Chemo TDM1 round 3

It has been a week since my third round of this chemo and I still can’t seem to get enough rest. More than the constipation, nausea, and general flu like feelings, the tiredness is kicking my butt. Instead of sleeping something like 18 hours a day, I think I am closer to 16 . I guess that is a win? I am not certain anymore though.

Scotty has been coming with me for these treatments…

Could I go by myself? Yes, I could, but I really love having him with me. As soon as we get home I shower and sleep until the next day. My appointments are at 9 am, we are home by about 10:30 or 11, and I am in bed before noon. I AM OUT after that. Ultimately this is a good thing, I think, because it prevents me from getting sick and possibly throwing up. I hate throwing up.

I’m over a week out at this point and I am still exhausted. That seems to stay until a few days before my next infusion. I had hoped that it would not be as bad once radiation was over, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

No one wants to hear this but as we age it becomes more and more of an issue…number two sucks. If it isn’t running out of you it is stuck in you. The chemotherapy before had it running. This one is making it stick. I never knew how painful constipation could be! It is a bit like being in labor…the pain is so uncomfortable that it wakes me up at night and I am unable to sleep. Rest assured that I am doing all kinds of things to handle this. So far, nothing is working all that well. But then one day all the medicines will kick in at once and “unplug” the clog. Just NO. I would rather have diarrhea I think….I’m over this side effect.

I would like to point out how much hair I have now. Even though I am not a fan of the tight coarse curls that sit on my head, I am extremely grateful that my hair seems to be growing through this treatment. We had family pictures taken a week ago and Scott told me we should use them for our Christmas card. My mouth dropped and I told him I could have a hair growth spurt in a month so we needed to wait. His look was priceless. Needless to say, no one thinks that massive growth spurt is coming.

As my hair on my head grows the lashes on my eyes seem to keep falling out or breaking off. Can I just tell you that I love my eyelashes, and you should love yours too. I am over the tears that drip out of my eyes every time the lashes on the corners fall out. Also, no eyelashes make me look sick and tired in the mirror. I hate that. In fact one of the most frustrating things is waking up and feeling pretty darn good (all things considered) and seeing my face looking so tired and sick. Many a mornings I give myself a pep talk about the mirror not reflecting what I am feeling. I just really, really want my eyelashes to grow back. Stay tuned because I am using an eyelash serum to help them get stronger. Fingers crossed it will start to work!

Next week I start getting my echocardiograms again to monitor how my heart is doing. This treatment is hard on the heart so I will have these every few months. If something showed up treatment would need to be postponed until things calmed down. It is similar to the testing done with my liver. Positive thinking that my organs will pull through this and that I will be able to receive all the medicine needed.

I’m off to bed….again.