The Second Day After Chemo #1

Hello, all. Ok, so chemo was Thursday, and now I'm two days past that. I'm plugging along. The good news: Still no nausea. Yay! The bad news: I'm rating a zilch on the energy-meter....total fatigue. Persistent headache literally all day. Mouth soreness affecting tongue, gums, and top of mouth. The mouth is dry, as is my skin. I'm a bit achy. I'm experiencing a little tingling in the fingers of my right hand. And I'm still fuzzy. Ah, and I'm a bit cranky, too! None of this is debilitating -- well, the energy thing is pretty bad. But really, it's not unlike having the flu. So, overall, manageable. In hindsight, I think maybe I'd have been better off not skipping the nap today.

I'm drinking lots of fluid to try to flush out the chemo so it's not hanging on. I only got in about 100-120 oz. of water yesterday, but today I'm closer to 120-140. I'm on so many medicines currently, it's crazy! Aside from the Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine and Dacarbazine, I'm also on Zofran, Decadron (steroid,) Allegra, Prevacid, and Zoloft. During the course of the night, I'll take two Hydroxyzine (Atarax) for itching -- it makes me sleepy. I also have some generic Compazine at the ready in case the Zofran and Decadron need some additional nausea-fighting support. I haven't yet needed that. I didn't take my Zofran and Decadron this evening -- the time got away from me, and I didn't want to take it too late, as the steroid has a bit of an upper effect. So I'm weighing whether or not to take it early tomorrow morning (the usual A.M. dose) or just forgo it, as the time for nausea may have passed. I'm not sure. I think I might have read that some folks get hit with nausea on the third day after chemo. Maybe I'll take it tomorrow, too, just to be sure.

I slept VERY late today -- almost 11:30. Now, I was up till 1:00 a.m. last night (hence, today's decision to skip the nap,) so that gives me a 10 1/2 hour night's sleep.

Eats for today:

Brunch: 1/2 cup All Bran Extra Fiber and 1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean with skim milk; protein drink with water

Snack: 1 jalapeno cheddar bagel with light plain cream cheese

Snack: Like 10 cheese puffs, and a sugar free popsicle (to prevent mouth sores)

Snack: 1 cup Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (made with skim milk and just a little Smart Balance spread and a fat free American cheese slice for the whole box)

Dinner: Finally, back to healthy food! 2/3 cup low fat, homemade lentil and kale soup; 1 1/2 cups of that yummy low fat Chicken and Wild Rice with Orange Marmalade and Rosemary (also Dijon mustard, in case you're interested in reproducing it;) and another big salad plate of mixed greens and baby spinach with cucumbers and roma tomatoes, with low fat balsamic vinaigrette.

After Dinner: Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. I know, I know.

Like I said, about 120-140 oz. water for the day, too.....I'm still drinking though, so that could go up.

Not the best day, eats-wise. I pretty much went off on those snackies in the afternoon! Ah well, tomorrow's another day. I know I was aware of my mouth feeling better with stuff in it (that mac and cheese felt good,) but I think the real culprit might have been that Decadron.....damned steroids! I'm very grateful that my chemo regimen doesn't include big doses of steroids, and I don't want to seem ungrateful for the Decadron's anti-nausea benefits, but it does make you want to eat more!

Once I have more energy, I'll up the exercise, and cut back on the eats to make up for these little splurges. I shouldn't even have them in the house, but...well, it's a long story, involving jokes and loving gestures....and so, for now, I have a couple of off-plan goodies. I'm not going to throw them away. I won't! To be honest, it's really just the Cheese Doodles left. And that regular sized bag won't last long, between the two of us. The full-fat ice cream is gone, as of tonight's enjoyment.

Now let me be clear: My primary motivation is not to lose weight now -- although a few pounds over a few weeks would be most welcome! My overriding goal is -- and I've said this before -- to KICK CANCER'S ASS. And I am clear that I need to keep my caloric level at a rate high enough to keep me strong and fight-ready. I'm going to continue to emphasize high quality, nutritious calories, though. Just as soon as I finish those Cheese Doodles!

I want to thank you all again for all of your humbling support. You feed me and keep me strong, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are each amazing to me, and I'm so grateful for you.

Here's to tomorrow! Before chemo, my energy was at about 75%; I'd like to get back to that before too long.