Friday, December 4, 2015

5 Down 1 To Go!!

Although I am not through this round, yet, I can happily say I have gotten 5 of my 6 infusions over and done with. From the last round, I am not looking forward to the next few days in terms of how I will feel. I had one round that wasn't too bad, and that was round 2. I expected then to just hit the wall like I did with the 1st one, but I didn't. The 3rd round was almost as bad as the first, and #4 I had a couple of really bad days where I just couldn't stand going through. I am not looking forward to having that happen again. I made sure to tell Dr. Sri how much I didn't like it, and to point out all the side effects that I have had this time. One of them is that my fingernails started hurting really badly. I had the middle, ring and pinky fingers on both hands get this red spot in the middle of the nail. It would hurt to pull on my socks - that grabbing and pulling motion. I just now took the picture and the redness has gone down quite a bit and the soreness is not really noticeable. I just hope that I don't loose my nail. The left middle finger was the worst. It was so bright red, that I kept thinking I had gotten a spot of paint or nail polish on it.

The soles of my feet also get really tired-sore if I walk or stand too much. The day before Thanksgiving when I was in the kitchen most of the day I really only did too much in regards to my feet. But the next couple of days with just sitting down mostly helped that to go away. I mentioned before my question as to am I getting more tired because I am not exercising, or would that get worse if I did some type of exercise? Well Dr. Sri did say that my red blood count is bordering on anemia, not enough to get a transfusion, but enough to feel the side effect of fatigue. So this time is one where energy will not beget energy. I feel like I should keep up my stamina, but at the same time, I don't want to overdo it. My heart is faring well according to the echocardiogram. The ultrasound showed that both lumps have shrunk by half which the doctor was really pleased with after 4 rounds of chemo. So all in all, this is great news here.
I also have not lost my eyebrows or eyelashes, which is nice to not have to deal with. I have a few (very few) hairs growing back on my head. A couple of the strands are even almost an inch long. Weird that hair will fall out, and then not grow, but some of the strands will actually grow. I guess I am getting ready to be done with this whole thing. I was told that surgery can happen as early as 3 weeks after my last round. I will be meeting with Dr. Moline sometime this month to discuss what will happen. I made it clear to Dr. Sri that grandbaby #1 comes the middle of February and I want to be healed and well enough to travel and be there for that.
Well, here's to a good next couple of days! It feels weird to have the infusion, feel good for a couple of days and just sit here waiting for the inevitable hit the wall time. I wish I could run around that wall really quickly, but since I can't walk up the stairs without getting winded, I guess I am not up to running around any walls. I am determined to rest, rest, rest so I will be up for travelling for Christmas to Utah in 2 weeks!

4 comments:

  1. Yes, let those wall enclosed you instead of challenging you to run them! Rest is not only what you feel like doing, but it is your body telling you that you NEED to! It is not a challenge, but a direction.

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  2. Hang in there lady. I posted something on FB that made me think of you.

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  3. Hey friend - thinking about you. I'm glad you'll be in with the kids for Christmas. That's so weird about your fingernails!!!!

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