Insane itchiness, Insane headaches

FriskyPirate · New User Joined: 11 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

I've been in a battle royale with my melanoma for 10 years now and am currently around stage IIIc. 10 days ago I had my first five day bio/chem treatment and I now know that suicide is going to kill me far before the melanoma. I want to remove the flesh from my bones because I am so insanely itchy. I'm also suffering severe migraines around 7pm every day now. I even checked into the hospital emergency clinic one night this week at 3am. I do have Atarax for the itch and it does help a bit, but once I try and sleep, my hands start on a mission to rip my flesh off. I normally have great success using imitrex for migraine but the headaches are completely uneffected by it.

How long will this itching last? Forever? Any thoughts or advice?
Does anyone else get these post chemo headaches that start at the base of the neck? Anything work for you?

I feel so completely frustrated...I can deal with the melanoma and even death, but I feel like I am getting kicked hard when I'm down with these severe complications. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

thank you for your time

Andy

tonester · Experienced user Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 83

Hey Andy

I too am stage IIIc.

When you say "bio/chem" treatment are you talking about Interferon(Intron A)?????

I know when I was on Intron therapy the headaches were just plain horrible. I never did find a way to completely ease the pain. I pretty much stayed sedated on Oxycodone for the entire duration. Even when I got to the smaller maintenance dose.

The doctors recommended Oxycodone, Acetimenophen(Tylenol), and Advil(Ibuprofen), all taken at the same time every 6 hours.

My doctor worked with me to find the right combination and amounts.
So if I were you I would be talking to the Doc and just tell 'em what's going on.

Oh yeah, stay away from caffeine and alcohol while being treated. For me those 2 things definately made the headaches worse. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated, that also helped.

There's an old saying, "If it doesn't kill you it only makes you stronger."
Just think about how tough your going to be coming out the other side of this nightmare!!!!!

You hang in there brother. Remember, the most important tool you have to fight with is your mind.

Tony
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FriskyPirate · New User Joined: 11 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

[quote]Hey Andy
When you say "bio/chem" treatment are you talking about Interferon(Intron A)????? Oh yeah, stay away from caffeine and alcohol while being treated. For me those 2 things definately made the headaches worse. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated, that also helped.
Tony[/quote]

I'm getting interferon, IL2, cisplatin, visblatin and one or two others. I think you hit the nail on the head with hydration...after posting yesterday, I tried to think of what I was doing differently from being in the hospital to being at home and I noticed I've lost 20lb in 7 days, all because I am not being fed liquids intraveneously. I decided to try drinking a bottle of gatoraid or water per hour yesterday and last night was my first night without a headache falling to sleep! My itching was also greatly reduced. Thank you Tony for re-inforcing this point.

I have been avoiding all alcohol and have tried coffee twice but don't seem to miss it at this stage.

Andy

tonester · Experienced user Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 83

Right On

I've said it before, there is nothing like a good nights sleep in your OWN bed. Never seem to get much rest at the hospital. Always someone poking and prodding. Although I did get a spit bath from a cute little nurse one time......... Well that's a story for another time.

Keep us posted as things go along.

Tony
_________________
****Kick'n Cancers Arse Since April 2007****

You can check out "My Story" at the link below.
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=9083

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