3B update

I'm being a little comtemplative in my blog this morning, while providing a brief update. I'm taking the good with the bad, and overall doing okay. It's day three post chemo and here's the scoop:

The good
I sleeping much better since I started taking two lorazepam tablets before going to bed at night. I now get a good seven or eight hours of sleep in a row. I wake only briefly during the night to visit the bathroom or look at the clock, but then I'm able to roll over and drift off again. I've also been able to nap over the last few days, which I desperately need for healing and to allow the treatment to work. Of course, the heated blanket I got for my birthday may also be making me so cozy, my body can't resist slipping into slumper. Aaaahhh.

I'm not as uncomfortable and bloated since the paracentesis. The puncture site is almost healed enough for me to go back in the hot tub and ease these achy muscles.

I'm sitting here enjoying a delicious cup of coffee this morning. Sometimes I can't tolerate it and other days, I need to avoid the caffeinated beverage because of other liquid requirements. Yes, it's a small victory, but I'm counting every blessing I can take.

The ugly
I'm still throwing up. Even with the double Domperindone and low-residue diet, some of my food revisited me on Friday and Saturday. I know I can't expect miracles overnight, so I'm trying to be patient, hoping it'll just take time to get the food sluggishly stuck in my system out and keep the rest flowing through with the help of the low-residue diet.

I also needed to buy a laxative my doc recommended called Citromag to help clean out the other end. While my delicious Activia and Bran Buds worked wonders, it's too hard on my system. My stomach needs to work too hard to process that delicious, fibre-filled concoction, bringing the entire digestive production system to a standstill, leaving a junkyard of partially digested food stuck in my gut. So I must stick to medicated alternatives. Right now, my gastrointestinal tract seems to either dump it all or nothing (yes, pun intended), so I'm working to find some balance to keep my guts as clean as possible.

I think my side effects come a little earlier and a little harder during the week when I have two treatments in a row (or in other words, the B treatment). It's understandable when my body getting infused with the toxic chemicals two times in eight days. But if they're working to kill the cancer, that's the whole point.

As I keep thankfully saying, the side effects aren't nearly as bad as the Carboplatin/Pactlitaxel combination I've had in the past. Mostly, I'm tired, grumpy, a little sore, lethargic, weak, breathless and I have some blood in my mucous. We'll see if the bruises show up this time. I'll keep my eyes open for other signs and symptoms.

I still have the added complications of the bloating, gas, vomiting and bowel movement issues that I have to deal with, but they're not directly related to the chemotherapy. Luckily, I have a supportive husband, family and group of friends who understand when I'm not well and need to lay on the couch.

To close on a positive not, this was treatment 3B. If this chemotherapy is working (and I'm praying it is), I am half done!

Tina