When I came home after chemo on Wednesday, I slept a ton. But apparently this was good because I woke up the next day feeling pretty okay, besides some fatigue. Since then, I haven't gotten sick or had any of the really typical chemo side effects most people report. I have a little tingling in my thumbs, a little dry skin, some blurry long distance vision (good-bye driving for now), and then just being tired.
When my mom and I went in for side effects education two weeks ago, my wonderful nurse Katie ran through a list of what seemed like 1,000,000,000 side effects that could happen including, but not limited to: nausea, poor appetite, constipation, headaches, organ failure, depression, yellowing of the eyes, and hair loss. But like I said, I haven't experienced many of these at all. I was especially surprised that I've had no nausea since I had such a bad reaction to the Emend during treatment. But after two days of Zofran (another anti-nausea drug for at home), I'm not taking any medication.
The fatigue can be really tough, but there are several things that I've been doing that seem to help combat it.
1). Yoga. I've always loved doing yoga, but already I can feel that my muscles are weakening, and I'm not as flexible as I used to be. However, doing two 15-minute sessions of yoga (once in the morning and once at night) help a lot with balance. Fatigue can make it hard to stand up, go up and down stairs, and sit on stools, but doing poses like tree and the different warrior variations help a lot.
Not me, but look at how happy she is doing yoga!
2). Walking. You may see me walking around town a lot, either in a large block or down to the bookstore and back. I try to walk at least once a day. Like the yoga, this keeps my blood moving and helps get the good cells in my body to work while the cancerous ones are dying.
3). FLUIDS. I have been drinking so much. Tap water no longer tastes good, but if I have a lot of ice in it, water has been fine for me. I also have been drinking that bottled "Peace Tea" which has a strong flavor to get rid of the metallic taste in my mouth. All the fluids keeps things moving. Dehydration is also the main reason most cancer patients end up in the hospital, which I am itching to avoid. Unfortunately coffee doesn't count toward my daily fluid intake, but so far it hasn't been that hard to drink enough. Fluids also help in keeping skin and lips moist (another side effect).
If I think of anything else, I'll add to this list. But so far, we are good! Thanks as always for the support and prayers :)
Current symptoms, side effects, and complaints: fatigue, tingling in thumbs, blurry long distance vision, and metallic taste in my mouth, dry hands and lips
The picture actually does look like you - beautiful of course. You are the model patient taking good such care of yourself through this so that you come out stronger than ever. Your medical team is the best educating you and your parents on every aspect of this treatment. I love you and think of you and pray for you every minute of the day.
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