Coming out of the fog

The last few days have been a bit of a fog. Chemo just messes with you in many ways. Even though it hasn't been a long period time since chemo started, sometimes I start to feel like I am never going to feel normal again. There is some good news though. I figured out that I can survive it, which is good. I don't like it, but I can survive it. At the end of the day, I know I will look back and it will be worth it, but it's not fun in the meantime.

Before I go on, it bears mentioning that my personal case manager was diligent enough to point out a flaw in my original post. I not only survived my first round of chemo, I did so without throwing up! She said I should take props for that. I had a few near misses, including me screaming at Steve to park the car in the Bertucci's parking lot before I threw up, but I was able to regroup and keep the contents of my stomach in place. 

A few tips for any future chemo sisters regarding nausea management:

• Never leave your house without your zofran. Nausea can sneak up on you anywhere.
• When in doubt, eat something bland and carby. 
• Do NOT eat anything spicy or highly acidic. This will result in no sleep due to severe heartburn. 
• Make friends with pepcid. It will save your life and your insides.
• Don't think you can run on an empty stomach. You can't. It's a different ball game now. Eat small frequent meals or you will feel like crap.

Ok, enough about the stomach issues. I had the neulasta shot on Monday. Contrary to chemo, I barely had any side effects which was a pleasant surprise. Even better than that, I had blood work done on Wednesday that showed it was working because my blood counts were great. Let's hope it stays that way. Let me explain about neulasta. Chemo attacks all rapidly dividing cells which includes good stuff like white blood cells. Neulasta helps replenish them which is important since they play a critical role in keeping me healthy and fighting infections. Needless to say, the fact that it is working is very good news!

On a positive note, I channeled my boredom of being stuck with zero energy into something productive. I am teaching myself how to crochet. I have to say my first project is coming along swimmingly. And once that's done, I bought "pink camo" yarn! I need to make myself a cool "pink warrior" something. Maybe a hat since my head is going to be cold soon.

Tomorrow will be a happy day. It's #1, Steve's birthday and #2 a friday without chemo! Two fun things to celebrate!

Fifteen weeks to go!