Week 16

Well this has not been the best time. I had a horrible weekend, unable to get up off the couch or out of bed without being seriously short of breath. My hct on Friday was 26. They ran some tests to make sure I don't have any clots, which I don't, so all my symptoms are from the anemia. My doctor called me at 4:30 on Friday to say I could get a blood transfusion if I wanted to.

I went in yesterday for the transfusion. 2 units took 4 1/2 hours to infuse, so it was a long day. Today I feel about 50% better than yesterday. My doctor says the anemia is a side-effect from the AC and it's just going to take time for my red blood cells to re-build themselves. The Abraxane (that I'm on now) isn't shown to cause anemia the way the Adriamycin does. Hopefully this transfusion will give my cells a little jump start to get busy!

I was going to go into work today, but I'm pretty dizzy and shaky... my body is getting used to all that extra fluid. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to work tomorrow. In the meantime I'm drinking electrolyte water and eating protein and hoping this shakiness goes away.