Chemo #3

Short Version:   Blood levels were perfect.  Chemotherapy Treatment went without a problem.  The nurse did have a little more difficulty getting the IV started, it took two tries this time.  But, still not bad.   Afterwards, I felt good enough to go to Daniel's football game in Irrigon, OR.  The weather was great, no wind, and about 50 degrees.  WM won, and Daniel got to play in the 2nd half.  Well worth the effort of going.  I have continued to have a fair amount of energy and have been able to check several things off my "to do list".  I have yet to experience the nausea and vomiting that is historically associated with Chemotherapy.  I am thankful for each of you  and your prayer.  I am certain this is a huge factor in my ability to go on this "journey" with the amount of grace and strength I have been given.

Long Version:  and it is long....


Hair Loss:

Last Wednesday I attended a "Look Good, Feel Better" class, at the cancer center, hoping to get some suggestions on head covering and applying makeup to minimize the hair loss affects.   It wasn't as helpful as I had hope.  This may be a bit arrogant on my part, but with a little research, I think I could do a better job of teaching scarf tying for the head and share other ways to cover the head.    But a couple of good things came out of the class.  The gal I bought my wig from brought in wigs for the other gals in the class to try on,  I asked her about the fit of mine. She indicated that she needed to remove 2 rows of hair and then it would fit great.  At the same time she would wash and condition it. :)  So we left it at her shop on the way to Chemo.  Afterwords we stopped back by and picked it up and at the same time I asked her if she would shave off the remnants of hair left on my head.  It was fussy, and weird, and reminded me of Gollum from "Lord of the Rings".  She graciously took her razor to my head.   I had tried to use my leg razor... but it just wasn't working.   It felt much better, but was still a bit nubby, so the next morning I took my leg razor to it in the shower.  AHHH.. now nice and smooth.  Lotion goes on much nicer, and I feel better about it.
I still have a few eyelashes, albeit sparsely distributed.  A little mascara helps accentuate them.   Maybe I will be lucky enough to not lose them all completely.  Eyebrows are thinning. I have purchased an eyebrow pencil to fill that in a bit.     While I do have to shave my legs, it is not anywhere near as frequent as normal, which is kinda nice. Also, those pesky chin hairs that grow faster that I can keep up with.... they are gone as well. :)

Nausea:
I have not experience any of that.  I am certain prayer and medications are instrumental in this blessing.   I did have  some sort of allergic reaction to something Saturday morning.. rashy, hot, sorta itchy all over my body.  It wasn't particularly irritating, just got my attention.  Preston insisted I call the Dr. He suggested not taking the nausea med.  I had already taken it that morning, along with the loratadine I take for allergies.  After that. the symptoms seemed to fade and it was not problem.  I continued with the meds and have had no other problems.

Gastrointestinal Irritation:
This seems to be one of the main symptoms I deal with.  It is just a mouth, esophagus, stomach, gut irritation.  Feels "burny"  & slows down the "plumbing".  The Dr. reiterated to me that I need to rinse my mouth with soda water 5 times a day.  The saliva glands excrete the chemo drugs and it then drains throughout the rest of the system.  It has helped my tremendously to more fully understand this.  Not that it makes it any easier to remember to do it.  I try... I really do... but I just get busy and distracted.  (I think I will go do that now :)   He also suggested a nutritional supplement "GlutaSolve" that is supposed to enhance GI health.  I have been using it for the last few day and it seems to be help.... I think.  It isn't too bad.  I am adding it to my breakfast yogurt and berries.  The "slow plumbing" immediately following Chemo is continuing to be a concern.  It takes a while to get that straightened out again. 

Fussy Brain:
This symptom cropped up this last week. Just a few examples:
1) I left the keys in the car, on ACC. Needless to say the battery was VERY dead.  I have never done that kind of thing before.
2) Lost a favorite hat for a while, practically tore the house apart looking for it.  Found it in my underwear drawer, I am sure I had some good reason for putting it there ;)
3)  I had some money given to me for a special purpose, I put it in an envelope in a "logical" place, subsequently could not find it for the life of me.

I discussed this with the Dr and nurse.  They both assured me this was Chemo Brain and is temporary, BUT brand new research indicates a new treatment plan for this malady.  Here is what I remember of it:   (I believe this is daily)

• 30 minutes of warm up exercise
• 45 minutes of resistance training (weights...I think Curves will work nicely)
• 15 minutes of cardiovascular training
• Massage!  I said "Yes I would like that".....  Doc said... "I can arrange that for you", and he has!! Would it be nice to do this daily!!! HA
• Meditation & Stretching (Yoga, or something like that)

 I am not an exercise enthusiast.  This seems like a huge hunk of time that could be spent on more valuable stuff.  I will, however,implement as much of this as I can.  I do find that exercise does help.
I have an appointment with the Hospital's Physical Therapy Dept for a massage, and a friend is loaning me a DVD of the basics of yoga stretching. The meditation piece I believe I already do with my prayer, study and meditation on God's Word.  This has, and continues to be of tremendous comfort  and encouragement to me, not to mention the challenge to live outside of "myself".


Thank you again for all your prayer and encouragement. Pray that I am able to keep exercising and find the right balance in caring for myself, meeting family needs & doing God's work.  (Oh, and that the plumbing gets going again :)