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Radiation and Meds


Candy

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Hugh is a little over half-way done with his radiation. He is just not himself. He complains about feeling foggy most of the time this is much worse when he is tired which I guess would be expected. The steroid mood swings are one of the worst things we have dealt with to this point. I spoke with the nurse practitioner yesterday who says the steroids are necessary and suggested he start taking adavan to combat the sleeplessness and the mood swings. Sometimes it seems to me that he is drunk. He dwells on things that before would NEVER bother him before and even gets weepy. If I try to explain to him that he is overreacting he just gets really angry or really sad. He doesn't sleep at night and I think when he does doze off he dreams and he can't tell the difference between what was a dream or what is real. That seems like a medication thing to me.

Has anyone had any trouble with radiation making their thinking process foggy? I have already asked about steroid problems and I have to ask again if anyone had extreme reactions to them. Has anyone ever been on Prednesone rather than Decadron?? Hugh has been on Prednesone before and it didn't seem to bother him.

I am pretty sure the radiation is working because again last night Hugh's face was perfectly normal feeling and I know he wasn't dreaming because at that point we were both awake. During the day it isn't numb anymore but is very tingly. He has more trouble with his speech now because the tingling bothers him more than the numbness. His tongue feels in the way. The radiologist did tell us that his symptoms would get worse before they got better. The swelling is going down in his arm and everything but his behavior seems to be going in the right direction. We have to go have his blood levels tested again tomorrow for the blood thinners and if Hugh is still not improved I will ask AGAIN.

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yes,

my mom got very moody, weepy, anxious and all other emotions when she was on the steroids. then when she was weined off she got depressed, real depressed and dopey

her doc. said about 3 weeks for normalcy, now she has memory loss and seizures from the head radiation. guess cure is worse than disease sometimes.

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Candy-

Tim came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon...he had his second radiation treatment to his brain this morning (they say this is mulitple mets)...He is on the decadron and no mood swings yet other than being weepy...but Dr. E put him on Ativan and Elavil right away. He is also on Dilantin to prevent seizures.

I will be in touch with you later on today. I was able to come back to work as my mother-in-law is staying with us the rest of the week...so I snuck this in at work...

Love to you and Hugh....hang in there.

Kathy

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