I managed to have a whole week and two days without either taking antihistamines or being incredibly itchy. Lemme tell you what's been happening.
I have been taking Aspirin for the pain and inflammation of my liver since my GP diagnosed it in August. At our specialist appointment on September 4, I thought the doctor told me I had to get off the Aspirin and start taking Tylenol. Makes sense. Aspirin acts as a blood thinner and will make you bleed a lot more if you are cut. Tylenol doesn't do that.
The last Aspirin I took was that Thursday morning; I switched over to Tylenol that afternoon and continued to take it up until last Thursday morning (September 11). Every time the Tylenol wore off, the pain was coming back stronger. At first I just thought it was in my head; then after the biopsy on September 8 I thought it was the effects of having a gastroscope stuck down my throat and a needle poked through the wall of my duodenum. But Tuesday night the pain was very strong, and got worse all day Wednesday.
Wednesday I decided I needed something stronger and the doctor had said I could take Tylenol 1s (codeine - yum!). I bought some. The first dose sure took away the pain, but the pain came back stronger. Before bed I took two more and the pain went away again. About three in the morning, I woke up in near agony. I could FEEL my entire liver because I could feel the pain radiating in and around it, right around my right front, side and back.
It was a terrible night.
I took another two Tyelonel 1s and decided I had to try something different. I decided to call the specialist's office and ask if there was something else I could take for the pain. When I called, the nurse told me it was no problem if I took Aspirin, as long as I stopped five to seven days before the operation.
Okay, so good, back to Aspirin. The Aspirin worked within the hour and took the pain away better than the Tylenol had (or maybe there was some placebo effect working - ya godda believe in the medicine!). Anyway, since Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory, it makes sense it would help relieve liver inflammation. And since TYLENOL has to be metabolized by the liver before the body can use it, it seems to me it might just make an inflamed liver worse.
Anyway, upshot of all this is that the stupid itch has come back, probably because my liver became more inflamed from the Tylenol, and that has driven my liver enzyme levels up again. Even worse, the itch is not bad on my feet this time - it has concentrated on my hands and my FACE!
If you have never had an itchy face (and I mean an itch like a hundred thousand mosquito bites spread over your chin and your cheeks) count your blessings.
Last night I started the antihistamines again. I am hoping to get away with Benadryl at night only, because the itch is certainly not as bad as it was in July.
Still waiting for biopsy results.
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Dear Lori,
Hearing the news about your condition has brought many people a great amount of sadness. You are indeed one of those special individuals we have the pleasure to meet in a lifetime. Your constant optimism, humour, and willingness to help has personally endeared you to me. I am choosing to leave this message for you rather than calling you directly or e-mailing you because I am sure that you must be swamped with people's attention right now. Be strong, I am most certain that you are a fighter, and there is no way that you would let this get the best of you. Your kind and generous spirit still has too much work to do for your family and friends. I know that if I send you chocolate in the courrier this time it won't help with the cancer, but hopefully it will help to feed your spirit. My prayers are indeed with you! P.S. The chocolate is on it's way!
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