January 3rd, 2015 (Saturday, Day 6)- I have not been writing down how I have felt this week since my treatment on Monday. I have been sleeping steady. I have taken both of my anti-nausea medicines regularly and I must say that I feel this round has been kinder to me than the first round. On New Years Eve, Jeff and Kaci went to our friends house for a party, we get together with them every year and I didn't want them to miss out because of me, I would be sleeping anyway. They had a great time. I had my mom come over around 6:00PM and we had Taco Time for dinner and then at 8:30PM I asked if she wanted to go lay in bed with me because I was so tired but she decided to head home instead. I fell asleep fast and woke up to Kaci and Jeff getting home a little after midnight and Kaci yelling through out the house something about 2015. It was cute but I was too tired to get up and ask them how the party was. Yesterday, (Friday) my mom called to see if Kaci wanted to go to the movie "Annie" and of course she did. She left about 12:30PM. I woke up around 3:00PM and took a shower and then asked Jeff if he would go over to Winegar's with me so I could put my check in the bank. So I put on my hair and was ready to go, it's nice how fast I can get ready now! After the bank I was craving a Mocha Frappe from McDonalds. I just got a small one because I don't handle caffeine very well. It sure woke me up and I was up until after midnight without any naps in between. It was nice to be awake for a change. Kaci decided to spend the night at Grandma's so Jeff and I heated up some soup for dinner and then sat down and watched Under Cover Boss and Shark Tank. I even walked on the treadmill for about 25 minutes to try and get things moving, the constipation has gotten to me this time and I am miserable. About 9:30PM we decided to go back to McDonalds for a snack. I told Jeff this was a great date night and I was not kidding. It was nice to spend that quality time with my husband. I feel like all I do is sleep and I miss out on so much. I think I went to bed around 10:30PM but did not fall asleep until after midnight, I am sure it was the caffeine. Today Kaci came home around 11:00AM but I have not felt good at all. I don't know if it is nausea related to chemo or constipation, either way my stomach does not feel good and I keep trying to rest but I can't. It is keeping me up. I hope things get moving soon so I can start to bounce back like I did last time. I do feel better energy wise than I did so I really think it is the constipation that is wearing me down today. I am hoping to go to work on Monday and work all week. I will not over do it. I will wake up on my own and get ready when I feel well enough and work for as long as I can and if I feel like I need to rest then I will go home. I am going to do what I can but I know January is going to be rough for me. My work is so good and they totally understand but I also know how good I feel mentally when I can go to work and feel normal for a day. Later this evening I came down with a UTI. I texted my cousin to see what she thought and she said to call the doctor on call. Dr. Samuelson called me back right away and told me to start the Levaquin antibiotic that I already had filled in the case of a fever of 100.4. He told me to take it tonight and Sunday and Monday and it should take care of it. I am glad I called instead of suffering in pain and wondering if/when I might get that fever of 100.4. I sure hope it helps. Today has been terrible for me and I am so glad it is almost over. Jeff is at the pharmacy now picking up a numbing medication to help with the pain. Apparently UTI's are somewhat common during chemotherapy. Of course I had to get this side effect too!. I am still keeping my head up but I am not sure how!!!!
January 4, 2015 (Sunday, Day 7)- Today was a horrible day. I woke up crying because I am so frustrated to still feel so lousy. I went and took a bath to try and relax and drink my lemonade. I did feel a little better after that. I let Jeff and Kaci handle the laundry, Jeff vacuumed the house and cleaned up the garage. My mom was so kind to bring dinner over to us. It was nice to be able to have a Sunday dinner with her again, it has been quite a few weeks now that I have not done it. I went to bed around 8:30PM but did not fall asleep until after 10:30PM.
January 5, 2015 (Monday, Day 8)- I woke up at 6:10AM this morning and thought to myself that I am not going to sit home and feel lousy, I am going to go to work and sit there and feel lousy. The time goes by much faster at work than at home lying in bed. I was able to make it a full day, this is my first full day in over 7 weeks. It felt so good. I only hope that this does not set me back. This afternoon my forehead started itching and broke out into a rash, another lovely side effect. I should be about through with the nausea and fatigue side effects from my last treatments. This week should progressively get better. I can't wait for the weekend, we plan on a full day of playing on Saturday. I will use Sunday to clean the house, laundry, freezer meals etc. I need a day every other week to get just out and feel normal. I had a terrible night, I came down with the worst heart burn ever about 8:30PM. I ended up taking a bath about 11:30PM to try and calm down, it didn't help. I cried and prayed so hard, I did get some comfort from my prayer and was able to lay down and fell asleep after 12:30PM.
January 6, 2015 (Tuesday, Day 9)- I woke up feeling better this morning. I was 20 minutes late to work because I was so tired. I still worked a full day. Today my head started itching so bad. I came home from work and took my wig off and put on a beanie hat. I can't believe how uncomfortable the itching is. I may have to just wear a hat tomorrow and give my scalp a break. I don't think it is the wig that is causing it, it is a side effect from the chemo. At this point I am so over how I look on the outside, I just want to be comfortable. Today despite being tired from lack of sleep I feel my energy returning to near normal. I am hoping tomorrow I will be 100%. I really want some good days before I go back on Monday. I love working so much and I love Richards Sheet Metal, everybody is good to me there. I have such great friends that I work with!
January 7, 2015 (Wednesday, Day 10)- Yeah! I am feeling 100% today, just like last time this happened on a Wednesday.
January 8, 2015 (Thursday, Day 11)- I had my appointment today with Dr. Grunander and she said everything has healed up just as it should have from surgery. When she first came in she said that I looked great and said that she thought I would have lost my hair by now. I told her she is looking at my "new hair", and she said now way. She couldn't believe it. I love when people can't tell that I am wearing a wig. All along I have wanted to blend in with the public and not look like a cancer patient and apparently I am doing an excellent job at disguising myself. I won't go back to see her until 6 months from now, I will miss Megan, she is the best doctor I have ever had but on the other hand I am tired of Dr. appointments. She is so compassionate and caring. She even gave me a lecture on why I should finish my 4 doses of AC (I had told her that I am having a hard time with it and I want to cut it short and only do 3 treatments). She told me that she will make a lot of number 4 signs for me to put in my house to remind me that I have 4 doses and I must complete them all. She is so sweet and uplifting. I will do them all but it is going to be hard. I have so much anxiety today now that the week is half way through and I am getting closer to my next treatment on Monday. I wish I could calm myself down but I am more nervous for treatment number 3 than I have been for any of them. I just know that next week I will be in bed and not at work and work is where I want to be. I can't wait for January to be over!!!! Today my eyes starting watering and have not stopped all day, I look like I have been crying non-stop. I am sure this is just another side-effect of chemo. Tonight I was able to go to the Look Good Feel Better class. It was awesome, they show you how to do your make-up while going through treatment. Pam and Erin came and I met another gal named Shannon. She is so beautiful and is about my same age and was diagnosed over the holiday's. She reminds me of myself when I first found out. I was so lost and scared. We had a great conversation and I shared a lot of my experience with her. She finds out tomorrow what her treatment plan will be. I am praying for her, I know EXACTLY how she feel right now.
January 9, 2015 (Friday, Day 12)- I woke up to dry eyes and had hoped that they wouldn't be watering today. Well they are still watering, it is so annoying. I wore a beanie hat to work today and it is every bit as itchy as my wig. I closed my office door and took it off. I am sporting the bald head for a bit to give my head a break. I hate that cancer changes my look, now my makeup won't even stay on because my eyes are watering so bad. That was the only thing that I was able to put on to look normal. I can't wait until this AC is over and hopefully my rash and watery eyes will go away. I worked all week for close to eight hours every day. This was my first full week in over seven weeks and it felt great. I felt like my life had returned to normal for a bit. I am sad though that I won't be working next week because my next treatment is on Monday, January 12th.
January 10, 2015 (Saturday, Day 13)- I woke up with watery eyes again today. I am afraid this is here to stay. My rash seems to be spreading further down my forehead and continues to itch. I also have this same rash on my upper back that started on Monday as well. I suppose all of this will make me stronger but I just don't understand why I have to get all of these side effects. We are going to head out to the movies today at Farmington Station and then go to dinner with Wayne and Debby. As long as I am not sitting at home I don't care what we do.
Side effects from the 2nd round:
-UTI
-rash
-watery eyes
-nausea
-fatigue and exhaustion
-chemopause as they call it has kicked in. My period has stopped and I am getting hot flushes like crazy and they happen most at nighttime.
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