Chemo 2, Day 3&4

The steroid proved to be successful. Monday evening brought with it much more comfort than the weekend. I finally began feeling somewhat normal -- normal enough to eat dinner and enjoy snacks and a movie later in the evening.

Tuesday, however, presented a whole new set of challenges. I woke up with a throbbing headache rooted in the backs of my eyes. It hurt so bad that I felt the need to constantly have my eyes closed. I took Tylenol (which is the only pain medication I am permitted to take), but it gave me no relief from the pain. By the afternoon, the atrocious headache was accompanied by an extreme sense of weakness. I had so little energy that I felt I could barely move my eyeballs. Every expression I made me feel as though I were in slow motion. My body, mind, and spirit felt heavy and drained.

I fought my way through the day hoping that the awful side effects would soon pass-- they were lasting longer this time than they did during the last treatment. Last time I had started feeling better by Day 4, and it was already Day 5 with no break from the symptoms. To my pleasant surprise, I finally began to come around in the evening. My appetite became fully revived and I ate a full supper (a delicious pasta dish), followed by a tuna melt later in the evening. I was very excited that I was beginning to come around and my spirits began to lift.

I was advised my the chemo nurse that the best time to take the Neupogen injection would be before bedtime. This was because one of the major side effects of Neupogen is bone pain caused by the stimulation of the bone marrow to produce white blood cells. Taking it at bedtime would lessen the chances of me noticing any side effects, since I would then most likely be asleep. Because of this, Mike and I held of until around 10:30 to give me the shot. It was quite nerve wracking, but we followed all the directions as given by the nurse and Mike did a great job playing the role of 'doctor.' The injection causes brief pain, but I definitely feel it is worth it to have a healthy level of white blood cells and to be able to receive chemo on time, rather than dragging it out any longer than I have to.