In my last update I mentioned that I started feeling nauseous a couple of days after the last chemo treatment. Unfortunately that nausea continued for over a week until 12/14, but it's finally gone.
The biggest problem I now have are my feet. One of the side effects of the oral chemo (Xeloda) is Hand/Foot Syndrome. HFS (palmar plantar erythrodysesthesia) is a dermatological side effect and occurs when small amounts of medication leak outside of the capillaries and cause damage to exposed tissue. My hands are affected a little bit, but the feet are in bad shape. They are all callused and hot...imagine the bottoms of your feet with a massive sunburn.
Now think about how that would affect your day. What shoes do you wear? Do you really want to get up to get that [insert anything] right now? I also have several pinched nerves in my feet, which prevent me from walking barefoot. So I need to either wear thick socks, which warm my feet up and make the HFS even worse, or wear flip flops. Flip flops sound good, especially because they don't soak up the heavy cream that I apply throughout the day, but my flip flops have small indentations on them, which create friction on my feet, which hurt. This frustrates me greatly because I just started feeling normal, and now I can't walk! I literally can't walk.
This started to get bad last week, so I told my homeopathic oncologist about it when I talked to him last Tuesday. He recommended a couple more supplements - high dose Vitamin B6, Sea Buckthorn, and a homeopathic Calc Sulph 6x. I started taking them Friday night after staying home from work because I literally couldn't be on my feet. By Sunday, things started feeling a ton better, but then my pinched nerve kicked in. I told my local homeopathic doctor about my pinched nerve when I saw him yesterday and he sent me home with some Silica, so hopefully that will kick in soon. I've also made an appt to see my podiatrist on Wednesday to get a shot for my nerve, since I went through a series of shots earlier this year to treat my pinched nerves. Let's hope that helps too. Plus, I'm hoping he might be able to clean up some of the calluses on my feet from the HFS while I'm there - I mean, he IS a podiatrist, right????
My MoMMa got here on Saturday - yayayayayayayayayaya! There really is no substitute like the comfort of one's mommy. We've been preparing for the arrival of "the kids" - my brother, sister-in-law, and nephews get here on Wednesday. I really can't wait! I know it's gonna be interesting having a full house and two boys full of energy, but there's something about having all your family together for the holidays that just feels right. I can't wait!
I went shopping at this awesome toy store over the weekend. You should've seen me hobbling around slowly, very slowly. It made me laugh to see my parents walking ahead of me and then slow down to wait for me "Don't worry about me. I'll catch up!" This toy store wraps all your presents for you. They put a sticker on the present for you to write the To and From names on, and they even put a Post-It note on it labeling what's in the box - BRILLIANT! And they do this year round! I love places that provide this level of service. I'll definitely be back to Toys & Co.
My next chemo treatment is on 1/3. I go back on 1/10 for my CT scan and MRI. Then, I return on 1/22 for the results of the scans. The best news ever would be that the tumors in my liver have shrunken a bit and there are no new tumors in my body. That's all I want for Christmas :)
Merry Christmas and Much Love to all!
Sarah xoxoxo
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