Appt With My GP #5 (Friday 18 December PM)

I have been dreading this appointment all day. My hand is still sore from the IV on Wednesday and they cannot seem to pop either of my brachial veins or the antecubital ones in my arms—fairly decently sized veins. Luckily, for me, the guy from the lab was working today and he has always been successful in starting my IVs when the clinical specialist could not.

Before each infusion, the clinical specialist always draws blood once the IV has been started to measure my haemoglobin. My GP told her that if it was 12.5 or better to wait until this coming Monday to give my arms and hands a rest. Well, the level was 12.3, but they both let it slide until Monday anyway. As usual, I made the appointment to take place directly after group. I still dread going, but I can’t beat the price!©2009

Appt With My GP #4 (Wednesday 16 December PM)

The clinical trial continues. As soon as I left group I wish I had thought to call ahead of time to see if the office was still open. The weather report was calling for 70% chance of frozen precipitation mostly in the form of ice. When I left group, one of the parents told me that the county had already decided to close the schools at 1230.

As I was driving over to the office it was pouring, but there was no sleet mixed in with the water. Good sign. In most cases, when they predict snow or sleet, it hardly ever happens. I was a little concerned when I pulled into the parking lot as there only a couple of cars. Then I remembered that it was lunchtime. When I signed in, I did find out that the clinical specialist was waiting for me.

As she was prepping all of the materials for the IV, I asked her if she would mind if we just let the guy from the lab stick me instead since he got it on his first attempt on Monday (after she had already tried three times!). Therefore, we waited for him and, sure enough, he got a vein on his first attempt. However, as the specialist was adding the gizmos to the butterfly tubing she moved the needle and the IV infiltrated. I was not a happy camper, but we called the lab again and he was successful this time as well.

I like the fact that the iron can be pushed in only ten minutes. Sure beats the six hours I had to endure three years ago. Once the iron had been administered, I had to wait the customary 30 minutes to see if I was going to have a reaction. On Monday I didn’t have one in the office, but I did have that strange experience an hour after I got home. To be on the safe side I went ahead and took the Provigil just in case I started getting sleepy while I was driving home.

Well, it turned out that I did not have that strange reaction this time. Perhaps that reaction Monday afternoon was just a coincidence. However, I do not like the fact that I was overcome with fatigue and feeling so cold all at once. That has never happened to me before, and maybe it won’t again.©2009

Appt With My GP #3—Iron Infusions (Monday 14 December PM)

Good news…I found out last week that I have been accepted for the clinical trials for people that have iron deficient anaemia and can now qualify to receive my IV iron infusions for free, and they will pay me travelling expenses. The nice part is that all I have to drive to is my GP’s office. This past Monday I went for my first visit. The clinical specialist drew my blood to get a baseline haemoglobin level, and then she attempted to start the IV. Well, my veins are pretty much shot. She tried three times to find a vein, and then she finally called someone from the lab to see if he could start the IV. Boom, on his first shot he found one. It was a painful one in my wrist, but still the same, he got it started. When I had to have IV iron infusions three years ago, they gave me 25mg over a six-hour period. I had to have three at $1600 a pop. I can no longer afford to go back there.

One of the things they are testing me with is a new solution that will allow them to give me 200mg IV push over a ten-minute period—such an improvement. Once the iron was injected, the clinical specialist had to observe me for 30 minutes for any type of reaction such as anaphylaxis. I did not have a reaction so I went home and turned on my stereo and sat on the couch.

An hour later, I found myself nodding off. However, it was not a case of slowly getting sleepy and just closing my eyes. This hit me like a lead balloon. I almost could not move—all my muscles felt slack. Then I realised I was bone-chilling cold. Now, to save on money, I do keep the house rather cool in the winter, but I already had on thermal underwear, sweat pants, a sweatshirt and my thick terrycloth robe. I was freezing. I tried to get off the couch to snuggle under my covers and barely made it back to my bed. It took 20 minutes before I started to feel warm. As tired as I was, over the next two hours, it seemed that I just clock-watched. However, when I got out of bed (now much warmer) I had vivid freeze-frame images as if I had been dreaming. I was not as tired, so I went to my kitchen to make a pot of hot tea. What a strange experience.

The rest of the day was uneventful so I dismissed the entire episode. I am just glad that I can now get my much-needed iron infusions free. I wonder how many sessions I will have to have to raise my haemoglobin back to normal range (it was 9.0 before the iron and normal is generally around 14-16 for females). According to the protocol for this clinical trial, they can give me up to 1000mg over a two-week period, but stop at any point once my haemoglobin is within normal limits. I hope I do not have to have too many since they had such a hard time starting the IV. You should have seen my arms after this session—I had four nicely forming bruises where each attempt was made!©2009