AC Chemo Story of round 3

In the days leading up to round 3 I was feeling good - really good, probably the best I have felt since chemo started.  I felt so good that I didn't want to go get chemo again and had a couple of breakdowns in the days leading up to it.  How do you prepare for torture?  How do you knowingly prepare yourself to be given stuff that will make you feel like you have a week long hangover?  It isn't exactly like a hangover, but that is the closest thing I can think of to describe what it is is like.  Well the answer is you find a way, it is hard, but knowing that this "hangover" is working to make you better is the motivation.  But it is still hard.  Really hard.

I prepared for this chemo by drinking lots of water and trying to eat high protein and high fiber foods.  I also was walking 30 minutes a day on most days prior.  I even walked 30 minutes on the morning of chemo. This infusion was done by another nurse - so far 3 infusions, 3 different nurses.  I went in the day before chemo to have my blood drawn - and the phlebotomist missed on the first try - so lucky me I now have 2 needle sticks . . . my poor left arm looks like I am a druggie, sigh.  I asked about my wbc's and they were on target at 6.9 (4-11 is the expected range).  During an appointment with the physicians assistant she gave me a printout of some of my test results - on a sheet that compared prior results.  I learned that my wbc's were high prior to my first infusion . . . which in hindsight was a clue that I was getting sick.  Now I am going to ask for my numbers prior to my infusion.  I do get a lot of test results via the electronic system, but my wbcs are not one that I can see on there.

The infusion went without much incident, except while she was trying to clear a bubble I saw her suck up some blood into the iv tube . . . not a big deal, just remember I am such a chicken that I cannot watch the adriamycin infusion where she has to inject some then suck up some blood to make sure that she is still in the vein (cause if it escapes the vein it can cause some major havoc on the surrounding tissue).  I actually have a video that my hubby took of the first infusion that I will post eventually, but in the name of quality control I have to watch it first before I post it here and I will do that after I am done with the adriamycin.

I dont have the pain that I had after infusion #2 . . . I had been making sure that my left arm was not asleep - I was keeping it warm, moving it and not using it to hold up my phone when I am playing around with it.  In hindsight that was something I had noticed that my left arm was falling asleep before when I was playing with my phone.  But I think the root cause is the nerve damage I did 15-20 years ago when I hit my "funny bone" really really really hard.  I do periodically have issues, it is just bad timing to have these issues.  But when it rains it pours.

I was starving after chemo was done which I took as a good sign.  I went home and ate . . . and maybe ate a little too much because I felt bloated.  Then nauseous.  I took one of my back up anti-nausea meds and eventually felt better, but I didnt really sleep at all and I was swollen more than normal and in general felt really bad.  I was also hungry but couldn't eat/nothing seemed palatable.  I managed to choke down some saltines, but they tasted horrible.  I didnt have much appetite and spent the day resting but I was out of it.  I did slowly start to feel better and by day 2(the day after chemo) I was starting to feel halfway normal again, but still feeling bloated, burpy and icky and dry - I was like the desert I would drink water but my mouth still felt dry and my skin I woke up on day 2 with my face almost peeling because it was so dry.

Last time on day 4 after chemo I had the most horrible sour/acidic stomach you can ever imagine.  I told the docs and they gave me some pepcid to take and said i should start on day 1 to help with that.  I have also been avoiding most acidic food and drinks which I think has also helped.  Well I stopped taking the pepcid on day 3 as I thought that was the cause of my dryness.  The dryness has improved, but im not sure if it was the pepcid or not.  My stomach was a little off on day 4, but I ate a lot of potatoes, one of the least acidic foods but it is also hard because my mouth felt so dry that I had to make sure and eat food with some moisture.  All of these restrictions make it hard to eat anything.   I am thankful that this is only temporary, but I have a great deal of empathy for people who suffer from eating issues on a routine basis.  On a positive note I did find Biotene Toothpaste, mouthwash and mouth spray.  These are products that are designed for people with dry mouth.  I used the mouthwash after round 2 and it helped a lot.  I then bought the toothpaste and started using it this round.  Then the other day I found the mouth spray.  It really helped when my mouth was dry and my tongue felt hairy.

It is embarassing to talk about, but lets just say that the dryness I was experiencing also affected other bodily functions.  I'm talking about constipation.   I'll spare you the details, but lets just say I have never experienced anything close to it being this bad, not even in college when my diet was horrible.  This is a  known side effect of chemo and so far I have been lucky to avoid it.  I have been good about eating high fiber foods, but this time it did not work.  I think the dryness I was experiencing was a major contributing factor.  And chemo effects are cumulative.  But lets just say chemo yuckiness combined with constipation crankiness make for some pretty miserable days.

Today is day 9 and I am feeling much much better.  I still feel tired but I do have sparks of feeling normal again.  I have some lovely little white bumps on my face - which after the first round I thought was from the cipro, but now I think are from the steroids.  I am eating like there is no tomorrow - I cannot eat huge portions so I am eating more frequently but yesterday I was starving all day long.  I think it is a good sign as my body needs fuel to repair itself, but it is hard because my eating is not "normal".  I am avoiding a lot of acidic foods (including tomato sauce), the docs said not to eat raw fruits/veggies unless they are peeled, and spicy or strong smelling/tasting foods are also out.  I feel like I am eating like the pickiest kid in the world.  Oh yeah, I cut the crust off my sandwiches too.

I am also on a mission to prevent mouth sores.  I had a couple last round and they were horrible.  They happen on the lowest immunity days which for this kind of chemo is on days 14-16.   The sores look like little red dots on my tongue.  They are fine if I am just sitting here, but if I go to eat and some food touches it they become extremely painful.  Like someone hit your tongue with a nail/hammer.  I have been rinsing my mouth several times a day with a rinse of salt and baking soda.  I hope it helps, but I have forgot to do it a few times . . . but I wont know if it worked until next week.

Wow, I wrote a book.  I should probably write more often but for some reason I have had writers block and not had the motivation to work on posting.  I am still working on the post about hair loss . . .