Baby Ben came over today with his mom and grandma to do some housework for me. Dishes, vacuuming, laundry and dusting got done today. I really need to think of something nice for my sister when this is all over because she is just awesome.
This has been another really hard week with side-effects. My hands and feet are becoming neuropathic and it's difficult to write and do anything that requires fine motor skills. My eyes are watering constantly and the skin under my right eye is getting irritated. The big issue though is this weakness I've been experiencing since about mid-week. My shortness of breath is better only because I am now forced to move extremely slow. My knees feel like they are going to give out on me and my thighs and arms just feel like jello.
I'm not sure what I am going to do about work. I mean, I can work, but getting there is an issue. Unfortunately it's not work I can do at home. I just need to decide if I'm going to take the bus or drive. Tomorrow I'm going to ask my doctor about getting a temporary handicapped parking placard. I probably should have done this a few weeks ago, since the state is slow about these things, but I wasn't expecting this weakness and I figured the anemia was going to get better after the transfusion. Speaking of which, my hematocrit dropped another point this week to 29.
On Friday while I was in infusion, the oncology PA came down to look at my nails. She was going to cut back my right thumb nail, but instead of lifting it off the nail bed, she just tried to jump right in, which of course hurt. Later, at work, I managed to get most of the nail off with my little clippers. There was a little bit of pus in the nail bed, so I've been putting silver gel on it with a bandaid and it's healing nicely. Both the PA and my infusion nurse suggested I get some extra sleep this weekend, so I did take some ambien Friday night and slept almost 12 hours and after I was up for a couple hours, took another 4 hour nap. It was a bit harder to get to sleep last night, but I did manage about 9 1/2 hours. I'm pretty wiped out for the little bit of housework I've done today and will most likely nap after (or during) the Seahawks game. Go Seahawks!! (please win!)
Here's another picture of Ben.. He's just so freakin' cute and he's seriously stylin' today!
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4 comments:
hi! i've been out of touch dealing with, well, you know. just wanted to ask if anyone has suggested a ct scan to you in light of your shortness of breath? it couldn't hurt, that's for sure. also, what about albuterol a few times a day through a nebuliser (which is far better than an inhailer - but annoying as hell)? there really isn't a reason you should be suffering so with things that can be knocked off the list relatively quickly and easily. i so feel for you dear. as far as the fingernails go, nothing. mine are a mess now that we've removed 2 of the chemos (figure that one out). i got ticked off early one morning and took the clippers to them, despite the pain. that didn't work out well. oh well, what can i say other than "take care". it's such a little phrase, but the only one that anyone can ever say.
I had x-rays and a doppler exam at the end of September to check for clots and everything was normal. Now that this weakness has taken over, being short of breath isn't really a problem.. I can't move that fast!
I hope you are doing well, especially now that you are done with 2 of the chemos. 5 more treatments for me, and it can't come soon enough!
2? try 7 or 8. i've lost count. the chemo may go in a year or so - but the herceptin is going to be a rest of my life thing for me. remember, i have a different kind of breast cancer that cannot be found through x-rays and the like. like you, though, i do have to call my insurance company. they're just fine (i think). it's the idiots that refuse to stop billing over the deductible that are driving me insane. and we won't even talk about my fingers. the feet now look like they always have (icky - but not too bad) - but the fingers are just gross. and the port might have to come out and be replaced after all. (sure, i lost 100 lbs in the first 5 weeks. the rad was a jerk to the 85th power - and then quite surprised when the anesthesia wore off so fast and i hit my head on the camera he forgot to move.) well, at least it's not black anymore! i do hope all goes well for you, dear. this has been one trying time for you, that's for sure. and honestly, i'm not sure how they're treating you - but my doc are planning on having me off chemo for turkey day and generic winter holiday so i can enjoy, at least, some of them. can you do that - or is that not in the treatment plan? i'm on mistletoe - that stuff that suzanne somers paid to have infused a while back. that stuff is wild. it wasn't so bad when i was on the xeloda, but now it's a massive pain in the butt. can you say dead braincells flying all over the place at random??? :-) take care - and be well. oh, and good luck with that "taking it slow" thing. i still haven't learned that yet - and my docs keep yelling at me over it. docs yelling is not a nice thing.
I'm so sorry about all the chemo! You are much stronger than me! Sometimes I just feel like I'm whining when I know that there are people out there going through much worse that what I'm dealing with.
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