Round 2 done.
Jan. 12th, 2013 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
genlisaeChemo is done for round 2 and only 8 more days of radiation.
I am so looking forward to the end of radiation. This driving hours every day for a 15 minute appointment is getting really, really tiring. Like not just "I'm kind of tired" it is like a bone deep exhausted. I feel really bad for mom since it can't be any better for her and she is the one doing the driving.
Course, at least part of my tired could be the chemo. This round is shaping up to be worse than the first. Not surprising, cumulative effect and all. I did have to have an extra injection to settle my stomach today in addition to the small barrage of pills. That was not fun. The small barrage has been up to a medium size barrage for the next few days as well.
Sleeping for longer than 2 hours at a time would also be ridiculously awesome.
This next part is a little ... TMI? Maybe? Probably. It is also mildly amusing in the sense that you are all totally allowed to point and laugh and go "Not me!"
Something, most likely that damn cyst, has been generally screwing with things for a while now. NOt seriously, but things like for the last year or so if I sit/stand/walk/anything where my feet are not up for more than 4-5 hours my ankles get really puffy. I mentioned this to Emily and she frowned for a bit, ran some tests, frowned some more prescribed a diuretic and did some more frowning. Nothing was coming back from the tests and the diuretic didn't help at all. It could, along with all the other general "Okay, that doesn't really make sense but not much about Chiari really does" things, just have been happening and the general idea was deal with it and try not to let my ankles get too swollen while Emily explored more options and got more opinions. Meanwhile I am getting all :'( because aside from the dizzy, headaches and other shit going on it would appear I was gaining a LOT of weight.
Until that first round of chemo.
47 lbs. Seriously. 47 over the course of 3 days is how much simply retained fluid I lost after the first round of chemo. I had actual ankles again instead of swollen balloons! I could move without feeling just bloated and that random little pinchy fold that had developed on the back of my leg when I knelt down somewhere which had me almost sobbing because there didn't seem to be anything I could do to stop the weight gain was GONE!
And then, about a week and a half ago my ankles started swelling again. I think it was Monday, I knelt down and the pinchy little fold was back on the back of my leg. Then Chemo started again on Wednesday.
As of today I am right back to having to use the bathroom every 2 hours. Without fail. Like if I have to wait even a few minutes longer than that and I kind of start thinking I should stop breathing in the meantime cause there is not enough room for my bladder and air.
I am sort of fascinated to see if there will be additional lost fluid this time. Partially because I didn't know it was actually possible for a person to store that much extra fluid without looking like and over inflated water balloon. Apparently it is. I am even more interested to find out if the connection to the chemo meds helps any of the team of doctors work out where this is all coming from in the first place so maybe we can stop it from coming back here soon.
Anyway, most irrelevant side trip done now.
I am still mostly good, if not completely comfortable and am now going back to napping.
I am so looking forward to the end of radiation. This driving hours every day for a 15 minute appointment is getting really, really tiring. Like not just "I'm kind of tired" it is like a bone deep exhausted. I feel really bad for mom since it can't be any better for her and she is the one doing the driving.
Course, at least part of my tired could be the chemo. This round is shaping up to be worse than the first. Not surprising, cumulative effect and all. I did have to have an extra injection to settle my stomach today in addition to the small barrage of pills. That was not fun. The small barrage has been up to a medium size barrage for the next few days as well.
Sleeping for longer than 2 hours at a time would also be ridiculously awesome.
This next part is a little ... TMI? Maybe? Probably. It is also mildly amusing in the sense that you are all totally allowed to point and laugh and go "Not me!"
Something, most likely that damn cyst, has been generally screwing with things for a while now. NOt seriously, but things like for the last year or so if I sit/stand/walk/anything where my feet are not up for more than 4-5 hours my ankles get really puffy. I mentioned this to Emily and she frowned for a bit, ran some tests, frowned some more prescribed a diuretic and did some more frowning. Nothing was coming back from the tests and the diuretic didn't help at all. It could, along with all the other general "Okay, that doesn't really make sense but not much about Chiari really does" things, just have been happening and the general idea was deal with it and try not to let my ankles get too swollen while Emily explored more options and got more opinions. Meanwhile I am getting all :'( because aside from the dizzy, headaches and other shit going on it would appear I was gaining a LOT of weight.
Until that first round of chemo.
47 lbs. Seriously. 47 over the course of 3 days is how much simply retained fluid I lost after the first round of chemo. I had actual ankles again instead of swollen balloons! I could move without feeling just bloated and that random little pinchy fold that had developed on the back of my leg when I knelt down somewhere which had me almost sobbing because there didn't seem to be anything I could do to stop the weight gain was GONE!
And then, about a week and a half ago my ankles started swelling again. I think it was Monday, I knelt down and the pinchy little fold was back on the back of my leg. Then Chemo started again on Wednesday.
As of today I am right back to having to use the bathroom every 2 hours. Without fail. Like if I have to wait even a few minutes longer than that and I kind of start thinking I should stop breathing in the meantime cause there is not enough room for my bladder and air.
I am sort of fascinated to see if there will be additional lost fluid this time. Partially because I didn't know it was actually possible for a person to store that much extra fluid without looking like and over inflated water balloon. Apparently it is. I am even more interested to find out if the connection to the chemo meds helps any of the team of doctors work out where this is all coming from in the first place so maybe we can stop it from coming back here soon.
Anyway, most irrelevant side trip done now.
I am still mostly good, if not completely comfortable and am now going back to napping.
