I had my 8th chemo treatment last week, which means I'm two-thirds of the way done! I'm still completely lucking out in the side effect department, and I'm so thankful for that. I've had barely any nausea, and no mouth sores. I'm still having the taste bud issues for the first few days after chemo, but it's something that I'll gladly continue to deal with if it means not having to put up with worse side effects. I'm still battling insomnia some nights, even with a prescription for sleeping pills.
Mom and her Seahawks nails helping out with #8!
My blood cell counts continue to be an issue. Thankfully they haven't been bad enough to put off a chemo treatment, but they're still insanely low. It's mostly been my white blood cell counts, but a couple of weeks ago my red blood cell counts dipped too low. I had to go get a blood transfusion. It was strange knowing that someone else's blood was being pumped into me. But it worked! My red blood cell counts are back up. For now, at least.
A couple days before my last chemo, I woke up with a lot of pain in my right Achilles tendon. It was swollen, hurt to the touch, and I couldn't walk without being in agony. I thought at first it was from the antibiotic that Dr. Blau has me on - the pharmacist warned me that sudden pain in the Achilles and even tendon ruptures were side effects of the drug. I had a pre-chemo appointment with Dr. Blau the next day, so I asked her about it then. Her first thought was that it could be a blood clot, so she scheduled me for a doppler ultrasound a couple days later.
By the time the ultrasound appointment rolled around, the pain had disappeared. As they were doing the ultrasound on my leg and pressing down, I felt a sharp pain in my calf. Sure enough, they'd found a blood clot. The good news is that it was in my calf muscle and not in the bloodstream, so it wasn't as serious as it could have been. Since then I've been on blood thinners, and have had to give myself a shot in the stomach twice a day. Between all the blood that has had to be drawn and now having to inject myself every day, I don't know how you could go through this experience being afraid of needles. Thankfully that's never been an issue for me!
Mom and I before my ultrasound.
I'm still going completely stir crazy not working. I'm counting down the days until April not just because I'll be done with chemo, but also because I'll be able to go back to my job. It's hard for me to sit around the house and do nothing. I've been trying to get together with friends more often, even if it's just to have a movie night. It's nice to have the company. It saddens me to say that I've definitely found out who my true friends are during this journey. It's disappointing how many "fair weather" friends I had in my life. It makes me appreciate the people who have texted and called and spent time with me that much more.
I had to go visit my friend and hairstylist, Amber, today to get my head buzzed again. It baffles me that most of my hair fell out, but what is left continues to grow. The peach fuzz was looking awful and very cancer-like, so it had to go. The GI Jane buzz looks much better. It's still a weird experience having someone take clippers to your head, even though I've had Amber do it several times. It's not something you get used to after having long hair for your entire life. I'm so ready to be at the point where I can grow my hair out again! Although I must admit, it's been nice not having to bother with shaving my legs. ;)
Time to go meet my dad for dinner! Ciao!
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