Over two thirds through

Okay, this has been hell week – actually, hell week started about a week and a half ago.  The problem is that, while I am not exactly allergic to the chemo I have been getting, I am way oversensitive.  So problems I should have seen in the last 1-2 weeks started during the 2nd and 3rd weeks.  The mouth sores which made it so difficult to eat anything but a liquid diet do not usually start in the 2nd week of chemo.  The diarrhea also starts later, but for me, it all started early.  It took a while for my doctors to understand what was happening.  They took me off chemo on Wednesday.  There has been some talk of starting up again tomorrow at 1/2 dosage, but I have a vote and my vote is totally NO.  I have not been to work for the last week and am going on short-term disability through my company until a week after the radiation is done.  I started having severe diarrhea toward the end of the 3rd week.  It is still not under control.  It screwed up all kinds of things – sodium levels went way too low and I have had saline drips just about every day this week.  The levels finally started to go back up on Friday, otherwise, I would have been intensive care to try to stabilize (hopefully, they are still okay tomorrow).  There are, of course, all kinds of other things that are out of whack – potassium levels, etc.  Those things that are overall labelled electrolytes.  So I have been guzzling Gatorade and, if I never have another glass of Gatorade, it will be too soon.  Luckily, my friend, Jane, found a water that is stuffed with electrolytes so, hopefully, that is working in place of the Gatorade.  We’ll find out tomorrow.  The radiation is causing some of its own issues – though nothing that I can’t live with – but they are right on the schedule that everyone expects and I only have 8 left (have had 20 so far).  Hopefully, we can get everything under control this week.  The mouth sores have begun to clear up since I stopped taking the chemo and I am eating solid food again – though still somewhat sparingly.  Suffice it to say that my blood sugar has been very difficult to control.  Hopefully, my next blog will be more positive.

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~ by bubblytrail on November 6, 2011.