The course of maintenance chosen was daily Mercaptopurine
tablets, with a weekly dose of Methotrexate. It was a popular
decision with me. I thought that tablets were definitely preferable
to regular injections, which some other patients had to endure.
I always had confidence in the drugs that were prescribed,
thinking naively that they were the latest formulations. Recently
I read about a man who died from leukaemia in the mid 1960s,
and was shocked to see the names of some of the drugs that
were used on me.
I'm glad I didn't know this at the time.
The Methotrexate tablets were particularly strong. Years later,
I heard of a strategy used with some sufferers, where a lethal
dose of this drug was administered to kill all of the dangerous
cells. Then an antidote was given to prevent death. I don't think
that this method was too successful.
For the next three years, I took the Methotrexate and
Mercaptopurine tablets with a glass of water at bedtime. Both
were tasteless, and produced no detectable side effects. It became
such a part of my routine that I would gulp down the five tablets
with just one mouthful of water. They would be packed carefully
in gladwrap, should I not be sleeping at home that
night.
One probable side effect of the treatment was infertility. The
drugs destroyed sperm cells, and the doctors were not confident
that their production would ever really recover. I was told of
this early on, but I didn't give it a second thought until my father
reminded me in November 1982, when Anne and I decided to
marry. I had totally forgotten about it.
