28 October 2023
I’ll admit to feeling moderately better than I did yesterday. I did get some sleep last night after taking a Temazepam. Usually that doesn’t help but it did last night.
Today is wash day and house clean day. House cleaning has taken on a whole new rhythm: strip bed, rest, blow nose; make bed, rest, blow nose; empty garbage, rest, blow nose; shake out rugs, rest, blow nose; vacuum, rest, blow nose; mop, rest, blow nose; clean toilet and basin, rest, blow nose; mop bathroom, rest, blow nose….
My energy level is pretty low. On Tuesday, when I met with Dr. Velez, I provided him a list of side effects I’ve been experiencing since the Taxol treatments. Here it is:
- bloody nose (every morning)
- runny nose all day long
- petechiae
- joint aches
- vertigo
- peripheral neuropathy
- lack of energy
- diarrhea/constipation
- black stool
- low white blood cell count
- low libido
- diziness
- shortness of breath
- bloating
- taste bud damage
I asked which of these would abate after Taxol treatment. His reply was approximately 90%. I failed to ask the most important question: “Which will not abate.”
The more I read about peripheral neuropathy, the more I see that it may never abate. They don’t say it won’t, they just don’t say it will, either. That scares me. As it is, I have no balance because of the effect on my toes and I am constantly bumping into things in the house or almost falling.
I did get most of my house cleaning list done. Of course, when I went to turn on one of the bedside lamps, it didn’t come on. I figured the bulb was burned out or it was somehow unplugged. I hoped for the burnout. Not the case. I had to move the bed out from the wall, vacuum dust bunnies, and plug the lamp back in. Rest, blow nose, repeat.
I’m pouring liquids down as much as I can. Not sure that’s an effective way to combat dehydration in my particular case but I’m giving it the old college try.
Sometime this week I need to tackle the sprinkler system. It’s been off for about 4 months and I’m sure some of the sprinkler heads are clogged, although how, I don’t know. How can you clog something that is not used? We are in the dry season of South Florida so I need to get that back up and running or just accept a brown yard.
The Washington Post had an article on the 30 most loved recipes over the years. I printed out a few and thought I’d give them a try. The first that caught my eye was Mustard-Parmesan Chicken. Here are the other ones I’m going to attempt: Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, Pillowy Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls, Simply Perfect Pot of Beans, and Chile Relleno Casserole.
Stay tuned!
