My white count and my RBC counts came up (YAY for iron, liver, steak, hamburger and spinach) very well and I was able to get my 7th dose of chemotherapy this past Thursday. As usual, the steroids kept me awake and energetic on Thursday and Friday until the big crash yesterday when that truck (with the license plate BR9495) came by to run me over! : )
On Thursday and Friday I worked from home and finished up the form I had to do so the powers that be can make their decision on who gets laid off in my department. I think I did a pretty good job and I'm not worried about it. But if I'm wrong and I get canned, then I'll just deal with it at the time. On Friday evening I went out to dinner and a movie with friends. We saw The Great Debators with Denzel Washington. It was well done and the acting by the young people was very good.
Yesterday I felt horrible with the usual flu-like symptoms and stayed in bed or on the couch all day, taking big doses of Tylenol for the aching. I don't take the narcotic meds any more since they just make for more complications, although I'd really like to take them for their knock-out effect. The chemo pretty much flattens me like a steamroller so I can barely get up, so I guess I'm actually knocked out enough, although it is a miserable feeling! I started getting mild symptoms of a urinary infection (but no fever) and called the doctor, and started taking some antibiotics for that.
I feel a little better today, although I won't be dancing any jigs -- but I have only one more treatment to go...and I definitely will be dancing like crazy when that final one is over!!!!!!!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
January blues
Well, the iron infusion went fine, but it will take weeks for it to have any effect, i.e., to help me feel more energetic. I'm taking walks on sunny days if I feel up to it, but otherwise, I'm putzing around the house - reading, watching TV or sometimes a video, and occasionally cooking some simple things.
I read an article on the January blues in last week's paper...so on top of the cancer blues, I think I've got the January blues too - dark days make me feel depressed and dreary. I'm fighting it as best as I can, succeeding only some of the time. I'm feeling like I've had enough, that this needs to be over NOW, that it's just too much crap to go through. I don't like living like this, feeling weak, needy and useless, feeling bald and ugly.
Yeah, yeah, I know I should be thankful for what I've got and that it's not worse than it is, but I gotta tell you, I'm not finding too much to feel good about, and my body doesn't feel good at all. I'm closer to the end of this ordeal than I was, and that's about the only "good" thing I can muster right now.
I read an article on the January blues in last week's paper...so on top of the cancer blues, I think I've got the January blues too - dark days make me feel depressed and dreary. I'm fighting it as best as I can, succeeding only some of the time. I'm feeling like I've had enough, that this needs to be over NOW, that it's just too much crap to go through. I don't like living like this, feeling weak, needy and useless, feeling bald and ugly.
Yeah, yeah, I know I should be thankful for what I've got and that it's not worse than it is, but I gotta tell you, I'm not finding too much to feel good about, and my body doesn't feel good at all. I'm closer to the end of this ordeal than I was, and that's about the only "good" thing I can muster right now.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Pass the Geritol, please!
Well, it's official - I have "iron-poor" blood. I found out today that my "iron saturation" is 7% (normal range is 20-55%). That's so low that intravenous iron supplementation has been recommended, and I am supposed to have that done next Friday.
I'm a bit surprised since I'm not a vegetarian and I eat a fair amount of protein, but on the other hand, I'm not surprised since this past weekend I was so tired I didn't even care that I was tired, and being awake comprised less time than being asleep. ..yet another adventure in the cancer journey that I really don't want to take...woo hoo.
The I.V. iron supplementation is a tad scary since the main drawback is that severe allergic reactions can occur in a small percentage of people; however, it is administered over 5 hours and they have stuff on hand for reactions. The other option would be to get the iron infused in smaller amounts over 8 visits. So for the convenience factor, having it done all at once seems preferable.
I was too tired to make it into work on Jan 2nd as planned, but I dragged myself in the next day and mostly got through emails, but actually got a fair amount of work done today. Not a workaholic by nature, I am still amazed that it seems that work is good "therapy" for me...although I don't look forward to it and tend to complain about having to be there, it really is pretty darn good for taking my mind off of "me, me, me" (i.e., being too busy for self-pity) and giving me a constructive outlet. And when I admit THAT, I think it shows that I really need to get some new hobbies! : )
I'm a bit surprised since I'm not a vegetarian and I eat a fair amount of protein, but on the other hand, I'm not surprised since this past weekend I was so tired I didn't even care that I was tired, and being awake comprised less time than being asleep. ..yet another adventure in the cancer journey that I really don't want to take...woo hoo.
The I.V. iron supplementation is a tad scary since the main drawback is that severe allergic reactions can occur in a small percentage of people; however, it is administered over 5 hours and they have stuff on hand for reactions. The other option would be to get the iron infused in smaller amounts over 8 visits. So for the convenience factor, having it done all at once seems preferable.
I was too tired to make it into work on Jan 2nd as planned, but I dragged myself in the next day and mostly got through emails, but actually got a fair amount of work done today. Not a workaholic by nature, I am still amazed that it seems that work is good "therapy" for me...although I don't look forward to it and tend to complain about having to be there, it really is pretty darn good for taking my mind off of "me, me, me" (i.e., being too busy for self-pity) and giving me a constructive outlet. And when I admit THAT, I think it shows that I really need to get some new hobbies! : )
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