[jcims]

Hey the coconut oil suggestion is awesome, thank you so much! I'll definitely look at getting some quality oil and adding it to our regimen. I tinkered with MCT oils and whatnot in the past for my own health and have definitely 'greased the chute' by accident lol.

Totally agree on the side effects of dehydration. I could see the cycle happening over the course of a week or two and we'd end up in the ER (8 times in the last four months now). We've finally got her set up with a port and have home health services coming by mondays and fridays with hydration (and labs). Then she gets a bit more during weekly chemo on Weds. We're only a week into it and it is already showing benefit.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

[DoreenMichele]

Keep an eye on the port. If they aren't kept adequately clean and end up infected, it's ugly from what I gather.

Best.

[jcims]

Yep. There's a whole protocol that the nursing staff has to do when they 'access' (aka stick) it. Extra disinfectant, both my wife and the nurse wear a mask, then an adhesive cover applied right after the catheter is put in.

The way it was described is that the port doesn't have an immune system, so infection can camp out there. They said that if she got any kind of bacterial infection anywhere they may need to remove it because the infection can spread there and hang out.

That said, she's super stoked to have it (finally). My wife's arm's look like she's the world's worst junkie. Giant bruises up and down both because she's always been hard to get started with standard IVs and they've wrecked the veins in both arms. :/

[DoreenMichele]

Yikes! Yes, a port can be a huge improvement over being constantly jabbed and is often spoken of glowingly by patients who finally get them.

(Insert Borg jokes, if that doesn't offend. We made such jokes when I was taking care of a relative with cancer post-surgery with all the drainage tubes and what not. It helped put the kids at ease a bit.)

[athriren]

Hang in there, one stranger to another.

[jcims]

Thanks !!!