Something About Exercise

Today, for the first time in ages, I used my NuStep.  I managed a whole six minutes, but I did it at a good pace, and it gave me great satisfaction.  I have set a goal of adding a minute a day, if I can.  I also want to do it every single day, just like I used to before I got sick.  I really NEED to get my strength back.  My sats (oxygen saturation point of my blood) went to 93, but that's OK, as long as it doesn't go below 90,.

Before all this started, I was doing 45 minutes a day on my NuStep.  I credit this fact with helping me survive all the chemos and radiation that I have had so far.  And though I have lapsed in the use of it, I know that getting back to some type of routine exercise can only help with my prognosis.  Besides, I am going to need to get stronger if I want to go back to work.

Jane and Nancy are out at some race at Phoenix International Raceway.  They work there twice a year, but I'm sorry to say, I can't remember for which vendor they work.  It's a great job; it gives them their Winter Solstice money.  So while they were out, I had Cathy go get some Curbside Takeaway from Outback Steakhouse.

Can I tell you JUST how bad I was?  I got the lobster tail add on to go with my Filet with Wild Mushroom sauce.  I was in heaven.  Although, frankly, the lobster was a tad overcooked, it was still very, very yummy.  And Outback does steamed veggies really well!  At least I wasn't so bad that we added one of their desserts to the order.  No Chocolate Thunder from Down Under for us.  ;)  Dammit.

Meanwhile, on the health front, I am SO sick of coughing.  It's been over three weeks of this.  I'm off the prednisone, and finished the Doxycycline, and now I want to be well!  But I am sleeping well, and that is truly helping.  My INR was a bit high, so I had no Coumadin yesterday, but today I will have 2.5 mg and that will continue until Monday, when I have my next test.

So, all in all, I'm really doing well, I think, thanks to all the support and love I get from my family and my friends.  You all take such good care of me!

Cough... Cough

Well, whatever this malady is that is now affecting my lungs, it seems to be pretty tenacious.  I had lots of liquids today, some chicken soup, and still, the goopiness persists.


Doc called to tell me to stop the coumadin for a couple of days because my INR was up to 5.  Ai carumba!  Don't get a paper-cut, or bang your knee on a table.   I have to go in to see him on Monday afternoon.  Got more lab testing on Monday morning; the regular PT/INR and then my pre-chemo stuff, the CBC and platelets with differentials.


The worry I have is that they won't let me do my chemo on Tuesday if this coughing is still active.  Although, frankly, I can't see how it will make a difference.  But that's me... I worry.


Oh yes, I am sucking on my hookah again.  I figure if I do it just before I try to get to bed, I should have a better chance at getting to sleep, despite being wired up.  Much easier to sleep when you can breathe. :)


Sometimes it just gets overwhelming, the things you have to do to try to survive cancer.  My left leg is swelling again, at the foot and ankle.  I was hoping that would go away with the coumadin and the dissolving of the DVT.  Maybe it is just going to take longer than I want.  At least the pain in my thigh is a thing of the past.


Then, there's the watching of the glucose levels, my heart rate, my oxygen saturation, my temperature, my weight, the condition of my feet and my hands, and good gods, how on earth do we survive as a species?  We're so complicated and have so many systems that can break down!


I need to go get new glasses, but my vision changes almost every day.  That's the chemo.  It's just all so weird.


But, it's time to try to get some sleep.  Monday is Samhain, or Halloween, and I have lots and lots of family and other loved ones that have passed beyond this world, and I want to honor them and remember them and ensure they know that  death doesn't end the loving.  


Peace and love.

Some Problems

I've got pain in my shoulder and throat.  The throat pain is on the right side, near my collar bone, and the shoulder is right side as well.  Coughing is painful, and if you know me, I'm a big cougher, due to my degenerative lung disease.  Strangely, nose blowing and ... sorry,... belching, is also painful.  But what really gets my shoulder is the nose blowing.  Yet, normal breathing, even taking the deepest breath I can, hurts neither my throat, nor my shoulder.


So, we'll be discussing this with Dr. Fastenberg tomorrow.  Maybe I just have a pinched nerve somewhere.  Yeah, that's the ticket. :D

Here's a photo of a Paladin and her Seahorse.  It's pretty rainbow-bright in the depths of Vashj'ir.  Luckily, you get a spell cast upon you that allows you to breathe underwater... HANDY!


And now, it's off to bed for me.  Aetna called to say Dr. F had sent them the paperwork for my leave, to which I replied, "Holy Moses!"  Remember the last leave?  That was a little stressful, but it looks like this batch of paperwork didn't get lost in the shuffle. :D


Sweet dreams to all, and may you give and receive many, many hugs.

Back to Pred and Levaquin

Well, the pulmo warned me that this might be hard to shake.  I'm coughing like I should be in the tuberculosis ward.  My phone conversations with work are... ugh.  Thankfully, everyone's been very understanding.  And Microsoft Communicator works very well in these situations. :)

We just had some leftovers of the 'Dinner in a Loaf' which amazingly bore NO resemblance to the original recipe.  We used ground lamb and pork, ricotta, spinach, finely diced red peppers, an italian cheese combo from Sprouts, cream of mushroom soup and the bread crumbs scooped out of the loaf.  Oh gosh it was quite satisfying.  I love spinach in anything.  Popeye and I ... spinach-a-holics.

Last night I had a fever of 100.3, which is why we're going back on the antibiotics.  And I need the pred to make sure I can breathe.  Thank the gods for my beloved oxygen concentrator.  At least when I sleep I'm sure not to desaturate.

Still no one has called about setting up that PET scan, and frankly, I feel so crappy, I don't care.  If I feel better next week, I'll call my oncologist's office and let them figure it out.  I just want to crawl in my bed and keep warm... and it's not exactly cold, now, actually.  I told my pulmo that I thought the chemo had whacked out my internal body temperature, and he said it could happen.  But this dratted ague is a pain... literally!

And yet, I got the coolest ring in the mail today, so that perked me right up.  It's silver with a huge clear quartz and some rodalite garnets on the shank.  The quartz is faceted so beautifully that it sparkles like mad.  Yeah, see, I love sparklies as much as spinach.  Happily you can get some sparklies at a reasonable price. :)

Ok, I'm off to bed.  I hurt in many places and I can barely keep my eyes open.

Live long and prosper!

And MORE Coughing

Last night I started coughing... and coughing...and coughing.  I did a breathing treatment, but the coughing continued until I was totally exhausted.  Today, I'm still exhausted, and there is some residual coughing.  I've done all my lung meds, so we'll see how it goes today.

But, I had a good breakfast of my muesli, heated up with some milk.  Such a comforting meal, eaten while watching Liverpool lose to Manchester United with Steven Gerrard going out on a red card.  Theoretically, it was a studs up tackle, but we didn't see it from the right angle, I guess.

Because of the possibility of radiation pneumonitis, I'll be watching this cough like a hawk.  So far, no fever.  Plus, I'll see the Radiation Oncologist this week, so if it's still bothersome, I'll let her know.

That's it for this post.  Keep warm, all, and don't forget to hug someone you love.

I enjoy breathing...

...but this is the second time in a month I've woken from an asthma attack.  Hey, at least I wake up. :D

I'm wondering, now, if Herceptin can exacerbate asthma.  I have never in my life been woken up from asthma until this month.  Let's (finally) go look at the Herceptin side effects.  Hmmmm.... this site says that Herceptin can cause Congestive Heart Failure.  And I know from a brother that had it, that CHF does cause you to cough a lot at night especially.  So this is probably something to tell my oncologist.  But I'm not having any other symptoms of CHF; no edema and no more coughing than I always have.

Besides, I'd surmise that if they had seen signs of CHF on that echocardiogram I would have heard about that by now.  So, I'm guessing it's the weird weather, coupled with PM 25's from our crappy air.  But, I'm not going to be a bozo and not tell the oncologist about this, just in case. :)

Now, I have a couple of CD's of family pictures I want to watch, so I'm off... and wish everyone peace and happiness.  If you are lucky enough to have time off between Christmas and New Years, spend it wisely; rest, relax and enjoy your family and friends!

Radiation

I find it interesting how long after radiation treatments the radiation is still doing its work in your body.  According to the National Cancer Institute at www.cancer.gov, the effects of radiation therapy can last two months after the cessation of treatment. 

I found THIS book there, that along with the previous one I mentioned about chemotherapy to be a HUGE help. :)  Of particular help was the section on 'Throat Changes,' especially the section on what types of things to eat.  it's still very difficult to control my glucose and eat what they suggest and maintain my weight.  In fact, I lost another three pounds in the last three days.

Why do some people always seem angry.  Talk about a wasted emotion.  What does anger do besides screw up your health?  I know a person that gets angry for the most minuscule reasons, reasons that wouldn't even effect a response of any kind from a normal person.  Oh well... that was kind of an odd foray from the topic of radiation.

Suffice to say, I have 'Throat Changes' from radiation, and it hurts, and I am coughing a lot.. yes, folks, more than I normally cough.  Thank the deities for cough drops. ;)