Well, I'm back from Palo Alto, having had my CK treatments last week. Honestly, it really was a piece of cake. I was most nervous about this awful, hacking cough I had. I went to my doc before I left and she gave me prescription medicine with codeine, which did the trick completely. Made me really relaxed, too.
Drs. Chang and Soltys were extremely professional and nice. I didn't feel hurried at all. Actually, there wasn't much that I asked, because I felt fairly well informed about everything going in. The technical stuff I wouldn't have understood anyway. Since I'm so concerned about hearing preservation, he did tell me that some patients are on steroids for a year. I don't want that, but he said he would put me on some if I wanted. It's best not to wait too long if the hearing is affected, or it might not go back up. Since mine does feel full and affected right now, I think I'll call in for some tomorrow. The CT Scan and Mask only took about 15 minutes, so easy.
I was very nervous the morning of treatment, like I said mostly because of the cough and not wanting to move. The mask was snug, but I didn't feel that it was too tight at all. I actually kept falling asleep and the 30 minutes was over before I knew it. The next two days were a piece of cake. So, since I didn't have to spend that much time at the clinic, we did a lot of sight-seeing. My cousin lives there so they took us around a few days. We went by ourselves to Monterey, Muir Woods, Sausalito, downtown Palo Alto, toured the STanford Campus, Fisherman's Wharf, rode a cable car, took in a movie even. It was sort of a vacation, too. California is just beautiful. I met NE Farmwife and her husband (waving at you both!). Such a nice couple, it was fun to meet up with them. I'll PM you later, NE!
I do have fullness in my ear and I'm not hearing as well, but I think it's just because I had the radiation. I felt a queasy this morning, but it left quickly. He did tell me that 80% of CK patients DO NOT have any symptoms. There is also a new study coming out soon. Anyway, thank you to everyone for all the information and support leading up to this decision. I'm thankful to have a job where insurance pays for the majority of it. Take care. Tisha
