Wow, this is way worse than the first time.
I’ve just been feeling so sick and weak. Have been mostly lying on the sofa bed since I woke up Thursday morning, pathetically moaning and groaning and feeling sorry for myself. I seem to remember getting up more last time, being able to do more, not feeling quite so awful. Anyhow, this will explain why I’ve dropped off the radar these past few days.
Even with the ondansetran for the first three days (and now primperan) the nausea has been almost unbearable. That really is the worst part for me. I hate to think about having to go through this six more times, including having major surgery done in the middle of it all.
On a more positive note, Nog got home late last night – a day earlier than expected. It’s good having company at home again. And today he’s going to check under the bed to confirm that last week’s incident was a random one-off and that there’s nothing nesting there. Cat allegiance showed itself again last night when Nog went to sleep on the Alpha Cat’s big comfy bed and the boys loyally stayed with me in the living room. 🙂
Well, as I’ve now managed to stay upright for almost an hour this morning, I think I’ll take a stab at answering a few emails. They were very nice to receive, as were the phone calls. Thanks guys!
casa azahar 
so glad that Nog is back to perk you up and hold your hand through this. guess he survived camp 🙂
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Wondered why it had all gone quiet – but suspected you were feeling poleaxed by the chemo.
Hope you feel much better very soon.
:hugs:
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He not only survived, nursemyra, he even said he’d do it again. Especially as he earned almost double his usual monthly income, which will nicely see him through the rest of the summer.
“Poleaxed” describes it very well, Teuchter. Unfortunately.
I am definitely feeling a bit better today. Still kinda queasy but I’ve only had to lie down a couple of times since this morning.
If I can stay vertical awhile longer I may even check out my scrabble & scramble games. 🙂
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I’m glad Nog has returned. It is good to have someone with you.
hugs
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az, I hope it was just this time; I’ve been told it’s variable, but that could be better answered by others here. Very glad to hear Nog is there, too!
[hug]
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Glad to hear that Nog is back and that his stint away went well. Sad to hear that you’ve been feeling so nauseous – I really hope it improves soon. And delighted to hear that the cats know who really needs them right now – cats are wonderful at that 🙂
*hugs*
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Hopefully, you will be feeling betterer and betterer as the days go by. Big hugs to you , my love.
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It’s good to be back. The worst part of being away was knowing that az was feeling poorly and not being able to do anything practical to help. Lots to do today though.
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You were very much in my mind on my walk over the last few days Az.
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When we didn’t hear from you I was afraid this was the case. Glad you are better. Conserve your strenghth and get better.
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“It is good to have someone with you.”
It really is, Archie. I thought I was getting good at being all big & strong on my own, but it’s so much nicer having Nog here. Even just to watch tv or eat with. Little things like that.
Thanks for the hugs, girls. The nausea has mostly gone now. I still get the occasional wave of it, but it isn’t constant like before and doesn’t make me feel all woozy.
The walk sounds like it was great fun, Colm. Looking forward to reading more about it.
I hope you don’t mind me quoting something you mentioned in your email today, hmh:
“What I understand about chemotherapy from my studies and from hearing from my clients who have had family with cancer is that while every person reacts differently, it seems the common experience is that each time you get a chemo treatment, it knocks you down a little more and it is just a little harder to get back the energy afterwards. “
If this is true I hope it means that I’ll just feel more tired each time, not that the nausea will keep getting worse. But it kind of makes sense. Sara? Rain? If you’re reading, I’d be interested in finding out if this happened to you.
Anyhow, I am feeling more tired this time but managed a nice walk this morning to the supermarket. But a very weird thing happened there. The air conditioning was so strong that after about 15 minutes my ‘chemo arm’ really started hurting and I had to get out of there and back into the HEAT. That kind of freaked me out. So I guess staying away from cold things also includes too much air conditioning. Damn platinum.
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Nope it was the chemoradiotherapy that knocked me out, but I guess a dose of radiation poisoning plus chemo plus daily commutes into London for it will do that for most people. I was fine after a couple of blood transfusions though. I worked full time in between chemo treatments. Plus I had one of the most powerful drugs in my cocktail. So I guess it really is individual. But I didn’t have a moments sickness.
The cold thing is just plain weird though :p . Again, two of my drugs were platimun based, and nothing like that for me.
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I thought that you finally got up to working every third week of your chemo cycle, Sara. It’s amazing that you worked full time and weren’t sick. Makes me feel like a total wimp.
Yeah, the cold thing is freaky. You didn’t get the thing where you couldn’t eat, drink or touch anything cold? I was thinking of getting little cotton ‘fridge gloves’ because my fingers hurt like hell when I try taking stuff out of the fridge (I usually use a tea towel, but it’s a bit cumbersome).
I reckon that after I’ve recovered from the next operation I’ll be able to start working on the third week of my chemo cycle, if last time was anything to go by. After I stopped taking the chemo pills I felt pretty normal. But most students want/need English classes more than one week out of every three, so it’ll probably just be with a couple of my long-standing ‘regulars’ who more or less take the classes for fun. Nog is going to try and fit my more ‘serious’ students into his schedule until January, when I hope to be able to get back to work full time. That way I won’t lose them.
I did manage to make 25 euros last week! Some guy called me to translate a couple of emails into English for him. Every little bit helps…
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Naah, you’re not a wimp, just sensible.
I worked the second and third weeks. Well, ‘work lite’ – they found me a nice desk job, my day-to-day job is fairly physical in that I’m on my feet nearly all day. I never had the nausea, I’d wouldn’t have got anywhere near work if I had. It gave me less thinking time in which to go insane. I also *had* to work in a way, because I couldn’t afford to go onto half pay due to sickness absence.
Saying that about the cold, I ended up wrapped in a duvet the whole time wearing fingerless gloves I’ve just remembered, because *I* got so cold. I put that down to the paclitaxel, which is notorious for causing nerve damage in your extremeties. I still get colder than I used to and use the duvet occasionally. Cold things, however, no. That’s obviously an Az thing!
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Sounds like it’s almost impossible to compare individual reactions, especially given all the different types of cancer and the various different cocktails used.
I was quite surprised to find this out my first time in the chemo room. Some people had dark brown bottles on their IV stand, others clear bags, and some with what looked like plasma, to name but a few. And sessions lasted from half an hour to eight hours. Some people came in every three weeks, others every two weeks, and sometimes I’d hear someone call out “see you tomorrow!” to the nurses after they’d finished their session.
“That’s obviously an Az thing!”
Yeah, that’s what I thought at first too. But the oncologist has assured me that the painful ‘chemo arm’ for up to two weeks after the session is a normal reaction to my type of chemo. And the main thing both the doctors and nurses keep reminding me of is to stay away from anything cold.
I even noticed my throat starting to swell up and get sore at the supermarket (same thing that happened when I accidently drank some cold water once) from just breathing in the cold air. Good thing I don’t live in a cold climate – imagine me going through this during a Canadian winter!
I know what you mean about how being able to work, even part time, will help with the not going insane thing (aside from bringing in some much needed dinero). The last week of the cycle when I’m feeling pretty much normal is also when I get really bored and frustrated. So I am really hoping some of my regulars will agree to coming back for occasional classes when I’m feeling able to work again.
Anyhow, I’m starting week two today, which should mean that I’m just a bit more tired than usual with little or no nausea. Last time I just took lots of naps. Just like the one I’m about to take now. 🙂
Thanks for the info, Sara.
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The nausea does build over time, in my experience (although that is subjective of course and not absolute). If you’re having this much difficulty with it, bring it up with your doctors now and maybe they can find a drug combo that will work for you. There are a lot of different constitutions in the world; not stronger/weaker, just different, and they take different drugs to cope with chemo.
I’m sorry to hear you’re so sensitive to the chemo, but very, very glad to hear Nog is home with you now. Even if there’s nothing practical for him to do, the load off your mind is that much more energy you can devote to healing.
(PS I never got that cold thing that I noticed, but then I was so self-defensive I didn’t even go near an Italian restaurant for a year, because of the garlic. Let’s say I was super sensitive).
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I seem to be VERY sensitive the first week, Rain. Especially about the nausea thang. Then after about the ten-day point (today – yay!) I start normalising again. And the third week off the meds I feel pretty much okay.
Today I have graduated to being able to drink cool liquids again. So next week it’ll be frosty beers, ice cream and lemon slush drinks … just cos I can! 🙂
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