! I'll have to have it with breakfast rather than before. It's likely to mean even later breakfasts than usual for us, and Sue won't be too happy about that. I could try to compensate by getting to bed half an hour earlier (against all my natural instincts)  but with the prospect of more dex-sleepless nights to come, that may be difficult. OTOH, the very late dex-induced nights did get better as the four cycles of DVT went along, so maybe it won't be as hard to cope with this time.

I'm advised by my rheumatological friend (who knows a thing or three about this class of drugs) that in order to avoid the common side-effects of dyspepsia and sickness it's best to spend the hour after taking the pill staying still sitting or standing. Well, apart from brushing teeth, washing face, shaving and spending a few contemplative minutes on the throne, I expect to be at the computer taking my temperature, checking the news sites, my email, Facebook, etc. for the rest of the hour. That's pretty much what I usually do, but not for a full hour. I'm not yet sure whether I should take the pill before tooth-brushing etc. or whether to get that "activity" out of the way first, which would make the gap between waking up and breakfast ten minutes or so longer.

 I don't yet know whether I'll have to take a second pill later in the day (but I expect so). That will mean no food or drink apart from water for two hours before and one hour afterwards. Possible, but it will impose a bit more structure on the day than we're used to.

This is all a lot more complicated than just turning up at the Springfield Oncology Centre once every 28 days and sitting in the treatment area for the best part of an hour while the Zometa drip goes in. Dr. Ch seems to think it's worth it for the reduced hospital time and associated COVID-19 risk and I suppose I have to take his advice. If it were up to me I'd stick with the Zometa perfusions, but there's no point having a specialist if you don't respect his advice...