Angel

I can't help on the White blood cell issue as mine dropped from 11.6 to 7.5 but stabilized there. I could not stand the VHC and lived ENTIRELY on Ensure Plus for two months. At your stage, I was reduced to taking a sip of Ensure Plus, then stopping and swishing some selzter water around and spitting out the mucous, then another sip, swish etc. Hang in there. I did not want a PEG so suffered through this also. At the end, it took a half hour to drink each Ensure Plus. But it was worth it to me.

Charm2017, Well you have give me some hope and I appreciate your comments. It is so hard when what you put in your mouth just doesn't want it there. lol Sometimes even the toothbrush on my tongue will also start the heaves. But overall I feel I have done really well. I am still driving myself and my grandson goes with me most every day just in case he needed to drive.

Angel

Angel,
I too lived on Ensure Plus for about 6 weeks, last three of radiation and first three after. Make certain it is good and cold. It would also take me a half hour to get a can down. I didn't have the nausea problem, but I did have the mucous problem. I found it easier to get down in the morning because for some reason my mucous was most productive around 4pm in the afternoon. Maybe because my rad appointment was 8:30 am. You have to drink the Ensure for the protein and vitamin content unless you are adding something to the shakes that will provide them. I was told I needed 80 grams of protein a day. I was never able to get more than about 60.

Hang in there. There is always the nasal feeding tube, ugly but works, if you need it for a few weeks.

Take care,
Eileen

My WBC dropped like most people but not low enough to do anything special.

Sorry about the money. I wish you were close by as I still have a case and a half left over.

Believe me I know what you mean about the nausea. It was my worse problem and I landed in the ER 3 times because of it. I have since said many times that they need to give all chemo/rad patients a port and daily hydration from the 4th week of Tx until we are out of the woods, like the 4th week post Tx. That said you still need to pinch your nose and swallow and then hold your mouth shut until the urge to throw up passes.

Alternatively, chemo/rad patients can get a PEG tube and be better equipped to avoid malnutrition/dehydration problems during treatment. (I had no weight loss at all during treatment and was fully hydrated throughout.)

my two cents, as they say.

Having had two PEG tubes for my treatments, I am in total agreement that they sure aid getting sufficient nutrition and hydration.

Hi Angel,
My husbands WBC's on Friday were 1.3 and they wanted to hospitalize him due to his WBC's...he was told that if they go much lower they won't be able to bring him back...he refused to go, so they gave him fluids and a bag of antibiotics and we went home...he is still very weak and sluggish. I too am worried about the WBC's - he is on his 10th chemo treatment and has called it to a halt...he feels very bad right now and is very weak.....that's all they could offer with him refusing the hospital.

Good Luck to you on this...
Paula

It's pretty typical for the WBC to drop. In my early post Tx phase I had low RBC as well so I had to wonder just what the heck was flowing in my veins. This can cause fatigue and poor autoimmune response. There are some medications to help with this (like Procrit), but time is the best healer. It is also typical for the WBC to never return to normal levels.

The immune system will be compromised for a long time so great care must be taken to avoid sick persons (especially children) and aseptic techniques when going to public places. To this day I still carry waterless hand cleaner in the vehicles and use it everytime I have to touch a shopping cart, door handle, gas pump, and any type of public digital keypad.

Paula,

I wish I could snap my fingers and all would be right. None of us want to be faced with yours and his options and I have no idea what choices I would make so lets pray for the best.

My WBC also dropped and I also had some other wacky numbers in there too...But they said it all fell under the circumstances of what I was going through. I became dehydrated and spent my last 9 or 10 txs in the Hospital. So, be very careful the next few weeks. I'm now (well tomorrow) will be two weeks post tx and I feel a lot better. It's still not easy but it's getting better. I'm also still on liquids...some taste is coming back but it's flagrant at best. I was drinking soups and other things, then just said the heck with it...I mix it up between ensure, VHC and boost...I also drink fiber and Juven to help out. Forget about anything that doesn't help...try to go for the biggest bang. See if your Doctor can put in a script for the VHC--it has to be ordered through the Pharmacy. You can get VHC on Amazon for about 40 bucks....560 calories per can...that's like drinking 2 1/2 Ensures or 2 boosts...Good luck and stay tough.