November 6 - Took a few days but the nausea has finally subsided. Thank God! I actually had a couple of Wegman's bags shoved in my purse when I went to see the Blue Man Group on Saturday because I was so afraid I was going to hurl during the show. I wanted to at least have something to hurl into!


As promised, I just tried uploading a couple of pics of CK, El, and me (5 times!) and Google does not seem to want to cooperate tonight. Sorry folks. If I remember, I'll see if they will attach next post.

Sunday was spent in bed. It was a gloomy, rainy day and the nausea was still hanging on so it seemed like the thing to do.

Yesterday morning I ate a yogurt and it actually stayed down. Woo hoo! I also called the doc to see about getting the Roxicet prescription refilled. Nurse Jane called back and left a message on my home machine instead of calling me at work (not helpful!). Even worse, her message when I finally arrived home at 5:30 and listened to it was "We JUST refilled this for you on 10/26.". UGH! I girded my loins this morning and decided some heads were going to roll because it's a bunch of bullshit that after all the crap I've been through, and am still going through, that these stupid nurses continue to make me feel like I'm trying to pull one over on them when I call for a scrip refill. So today, I spoke with Nurse Jane directly. I went through the math with her and explained that the prescription should have only lasted me 8 days and I had made it last 11 days and asked her why I was being made to feel like I was doing something wrong every time I called in. Unfortunately, my bitchy stance was slightly undercut when I burst into tears on the phone. Yeah, I'm a little down this week. Anywho, she immediately started reassuring me that I wasn't doing anything wrong. She said my math was spot on and that 6 weeks after radiation isn't all that long and she said feeling better is just going to take time, blah, blah, blah. So, I once again have pain meds but I'll bet you dinner that the next time I call in, they're going to make me feel like crap again. Stupid nurses.

Nurse Jane asked if I was really still in that much pain. I told her that during the day I can make it 6-7 hours between doses before my tongue starts burning like crazy. I told her I take it more often at night because I can only sleep for 2-4 hours at a time due to the gagging from my swollen tongue. Taking the Roxicet makes me not notice the tongue touching the back of my throat so much. She asked if I had talked to Dr. A about the swelling. I said yes and Dr. A said it was thrush and put me on medication (that caused extreme vomiting!). Now the thrush is gone, and my tongue is still swollen and touching the back of my throat. I think I'm going to ask Dr. A about getting a scrip for Ativan or something to help me sleep instead of the Roxicet. Unless Ativan is an addictive, controlled substance as well. I don't want to trade one demon for another. But I'm wondering if the Roxicet is causing the swelling........

I experimented with more foods over the past couple of days. It seems like more taste is coming back. Maybe even a little sweet! I drank an iced coffee and actually somewhat enjoyed it! Tried some butternut squash bisque. It had quite a strong flavor but unfortunately, it was not a good flavor. Same thing with the lemon sherbet that I tried. Today I picked up some pudding cups and some chicken broth. They're on the list of things to try next. I'm dying to eat a baked potato with butter and sour cream but with no saliva, foods like that are just too difficult to eat. They become a lump of sawdust stuck to the roof of my mouth that it then takes a half gallon of water to wash down. :-(


Improvements:
- Ropey saliva is getting less prevalent. Now I just wish regular saliva would start showing up.
- Mucus build up is also getting less prevalent. Rarely need to wipe my mouth out with tissues anymore.
- More flavor seems to be coming back in regards to food.

No Improvements:
- Swallowing is painful.
- I'm mostly only able to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time.
- Things still taste pretty gross.
- Mucusitis on the good side of my tongue burns.
- My tongue is still swollen and touching the back of my throat, making me gag.
- Diarrhea is still going on.
- I'm still losing weight.
 - I'm still using the water pik 3 to 4 times a day to keep my mouth clean.
- I'm still not producing spit.
- And even if my coworkers say I'm sounding better every day, I still sound garbled to my own ears.
- Every morning when I wake up, not only do I have fluid buildup in my neck and chin, it's also on my jawline, jowls and cheeks. The lower half of my face is hugely bloated every morning!! The worst of it eventually subsides within an hour or two.