Today's dosage was again an increase to 0.004ml. This was because last Friday's fever wasn't very high and maxed out at 102.4F for a short duration.
Today's was even lower. It maxed out at 101.9F and for not very long either. I would estimate that the average fever was about 101F. It wasn't very difficult to tolerate and recovery as the fever subsided was very quick.
Today we increased dosage again to 0.003ml. The fever was uneventful and predictable. It was somewhat better than the last one. However, it wasn't as high as we'd hoped for. The peak was a tad below the desired 102.5F threshold. So we'll need to increase again next Monday.
After some deliberation, we decided not to increase the dose level. Instead, we wanted to see if a higher fever could be obtained by increasing external heat instead. After all, we felt that the previous fever (#7) was quite a good one, despite the sub-optimal temperature. It's duration was long and she was quite fatigued after that fever.
Today's fever was uneventful but interesting. We went with an increased dose of 0.002ml thinking that an increase from 0.00075ml to 0.001ml wouldn't do much. We were right.
The chills began 1 hour after infusion start like clockwork. However, 3 hours after infusion start, her temperature was still 101.2F. It became apparent that today's was not going to a very high fever.
The fever stayed mostly between 101 and 102F for a good 3 hours. It briefly touched 102.5F but only for a few minutes.
Today, it took almost 2 hours before there was any rise in temperature at all. However, she eventually developed fever, although it was clear that the temperature rise was not as fast and as high as previous treatments. She also experienced some light chills at that time.
Today, we increased the dosage from 0.0005mL by 50% to 0.00075mL. Those of you familiar with the MBVax protocol will note that this is still less than the typical starting dose of 0.001mL. The reason why we're treading cautiously is from previous experience with various drugs and chemo. She just tends to react quite strongly to typical dosages (even those adjusted for body weight).
She was rather tired over the weekend. The Issels doctors prescribed IV protein + Magnesium to replenish her (a CBC done on Saturday morning showed that her protein levels had dropped to 5.8 g/dL (normal minimum being 6.0). The doctor had already predicted it may happen before the CBC was done. The doctor said that drops in protein levels may happen when you have fevers.
Looking back at today's treatment, we concluded that we have been too aggressive with the heating pads. In our enthusiasm to avoid the chills and shakes that Coley's induces, we've been aggressively pre-heating her to the extent that she began sweating profusely even before the fever started.
Today, we stuck with the same 0.0005mL CFIV dosage. We expected that there may not be any fever today because we're using the same dosage as past Monday's. If you remember, Monday's fever broke past the 102.5F barrier for only 15 minutes. Furthermore, the body is supposed to get more tolerant to Coleys so one would expect a lower fever than expected this time.
We had brought a large body-sized far-infrared heating pad to warm her, as well as smaller one for her chest. I kept her under blankets and turned up the room thermostat to 80F. We did this to take the edge of the chills and shakes, as well as to reduce energy requirements by the body to raise core temperature.
(The picture below is of the far infra-red heating pad in black, covered with towels, that we used to pre-warm the body)
After some deliberation, we decided not to increase the dose level. Instead, we wanted to see if a higher fever could be obtained by increasing external heat instead. After all, we felt that the previous fever (#7) was quite a good one, despite the sub-optimal temperature. It's duration was long and she was quite fatigued after that fever.
Today, it took almost 2 hours before there was any rise in temperature at all. However, she eventually developed fever, although it was clear that the temperature rise was not as fast and as high as previous treatments. She also experienced some light chills at that time.
Today, we increased the dosage from 0.0005mL by 50% to 0.00075mL. Those of you familiar with the MBVax protocol will note that this is still less than the typical starting dose of 0.001mL. The reason why we're treading cautiously is from previous experience with various drugs and chemo. She just tends to react quite strongly to typical dosages (even those adjusted for body weight).
She was rather tired over the weekend. The Issels doctors prescribed IV protein + Magnesium to replenish her (a CBC done on Saturday morning showed that her protein levels had dropped to 5.8 g/dL (normal minimum being 6.0). The doctor had already predicted it may happen before the CBC was done. The doctor said that drops in protein levels may happen when you have fevers.
Looking back at today's treatment, we concluded that we have been too aggressive with the heating pads. In our enthusiasm to avoid the chills and shakes that Coley's induces, we've been aggressively pre-heating her to the extent that she began sweating profusely even before the fever started.
Today, we stuck with the same 0.0005mL CFIV dosage. We expected that there may not be any fever today because we're using the same dosage as past Monday's. If you remember, Monday's fever broke past the 102.5F barrier for only 15 minutes. Furthermore, the body is supposed to get more tolerant to Coleys so one would expect a lower fever than expected this time.
