I Have to be More Careful

The change in dose that my oncologist did for the steroids seems to be a good thing.  I'm not hyped up and jittery for a couple hours after each dose, and for that, my coworkers are likely quite thankful.  Yesterday, I wore out earlier than I liked, and only got six hours in.  Still, not bad for day two of this cycle.  I got plenty of sleep last night, so I felt pretty darn good this morning.  I still had no appetite, so I ate six saltines, took my meds and hit the door.

Work went fine.  I felt much better today, and managed to get nine hours in.  I ate a few more crackers around noon, since I know it's not good to let my stomach be completely empty.  Even with the extra hour, I felt pretty darned good when I left work.  I needed to stop at Walmart for some medication and diet Coke, but I hoped that wouldn't take long.

Monica called me to say that she needed a prescription refilled, too.  I was too close for calling it in to be of any value, so I went in and headed to the pharmacy to tell them about it.  They told me it would be 15 minutes.  No problem.  I grabbed the other things I needed and started to circle back toward the pharmacy. I was halfway back when I realized how light-headed I was.  Uh oh.  This was suddenly turning out to be a very bad idea.

I walked slowly and deliberately back toward the pharmacy, hanging on to the cart.  Thank goodness they have a bench for waiting.  By the time they called me over, I felt a little bit better.  By the time I got checked out and to the car, though, it was back.  I knew I had to get home, so I blasted the a/c for a minute or two and headed this way.

I made it home just fine, got in the house, and fell into bed.  Thank goodness, Kevin was only about five minutes behind me and realized what shape I was in.  He heated up some soup for me, fixed a cold drink and brought it to me.  I ate, which instantly started to make me feel better, and took my meds.  I am exhausted, but no longer shaky or light headed.

Lesson learned.  I am going to HAVE  to force food at work.  I just can't find anything bland enough, other than chicken noodle soup.  And that, my friends, is getting quite old.  I'm thinking maybe I'll try a baked potato tomorrow.  That sounds bland.  Oh, and now I remember the nurse saying I would be short of breath because of a shortage of red blood cells, and to get plenty of protein.  Yeah, right.

I'm just glad to know that I should be hungry again Sunday or Monday.  Mom has some tomatoes with my name on them.

Goodbye Again, Appetite

Right on schedule, I want nothing to do with food.  *sigh*  I bugged out of work at 11:30 this morning, two hours earlier than I had planned, but I was feeling crappy.  I knew it was too early for my Neulasta shot, since it has to be 24 hours after chemo, so I stopped at Target.  I was about halfway through and got REALLY light headed.  That's when it hit me that I had ingested nothing other than Gatorade and water all day, and it was noon.

I went to the snack bar to see if there was anything there that I could force down, and they had a yogurt parfait.  I paid $2 for $.50 worth of yogurt, so I forced it down, and then regretted it.  It took care of the shaky feeling, but it sat on my stomach like a rock.

They got me in early for my shot (my initial appointment was for 4:00, but they took me at 1:15,) and I came home.  I haven't much left my bed since.  I did eat a few saltines to take my medicine, and at 6:30 I forced down some soup.

This is my bi-weekly whiny post, I suppose.  I've burned it up awfully early.  Didn't make it past day 2.  LOL

In Search of 40 Hours

The plan is to get 40 hours in at work on my non-chemo weeks.  I had it worked out in my head.  This should be the week that I can do it.  No appointments, no steroids, and no shots.  Why won't my body play along nicely?  LOL

I woke this morning with the alarm, which is a first in a week.  It means I got more sleep than I had been getting lately.  I woke when Monica got home from work, and one other time, but was able to go back to sleep after a while.  This should have made me feel good this morning, but I could tell that something wasn't quite right.  I showered and started getting ready, since my morning shower often fixes things that aren't quite right.

I took my temperature, since I'm supposed to call if it reaches 100.5.  99.7 was the first reading, 99.9 was the second (when I got to work,) and I had a major headache.  I do NOT get headaches, so it was consuming all of my concentration, so I took a couple of Advil.  It knocked the temp down to a normal person's normal (I usually run low, but whatever) and took the edge off the headache.

I got my eight hours in today, but it wasn't a joy ride.  I still claim to be quite blessed by not being nauseous so far.  Most food still doesn't sound good, and when something DOES taste good, I take advantage and eat before it loses it's appeal.  Dinner was great today until I was about 3/4 of the way through, and suddenly it was gross.  LOL  Oh well.  I'll keep buying chicken noodle soup and crackers and be thankful that I can hold it down.  So many people cannot do that while doing chemo. 


I plan to turn in early tonight and wake up tomorrow without this pesky headache.  I've alternated Advil and Tylenol all day and choose not to do this again tomorrow.  I choose not to have a headache.  I choose to feel good tomorrow.  I certainly have a new appreciation for anyone who works all day with a headache.  I have friends who get them frequently, and I cannot imagine.  

I'm Still Alive

I had trouble going to sleep, which I was warned about, and three 3 hours later I was awakened by 65 lbs of dog, wanting out because the neighborhood dogs were going nuts.  I did not kill him, but it was tempting.  It took forever to get back to sleep, so I think I got five hours of so, total.  The last of that time was AFTER Kevin woke me up and told me it was time to get up.

Yup, I was late.  Only ten minutes, so it wasn't too bad.  I walked around with a foggy, half-tired feeling, but wasn't sick.  I also wasn't the least bit hungry.  I ate a few crackers to take my medication with, and had a handful of animal crackers around noon.  I still wasn't sick, but I was NOT hungry.  This caused some concern from coworkers, but I won't blow away in the wind anytime soon.  LOL

I left earlier than intended, because I simply ran out of steam.  I had to stop by the hospital for my Neulasta shot.  I'll always get one on the day after chemo.  It helps boost my white blood cell count back up.  It can also cause bone pain, but I'm taking Claritin, which some people say helps, and I can always take Tylenol or Advil.  We'll see if anything is needed.

Tonight, I figured I should really make myself eat something of more substance.   I still wasn't hungry, but I made a can of chicken noodle soup and it tasted good.  Nothing strong sounds good.  This is so not-me.  I even smelled the fried stuff at the deli at WalMart and it didn't smell good.  I can ALWAYS go for some potato wedges.  :)

Anyway, my butt refuses to leave this chair, but I am not feeling sick at all.  I got some mild heartburn a couple of times earlier in the day, but a couple of Tums fixed me right up.  I hope to get up on time tomorrow, and work a decent amount.  Here's hoping!