Dear friends and family:
I have good news and not-so-good news that eventually turned into good news. My blood work the past several weeks has been heading in the right direction. The side effects I have had have not been so pleasant. I have had intestinal issues for weeks – not every day, but enough to affect my quality of life.
Weeks 7: March 12 to March 18
I began my 300 mg ramp up on Week 7 (March 12th). Several things stood out this week:
• the unpleasant smell of saline when my port is being flushed out
• the nausea feeling I get when having to swallow 16 pills. I am working to get rid of taking so many. It about gags me. Before cancer I barely took an aspirin. I have had to take several pills at a time with a break in between.
• By the end of this week I had a 1-1.5 inch lymph node on the left side under my jaw. By Sunday morning (overnight) it reduced to one-third the size.
• Sunday I had fatigue and took a 2-hour morning nap and a 4-hour afternoon nap. I slept through the night and felt good when I woke up.
Week 8: March 19 to March 25
Week 8 I began my 400 mg ramp-up. This week I had intestinal issues (lower intestinal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and fatigue. We are not sure if this is caused by the Venetoclax or the Metformin drug.
Week 9: March 26 to April 1
Week 9 I continued with 400 mg venetoclax. I continued to have intestinal issues and lower intestinal pain. I had to go to the infusion center to get hydrated. The numbness in my toes appears to be going away. The UTI test was negative.
Week 10: April 2
The 400 mg venetoclax regime continued. I had an infusion of the monoclonal antibody on Week 10 April 2, 2024 with no benedryl. The good thing about the steroids is that I have so much energy that lasts for days. I continued to have lower abdominal pain, however.
Week 11: April 9
I maintained the 400 mg venetoclax regime. I continued to have lower abdominal pain. I stopped using the Metformin drug temporarily.
I researched articles on lower abdominal pain. I found several articles and clinical trials where Coca Cola products were used to eliminate intestinal issues. NIH specifically used Coca Cola Zero in one of their studies.
By Thursday, April 11, I thought I might have to go to the hospital because the pain was getting unmanageable for me. My daughter Tonya bought me a pack of Coca Cola Zero. I usually do not drink pop, but it was for “medicinal purposes.” LOL. Within 10 minutes I could feel some relief from the pain. I drank another one and the pain was completely gone by Friday morning. My intestinal tract is now in working order. Now we have to figure out if the intestinal issues were caused by the Metformin drug or venetoclax. In any case, there will always be a few cans of Coca Cola Zero in my refrigerator.
Dr. La Verne
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