Oh the Leg

Thursday, the leg pain became unbearable again, so I took the Zofran, and after an hour, took half a percocet.  I was in bed, and wasn't feeling much relief from that half, so about an hour later I took the second half.  I went to sleep.

Got up this morning and felt so nauseated I took another Zofran.  But the pain in my leg was still hideous, so after an hour, I took a Vicodin.  Why is it that these darned narcotics are only useful for making me sick?

How in the heck, WHY in the heck does anyone take this crap for recreational use?  How can they do it?  Maybe I'm the only one that gets sick from these things?  I only worked an hour this morning before the nausea and pain put an end to that.  Bummer.

But on a very happy note, Wendy and Dean are flying in even as I type, and I'm so excited!  Now, I had better go find something to eat since I have four Xeloda pills to get down... oh joy. :)

Happy almost Winter to all!

Oh Xeloda

I took the last four of this week's Xeloda with my breakfast.  We made scrambled eggs and added our leftover veggie melange, which had cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, grey squash and assorted chili peppers.  It was a fine breakfast.

Still coughing up goop from my lungs, although I am done with the prednisone.  I do still have about a week left of the doxycycline.  Yesterday's foray to the phlebotomist was a little challenging.  We had to do two sticks, and my blood did not want to flow.  But, we got what we needed, eventually. :)

Our neighbor, Leslie, thinks chocolate therapy is good for me, so she keeps supplying me with really lovely items.  This week, it was a tiramisu log.  Oh so yummy.  And it's not like I'm wasting away.  My weight is pretty darned stable.  And then Jane's friend Lisa sent individual carrot cakes.  Ai chihuahua.  :)

So, Dr. Ramaswamy said I should wear support socks.  He says my left leg's veins have been injured by the blood clot and that's why I get the swelling.  Have you ever tried to put ON support socks?  I don't breathe all that well on good days, and doubling over trying to wrestle with these socks .... well, let's just say I almost need a nap once I get one on.  And then, you have to put 'em on BOTH legs.  Well, I guess I could just put one on the left leg, but ... nah.  Anywho, it's great exercise, if I don't pass out from lack of oxygen. :D

I've been watching The Next Iron Chef, and this iteration has some of the best chefs ever.  But it's tough, because these folks ARE fantastic chefs, and each week, someone gets tossed, and it's not like there are any slugs in the mix here.  Robert Irvine got tossed because his Hummus was too thick!  Yeah, the line up is that good that something as minor as Hummus that's too thick can get you sent packing.

The Xeloda nausea has been a constant for this round, but it's not horrible.  It doesn't make me retch, it just makes me feel crappy.  But on the bright side, the chilly nights are making me sleep like crazy.  Good, deep, restorative sleep.  YAY!

So, keep warm, all.  And have a great week.

A Bit O' Nausea

It's just there, at the edges of my ability to perceive nausea.  Not horrible enough to make me barf, but kind of like a warning that it could get there, if I don't watch out!


Happily, I'm still at the salad craving stage, so I had one of my favorites this evening.  I don't even want to know the nutritional value.  I am eating it, and that's good enough for me.  It's from Wendy's, of all places.  It's their Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad, and I love it.  It comes with two things of dressing, so I only use one, and that's plenty for me


El Pollo Loco has a Mexican Caesar Salad with cilantro dressing and cotija cheese.  Oh yeah, now that one is definitely my favorite.  Hits me right in my Latina heritage. :D  YUMMY!


It's weird that I can be nauseated and still eat.  But of course, I have to eat, and I have to eat good stuff.  Good nutrition will help me maintain strength, be able to heal, and frankly just deal with all the chemo by-products.  I stopped taking a bunch of supplements when I got the cancer, especially the ones with HUGE pills.  I can't get them down.  I was thrilled when they came out with the tiny Krill Oil caplets.  I'd been taking fish oil for years, on the advice of my primary care doc, but those giant 'softgels' I just could not swallow any more.


So, now the only nutritional supplements I still take are Magnesium, which I take for lung function, the krill oil, B6, which helps to keep the Hand-Foot syndrome at bay, Turmeric, because I heard it was a cancer cell killer, and if all I get are placebo effects from it, I'm happy with that.  I should probably look into a good multi-vitamin that's not ginormous.  Maybe if I feel well enough, I'll take a trip to Sprout's this weekend.  I need to get more of my Xylitol mouthwash, in any event.


Tomorrow I must remember to drink even more than usual, since the iodine is very hard on my kidneys, and gods know I don't want kidney failure as my next 'challenge.'  Oh lord, it's after ten PM and I am still up.  My doggies are ready for bed, so I guess I should end this and get some sleep.  


Be well, all.  

Can *I* do Six Rounds?

This is getting harder with every round of chemo.  I want to be one of the 30ish % that can make it through six rounds of this, but I am finishing up round four and I am sick as the proverbial dog.


My legs are swelling up, my hands and feet feel creepy, and I can't begin to tell you how nauseated I am.  But, tomorrow is my last day of chemo week ON, and I hope I can begin to feel better.  


I slept a bit this afternoon; I'm so tired, and so weak.  I guess tomorrow I had better start hitting the Lasix so I can keep the edema at bay.  I keep remembering the last time I saw my oldest brother in the hospital, and his legs were HUGELY swollen.  And so were my mom's at the end.  In fact, she got water blisters all over her legs.  Her beautiful legs.  Ok, now I am starting to freak myself out, which means I should probably get to bed before the Queen of Neuroses gets out of bondage and runs rampant through my brain.


Good night, all.  Don't worry, I'll get past this, and I *WILL* do six rounds of this.  For I am, of course, strong like bull.

Squash Soup with Chicken

Yesterday sucked.  I couldn't take the pain anymore so I took the Vicodin, one every four hours... I think I got down four of them before I got so sick even my Compazine got barfed up.  I haven't vomited in years; it's not pleasant, especially when you consider it's got to come past my tumor.  


And why is it that when you don't eat, and you're sick, your glucose numbers go up?  I see no logic in that!  So I had to take a glipizide with my Januvia and that meant I had to eat and keep it down.  I had a piece of sourdough toast.  So far, so good.


The pain today is definitely not as bad as yesterday, but I have no energy.  I went out to look at the crops, and barely got out there.  Luckily, my sisters provided a chair so I sat and rested for a while.  It's a beautiful day, but it's going to get pretty warm.


We gave a ton of squash to the neighbors yesterday, and Jane says she's going to make squash soup with chicken tonight.  Nancy made me a light green beret out of some soft, soft felt material.


I'm trying hard not to get depressed, I'm not really the type to get depressed, but dang, pain wears you down.  You just want to cry, but you're too tired to do even that.  I don't even have the strength to sit here and play World of Warcraft.  I cling to the sure knowledge that this pain is lessening, and will continue to lessen and I will get some strength back, and every day will get better.  And then it will be time to do it all over again. :D  See, that made me smile.  It's crazy, I know.


Now I think I'll go lie down for a while.  Maybe watch something on TV, maybe I'll sleep, maybe I'll read.  Take care, all.