Toast to Life 31 (4N5D Admission, No. 2 - Acupressure point for hiccup)

Folfox, a new anticancer medication, is "the first choice", according to MD Kato for colorectal cancer that has spread to other organs (lungs in my case). At the time of my admission, on top of implanting CV Port (see No. 30), I also received the first infusion during the admission, lasting 48+ hours. Fortunately, the admission schedule stayed unchanged, thanks to my physics.

Oxaliplatin (trade name Elplat) contained in this Folfox, however, causes quite a few side effects. What was terrible to me at the first dose was hiccups. The diary on the 22nd (Thursday) during my admission reads:

"It's been a while since I experienced hiccups like this one. It lasted about 30 minutes, starting at around 10 pm (referring to the previous night). The oxygen concentration was as low as at 95% at that night, and I am wondering if it has something to do with this hiccup", "it was found wrong and different with no relevance to the low O2 in my blood".

"We have a medicine to stop hiccups", said a nurse, "both with the Westerner medications and Chinese ones (Kanpo)". Then, the former was prescribed to me. I wish I could say to get recovered out of the hiccups; it was not quite the case. "It doesn't work very well, right?" Said another nurse some time after the first one came to my bed. Upon the completion of the infusion on April the 24th, the hiccups continued, which inevitably caused a huge "headache" (mentally, and not physically though). 

During the admission, I also learned from a nurse that there was an acupressure point called "Goukoku (合谷)" for hiccups. The point is at the back of a hand, rather close to the wrist (see the red dot in the photo below).

Another side effect is numbness, or more of tingling in the fingertips and tongue. When you touch a refrigerated/ frozen product, say, opening a fridge door to grab a canned beer, it comes with this uncomfortable spike. For hands, this symptom should be managed by wearing gloves at the kitchen. The tip of the tongue is as described in Blog No. 29. In particular, I am concerned that mouth ulcer popped up a few days after the admission (I don't have it now).

I can't complain uncomfortableness in my stomach or feeling throw-up, during the infusion and aftermath of a few days. As far as I listen to my MDs, and read the medical literature (to the extent my knowledge has capacity enough), I'm still on a far better side against the side-effect. So, I will endure it for the time being.

(To be continued.)