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.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
November 2 - Pride is one of the 7 sins, isn't it?
I was put back in my place after being so proud of eating a yogurt, by being up at 2 AM the following morning, dry heaving for a full 5 minutes. Quite an unpleasant experience. So, I stuck to the Carnation drinks on Wednesday and then decided to try out the juicer last night.
Turns out I'm not a fan of the juicer. My experiment last night included 2 oranges, 2 small honey crisp apples, and a handful of raspberries. The juice comes out a little thicker in texture than I'm mentally ready to deal with. Not to mention fruits are very acidic so my tongue was unhappy with me for testing it last night. Plus the cleanup on the equipment was a pain in the butt. And it seems like there's not a lot of bang for the buck given how expensive fruit is. All in all, I've decided to stick with my smoothies. It was definitely a fun experience testing out Messner's juicer though and hey, he saved me $70 because I now took mine off my Amazon shopping list!
So last night's smoothie was 2 bananas, a snack size container of pineapple tidbits, 5 ice cubes, a glug of coconut milk, a glug of apple juice, and a glug of regular milk. It was pretty yummy although the bananas were not quite ripe enough. I hate that Wegman's only ever has green bananas so you have to know 3 days in advance if you're going to need one. Anywho......I was up at 4 AM this morning, dry heaving my poor, little guts out. WTH?!?
I've been feeling nauseous off and on for over a week now. Kept thinking I was maybe coming down with something. Then after this morning's second dry heave experience I decided that maybe it's just my body rejecting real food although I was feeling nauseous before I started trying to eat real food. Luckily, Kunkel came to my rescue today. She asked what the side effects were of the medicine I'm on for thrush. It hadn't occurred to me that it could be the culprit because there was no nausea the last time I was taking it. Then I remembered that I'm taking double the dose in a shorter time period which could make a difference. Sure enough, Kunkel Googled it for me right then and there and the number one side effect of fluconazole is nausea and vomiting! It's such a relief to know what the problem is! Happily, today was my last dose of that stuff so hopefully the nausea will clear up over the weekend. I will resume trying to eat on Monday.
So, no pictures for this post. Based on what was being discussed, I'm sure you're all relieved by that. ;-P Tomorrow I'm heading out to see the Blue Man Group with Kunkel and Elvisa. Should be a blast and I'll def have some photo opportunities there to share in the next post!
I was put back in my place after being so proud of eating a yogurt, by being up at 2 AM the following morning, dry heaving for a full 5 minutes. Quite an unpleasant experience. So, I stuck to the Carnation drinks on Wednesday and then decided to try out the juicer last night.
Turns out I'm not a fan of the juicer. My experiment last night included 2 oranges, 2 small honey crisp apples, and a handful of raspberries. The juice comes out a little thicker in texture than I'm mentally ready to deal with. Not to mention fruits are very acidic so my tongue was unhappy with me for testing it last night. Plus the cleanup on the equipment was a pain in the butt. And it seems like there's not a lot of bang for the buck given how expensive fruit is. All in all, I've decided to stick with my smoothies. It was definitely a fun experience testing out Messner's juicer though and hey, he saved me $70 because I now took mine off my Amazon shopping list!
So last night's smoothie was 2 bananas, a snack size container of pineapple tidbits, 5 ice cubes, a glug of coconut milk, a glug of apple juice, and a glug of regular milk. It was pretty yummy although the bananas were not quite ripe enough. I hate that Wegman's only ever has green bananas so you have to know 3 days in advance if you're going to need one. Anywho......I was up at 4 AM this morning, dry heaving my poor, little guts out. WTH?!?
I've been feeling nauseous off and on for over a week now. Kept thinking I was maybe coming down with something. Then after this morning's second dry heave experience I decided that maybe it's just my body rejecting real food although I was feeling nauseous before I started trying to eat real food. Luckily, Kunkel came to my rescue today. She asked what the side effects were of the medicine I'm on for thrush. It hadn't occurred to me that it could be the culprit because there was no nausea the last time I was taking it. Then I remembered that I'm taking double the dose in a shorter time period which could make a difference. Sure enough, Kunkel Googled it for me right then and there and the number one side effect of fluconazole is nausea and vomiting! It's such a relief to know what the problem is! Happily, today was my last dose of that stuff so hopefully the nausea will clear up over the weekend. I will resume trying to eat on Monday.
So, no pictures for this post. Based on what was being discussed, I'm sure you're all relieved by that. ;-P Tomorrow I'm heading out to see the Blue Man Group with Kunkel and Elvisa. Should be a blast and I'll def have some photo opportunities there to share in the next post!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
October 30 - I ate a yogurt! Yes, an entire 6 oz container of key lime flavored yogurt. Just now. Yep, me. I'm very proud. Can you tell?
It tasted like crud and by the end, my tongue was starting to hurt from the swallowing motion, but I muscled my way through. I'm really relieved that I finally ate something substantial! I've tried soup, grits, mac and cheese, cheesy rice, mashed potatoes and gravy. Nothing seems to want to go down. I get nauseous just smelling half those foods. So, at least I have a positive report on my homework the next time I see Dr. A. And I can start supplementing the Carnation drinks with yogurts throughout the day. Woo hoo!
I MEANT to try out the juicer on Sunday but after 7 straight hours of shopping with Sam on Saturday....yeah, Sunday found me in bed all day long. I have a juice bible arriving from Amazon tomorrow though so juicing is definitely coming up within the next few days. It too will be a great supplement to my diet!
That's it for now. Just a quickie. But really wanted to announce the yogurt consumption. :-)
It tasted like crud and by the end, my tongue was starting to hurt from the swallowing motion, but I muscled my way through. I'm really relieved that I finally ate something substantial! I've tried soup, grits, mac and cheese, cheesy rice, mashed potatoes and gravy. Nothing seems to want to go down. I get nauseous just smelling half those foods. So, at least I have a positive report on my homework the next time I see Dr. A. And I can start supplementing the Carnation drinks with yogurts throughout the day. Woo hoo!
I MEANT to try out the juicer on Sunday but after 7 straight hours of shopping with Sam on Saturday....yeah, Sunday found me in bed all day long. I have a juice bible arriving from Amazon tomorrow though so juicing is definitely coming up within the next few days. It too will be a great supplement to my diet!
That's it for now. Just a quickie. But really wanted to announce the yogurt consumption. :-)
Friday, October 26, 2012
October 26 - TGIF! And be warned I've been Chatty Cathy all day today so go get yourself a snack and a drink before you sit down to read this.
I was looking at my Roxicet bottle yesterday (Thursday) and it occurred to me that based on what was in there, I was going to run out this weekend. Again. Um, yeah, over my dead body! Called the doctor's office and told them I was going to need a refill. They said they would have a nurse call me back as soon as one was available. An hour later Nurse Darlene called and told me that I had already picked up my prescription on Monday and that I was all set. I told her no, I was not all set, that I didn't have enough for the weekend. She suddenly starts copping just a dash of 'tude:
"You used all of it already??"
"No, I still have 100 ml left but if I'm taking between 40-60 ml a day, it's not enough to get through the weekend."
"But you just got a refill on Monday so you should be okay."
"The refill was only for 300 ml so I'm not okay."
"Well, I'm going to have to talk to the doctor about this 'situation' and get back to you."
"Okeydoke, you do that."
Really? She thinks I'm 'scoring' my next batch of Roxicet to sell on the streets this weekend? Whatever. She called back an hour later and very politely told me my prescription was ready for me to pick up and they had increased it back up to the 500 ml instead of the 300 ml I received the last two times.Thank you. But the fun continues. When I went to pick it up, she personally came out to hand it to me and then started babbling about an alert. Something to the effect of the thrush medication and the Roxicet reacting with each other. Okay, so what should I be on the lookout for? Honestly, it wasn't really clear. I've never heard anyone communicate quite that badly. At one point she mentioned that she was concerned that I was going to be alone and that I would fall asleep and be unwakeable. Is that even a word?? Unwakeable? And what the hell does that mean? By mixing these two medicines I'm going to fall into a coma? She finally wound down and told me that she was going to call Wegman's and have the pharmacist talk to me about it. Thank God because she was making no sense whatsoever. Long story short, as my friend JBB always says, the side effects are increased drowsiness and possibly spacing out. The pharmacist said that if any of my coworkers/friends tell me I'm acting weird or out of it, I should call my doc. That's fine. Meanwhile, I was on both of these medications at the same time 9 or 10 weeks ago when I got the thrush the first time and I didn't notice any ill effects so I'm not worried about it this time around.
I've decided that I need to post more pictures in my blog. Some of my readers see me on a daily basis so they can see how I'm doing. And some of my readers are FB friends so they get to see some pictures on there from time to time. But some of my readers don't fall into either category and are totally missing out on stuff. Plus, pictures simply make things more fun! So, I was telling you that the nurse at the biometric screening said my arm looked great and I think the Mederma actually works. Here's a pic so you can judge for yourself.
So, Dr. A told me that if I'm down another 7 pounds when I go back to see her in 5 weeks that I will then be "too skinny". And the word bubble that magically appeared above her head said that she would be very unhappy with me. All she needed was a rolled up newspaper to shake at me and the picture would have been complete. I understand that losing a lot of weight while my body is trying to heal itself is a bad thing. I'm honestly trying to give my body the nutrients/sustenance/fuel/etc. it needs while balancing my pain/comfort levels. But she didn't say anything along that line of thinking. Her comment, very specifically, was that I would be too skinny. And being the contrary brat that I am, I went Googling.
First of all, my BMI is currently 24.1 and 25 is when you are considered overweight so I am still on the high end of the normal weight spectrum. I also looked up numerous different height and weight charts, frame sizes, etc. Medical sources say I should weigh between 111-146, insurance sites say I should weigh between 127-141, everyone seems to have these really broad ranges and I wanted a smaller target to shoot at. After collecting a bunch of data, I've decided that weighing between 125-135 is probably the healthiest weight for me. So, if I lose another 7 pounds over the next 5 weeks I will then weigh 133 which is within this range I am giving myself (BMI = 22.8) and it is NOT too skinny. Of course I am going to try not to lose any more weight. The point is, if it happens, I won't be getting gray hair thinking that I'm suddenly underweight based on Dr. A's comment.
Okay, let's break for fun stuff. Kit and I went to Nightmare Manor last night. What a blast! She was the brave one and led the way. There may have been some hand clasping and clutching each other in a few areas as well as turning tail and running in a few other areas but mostly we were a couple of independent, kick ass women, taking a haunted house by storm! ;-)
Today I got back the results from the biometric screening. There are 8 different things they look at ranging from blood pressure, to glucose, to cholesterol. Last year everything on it was green except my BMI due to my weight. This year, everything is green except my triglycerides. The report says anything under 150 is good and mine are at 159. The report doesn't really tell you what could be causing them to be high or how to reduce them. All it says is "...there are times when you are at greater risk for experiencing a cardiovascular event...". Something to ask Dr. Pebble about when I see her in the spring.
When I got to work this morning there was a large box sitting on my desk with a note from Messner, one of our Engineers. It said "Cathy, I just bought this but I'm headed to Japan. I thought you might want to test it out for me and let me know what you think.". I opened the box and it's a juicer! Oh the fun I will have! That's my big plan for Sunday. I'm going to Google juicing recipes and pick out 2-3 faves, pop over to the store for ingredients, and then juice away! I actually have a juicer picked out on Amazon but I haven't purchased it yet. If I like his, I might go ahead and bite the bullet because juice is definitely something I can ingest. Speaking of which.....
I decided I had better get a little more serious about the eating homework Dr. A gave me. Especially since I only have the weekends to do it. When I tried eating soup last Thursday, I was up gagging all that night because it caused my tongue to swell. Dr. A said that was normal and it would continue to happen because my swallowing muscles are all weak and wussy from so little use for months on end. So, I will be attempting to eat on the weekends, when being up all night gagging isn't going to make me late-for or useless-at work. Tonight I made Creamy Chicken Rice. Meh. I think I managed to eat one, possibly two spoonfuls. I then made a packet of grits with butter. Ooh! This has possibilities! I bought the instant grits in the single serve packets. They were lumpy and clumpy and kind of gooey. I'm going to buy a container of real grits that you cook on top of the stove and see if they're smoother. If yes, then this is definitely something I could eat. I managed 4 full spoonfuls of this. I also bought a box of Farina because Dr. A said that it's smoother and creamier than grits. It's on the test panel for tomorrow. I had told Dr. A that finding food to test is a little tricky because I can't taste 'sweet' at all. So, when I try to eat something sweet like applesauce, ice cream, yogurt......it's disgusting. So she and I sat there for a good 5 minutes wracking our brains, trying to think of liquid/soft foods that don't lean towards sweet, definitely not an easy task.
Okay, we're going to end on a fun note too. Kunkel is cleaning out her closets again. This always bodes well for me since I happily accept all hand-me-downs and this woman has an eye for style like you wouldn't believe! (I think the only reason I own anything classy is because she gave it to me!) Today, I was the recipient of 4 dresses. I found the dress choices interesting and am wondering if there is a hidden meaning behind them. Below are pics that I have placed in 'wearing' order. Observe and see if you're getting the same hidden meaning as I did.......
You get up in the morning and stretch. Grab the closest, comfy, casual article of clothing within reach and pull it over your head. You then wander out barefoot to your balcony where coffee and croissants await you:
After breakfast you decide it's a beautiful day for the beach. You shimmy into your bikini and pull on a light and fun sundress as a coverup for the walk down the gangplank:
Frolicking in the surf and lounging in the sun all day can really make a gal thirsty. And oh look, it's happy hour. Time to get back on board, freshen up, and find a cocktail:
Ah, it's elegant night. The one night that formal attire is requested for the dining room. I believe I packed just the thing:
Well? Is it just me? I swear those dresses are screaming for me to book a cruise! White sand, magic shows, sunbathing, slot machines, quiet corners with a book, hip hop dancing in the club, cocktail specials every day, swimming with the stingrays, movies and popcorn on the deck, zip-lining...........I'm off to bed. I will be dreaming of blue, blue water tonight..........
I was looking at my Roxicet bottle yesterday (Thursday) and it occurred to me that based on what was in there, I was going to run out this weekend. Again. Um, yeah, over my dead body! Called the doctor's office and told them I was going to need a refill. They said they would have a nurse call me back as soon as one was available. An hour later Nurse Darlene called and told me that I had already picked up my prescription on Monday and that I was all set. I told her no, I was not all set, that I didn't have enough for the weekend. She suddenly starts copping just a dash of 'tude:
"You used all of it already??"
"No, I still have 100 ml left but if I'm taking between 40-60 ml a day, it's not enough to get through the weekend."
"But you just got a refill on Monday so you should be okay."
"The refill was only for 300 ml so I'm not okay."
"Well, I'm going to have to talk to the doctor about this 'situation' and get back to you."
"Okeydoke, you do that."
Really? She thinks I'm 'scoring' my next batch of Roxicet to sell on the streets this weekend? Whatever. She called back an hour later and very politely told me my prescription was ready for me to pick up and they had increased it back up to the 500 ml instead of the 300 ml I received the last two times.Thank you. But the fun continues. When I went to pick it up, she personally came out to hand it to me and then started babbling about an alert. Something to the effect of the thrush medication and the Roxicet reacting with each other. Okay, so what should I be on the lookout for? Honestly, it wasn't really clear. I've never heard anyone communicate quite that badly. At one point she mentioned that she was concerned that I was going to be alone and that I would fall asleep and be unwakeable. Is that even a word?? Unwakeable? And what the hell does that mean? By mixing these two medicines I'm going to fall into a coma? She finally wound down and told me that she was going to call Wegman's and have the pharmacist talk to me about it. Thank God because she was making no sense whatsoever. Long story short, as my friend JBB always says, the side effects are increased drowsiness and possibly spacing out. The pharmacist said that if any of my coworkers/friends tell me I'm acting weird or out of it, I should call my doc. That's fine. Meanwhile, I was on both of these medications at the same time 9 or 10 weeks ago when I got the thrush the first time and I didn't notice any ill effects so I'm not worried about it this time around.
I've decided that I need to post more pictures in my blog. Some of my readers see me on a daily basis so they can see how I'm doing. And some of my readers are FB friends so they get to see some pictures on there from time to time. But some of my readers don't fall into either category and are totally missing out on stuff. Plus, pictures simply make things more fun! So, I was telling you that the nurse at the biometric screening said my arm looked great and I think the Mederma actually works. Here's a pic so you can judge for yourself.
So, Dr. A told me that if I'm down another 7 pounds when I go back to see her in 5 weeks that I will then be "too skinny". And the word bubble that magically appeared above her head said that she would be very unhappy with me. All she needed was a rolled up newspaper to shake at me and the picture would have been complete. I understand that losing a lot of weight while my body is trying to heal itself is a bad thing. I'm honestly trying to give my body the nutrients/sustenance/fuel/etc. it needs while balancing my pain/comfort levels. But she didn't say anything along that line of thinking. Her comment, very specifically, was that I would be too skinny. And being the contrary brat that I am, I went Googling.
First of all, my BMI is currently 24.1 and 25 is when you are considered overweight so I am still on the high end of the normal weight spectrum. I also looked up numerous different height and weight charts, frame sizes, etc. Medical sources say I should weigh between 111-146, insurance sites say I should weigh between 127-141, everyone seems to have these really broad ranges and I wanted a smaller target to shoot at. After collecting a bunch of data, I've decided that weighing between 125-135 is probably the healthiest weight for me. So, if I lose another 7 pounds over the next 5 weeks I will then weigh 133 which is within this range I am giving myself (BMI = 22.8) and it is NOT too skinny. Of course I am going to try not to lose any more weight. The point is, if it happens, I won't be getting gray hair thinking that I'm suddenly underweight based on Dr. A's comment.
Okay, let's break for fun stuff. Kit and I went to Nightmare Manor last night. What a blast! She was the brave one and led the way. There may have been some hand clasping and clutching each other in a few areas as well as turning tail and running in a few other areas but mostly we were a couple of independent, kick ass women, taking a haunted house by storm! ;-)
Today I got back the results from the biometric screening. There are 8 different things they look at ranging from blood pressure, to glucose, to cholesterol. Last year everything on it was green except my BMI due to my weight. This year, everything is green except my triglycerides. The report says anything under 150 is good and mine are at 159. The report doesn't really tell you what could be causing them to be high or how to reduce them. All it says is "...there are times when you are at greater risk for experiencing a cardiovascular event...". Something to ask Dr. Pebble about when I see her in the spring.
When I got to work this morning there was a large box sitting on my desk with a note from Messner, one of our Engineers. It said "Cathy, I just bought this but I'm headed to Japan. I thought you might want to test it out for me and let me know what you think.". I opened the box and it's a juicer! Oh the fun I will have! That's my big plan for Sunday. I'm going to Google juicing recipes and pick out 2-3 faves, pop over to the store for ingredients, and then juice away! I actually have a juicer picked out on Amazon but I haven't purchased it yet. If I like his, I might go ahead and bite the bullet because juice is definitely something I can ingest. Speaking of which.....
I decided I had better get a little more serious about the eating homework Dr. A gave me. Especially since I only have the weekends to do it. When I tried eating soup last Thursday, I was up gagging all that night because it caused my tongue to swell. Dr. A said that was normal and it would continue to happen because my swallowing muscles are all weak and wussy from so little use for months on end. So, I will be attempting to eat on the weekends, when being up all night gagging isn't going to make me late-for or useless-at work. Tonight I made Creamy Chicken Rice. Meh. I think I managed to eat one, possibly two spoonfuls. I then made a packet of grits with butter. Ooh! This has possibilities! I bought the instant grits in the single serve packets. They were lumpy and clumpy and kind of gooey. I'm going to buy a container of real grits that you cook on top of the stove and see if they're smoother. If yes, then this is definitely something I could eat. I managed 4 full spoonfuls of this. I also bought a box of Farina because Dr. A said that it's smoother and creamier than grits. It's on the test panel for tomorrow. I had told Dr. A that finding food to test is a little tricky because I can't taste 'sweet' at all. So, when I try to eat something sweet like applesauce, ice cream, yogurt......it's disgusting. So she and I sat there for a good 5 minutes wracking our brains, trying to think of liquid/soft foods that don't lean towards sweet, definitely not an easy task.
Okay, we're going to end on a fun note too. Kunkel is cleaning out her closets again. This always bodes well for me since I happily accept all hand-me-downs and this woman has an eye for style like you wouldn't believe! (I think the only reason I own anything classy is because she gave it to me!) Today, I was the recipient of 4 dresses. I found the dress choices interesting and am wondering if there is a hidden meaning behind them. Below are pics that I have placed in 'wearing' order. Observe and see if you're getting the same hidden meaning as I did.......
You get up in the morning and stretch. Grab the closest, comfy, casual article of clothing within reach and pull it over your head. You then wander out barefoot to your balcony where coffee and croissants await you:
Well? Is it just me? I swear those dresses are screaming for me to book a cruise! White sand, magic shows, sunbathing, slot machines, quiet corners with a book, hip hop dancing in the club, cocktail specials every day, swimming with the stingrays, movies and popcorn on the deck, zip-lining...........I'm off to bed. I will be dreaming of blue, blue water tonight..........
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
October 24 - Woke up today and my tongue was swollen to twice its normal size. Spent half the day trying to figure out what could have caused it. I didn't eat or drink anything out of the ordinary. I used Colgate Total at lunch yesterday to brush my teeth when I usually use Colgate Original but if I was going to have a reaction, you would think it would happen much sooner than 16+ hours later. Luckily, I had a checkup appt. scheduled with Dr. A this afternoon. Unluckily, it turns out I have thrush again which is what caused the swelling. Sigh.
So I'm back on thrush medicine. Happily she went straight to the good stuff this time and she doubled the dose so that it will hopefully work faster in a shorter period of time. On top of that, she showed me in the mirror exactly what the thrush looks like and put some refills on the prescription. She said if I see it come back yet again after we clean up this current round, to just go ahead, call in the refill, and self medicate. She also said that I should replace my toothbrush, otherwise I'm just inviting the thrush back in. Would have been nice if my cute little Indian doc had mentioned this the first time I had thrush although I guess it should have occurred to me. Alas, I freely admit that I'm not the brightest crayon in the box. :-)
I totally forgot to put heavy stuff in my pockets today. I was wearing a windbreaker instead of my leather jacket and lighter shoes too. Needless to say, I received a stern talking to about my weight. Supposedly I've lost 7 pounds in the past 2 weeks. I know this isn't true. As previously mentioned I've lost 2 pounds at the most. Whatever. My next appointment is 5 weeks away. Hopefully by then I'll be eating some real food like mashed potatoes and gravy or soup, and the weight loss will no longer be a bone of contention.
We had voluntary biometric screenings at work yesterday (if you get screened, you get a discount on your insurance!). I pulled up my sleeve so the nurse could take my blood pressure. I saw her eyeballing my scar and I think there was a brief internal struggle as to whether she should ask me about it or not. She finally did and I told her. She asked how long ago the surgery was and I told her July. She was really surprised! She said the scar looks fantastic for a surgery that recent. She really thought it was much older than that. Score another thumb's up for Mederma. That stuff rocks!
And let's end today's blog with an observation on hugs. Yes, hugs. Due to my adventure, there has been a lot of hugging going on in my life. Three coworkers in particular hug me on a weekly if not daily basis. I feel that all of this hugging is turning me into somewhat of a connoisseur and I wanted to give out some props where props are due. I was feeling a bit blue last week so I headed back to the Operations office where my buddy H sits. He is one of the coworkers that freely gives me hugs all week long. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. Neither was Tim, who is good for an occasional hug. The only employee back there was Al who does not give off vibes conducive to hugging. I said to hell with it and told him I was in dire need of a hug. Can I tell you, it was one of the best hugs I've ever received?? I had no idea there was an art to hugging but whatever it is, Al's got it. Mind you, I still love all the other hugs I get, they're GREAT hugs. I'm just saying the Al hug I received was AWESOME. And with that, I bid you adieu.
So I'm back on thrush medicine. Happily she went straight to the good stuff this time and she doubled the dose so that it will hopefully work faster in a shorter period of time. On top of that, she showed me in the mirror exactly what the thrush looks like and put some refills on the prescription. She said if I see it come back yet again after we clean up this current round, to just go ahead, call in the refill, and self medicate. She also said that I should replace my toothbrush, otherwise I'm just inviting the thrush back in. Would have been nice if my cute little Indian doc had mentioned this the first time I had thrush although I guess it should have occurred to me. Alas, I freely admit that I'm not the brightest crayon in the box. :-)
I totally forgot to put heavy stuff in my pockets today. I was wearing a windbreaker instead of my leather jacket and lighter shoes too. Needless to say, I received a stern talking to about my weight. Supposedly I've lost 7 pounds in the past 2 weeks. I know this isn't true. As previously mentioned I've lost 2 pounds at the most. Whatever. My next appointment is 5 weeks away. Hopefully by then I'll be eating some real food like mashed potatoes and gravy or soup, and the weight loss will no longer be a bone of contention.
We had voluntary biometric screenings at work yesterday (if you get screened, you get a discount on your insurance!). I pulled up my sleeve so the nurse could take my blood pressure. I saw her eyeballing my scar and I think there was a brief internal struggle as to whether she should ask me about it or not. She finally did and I told her. She asked how long ago the surgery was and I told her July. She was really surprised! She said the scar looks fantastic for a surgery that recent. She really thought it was much older than that. Score another thumb's up for Mederma. That stuff rocks!
And let's end today's blog with an observation on hugs. Yes, hugs. Due to my adventure, there has been a lot of hugging going on in my life. Three coworkers in particular hug me on a weekly if not daily basis. I feel that all of this hugging is turning me into somewhat of a connoisseur and I wanted to give out some props where props are due. I was feeling a bit blue last week so I headed back to the Operations office where my buddy H sits. He is one of the coworkers that freely gives me hugs all week long. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. Neither was Tim, who is good for an occasional hug. The only employee back there was Al who does not give off vibes conducive to hugging. I said to hell with it and told him I was in dire need of a hug. Can I tell you, it was one of the best hugs I've ever received?? I had no idea there was an art to hugging but whatever it is, Al's got it. Mind you, I still love all the other hugs I get, they're GREAT hugs. I'm just saying the Al hug I received was AWESOME. And with that, I bid you adieu.
Monday, October 22, 2012
October 21 - The Advil didn't do squat. I was in a living hell from 8:00 am Sunday until noon today. I will be keeping a much closer eye on the level of my pain meds from here on out. I guess it's kind of nice to know exactly how much they're helping me although I was a little surprised to find out that they're helping A LOT. You'd think the pain would be starting to tone down by now. Not so much. Have you ever accidentally touched a hot burner on the stove? That's what the entire left side of my tongue feels like with no pain meds in my system. GAH! And the gagging thing was 100x worse than usual. I was up every 45 minutes to an hour last night. Made for a very long night and a very tired and unhappy camper today. Probably heading to bed soon.
On a happy note, I came home to find a package on my porch. My Mom sent me SIX boxes of Carnation instant breakfast packets! Thanks Mom! It made me realize that the reminder e-mail I had sent myself at work never arrived. It must have gotten caught in our spam filter so I had once again forgotten all about buying these. I now have sustenance for the next 3-4 weeks and it's good to know what these things look like so that it will be easier to find them in the store when I need more. Good stuff!
On a happy note, I came home to find a package on my porch. My Mom sent me SIX boxes of Carnation instant breakfast packets! Thanks Mom! It made me realize that the reminder e-mail I had sent myself at work never arrived. It must have gotten caught in our spam filter so I had once again forgotten all about buying these. I now have sustenance for the next 3-4 weeks and it's good to know what these things look like so that it will be easier to find them in the store when I need more. Good stuff!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
October 21 - I took my last dose of pain medicine at 4:00 am this morning. Not good. I didn't realize I was so close to running out. I think it's because Dr. A only prescribed 300 ml whereas nurse Anne has been prescribing 500ml. Today and tomorrow are probably not going to be all that much fun. Hopefully the Advil does a better job than its been doing.
Had my appointment with PA Erin on Friday. Actually, I initially met with some other PA. Nothing makes you feel as special as having a doctor walk in and ask you when your radiation treatments start. If you can't take the time to read my file before I get there then I didn't have time to stop at the bank for your $40 co-pay. Jerks.
Anyway, she was talking about doing a scope and I told her that was fine as long as they handed me a garbage can ahead of time because I was pretty sure I would be throwing up. (Side note: Thursday night I managed to eat about 1/3 c. of tomato basil soup at Applebee's. I was then up all night gagging because my tongue touching the back of my throat was much worse than usual.) She decided not to do the scope.
She asked me when my next appointment with Dr. V (plastic surgeon) was. I told her I had graduated from him and wouldn't be seeing him again. She looked at the scars on my neck and exclaimed that they looked great. I told her Dr. V didn't agree and pointed out the two inch spot where the skin got sucked under when my neck got infected twice. I told her Dr. V told me to come back and see him in 6 months and he could do some cleanup. She claims you have to look really close to even see what I'm talking about. I'm going to have to ask the peeps at work. I notice it as soon as I look in the mirror. I will take a poll and get a majority ruling.
I told her that Dr. C had said most of the swelling would go down in 3 months and it's been 3.5 months. She confirmed that the radiation exacerbates things and that the swelling would continue to go down now. I asked if I would ever speak normally again and she said that I will see some improvement as the swelling continues to go down but I'm not likely to ever speak normally again. That was a bummer to hear. :-(
Then she started feeling up my neck, my face, my shoulders, etc. Like a breast exam except higher up. She asked if I had been doing this at home as well. I told her that nobody had told me I should and I really didn't like anyone touching the incision sites, including myself. She said it wasn't necessary, some people just like to continuously check what's going on. Yeah, no thanks. So there was one spot on the right side that she kept pressing and asking if it hurt. It didn't. She then left and got PA Erin.
PA Erin started feeling me up in the same spot at which point I got a little worried. I think PA Erin felt me tensing up because she stopped pressing, patted me on the shoulder, and told me it was nothing. Then she told the other PA that because my neck is so skinny, every little bump can be felt, and there was nothing to worry about.
Speaking of skinny, I haven't quite stopped the weight loss but I've slowed it way down. I weighed myself on 10/11 and I weighed 142.0. This morning I weighed in at 140.8. Just a little over 1 pound in a week and a half is not bad. I've been avoiding the scale lately because I'm tired of seeing it go down. I feel like I'm trapped in Stephen King's novel "Thinner". Creepy stuff.
PA Erin asked me what was going on with food intake. I told her I drink a ton of water and (3) Ensure's a day. She got really excited and told me I'm doing fantastic! She said normally at this point, people aren't eating anything whatsoever. I'm going to take her excitement with a grain of salt. Dr. A, the head radiation chick, was not nearly as excited and wants me to try and bump up to (4) Ensure's a day so it can't be THAT uncommon.
Side note: I had told Dr. A about my craving for a root beer and how badly it hurt when I tried to drink one. She said it wasn't actually the soda that hurt but the fizzy. She told me to let it go flat and try again. She was right but flat root beer tastes terrible. Flat Sprite on the other hand is pretty darned good. I can actually taste a little bit of the lemon-lime flavor. I'm drinking my third one this weekend right now as I type. :-)
PA Erin also looked at my arm scar and asked if I was using anything on it. I told her I had been using Mederma but hadn't used it in a couple of weeks now. She said Mederma is good (and gave me a couple of coupons) but something called ScarFade works as well and it's cheaper (she gave me a free sample). Sammy was right and the improvements that I thought I was imagining may have been real!!
All in all it was kind of a lame appointment. They want me back in 3 months so they can do a scope and see what's going on.
Improvements:
- Once in the past week I actually slept for a solid 7 hours!
- Throat is still painful but I'm removing the word extremely.
- I'm removing the word everything and putting in most things for the 'tastes disgusting' as I sit here sipping my Sprite. :-)
No Improvements:
- Swallowing is painful
- I'm mostly only able to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time.
- Most things still tastes disgusting.
- Mucusitis on the good side of my tongue.
- 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 a little bit of weight
- I'm still using the water pik 4 to 5 times a day to blow the ropey saliva and mucus build-up out of my mouth.
- 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.
Other than that, I've been trying to fill my calendar with fun plans to take my mind off of how slow the healing is progressing. This coming weekend is shopping at Waterloo with Sammy, the weekend after is the Blue Man Group with Patty and Terri, a couple of weekends after that I'm in Liverpool for a day of board games with Sandi, and the weekend after Thanksgiving I'll be at a cabin on the lake with Kit learning how to knit a scarf. Good stuff!
Had my appointment with PA Erin on Friday. Actually, I initially met with some other PA. Nothing makes you feel as special as having a doctor walk in and ask you when your radiation treatments start. If you can't take the time to read my file before I get there then I didn't have time to stop at the bank for your $40 co-pay. Jerks.
Anyway, she was talking about doing a scope and I told her that was fine as long as they handed me a garbage can ahead of time because I was pretty sure I would be throwing up. (Side note: Thursday night I managed to eat about 1/3 c. of tomato basil soup at Applebee's. I was then up all night gagging because my tongue touching the back of my throat was much worse than usual.) She decided not to do the scope.
She asked me when my next appointment with Dr. V (plastic surgeon) was. I told her I had graduated from him and wouldn't be seeing him again. She looked at the scars on my neck and exclaimed that they looked great. I told her Dr. V didn't agree and pointed out the two inch spot where the skin got sucked under when my neck got infected twice. I told her Dr. V told me to come back and see him in 6 months and he could do some cleanup. She claims you have to look really close to even see what I'm talking about. I'm going to have to ask the peeps at work. I notice it as soon as I look in the mirror. I will take a poll and get a majority ruling.
I told her that Dr. C had said most of the swelling would go down in 3 months and it's been 3.5 months. She confirmed that the radiation exacerbates things and that the swelling would continue to go down now. I asked if I would ever speak normally again and she said that I will see some improvement as the swelling continues to go down but I'm not likely to ever speak normally again. That was a bummer to hear. :-(
Then she started feeling up my neck, my face, my shoulders, etc. Like a breast exam except higher up. She asked if I had been doing this at home as well. I told her that nobody had told me I should and I really didn't like anyone touching the incision sites, including myself. She said it wasn't necessary, some people just like to continuously check what's going on. Yeah, no thanks. So there was one spot on the right side that she kept pressing and asking if it hurt. It didn't. She then left and got PA Erin.
PA Erin started feeling me up in the same spot at which point I got a little worried. I think PA Erin felt me tensing up because she stopped pressing, patted me on the shoulder, and told me it was nothing. Then she told the other PA that because my neck is so skinny, every little bump can be felt, and there was nothing to worry about.
Speaking of skinny, I haven't quite stopped the weight loss but I've slowed it way down. I weighed myself on 10/11 and I weighed 142.0. This morning I weighed in at 140.8. Just a little over 1 pound in a week and a half is not bad. I've been avoiding the scale lately because I'm tired of seeing it go down. I feel like I'm trapped in Stephen King's novel "Thinner". Creepy stuff.
PA Erin asked me what was going on with food intake. I told her I drink a ton of water and (3) Ensure's a day. She got really excited and told me I'm doing fantastic! She said normally at this point, people aren't eating anything whatsoever. I'm going to take her excitement with a grain of salt. Dr. A, the head radiation chick, was not nearly as excited and wants me to try and bump up to (4) Ensure's a day so it can't be THAT uncommon.
Side note: I had told Dr. A about my craving for a root beer and how badly it hurt when I tried to drink one. She said it wasn't actually the soda that hurt but the fizzy. She told me to let it go flat and try again. She was right but flat root beer tastes terrible. Flat Sprite on the other hand is pretty darned good. I can actually taste a little bit of the lemon-lime flavor. I'm drinking my third one this weekend right now as I type. :-)
PA Erin also looked at my arm scar and asked if I was using anything on it. I told her I had been using Mederma but hadn't used it in a couple of weeks now. She said Mederma is good (and gave me a couple of coupons) but something called ScarFade works as well and it's cheaper (she gave me a free sample). Sammy was right and the improvements that I thought I was imagining may have been real!!
All in all it was kind of a lame appointment. They want me back in 3 months so they can do a scope and see what's going on.
Improvements:
- Once in the past week I actually slept for a solid 7 hours!
- Throat is still painful but I'm removing the word extremely.
- I'm removing the word everything and putting in most things for the 'tastes disgusting' as I sit here sipping my Sprite. :-)
No Improvements:
- Swallowing is painful
- I'm mostly only able to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time.
- Most things still tastes disgusting.
- Mucusitis on the good side of my tongue.
- 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 a little bit of weight
- I'm still using the water pik 4 to 5 times a day to blow the ropey saliva and mucus build-up out of my mouth.
- 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.
Other than that, I've been trying to fill my calendar with fun plans to take my mind off of how slow the healing is progressing. This coming weekend is shopping at Waterloo with Sammy, the weekend after is the Blue Man Group with Patty and Terri, a couple of weekends after that I'm in Liverpool for a day of board games with Sandi, and the weekend after Thanksgiving I'll be at a cabin on the lake with Kit learning how to knit a scarf. Good stuff!
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