I feel fine

Well, it’s the third day of my cycle, the day that all the feel-good meds they gave me with chemo wear off and the potential for side effects like nausea and severe fatigue can set in for a few days.  It’s early in the day yet, but I feel fine.

Yesterday was a great day!  I felt energetic (likely brought on by the steroids they gave me during treatment) and got a myriad of things accomplished, including driving myself to a doctor’s appointment.  Some of you may not know, I have type II diabetes — likely brought on six years ago from the chemo drugs I had — and steroid use can significantly raise my blood glucose levels.  During this cycle, they did, but they’ve already resolved and my levels have normalized.  My appointment yesterday was to get bloodwork done to check on my diabetes.  Just another factor to keep an eye on.

I might have overdone it a bit yesterday, but I wanted to get things done while I felt like doing so.  It’s a busy time of year with one boy having his Eagle Scout Court of Honor on the 18th and the festivities of graduation just a few days after for both boys.  I’m so grateful that I felt good yesterday and could accomplish so much.

I’m taking care of myself, though, so don’t worry.  I took a long nap in the afternoon yesterday, and I don’t have any errands to run today, so I can spend the day in my pajamas if I feel like it.  And, I’ve got some anti-nausea medication at my side in case I feel the need to take it.

My next step in the cycle is to have my white blood cell levels checked at the nadir of the cycle, the known low time for WBC levels.  I’ll have that blood draw done on May 16th.  If my levels are too low, I’ll likely have to take some medication to stimulate replenishment.  I’ll cross that bridge if I get there.  With each treatment cycle, the chance of this happening increases.  Last time I had chemo, my levels never got so low that I needed any of this support, but I do know the more chemo you have in your life, the more likely you’ll need bone marrow support to get those white blood cells firing again.  Hope for me that my bone marrow rises to the occasion on its own.  Side effects from the medications to stimulate WBC projection can be rather unpleasant.

So, perhaps I’m being a bit of a Pollyanna, but right now, I’m feeling great and very positive.  Thank you, again, for all the positive energy you’ve all been sending my way.  I feel it and it helps more than you’ll ever know.