Crash
Thursday, October 17 was my second chemo treatment – day 1
of the second cycle. No problems. Until Monday, day 5. Everything was great
until late afternoon. Then CRASH. I was
in bed by 7:00 p.m. Monday night.
Tuesday and Wednesday I probably slept almost 20 hours each day. I was
completely useless. By Thursday afternoon it was back to normal. Very weird.
Thursday’s blood work showed a White Blood Cell count of 0. No surprise there.
So far the most annoying side effect is not being able to
taste anything. Neal asks what I’d like him to cook, but it doesn’t really much
matter as long as it isn’t crunchy.
Crunchy stuff hurts.
Side effects are setting in but they are still mild.
My taste buds have pretty much stopped working. If you’ve ever had that numb feeling after
burning your tongue with hot coffee, etc. that’s more or less what it’s like
but all over. Bland stuff has no taste
at all. Aromatic foods like onion,
garlic, and some herbs stimulate my sense of smell and a sense of flavor. Neal made Rosemary Chicken the other night
and I savored every bite.
My mouth is getting quite tender but I haven’t developed any
sores yet, thank God. It’s bad news
because I love crunchy things, but it hurts to eat them. I let my Cheerios get
good and soggy.
Last week when I had blood work done, my white cell count
was 1. It should be 14 – 16. I got a stern warning about not ignoring any
fever. I also got a prescription for a
high dose of Cipro antibiotic to try to fend off any infection. This one scared me. But I feel good and my temperature remains
normal.
I’ve finally begun losing my hair. I don’t think it’s very noticeable yet, but a
couple of more shampoos will probably take care of much of the rest of it; and
I’ll have the stragglers shaved off. The good news here is that the American
Cancer Society offer free wigs, scarves and caps to cancer patients. (Also
bras) They’re new and come in about every color, length and style. I got two.
Photos will follow in a later post when I figure out how to style them. There's a hairdresser in town who will provide one free styling - I'll probably give him a try.
I'm sad to hear of side effects, but I guess it is to be expected when you're dealing with something as strong as chemo. On the other hand, I'm beyond thrilled to hear that there are so many things out there to help you deal with the changes....to attempt to make them easier on you. For all the donations I've collected over the years, it's nice to know that these things are available and free.
ReplyDeleteGallagher once asked if someday he would just have one hair, then his "hair" would fall out...
ReplyDeleteGlad you're coping so far. It'll be done before you know it... Love you, Sis!