This round was much harder than I anticipated. I know it's supposed to get compoundingly worse, but damn! I was so much more nauseous. I ended up taking the Compazine for nausea, which makes to drowsy. Swapping one side effect for another!
Yesterday I had my follow up with my homeopathic doc in CLT (not to be confused with my homeopathic oncologist in PHZ) and he gave me some meds for the nausea. In less than 8 hours I was feeling a gazillion times better, and today I didn't even take my Zofran. If you're keeping up on my meds, Zofran is for nausea, with mild drowsiness and Compazine is for nausea, with massive drowsiness. I never needed the Compazine the first round. I've been a touch nauseous today, especially after overindulging on the sushi tonight, but I can handle it.
Yesterday I wasn't sure I'd be able to go to work (thank gawd it was a banker's holiday!) but I woke up today at 5:30am and was ready for the day!
Some folks have asked if I've kept up with the juicing. Sadly, the answer is no. I feel guilty since I know it's good for me, I just can't do it alone. I've been meaning to put together a list of things that I'd like help with so when folks ask if they can do anything for me, I can whip out the list. Be forewarned people! If you ask if you can help me, I may actually give you a list to choose from. And juicing is on that list!!!!
Here's the list so far:
- juicing
- cleaning the litter box
- taking out the garbage
- hanging artwork (I never got around to doing that!)
- cooking a good meal for leftovers (like a good soup. I heart soup)
- chopping veggies for snacks
- laundry (bed sheets in particular! I hate folding those things)
- cleaning out my closet and moving the clothes that don't fit to the other closet
Damn, and that's just off the top of my head!
During this round, my body has been craving fresh fruits and veggies. Seriously, the only thing that made me feel less nauseous was fruit. Crazy! I guess it shows how your body really tells you what it needs. Weird.
My other side effects has decreased slowly. I still can't hold anything cold, but its better. Same for drinking cold liquids. I having tingling in hands and feet every once in a while, but no biggie. The worst thing was definitely the nausea. It's like a really bad hangover, without the party the night before. What a gyp, huh?
More soon!
Sarah
Xoxo
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Chemo #2
My chemo treatment went smoothly yesterday, in terms of the appointments. My dad and I drove up to Cary, NC to stay with my dad's cousin and wife. We went out to dinner at a yummy Turkish restaurant, and have a great night's sleep. We arrived at the Duke Cancer Center at 8:40am, I checked in at the lab and we were seen in about 10 mins. They drew blood at hooked up my IV to my port.
Then on to my doctor's office. After checking in and grabbing a cup of Keurig-style green tea, we were immediately called in. We saw Leigh, the awesome Nurse Practitioner since the doc was out. The visit went well, and it's a great sign that I tolerated the chemo so well. Unfortunately, we learned that Leigh, the ultimate email-responding NP, is having surgery and will be out for the next 3 months. That sucks!
We finished our visit with Leigh with hugs and well wishes and headed up stairs to the clinic. We checked in and since it would take 30 minutes to mix the chemo, we had just enough time to run to the cafe downstairs and grab some lunch. And we were called back as soon as we were done!
I found out that my treatments will take 3hr 30mins each visit and that they won't get shorter - oh well! So I settled into my awesome recliner with my warm blanket for a couple of cat naps.
I bet my dad that I'd have to pee at least 4 times, and I was right. You forget all of the fluids that are going through your body!
I started to get nauseous as we were leaving, and I also felt a little pulsating through my body. The drive home wasn't very enjoyable, but it was fast. I popped a Zofran for nausea and just kept my eyes on the road in front of me. My dad and I arrived back at my place and my stepmom was busy making meatloaf, my favorite meal!
My place was also a mess, so they helped me clean up. The steroids that I got with the treatment were kicking in and I just couldn't sit down. At one point I actually found my self walking in a small circle while reading something on my iPhone, out loud. It was trippy, but weird. I eventually crashed but that made me even more nauseous. I ended up taking a Compazine, which was a little upsetting for me to admit that I couldn't handle it.
The cold aversion was there again. It hurt my throat a little to breath the air outside or drink room temp water. I couldn't eat a piece of cantaloupe that was from a fruit tray. I got a headache, which I bet is from the steroids. I really had to wear gloves around the house since things like the laptops, or my fork and knife, or my glass of water (unless it was warm water).
This morning was a bit better. I popped a Zofran in the morning and went out to breakfast with my parents. I worked from home but didn't take any meetings so I could try to catch up from my email hell. My stepmom worked from home too so I wasn't alone. It was an uneventful day. I had less side effects with the neuropathy in the hands and feet. Cold still hurts though. But I know it gets better every day.
I emailed one of the people at my gym and let him know that although my membership had been on hold for 2 months, with only one month left to go, I wasn't going to renew at this time. Of course once this cancer stuff is over, I'll return and focus on shaping up again, but right now I'm not allowed to lose weight, and with the portacath in my chest, I'm not allowed to lift weights more than 5 lbs. My gym is really cool. They're very personable and continue to exceed expectations. I got an email back asking if I was accepting visitors so we could talk about what things I can do. Also, they're going to leave my membership open so I can use the sauna and steam room and the periodic walk on the treadmill. This will be so nice as the temps get colder since I need to walk, and the sauna/steam room will be very relaxing and will help keep me warm with my issues with cold aversion. Plus, I just got a big ole bouquet of tulips delivered to my door from my CAC family (CAC = Charlotte Athletic Club). Seriously - these guys rock!
Ok, I'm off to bed. Hopefully the melatonin will help me have a good night's sleep. I think the steroids last night really tweaked me out!
More soon,
Sarah
xoxo
I bet my dad that I'd have to pee at least 4 times, and I was right. You forget all of the fluids that are going through your body!
I started to get nauseous as we were leaving, and I also felt a little pulsating through my body. The drive home wasn't very enjoyable, but it was fast. I popped a Zofran for nausea and just kept my eyes on the road in front of me. My dad and I arrived back at my place and my stepmom was busy making meatloaf, my favorite meal!
My place was also a mess, so they helped me clean up. The steroids that I got with the treatment were kicking in and I just couldn't sit down. At one point I actually found my self walking in a small circle while reading something on my iPhone, out loud. It was trippy, but weird. I eventually crashed but that made me even more nauseous. I ended up taking a Compazine, which was a little upsetting for me to admit that I couldn't handle it.
The cold aversion was there again. It hurt my throat a little to breath the air outside or drink room temp water. I couldn't eat a piece of cantaloupe that was from a fruit tray. I got a headache, which I bet is from the steroids. I really had to wear gloves around the house since things like the laptops, or my fork and knife, or my glass of water (unless it was warm water).
This morning was a bit better. I popped a Zofran in the morning and went out to breakfast with my parents. I worked from home but didn't take any meetings so I could try to catch up from my email hell. My stepmom worked from home too so I wasn't alone. It was an uneventful day. I had less side effects with the neuropathy in the hands and feet. Cold still hurts though. But I know it gets better every day.
I emailed one of the people at my gym and let him know that although my membership had been on hold for 2 months, with only one month left to go, I wasn't going to renew at this time. Of course once this cancer stuff is over, I'll return and focus on shaping up again, but right now I'm not allowed to lose weight, and with the portacath in my chest, I'm not allowed to lift weights more than 5 lbs. My gym is really cool. They're very personable and continue to exceed expectations. I got an email back asking if I was accepting visitors so we could talk about what things I can do. Also, they're going to leave my membership open so I can use the sauna and steam room and the periodic walk on the treadmill. This will be so nice as the temps get colder since I need to walk, and the sauna/steam room will be very relaxing and will help keep me warm with my issues with cold aversion. Plus, I just got a big ole bouquet of tulips delivered to my door from my CAC family (CAC = Charlotte Athletic Club). Seriously - these guys rock!
Ok, I'm off to bed. Hopefully the melatonin will help me have a good night's sleep. I think the steroids last night really tweaked me out!
More soon,
Sarah
xoxo
Leading up to next round
I had a pretty normal two weeks. I went to my cousin's baby shower in Raleigh (see pic below).
I had dinner with some colleagues. My friend from Atlanta visited for the weekend. We shopped and I melted my credit card. But damn, I've got some cute new clothes!
I had dinner with some colleagues. My friend from Atlanta visited for the weekend. We shopped and I melted my credit card. But damn, I've got some cute new clothes!
I had to fend for myself for food. I'm not great at that. Fortunately, I've got my dad and stepmom very close by and I crash their dinner frequently. When I was working late, my dad picked me up - so sweet!
I went to the Amazing Maize Maze with some friends. This thing is awesome! It's this huge corn maze and you go with a group of friends to find your way through the maze by collecting pieces of the map. There were 12 pieces and three levels of the maze - 5 pieces, 5 pieces, and 2 pieces. You get a blank map, a big flag and don't forget your flash lights, head lamps, and warm clothes (and beer, wine, or flask). Last year our time was 1hr 50mins. The year before, when I wasn't there, they did 2hrs. This year we beat our time again with 1hr 36mins.
I'm looking forward to some other visitors from Atlanta in a couple of weeks and some friends from London might come for Thanksgiving - yay! And then the piece de resistance is my mom and brother, sis-in-law, and two nephews that will come for 10 days for christmas. YAY!!!!
Looking at scheduling of my treatments, I've got 3 more (last one was yesterday - I'm writing that blog post next!), and then my scans in January and I get my results on 1/22/13. That is what I call the Go/No Go for the liver surgery. So there's the date, nothing to do until then, other than complete the chemo, get over the side effects, feel normal, and see friends and family, oh and I'm going to San Francisco for work - sweet! Not bad :)
More soon,
Sarah
xoxo
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