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!

15th Treatment

I had a quiet weekend fighting nausea. My stomach was unsettled which made eating an issue again. Ironically, it remained unsettled until I was sitting in the chair waiting for the IV to start my treatment. I told the nurses that, at that moment, I was feeling the best I had felt in a week. If I can believe the scale, I've lost 15 pounds so far. Yeah, an unsettled stomach will do that. After telling them about my stomach problems, they called in a prescription for compazine for me.

My bloodwork showed that the platelets dropped a little again, but everything else seemed to be holding steady.

When we got home, I decided to go straight to bed since my head was hurting so much. I slept for a couple of hours and woke up with a major fever, chills, headache, and upset stomach. My body hurt too much to stay in bed, as I couldn't get comfortable. It was still light outside, so I got up, hoping that a little movement would help. Well, my stomach was so nauseous that I was afraid to have anything pass by my lips. Eventually, I was able to take sips of Sprite, and then finally took a compazine. I'm so glad they called in that script for me. It seemed to do the trick.

The headache lingered into this morning, but is now gone of course since I'll be leaving for treatment soon. I'm hoping that that will be the worst of it this week.

15 down, 4 to go

10th Treatment

The weekend was quiet. I didn't have much of an appetite or energy although I perked up a little bit on Sunday - enough to plant a few more flowers and do a little weeding. I have found that I like the chocolate Ensure drink as a meal replacement or supplement.

I had bloodwork completed again, and then an appointment with my oncologist. Everything looks as it should. My white blood cell count shows that my body is working against infection which means that I'm less immune to random bugs floating around. I'm supposed to avoid crowds or other similar situations where I might be more susceptible to picking up something. Although the toxin level is up it is in acceptable limits, so all is as it should be. All that, and then I had to go for my treatment too.

After two days off, they said that it would probably be a rough night. Geez, they were right! We stopped off at the grocery store on the way home, but I kept my sunglasses on the whole time because the headache had already begun. We unpacked the groceries and then I went out on the patio to relax and wait. Within an hour it felt as though I had been run over by a truck. I took two Tylenol at 5:00pm, and at some point after that headed to bed. I asked my husband to bring me two more Tylenol at 9:00. The fever was high enough to have me huddled under the blankets, but at least I wasn't shivering. The aches had me miserable. Around 10:00pm, the worst seemed over and I ventured downstairs for something to drink. It was tough to roll out of bed this morning because I still have the headache. I know that I couldn't handle the construction noise at work with this pain in my head. Some mornings I wonder whether I could even make the walk from the parking lot to my office - that's pretty sad. I'm going to make myself get in there at least one morning this week, just to prove to myself that I can do it. Besides, I'm ready for a few different files.

10 down, 9 to go

8th Treatment

Okay, 8 treatments done but this is no picnic. I have no appetite at all, and some foods just taste weird. I'm drinking a lot more than I'm eating and that has caused a few intestinal problems if you can guess what I mean. I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 8 pounds. The good news (well, technically, losing 8 pounds is good news to me) is that the side effects haven't been as severe as they were last week. The headache has been the worst part, and even that's bearable. Last night the fever didn't seem to get as high as the night before, and I actually slept rather well. I'm still dealing with lightheadedness which comes and goes. The nurse kept the IV in my hand yesterday with hopes of reusing it today, but it's been bugging me and I'm wondering whether it's going to work. I guess it's really not worth worrying about since there's nothing I can do about it anyway. I'm glad this is it for the week, and I'll be able to call myself halfway through. Really, it's hard to complain too much when I only have to go through this for a month and there are patients at the cancer center who have been going through treatments for years. It could be so much worse. I have to remind myself that I really am one of the lucky ones.

8 down, 11 to go

7th Treatment

Well, it seems that the steroid was the reason for the lack of body aches, fever and chills Tuesday night, and my suggestion that it should become a permanent part of the IV cocktail fell on deaf ears. On the way home from treatment we stocked up on Gatorade and Powerade though I've yet to crack open a bottle. Till we got home, my headache was gearing up to be another good one and I could already feel the body aches starting. I sat in my chair, dozing on and off till 6:00, then headed upstairs for my Tylenol. I saw the bed, and figured I didn't feel like fighting it and crawled in. That was it for the night. I got up once around 10:45 for two more Tylenol and that was it till the alarm went off this morning at 7:00. In bed for 13 hours - no wonder my back is stiff! I can't believe I actually slept that long. I still feel lightheaded and kind of weak, so I plan on staying home this morning to try and get ahead of this hydration plan once and for all. I'm sure that a little food in my stomach will help me feel stronger. I even made a cup of coffee to try to jumpstart my morning.

7 down, 12 to go

3rd Treatment

Well, pushing the fluids continues to help. I actually put in a productive 4 1/2 hours at work this morning, but I started to watch the clock towards the end (and I NEVER watch the clock!). We were home by 4:10 today and I had the start of what would become a pesky headache. Once again, the homemade chicken noodle soup was so comforting! It was almost two hours until the body aches started in full force and I could feel the heat of the fever. The chills took a few more hours but they have been minimal. So, tired, achy, and feverish - this is still doable. My eyes burned a lot tonight but I persevered to watch the finals of American Idol. I know, I'm a real trooper ;-). Even my cat left me at that point! I still have the IV in my right hand from today's treatment hoping that it can be reused tomorrow. Say a little prayer. It's way, way past my new bedtime so I'm heading to that soft pillow and pile of blankets.

3 down, 16 to go

1st Night

Well, I survived - not that I didn't think I would. The chills got as bad as I've ever had with the flu and I was burning with fever. It was hard to sleep because I just couldn't get warm, even with socks, a sweatshirt, and an extra blanket. I took two more Tylenol around 11:00pm. At some point during the night the chills stopped and I could just feel the fever - I was able to take off the sweatshirt. Now, the fever seems to be gone, and I'm just left with a bit of a headache; the body aches are gone. This is doable if it's as bad as it's going to get.

I decided to stay home from work so I can better gauge how I feel throughout the morning. I had a slow start, and decided to keep it slow; now is not the time to be rushing about trying to beat the clock. I plan to work on a few projects this morning and keep my email open till it's time to leave for the next treatment. If tonight goes the same as yesterday, I plan on going to work tomorrow.