and I hope the coming week is much better!
I had my first chemotherapy session on Tuesday. The room where they do the chemo has about a dozen recliners, each with a comforter, a nurses' station, and a wall of snacks--potato chips, nuts, cookies, granola bars, drinks, and things like Ensure. As expected, I snoozed in a comfy recliner while they ran toxic chemicals into my veins. I did have a snack when I woke up at one point, but resisted most temptation. They gave me the two drugs--Methotrexate and 5FU, along with an anti-nausea drug and a steroid. I also had blood drawn for the genetic testing--keep your fingers crossed for me.
After the treatment, I just felt weird--not bad, just weird. Went home, had dinner, went to bed.
Weds I got up and went into the office for the first time in about 2 months, and got lots and lots of hugs, including one from my boss. That last one surprised me, as he's not a real demonstrative guy, and so it was especially nice. Also got flowers, and a few smooches, and felt like I'd really been missed. Also got pulled into immediate crises, which I sort of expected. I was stupid, stayed too late, only got 7 hours sleep Tues night (which is way more than usual, but not enough right now). Went in mid-afternoon on Weds, as I had an evening City Council hearing. Went home after that, crashed and, when I woke up on Friday morning, said "I'm not going anywhere." Called off, and spent the entire day sleeping--I could NOT wake up, no matter what.
Part of the tired was taking the "antidote" pills. I finished my chemo at 4:40 PM Tuesday, and so at 4:40 PM Weds had to start taking pills every six hours. Staying up for the 10:20 PM dose was hard, but once I had stayed up that late it was tough to get to sleep. Then waking up for the 4:40 AM dose sucked, and again for the 10:40 AM dose . . . struggled to stay awake for the 10:40 PM (and last) dose and again had trouble getting to sleep afterwards. I'll figure this out. Really. Probably.
At 4:40 PM Friday, exactly 72 hours after my chemo, the nausea hit. Damn. I thought I'd eluded it. For me, nausea is worse than pain. I can distract myself more easily from pain, and at least I can eat comfort food! I took the pills my doc gave me-both kinds--and I've had some brief respite since Friday afternoon, but never for more than an hour. I'm calling tomorrow to see if there's another drug they can try. I've not felt really bad, just that mild, persistent yuckiness. So, I've spent a lot of the weekend feeling yucky, sleeping, and oddly enough, cooking. I really hope this clears up soon, since I fly to Pittsburgh on Weds for my Dad's 92nd birthday.
Tomorrow I see my naturopath, and hope he can help with the nausea too. I also see my radiation oncologist for follow-up, and I may ask for another ultrasound--I think I've got some more fluid in my breast, and I really don't want to fly with it!
Wish me luck and, as always, I'll keep you posted!