Done With Chemo and the Laptop Screen is Fixed

With that title, who needs to type anything down here?  LOL  That pretty much says it all.

I had my final chemo today.  Kevin took a half-day off to come sit with me.  When I was done, I got to ring the bell.  They have a bell that you ring loudly when you are done.  I did that, smiling all the while, and then I got a certificate that all the nurses signed with a personal message.  It was SO sweet.  They said such nice things.  I am happy that it's done.  Now to get through a week of side effects (if the Dr. was correct, they won't be bad this time, though,) and I can feel normal for a few weeks before radiation starts.

Also, Kevin ran into the UPS guy at the post office this afternoon.  I had been tracking my laptop screen and knew he had it, so Kevin offered to save him a trip to our house.  Yup.  Saved him 3 whole blocks!  LOL  I got the screen replaced and am SO happy to be typing on a real keyboard again.  And now, a shameless plug:

If you ever break your laptop screen or need to replace it for any reason, I'd suggest screensurgeons.com.  I ordered late on Friday evening and the screen arrived today.  (Keep in mind that we live in the boonies.)  They have videos on YouTube, showing step by step instructions for replacing it.  When it got here, it has a letter stating that it has a 2 year warranty against dead pixels, lines, brightness issues, etc.

OK, that's enough of that unpaid commercial.  I'm  happy to have my laptop back.  I'm going to keep it in a different place, so my clumsiness will spare this screen.  I hope.

The stupid side effects are kicking in.  These side effects are from the pre-meds.  Benadryl has my head feeling swimmy and loopy, but I must fight sleep, because it also has a steroid that often makes me wake up by 2:00, unable to go back to sleep.  *sigh*

It's OK, though.  This is the LAST TIME I have to deal with this crap.  For the small time I sleep tonight, I will sleep happy.

Surviving the Crash

I got out early to see Mom and Dad, and was glad I did.  As I sat on their couch, I could feel it coming.  It made me glad that we live fewer than two miles away from them.  I got home in time for "the crash."  The crash comes after the oral steroids are gone, and seems to leave me comatose for most of a day.  I asked Kevin to take the girls to get some lunch or something and I headed to bed.

Just like last time, I alternated between the bed and the recliner.  My limbs are like spaghetti and my lower back and legs hurt.  My head is full of oatmeal and my conversational skills are that of a carrot.  I'm so glad this only happens once per chemo cycle.  I gave in and went to bed around 6:30 last night, but even with Ambien I was awake at midnight.

I forced myself to stay in bed, and even dozed a bit, until 2:00.  At that point, I gave up.  I may as well get ready for work, if I'm going to be awake.  I'm also losing hair by the hands-full.  You can't tell to look at my head, but it's time to wear a hat, simply for shed control.  Every day is an adventure for me right now.   I should feel a bit better each day this week, so that is something to look forward to.

I'm also thankful that I've found more that sounds good to eat this time around.  Fruit is good, as is chicken and potatoes.  At least I can get some protein, if chicken tastes good to me.  Kevin grilled a bunch up for me, so I'll take that for lunches this week.  I hear the protein will make me feel better.  

Finally, the headaches are still here, but very mild compared to before.  My sleep patterns aren't improving, but the steroids being cut must have helped some.  Days seven and eight of the last cycle are the days when my headache hit the hardest, and I'm day six of this cycle.  I'm determined it's not going to happen this time.  

Oh, and we get Wednesday off!  Another plus!  I can't be in the sun and I wear out pretty easily, but Mom has a/c, so we'll go out there and let the girls blow some stuff up.  Yup, just another week, surviving chemo.

A Visit to the Doctor

I had a visit with my oncologist today.  I've never been so excited for a doctor's appointment in my life.  That's kinda sad, but I couldn't wait to talk to her.  She was impressed by my overall lack of side effects (nausea, etc) and I was happy to see that I'd lost 8 lbs in the past two weeks.  Another benefit!  She was also more than ready to help find a solution to the headaches.

She believes that the problem is a combination of lack of sleep and the steroids.  (Mom was half right!)  I asked if it could truly be the steroids, since I haven't taken one in 10 days.  She assured me that it could be.  What's weird, is that I didn't have the headache when I was taking them.  It came later.  That's why she thinks it's in combination with a cumulative lack of sleep.

Her solution was to cut my steroids in half for this round, and she prescribed Ambien.  I get steroids in my IV before chemo, and then take the pills for the following three days.  Instead of two tablets twice a day, I'll be taking one tablet twice a day.  I really, REALLY need this to work, so I've decided that it's going to.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  I will be at the plastic surgeon's office for a tissue expander fill at 9:00 in the morning, and then back to this side of the state line for my infusion at 11:00.  Because they drew blood while I was there today (my whites are up, by the way,) it will speed things up for tomorrow.  No waiting for the lab to get the results sent upstairs.

On Thursday, I hope to get a full 8 hours in, and then I have my Neulasta shot at 4 pm.  Chemo weeks are SO busy, but it should make it go by quickly.  Also, after tomorrow, I can say that I'm halfway done with the A/C portion of my chemo.  That's 1/4 of the way done with chemo!  Positive thoughts.  Positive thoughts.  Positive thoughts.  Doritos.  Hey!  How'd THAT get in there?  Oh well.