Update

I took my exhausted, weepy, yucky feeling self to see Dr. Romer today.  He thinks all of my symptoms are a result of the accumulative affect of the chemotherapy rather than specifically the taxotere.  So as far as he is concerned I am reacting normally.  I can look forward to increasing fatique - I am so tired of being tired.  I also hate feeling weepy but at a certain level of tiredness I just want to cry.  Unfortunately that is much of the time now.

Yesterday I went to see Dr. Malusky, my podiatrist.  I have yet another sore on the ball of my left foot.  He thinks I have a contracted first metatarsal that is putting pressure on the tissue.  We can either continue to treat the ulcers when they happen or he recommends another foot surgery after the chemo is over.  Will the fun never end?

I now have about 3 eyelashes on each eyelid. They fell out this week.  It surprises me that other hair continues to fall out but the hair on my head stays the same.  Yes, it is stubble but it has been the same length and amount of stubble since it originally fell out.

On the good news side my taste buds are back to normal. At least until the next treatment.   I'll have to have Becky make me some peanut butter fudge to make up for the fudge I couldn't eat last weekend.  Trish made me some and with the funky taste in my mouth it tasted really nasty.  Talk about not fair.

Temperature relief

Finally, after 4 days of temperatures of 100 and above I am at 98.9 this morning. Still way above my normal of 97.2 but much better. If it had still been up today I was prepared to storm the doctor's office. Well, OK, whimpering into the office is probably more realistic. Becky was going to do the storming. My plan is to stay down and monitor things for the day. I wouldn't want to do anything rash like have a life.

Continuing fever

This is the third day of fever 100 or above. Most of the day today it has been 101.4. That is just below when the doctor wants to hear from me again. My stomach hurts when I eat more than a few bites at a time and everything tastes really bitter. All I can do at this point is stay down and keep a close eye on my temperature. I haven't been answering my phone because I definitely don't feel like talking.

Fever

My fever stayed right at 100 all day yesterday. It seems to be following the same pattern today. I can only stay up for about 10 minutes before I get a sick headache and have to lay down. My mastectomy site could be drained but I'm not even going to call today. I don't think I would get through the getting showered and dressed let alone driving and getting into the office. So I guess it is another day in bed.

I am so glad the chemo was the 14th and not the 21st. I would have really been upset if I had to miss my brother Ken's retirement party on the 23rd.

About noon the fever did get up to 100.8. Dr. Romer had me come for bloodwork. Things are within normal limits so I was sent home to keep pushing fluids, stay down and take an anti-inflammatory. The new target for a call to the doctor is 101.5. Fortunately Nan and I can switch labs this week so I can have another day at home.

Another Whiny Day

Both the decadron (steroid) and taxotere (chemo) have irritability and insomnia as side effects. I have them both in spades. I am so restless I can't focus on anything and every thing irritates me - tv, the book I am trying to read, music. I am really tired but I can't sleep so that irritates me even more. I am not sure how much more liquid I can drink trying to flush this crap out of my system. And, yep, that irritates me too.

I had the first of my second set of chemo today. It went well but I am a little more tired than I usually am on chemo day. It could be the cumulative effect but is also high on the list of side affects for taxotera. I am also on extra steroids before, during and after the chemo. Today that means I am hungry and am having a hard time not eating everything I have in the house. It is one time that being tired is a useful thing. It is just too much effort to get up and fix something and I have very little junk food.

I don't always talk much to other patients getting chemo. Today I talked to a woman who was on her first treatment with a taxol type drug also. We were sharing our experiences with adriamyocin and cytoxin. She was talking about being depressed after the last treatment. I have been too but I figured it was just the extra physical stress of going back to work. Of course it doesn't help to realize just much trouble I am having paying attention to detail. I get so upset with myself.

Shanese and I had our second face to face class on Patient Rights at Antioch last night. It was a good class but the topic was end of life decisions so we were talking about advanced directives, medical research and organ donation. We had an excellent speaker on organ donation - the legal stuff and the process. I realized I needed to update my will, redo my living will and appoint a medical power of attorney. It is a good thing Becky doesn't get freaked out about discussions about this kind of stuff.

Pros and cons of being hairless

Pro
1. Getting ready in the morning is a lot faster with no hair to dry. I did have enough hair for 3 people and it took at least a half an hour to blow dry.
2. There are no pesky chin hairs to pluck.
3. I don't have to shave my legs or under my arms.
4. I have an excuse to wear hats.

Cons
1. I look like a plucked chicken.
2. I have to spend more time putting together "outfits" to go with my hats which are fashion accessories.
3. I am told I look cute. They must have the wrong sister. Trish is the cute one.
4. Hats make my hearing aids squeal.
5. I need a different style of hat. I am getting tired of the biker chick look.

So far I still have eyebrows. This is a good thing since I have a hard time drawing eyebrows that don't look like a clown.

Another Work Week

I started the day out with a doctor's appointment. I had planned on going in to work right before class but had to do some office "stuff." I was a little worried about all of the walking but I did fine. I even went out to eat after work.

Today was a different story. I started out with two doctors appointments. I met with Dr. Hicks and we planned to start the breast reconstruction in July. It will take three months. Then I had an oncology appointment. The echocardiogram and bloodwork looked good so I am OK'd to start the second round of chemo next week.

By then I was really tired. I had office work to do and a meeting but I was struggling to get through them. Chemo brain didn't help. I hate being so dingy. Thank goodness I don't have to go in tomorrow until late afternoon.

Back to work

I went back to work this week. Nan covered for me on Monday because I just couldn't do it. (God bless Nan!) I did go in on Wednesday. I had a student meeting and Sinclair Fun Night. Fortunately I had asked Donna Burton, who covered for me last quarter, if she would come the first night. I crashed a little after 7 and had to go home. Talk about knackered!

Today I had two neurology classes which totaled 4 hours of class time. Then I had to go get an echocardiogram in prep for the next round of chemo. I was tired but not terribly so. It is nice to feel some progress. Next week I will teach all of my classes. It was great to see the students. They all seemed in good shape. They have been such troopers with all the changes in the department.