Day Eighty Five

Did mile walk today.

Was in bed for 10 hrs or managed enough sleep for the day. Some itching, got shivers with cold and 6 trips thanks to my overactive kidneys. =P

Hands cramp easy now. If I make an “O” shape with my mouth I makes my lips cramp. Kinda weird.

Tastes is going, but mouth is not tender yet. Weird I can smell a cake or sourcream frosting, but it tastes like crisco shortening unflavored.

Numbness the same.

My needle in to my port plugged again. Had to run to the infusion clinic to get a new needle inserted to continue to receive my bio hazard medications.

Energy levels seem okay today. Still get winded easily.

Well tomorrow is Friday, hope it goes well for everyone!

Day Eighty Four

Did mile walk.

Itching not too bad, but 9 trips to the bathroom last night (last trip about 5:30 am), seems my drugs want me to be dehydrated. So not as much sleep as I would like.

Swapping of the medicine bag went without any problems.

Nurse is worried that I may end up with psoriasis when all is said and done from the now extensive rash on my forearms.

Taste and mouth holding out.

Feet and fingers feel like they have been frozen and are thawing out. Feel swollen that sort of thing.

Had a birthday lunch at work for a fellow team member, was very good pizza.

Tired today, but I think it is the interrupted sleep more than anything.

Kinda flushed in the face today.

Anyway, Wednesday was good over all, hope everyone has a thrilling Thursday!

Day Eighty Three

Well, itching was better being on the steroid, but harder to fall asleep and had to make 8 trips to the bathroom. It seems the steroid does not want my body to be hydrated. So not as much sleep as I would have liked.

Did walk this morning.

Taste and mouth still holding, expect to start losing tastes tomorrow.

Already making plans for last chemo the week of Labor day. Holiday weeks are a bit tricky as they only have 4 infusion days so I have to spend Saturday in the cancer ward in Portland to finshish up.

Work went well, they had chicken cordon blue hand made with fingers sized potatoes at the cafeteria today.

No nausea.

Numbness the same no changes yet.

Rash finding virgin territory and starting to break out in the last frontier, my calves.

It seems the upper chest and arms seem to be the worst to itch even thought the rash is now body wide.

Anyway, Tuesday was a good day here, hope yours was too.

And may you all have a wonderful Wednesday on the morrow.

Day Eighty Two

Started cycle 5 of 6 today. Six weeks till should start back to a normal life!

Last night had itching and got cold enough for chills, but got enough sleep to make it in to the infusion clinic and took a nap will getting a bag of medicine.

Now packing the ever trendy pump belt.

Enjoying eating while I can expect tastes to start failing tomorrow or the next day.

They decided to keep my meds at the same level as last time, but it seems my symptoms keep lasting longer and stronger. Wish my muscles would take a hint.

Tonight is probably blackberry dessert of some kind and maybe sweet and sour chicken!

Still have peripheral numbness.

Scored a nice lunch off the infusion clinic!

Really hoping the steroids will knock the itching tonight.

Last round got pretty depressed when lost tastes, sore mouth and itching. But it is kind of like I hear people describe pregnancy. Its pretty bad while you are in it, but seems to fade once you are past it. Spirits back up again for this round so far.

Also both doctors I work for took several weeks of vacation this summer, so my work load was a bit lighter than it is during the rest of the year.

Anyway hope everyone’s Monday went well and you have a great Tuesday!

Day Eighty One

Itched till about 3am then got cold enough fell asleep in a tent.

My family had taken great care to accommodate me was inside a huge metal building like a quarter acre. Breakfast was bacon, eggs, potato pancakes, cut fruit, fruit juice, left over cobbler.

Was so nice to be around all my family again, listening to stories and catching up on others that couldn’t make it.

Itched some on the way home used the lotion again, but had to turn on ac and put an arm on each of the vents to keep cool enough not to itch.

Got home took a shower (finished with cold water) and felt better. After sitting down with both underwear and pajamas on began to overheat again and rash popped out big time on both arms.

Took a full dose of Licinapril (blood pressure meds) as they will help keep the chemo that starts tomorrow from possibly damaging my heart. But may well make me dizzy and gray out if I stand up fast.

Tomorrow we hit the steroids again and get the chemo pump back again. Good news is it will be the second to the last time. 5 out of 6 cycles.

Fingers and feet still numb.

Hoping for a better night sleep tonight.

Tomorrow will be in the infusion clinic all day.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and Monday is a good start for the rest of your week!

Day Eighty

6hr drive to family reunion

Used special lotion to control arm itching on the way.

Had a great time seeing good friends and relatives I had not seen for a very long while.

Good food too and with my functioning tastes and durable mouth it was all good. Home made fries, fresh meat hamburgers, potato salad, fresh berry cobbler, etc.

Slept okay Friday night.

Fun day.

Day Seventy Nine

Rained so no walk today.

Melatonin helped me get better sleep, kept having itches and cold skin, kind of a balance thing. Got colder through the night, had to keep adjusting things.

Tastes are great, mouth is toughened up.

Still numbness in extremities.

A bit of a headache today which is unusual.

Kind of tired and sleepy today.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Day Seventy Eight

Did mile walk.

Last night tried melotonin w/ other stuff added in. Slept for 4 hours, woke up itching, so I stripped off clothing and slept after a couple of hours cold so the itching stopped and got at least 6 hrs sleep last night better than the night before. Also noted some dreams. The only one I remember was having a cramp in my right leg when I woke up my right leg hurt.

Used the comphor cream that had lanolin, aleovera and some other stuff in it. Seemed to work okay, but I was clearly itching at 2 am when I woke up, so not a complete cure.

Fingers and feet still numb.

Tastes doing fine.

Mouth is less tender. I can handle tougher foods than last week.

Energy okay today and not so sleepy.

Blood work shows I am low on red blood cells but not actionable yet.

Was itchy during the day. Hands are now starting to get rash.
Chest, stomach and sides seem to be the worst.

Anyway a good Wednesday all in all.

Hope you all have a great Thursday and ride it happily into Friday!

Day Seventy Seven

Got 4 hrs sleep last night, pretty tired today.

Got some new cream with camfor in it. Supposed to be good for itching, will try it tonight. Was a pretty itchy day today.

Energy level was okay, but just sleepy.

When I walk around barefoot it feels like I am walking on pads of some kind.

Hoping the new cream gets me a good nights sleep. =)

Been trying to drink more water.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow. =)

Day Seventy Six

Raining and tired so no walk today.

Had to strip down finally to get cold enough to stop itching last night. Some sleep, but would like to have had more.

Itching throughout the day. Fortunately air conditioners on and helps keep itching down.

Mouth less tender, but still have to watch what I eat. Tastes are good.

Enough energy for a day of work, but certainly not bouncy.

Next week will start the 5th chemo cycle of 6, not looking forward to it.

Going to try 2 pills of benadril tonight instead of just one.

Seems cold is best defense against itching.

Fingerpads and front half of both feet still numb.

Eyes sting if I don’t blink enough. They seem to dry out without excessive blinking.

Rapid breathing when climbing stairs has proven effective to keep my heart from pounding when I reach the top. (one stories worth of stairs)

Anyway was a nice day. Hope tomorrow is as good.

Have a great Tuesday yall!!