Bad few days

I’m finally surfacing after a few traumatic days. The cause? The chemo, of that I’m certain.

 

I had my second dose of this cycle of weakened chemo on Thursday. Thursday saw me in bed by 6pm not to emerge until 7am. This was not solid sleeping. I woke from time with bouts of nausea & increased discomfort in my lump. Indeed so unsolid was the night’s sleep that I’d had to go back to bed on Friday midday for another couple of hours of sleep. Throughout Friday I suffered a mix a wooziness & nausea. It was with some relief I managed to cook a simple meal of salmon for dinner – the Fox hovered nearby at all times ready to take over if necessary.

 

Saturday saw us back at the hospital in Kendal. This time for a CT scan. The nausea continued though no actual sickness.

 

Yesterday morning I burst out into a sweat for no obvious reason. I thought I’d best check my temperature – 35.7, below the minimum of 36 I’m supposed to have. The traffic light system of adverse side effects reckon that at this point I should have rung the hospital, indeed I should have rung it earlier when fatigue was hitting me so much. I contemplated a visit to A&E, trying to establish that I did not have Covid-19, & decided to finish what I was doing then relax a bit & try my temperature again. This time it crept over the 36. I left off the idea of ringing the emergency line. However, throughout the day if I moved too fast I was woozy & nauseous. By late morning my taste buds started giving up leaving a horrible gunky taste in the mouth.  I was determined not to have a nap in the hope I would sleep better. I made it until about 8.45pm.

 

This morning I woke. At last I feel more like myself. I suddenly feel I have some energy. I feel altogether fresher.

 

The one conclusion we’ve both come to is that this type of chemo is not suiting me. It will take a lot to convince me to continue with it when I go to Oncology to discuss further action after the CT scan. As far as I can see the tumours are still growing & the side effects are having a big impact on my everyday life. I want to enjoy my life, however short it may be, rather than feel this poorly all the time.

 

Needless to say, all this worry is having an adverse effect on the Fox too. His eczema is worse. His appetite, which did seem to be returning, has disappeared again. Hopefully, when he sees how much better I am today, he will do a bit better. And this week we have no planned trips to Kendal, no more treatment, so hopefully I can only improve as the week goes on.