6th Week of Recovery

Wow! I can't believe I'm in my 6th week of recovery from the intensive interferon treatment! I can honestly say that everything tastes yummy again, my energy is back, headaches aren't as frequent or severe, itching has almost subsided, and hair thinning is my only worry left. Well, that and my upcoming CT scan, but life's too busy to worry about that! My next CT scan is scheduled for August 26th and then my appt. with my oncologist is 3 weeks later. That'll be a tough waiting period, but there's so much going on that I hope I don't even have time to give it too much thought. Yet those thoughts of whether there's still a cancer cell left floating around inside of me never completely leave. Of course I'm hoping for an all-clear report, but trying to stay prepared for the possibility of a new trouble spot.

My leg continues to swell a bit every day and I've been wearing the compression stocking to bed. I should probably wear it during the day too, but it looks so horrible with shorts and sandals :-(. Besides, the swelling is always down in the morning.

I'm still waiting to get my feeling back in my leg, but that's been very slow to happen. I do have the occasional stabbing pains to remind me that my nerves are still working on making new connections. I'll be able to ask the surgeon about that at my next appt. on August 5th. I also want to show him some freckles/moles I've been keeping an eye on.

I don't expect to post again until after my surgeon appt. on August 5th.

4th Week of Recovery

I had a checkup with the oncologist today, and my bloodwork is looking good with the numbers back up where they belong. The only side effect that is hanging on are the headaches. She was surprised that my family doctor diagnosed migraines. She would have suspected sinus too because of the swollen lymph nodes. However, the lymph nodes are back to normal and the Midrin for the migraines helps. Besides the two pills I took when I got the prescription, I think I've only taken two more since then - one at bedtime because I didn't want to wake up with the headache any worse than it was, and once after work (since then, I take the pills with me to work). The daily headaches make it to a Tylenol level, but I haven't had any more incidents of spots in front of my eyes. The doctor also asked about the last time I had my eyes checked, but I know it has been within the last year.

My followup CT scan is scheduled for next month with a return visit to the oncologist a few weeks later. I guess I'm going to have to keep my fingers crossed for the next few years.

3rd Week of Recovery

Well, it wasn't a sinus thing after all which explains why Sudafed didn't clear it up. It turns out that I've been dealing with migraines and didn't even realize it! I never had a migraine till the treatments. The puzzling thing for me is that after each IV was started (the hydration portion was always first) the nurse would inject a syringe of Benadryl into the IV. I could feel it cross over into my bloodstream because it burned. Within minutes, I would feel pressure across the back of my eyes and up into my forehead. I blamed it on the Benadryl. After treatment was over and I discovered the swollen lymph nodes in the back of my head, I figured I was fighting a sinus infection (which, to me, explained the continuing pressure behind my eyes). The pressure would come and go, and I never called it a headache because I had never had a headache behind my eyes. I really never got many headaches (before treatment). So much for self-diagnosis!

Last Friday, the doctor gave me a prescription for Midrin. I took one capsule as soon as I got home and then another one at bedtime. That was all it took! Two pills! This week, the closer I get to the end of the work day, the more the "pressure" starts building behind my eyes. But it never gets as bad as it did before the Midrin. It doesn't last either - a little quiet time at home and it's practically gone. I only took one pill at bedtime this week.

On Saturday afternoon I spent almost 5 hours working in my daughter and son-in-law's flower beds trying to tame them and pull the weeds. To me, that means that I'm back pretty darn close to 100%. Of course, after that and then sitting in the heat at a family reunion on Sunday, and back at work on Monday, my leg decided that enough was enough and swelled up. I've had to wear the compression stocking - not exactly fashionable for summertime (or any time for that matter!). I hadn't worn the stocking at all during the last 2-3 weeks of treatment, but I guess I was horizontal enough of the time that swelling wasn't an issue. Now my foot is down most of the time, and I'm ready to be active again. I really want to lose the stocking but I also want to prevent dealing with lymphedema!

On Monday I begin my 30-day written comprehensive exam for my doctoral work (15 pages for each of 4 questions = 60 pages). I scheduled it after my 1st week of recovery because I felt as though I would be ready for it physically and mentally. I still think it was a good call, but next week will tell how ready I really am. Knowing how I've felt when I've gotten home after work this week, I know that I couldn't work full-time and successfully complete the exam. I'll be taking almost all (maybe all) of my accummulated vacation to get it done. I'll still go into the office at least one full day each week and be available for additional hours if needed. Hopefully my brain is up for the challenge!