Steven and I had lovely introduction to Monterrey including the fact that I'm in a penthouse apartment (see pics below) on what is the 13th floor labeled only as "PH"😜 . Monterrey is not a touristy city. It's a big city like Houston probably more so than Dallas.
Monterrey Apartment:
Monterrey Scenes from Mirador del Obispado:
Me and My Nurse, Gaby
Like Dallas and Houston, Monterrey has some fabulous restaurants! The Clinica Ruiz staff in Monterrey is amazing! They gave me and Steven excellent restaurant recommendations. I was able to eat at two, La Caterina, http://www.lacatarina.mx/ (grasshoppers, ants, and worms are on the menu - We tried the grasshoppers, which were pretty good. Lots of other traditional Mexican food was on the menu. Don't worry!), and La Nacional, http://www.lanacional.net/, before Steven had to return to Dallas today, October 17, 2018.
More Food:
Cocoan - https://cocoan.mx/
Mille Delices - https://www.facebook.com/MilleDelices/
Trust - http://trustfood.mx/
Side note: I will likely be the only person to gain weight during this treatment. 😊
There was also grocery shopping at HEB, Texas' own. They still tip the baggers, which was interesting and a huge throwback. I failed at grocery shopping and relied on my amazing young nurse, Gaby, and Steven. Thank goodness for Gaby!
This, of course, was the fun part before strong Cyclophosphamide chemotherapy was administered on day -12 and -11. The reason for the countdown in negative numbers is because day zero is the day you are "reborn" with your stem cells and everything is positive there on out. The entire process will last about 26 days.
Day -13 was my first official day where I got to do "fun" stuff like blood-work, meet the doctors, staff, and fellow HSCTers, explanation of the process, paperwork, chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, consultation with the Neurologist, spirometry test (breathing), consultation with the internal medicine specialist, hematology consultation, and medical history review.
On day -12, I had my first high dose chemo treatment at 2:00 PM (This is how Steven and I fit in one fabulous last restaurant meal). Chemo is deceiving because all it is, is this benign looking clear liquid, but boy is it something else. Lucky for us, the clinic gives us an anti-nausea pill an hour before chemo and administers anti-nausea drugs via IV during the chemo process as well as a bladder protection drug, Mesna, http://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/drug-info/Mesna.aspx. Of the six ladies being treated with me, the reactions to the chemo have been all over the board. I have been very fortunate with my reaction, which was pretty much none!!! Who knows why I did so well? I would like to believe it's because of exercise, diet, and vitamins. I eat well, but don't practice any special "MS" diets and plan to continue this way :). Nausea is the most common, but some have had much more severe reactions. We know this means the best possible results for them. Sort of like an exorcism of MS. We must kill the bad immune system.
Day -11, I traded places with one of my fellow HSCTer who was having a really tough time with the chemo and went to have my second treatment at 10:00 AM instead of 2:00 PM. I felt good going in and not so great coming out. I did fall asleep for about 10 minutes in the chemo room until my own snoring woke me up. As soon as I got back to my apartment, I slept for about three hours and felt much better when I awoke.
Chemo Day 1 and 2:
Day -10, I received my first filgrastim subcutaneous medication here in my apartment in my pajamas if I would like, https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/filgrastim-injection-route/description/drg-20071547. This process went on until at day -4. Blood samples were taken at this time (day -4). This is all done so you can have your stem cells harvested, apheresis, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apheresis. I will also get two more rounds of chemo to before I get my stem cells back on day 0, which will be reported on in my next blog.
Days of Filgrastim Shots:
Bowling - Bowl Obispado
Barrio Antiguo - https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrio_Antiguo
Drugs Day -10 through -4
To read more about the drugs...
Prazolan (Pantoprazol): https://www.vademecum.es/equivalencia-lista-prazolan+grageas+40+mg-mexico-a02bc02-mx_1
Amal: https://www.vademecum.es/equivalencia-lista-amal+tablet+8+mg-mexico-a04aa01-mx_1
Alin: https://www.medicamentos.com.mx/DocHTM/29544.htm
More Drugs Day -7 through -3 and Beyond (aka My Next Blog Post) - Preparation for the Whole Stem Cell Thing
Bactrim F: https://www.drugs.com/bactrim.html
Isox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itraconazole
Isavir (Aciclovir): https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aciclovir
Note: Since I was not nauseous, I was allowed to drop the anti-nausea medication a few days into taking it.
