Pain management

I am in my third week of maintenance (injections every other day now) and each time I have injected, the side effects have been so miserable they actually wake me up and prevent me from sleeping. The headache and all over body aches are worse now than they were on induction. They last longer and seem worse in intensity to me.

Today I gave in and called my Supportive Care nurse who communicated what's going on to the doctor. He wrote a script for pain meds.

When I called I felt embarrassed, like I was making trouble for them. I was worried that they would not believe me or think I am a whiner. I know this is irrational, but that's what it is like for me. But my nurse reminded me that the best thing for me is to complete this treatment and I very likely would not do that if I had to put up with chronic pain and sleeplessness for another 45 weeks. Managing the pain quickly (and any other troubling side effects) is what she is there for. So even though I was reluctant to do so, I'm glad I called.

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