Morning Ritual

I go through a ritual each morning when I wake up for a couple of  weeks after chemo now.

Temp - check to see if over 100.5

Intestines -  well, I won't go into this one but suffice it to say one does not want to be bleeding in this area...lol

Extreme fatigue - check if I have any energy today

Mouth sores - check if they are present or if gums are red and swollen

Nausea - check if medicine does not help it go away

Swelling of ankles or stomach or weight gain (yeah, weight gain certainly isn't a problem so far)

New bruises on body - check this because it is an indication of platelet problems

Yellowing of eyes or skin - check this because it is an indication of liver problems

Short of breath - Yeah, not sure what this is a result of.  I'm not short of breath, so I'm not worried about it...lol.

Any of these require a call to the doctor's office. 

Yeah...I never call. 

I would call if my temp went up too much because that means my white cells are too low and I would need a booster shot to increase them.  Last time they gave me the booster shot immediately before I needed it and there was a lot of bone pain.  (Most people don't get bone pain from the Neulasta shot...lucky me.)  SO glad they said I didn't have to do that this time unless my white count dropped.  I guess I might call them if I was so fatigued that I couldn't do self -care also because apparently they have something for that too and since it is related to anemia then I would definitely want that fixed.  Must have energy.  8-)  So far I have been very blessed. 

Tom and I have realized that I probably should be keeping some kind of journal because this time I can't remember what happened last time and if it was just normal.  I totally got over whatever side affects happened last time by the third week so I don't want to call if it will just pass without intervention.  I mean, no ones wants to be a complainer to the doctor's office.  Then when you really have something wrong they would just be going "OH, it's HER again." instead of taking you seriously.  Besides...I don't want to take any more medication than I have to...ugh.

So out of all these symptoms, the ones that hit me the hardest are the sore gums (I am doing the baking soda and salt rinse like they told me to but they still hurt.), nausea, and fatigue.  I have been very blessed that my chemo reactions are not any worse than they are. 

Funny they don't put your EMOTIONS on the list.  Those are probably the most debilitating...lol.  I really think those might be related to the fact that the chemo kills all your estrogen so it puts you into full blown menopause.  Just imagine a woman who isn't gradually (as God intended) going through menopause  but just jumps right into it full force. 

As you can imagine, Tom needs your prayers more than I do...HA!  8-)