29 September 2023
The muscle relaxer did a number of me. I was in a daze all day yesterday not sure whether I was coming or going. I ended up napping for a couple of hours after doing some small stuff around the house but definitely didn’t feel like doing the morning walk, yoga, or swimming. I don’t know if the drug had anything to do with it but the numbness in my fingers and toes is much worse. I’ll be curious to see if they do the ice treatment today for the hydration infusion. I’m still pretty wiped out today but that could be the effect of the fourth day after chemo.
I did manage to straighten a few things out with the Apple Watch and McAfee Antivirus program. Of course, I managed to remove the new Apple Watch from the system and then had to re-install. Perhaps not a good idea to do computer things while in a drug fog.
I didn’t walk this morning, do yoga or swim laps. I was doing good to get out of bed. I did manage to clean the pool filter this morning but that was only because I could sit down while doing it. I missed last week and definitely needed to get it clean today.
I realize the chemo is cumulative in its effects but this week has hit me pretty hard. I suspect I’ll be hit harder yet. Strangely, in addition to the numbness, the muscle tics, bloody nose and shortness of breath, I seem to be developing little red spots all over my body.
My energy level is pretty low. I haven’t done a morning walk in a while and I’m not sure when I’ll be doing it again. The only good news is that there are only three more Taxol treatments. My last is on October 17. Of course, I’ve been receiving Herceptin every three weeks and my next Herceptin + Taxol treatment is October 3rd. After the Taxol, it’ll be Herceptin only until August 21, 2024.
Around 10 am I realized I was not in any shape to drive to the cancer center. I called Joel and he was free to take me. I didn’t want to chance it. I still felt dizzy and a little disoriented. Joel showed up early and delivered me in plenty of time. I’ll call him when finished. I couldn’t give him an estimate of when but usually the hydration runs three or four hours.
Phailia is my nurse today. She’s very efficient and had my blood drawn for testing within a few minutes of sitting down. I’m awaiting the test results but I suspect it’ll be saline and magnesium, like every time before.
So far, it’s pretty quiet in the infusion center and there are a lot of open chairs but I suspect it’ll pick up a little later. Phailia said they had 97 patients through so far. The typical number is around 85. Today while I was waiting, they rang two bells to denote two people had finished their chemo.
2:18 pm
The CBC with Auto Differential came back. The white blood cell was low (5.0) but in normal range. The red blood cell, hemoglobin and hematocrit, as usual, were low. The neutrophils relative were high but otherwise the other parameters that are usually off are back to normal.
Mia the nutritionist stopped by to check on me. She’s always up and always has a few suggestions!
2:34 pm
The Comprehensive Metabolic Panel came back with the usual low sodium. Glucose was typically high for this time of day at 167. Magnesium was 1.4 (normal 1.9-2.7). Situation normal. Funny how some things never change and others have subtly gotten better. My blood results are certainly much better than when I first started chemotherapy
The hydration finished around 4:30 and Joel picked me up and dropped me home. As you can probably tell, today has been a little of a downer. I’ve never had to have anyone drive me to an infusion. Hopefully, by Tuesday’s chemo, I’ll be able to drive myself. I hate to depend on someone but I know I have plenty of people who will volunteer to drive me if necessary.
The good thing is that the hydration infusion made me feel much better than when I went in. Go saline! Go magnesium!
Stay tuned!