32. Learning the profile of my "Chem -trail" OR Chemo the 5 day mini diary...

They say you have to deal with Chemo “day by day”, as with each round and the potential severity for “side effects” changes. Depending on your “Cocktail”, reactions can vary, so while the “road” may have some potential markers, you don’t know what respective “speed bumps” you will hit til you go down the road yourself.

The side effects for TC (Taxotere/Cytoxan) run the pretty typical lines for what one thinks of chemo, and it looks like being healthy to start has made me a prime suspect for a number of them.

Infusion Day 1- steroid high, feel fine a little itchy later in the day. Am I having a late allergic reaction? Throat a little tight, should I go to sleep? What happens if I don’t wake up? Stay up til too tired to do anything but crash.

Day 2- Steroid high again, lots of energy, if this is chemo it’s WAYYYY over rated. This is gonna be EASY!! Itching starts when I take steroid, so take Benadryl and it goes away. have lunch with friends and get some necessary work done. Neulasta OnPro gives me my delayed dose of white blood cell “booster” don’t feel anything, different. Go for MRI, can’t get one cause my expanders have metal in them. Want to throw a table ( Yeah, steroids STILL working)

Day 3 Halloween! Wake up at 4:50 am . Feel great, maybe this is just how first chemo run is gonna go?! . Teach my 2 Exercise Classes, sweat and feel much calmer. Post class driving home feel a bit of nausea. Get home and take a Zofran, just in case it is indeed nausea not just my normal need to eat after teaching. Take a Claritin as they said it would ward off “bone pain” from Neulasta. Go move some stuff out of storage with husband and friends, steroid high wearing off a little. Go for “beer” which for the next 7 months is iced tea. Getting dark and feeling tired, starts to feel like maybe I’m getting shin splints? Bone pain setting in, it ain’t pretty.

Day 4- Steroids definitely gone. That sense of being “flu-ish” is definitely right. Take Claritin but bone pain persists. Fuck this bone pain SUCKS!! Stop by CVS to get more Claritin, Pedialyte, and as it turns out gum because my teeth also hurt and maybe chewing will help them. Mouth and tongue starting to be chalky and sore like I’ve eaten too many Sweet Tarts in a Halloween candy round up, though I have had nothing of the sort. Drive to see my new endocrinologist to talk about my thyroid meds, feel crabby cause of mild flu symptoms, we agree that its difficult to access how they are working for me as I have been dealing with Breast Cancer. Seems pointless to ask about weight gain cause at this point my body is a full on experiment, and it seems that giant water weight swings maybe in the near future. Throughout my head is clear, thank god so I can divert my attention and work thru/ around the pains. Luckily I haven’t had any nausea, or serious headaches , but seriously WTF with this bone pain!!!  Take some more Claritin but it seems I’m too late as I am chasing the pain, so I get permission to take Advil, add hot/ cold presses, and manage to sleep on and off for the rest of the day thru til the next morning .

Day 5 - Wake up about 50% better than yesterday. I take some Clariti and some Advil, still some bone pain, but less invasive. Make some coffee and coach my Running Class. Thank you Adrenaline gods!! The mere act of having to instruct, gives me a lovely hour break to escape my poor swollen bone marrow. I leave feeling charged and come home clean up kitchen and bathroom and make a smoothie so I can get some protein in. Maybe yesterday was the worst of it for this round? The rest of the day is free, so I am taking it easy. I keep pounding fluids, God bless powdered Pedialyte !!! As the day continues, I tuck into some amazing chicken soup my good friend Allison has sent, and while I have an event I can attend, I vote to lay low another day, because if I felt that good after yesterday, then in tomorrow there only lies promise right ?

Well, there we are, the first 5 days….1/4 of the way to my next treatment.

I’ll be checking in again, next time with shorter hair.

For now, I’m gonna go mix another bottle of Pedialyte.