This is a short list of the different drugs I’m taking at the moment. None of it is heavy stuff, but there is a lot to remember:
- Oralbalance, “dry mouth moisterizing.” It’s a gluey, slightly sweet-tasting, paste I put on my toungue at night and whirl around in my mouth. It doesn’t work that well.
- Novamin, a little pill I’m supposed to take 30 minutes before every meal, but I usually forget. I think it’s supposed to eliminate nausea induced by the chemo.
- Prometin, an even smaller pill I’m supposed to take 30 minutes after each meal. It’s also supposed to deal with nausea, I think. I almost always forget to take it.
- Physiomer, French-made nasal spray I use in the evening. Claims it contains eau de mer naturelle. I wonder if it’s the Atlantic or the Mediterranean? I would prefer the Atlantic. The water is deeper there and the fish are bigger and feistier.
- Sympt-X, the notorious $238 dollar jar of amino acids. I’m supposed to dissolve three scoopers a day in ordinary water. I’m still not convinced it actually makes a difference, and I don’t think I’ll get another jar when this one runs out.
- Alpraline, a little orange sleeping pill. Not very powerful, but nice to have around.
- Halcion, little blue-gray sleeping pills my mother sent me over the mail. They aren’t very strong either and I usually take them after I wake up at 2.30 at night.
- Comfflam, a spray for inflamed mouths. It’s a green, slightly minty, slightly alcoholic, liquid. It works great when I’m in need of a quick fix. It has a long nozzle which makes it possible to spray right in the very back of my mouth.
- Nacid, regular pills against volcanic stomach.
- Mycostatin, the notorious anti-fungal mouth medicine. It comes as a dry powder at the bottom of a little bottle. You add water and shake it around. It tastes and looks a lot like curdled milk. I’m taking it every six hours — including at 2.30 at night. It really, really works.
- Acemet Retard, anti-inflammatory, green and white pills.
- Tinten, regular acetaminophen painkiller.
- Biotène, French mouth wash, with calcium.
- Ibuprofen, regular over-the-counter painkiller. A do a bit of self-medication with this when I feel particularly rotten.
- Diovan and Norvasc, a little red and a little white pill against high blood pressure. Works great.
- Centrum, A to Zink. These are just regular vitamin pills. I would take more than one a day, but Dr Ding insists I shouldn’t overdose on vitamin E.
- In addition, of course, I get the chemotherapy. The main component here is something called Cisplatin but they also give me all kinds of steroids and things (Primperan, Kytril, Rinderon, Prometin, Novamin and Sodium Chloride).