Just Me LMJ

Now I’m starting to get a little excited!  I can say that next week I’ll be done with chemo.  This past week has been fairly uneventful.  The normal side effect of tingling and numerous hot flashes started before bed.  I have been sleeping quite a bit on the couch lately.  I can’t seem to get comfortable, or a hot flash wakes me, so I find it easier to sleep on the couch, that way Jeff can get some sleep.  However, I will say the couch is getting old.  May have to kick Jeff out to the couch.  I went to work on Friday and had a couple of comments about my face looking sunburned, I just explained that was the steriods at work.

I did have a little frustrating experience over the weekend.   I went to the mall to buy a bathing suit.  After numerous attempts of trying different ones on, I decided that you really need boobs to make a bathing suit look right and unfortunately, that is something I don’t currently have.

Today my feet and hands have been bothering me but I’m thinking tomorrow will be a better day.  Chemo is on Thursday again this week and then next week, I’m hoping to move it to Wednesday.

Well we are almost done with this part of the journey…you all have been wonderful.

Love, Lori

The blizzard of 07 kept me from getting my chemo treatment on Wednesday like I usually do.  Unfortunately, this was the week I had to see the doctor before I could receive chemo.  Then to top it off, I have gone through 21 weeks of treatments without being sick (besides chemo effects) and on Wednesday I came down with a cold.  Anyway, I was determined to not miss a week.  I can see the end of the road, and I didn’t want weather or a cold to get in the way.  I called on Thursday to see about rescheduling but couldn’t get in until Friday to see the doctor.

I got some good news at my doctor’s appointment.  First, I hadn’t gained any weight from my last doctor’s appointment…didn’t lose any but didn’t gain either.  Secondly, my red blood was up enough that I didn’t need to get my red blood count booster shot.  Chemo was like usual, shortly after my premeds were started, I became sleepy and dozed throughout the treatment.  Jeff and Jaylyn both kept me company, can’t imagine it was much fun watching me doze, but I did appreciate them both being there.  Jaylyn didn’t have school so she brought me up for my appointment.

Since chemo was on Friday, I felt pretty good for the weekend.  I was up Friday night/Saturday morning until 3:00 a.m. and then slept for 3 1/2 hours before I was up.  The steroids kept me going pretty good on Saturday.  I didn’t take a nap at all on Saturday or Sunday.  Probably the first time in many weeks I haven’t taken a nap on the weekends.  The chemo move to Friday made for a good weekend but will probably make for a more difficult Monday and Tuesday.  I was able to move my chemo to Thursdays (they wouldn’t move it back to Wednesdays).

Well, I can’t believe how close the end is…3 more to go.

Love, Lori

Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, My hair ….this is from the song Hair…my way of telling you My Hair is Growing back!!!!! How exciting is that! It is a little patchy but it is growing.  I think it is a little odd because I lost my eyelashes and most of my eyebrows just since I have been on my weekly treatments but now my hair is growing back.

Had a good week. Saw the plastic surgeon on Monday. I am a candidate for the Tram Flap surgery, however, he won’t do the surgery for at least 3 months after I am done with chemo, which would be June. I’m thinking of waiting until mid-October, it will be slower at work and not yet winter here. I would have to be off work for at least 6 weeks and unable to do heavy activity for at least 3 months. Still trying to connect with people who have had the surgery to hear the pros and cons.

Had chemo yesterday, blood counts have stayed the same. I was told I would feel pretty good on this weekly treatments for a few weeks and then it would “hit” me. I wondered what the “hit” me would be and have decided it is fatique. I have noticed I sleep more on the weekends and the days I work I am feeling much more tired by the end of the day. Although I have whole body tingling experiences, constipation, days I have to be careful which shoes I wear because my feet are sore, days I don’t wear any rings because my fingers are sore and stiff, days that food doesn’t taste good, and all the other little side effects, I think the weekly treatments have been much more tolerable. So if I now have to add more naps to my life, so be it. After all, I only have 4 more treatments to go!

Thanks for being there for me.

Love, Lori

Sounds good, doesn’t it! My red count went up again…yeah…but white count went down a little. I was pretty tired at work on Monday and Tuesday even though I had a fairly quiet weekend.

Had an appointment with genetics doctor on Tuesday. Although I did not test positive with the genetics testing that has been done, they want me to have some additional baseline tests done, like a thyroid ultrasound, and some other stuff. Evidently I meet several of the criteria for a certain snydrome so they just want to watch me. Which is okay with me.

My dad had surgery yesterday on his eye. Everything went okay.  I am more tired today and my body achiness has already started which is a little earlier than usual.  The joint pain and achiness has increased with each treatment that I have taken a couple of pain pills.  I usually try Tylenol but sometimes I just need a little something extra.  Thankfully the worst of it hits on the weekends so I’m able to be home and take it easy.

Monday I have an appointment with the other plastic surgeon to discuss the flap surgery.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for reading.  Thanks for all your support.

Love, Lori