Chemo Round 5 (July 17th)

I was able to recover from Round 4 of chemo with a very relaxing (didn’t-do-much-relaxing) week up north with the family. I’m not sure how I could have survived the “toughest round of chemo” in my normal home/work environment. I was thankful to have the week to sleep, sit by the lake, sleep, be surrounded by family, and sleep ☺

This past Thursday marked the first of my last 4 Chemo sessions. The drug of choice is Taxol, expected to be more tolerable drug than the AC drugs I just finished. It does come with a new set of side effects. This weekend I have already experienced muscle and joint pain, low levels of white blood cells, and most bizarre are the unusual sensations of burning and tingling in my feet and hands. These along with the now common occurrences of low blood pressure, lack of energy, diarrhea and nausea, mouth sores, and hair loss. Oh wait, the hair is already gone, so we can cross that off the list.

I’ve been having trouble all week sleeping at night, but Friday night was the worst. I couldn’t get to sleep, got up out of bed several times, and was even able to greet Michelle when she strolled in at 1:00am after being out with friends. I’m sure I startled her while I was sitting at the kitchen table eating a yogurt. The doctor did prescribe another drug Ambien for insomnia both falling and staying asleep. I’m glad to have the help sleeping but this drug has some interesting side effects like getting out of bed while not being fully awake or doing an activity that you do not know you’re doing. The next morning you may not remember that you did anything during the night. Reported activities include: driving a car, making and eating food, talking on the phone, and sleepwalking! Wow. This could get interesting.

I have so many different drugs now I’ve had to quite regularly text my new favorite pharmacist, Robby Moss, Kelly’s boyfriend to keep them, and the combinations of them, straight. The doctor is generously giving me what I need to take care of whatever ails me, but it does get confusing.

My motto: take it one day at a time, and just deal with whatever comes along. Only three Chemo sessions left, Yeah!