One to go

G'day all!

Well I'm still here! Still waving!

With the new chemo I'm on, well it is old chemo now - three are done - I thought we'd be in and out of the hospital in no time. There's only one infusion and it takes a bit over an hour to do.

Ahem.

Best laid plans and all that.

10am appointment.

11am rocks around and they've only just got my blood test results - they had to ring. All ok, off we go!

12pm. Still waiting for my chemo. Only one pharmacist makes it up and mine was delayed because they didn't have the bloods so I lost my spot in the queue.

12:30. Here it is, off we go! (2pm finish - still four hours at the place! A nice time to catch up with an old friend - hehehe, she is after all nearly 3 months older than me!)

In the meantime, my chemo nurse for the day, Linda, is looking at me. "Are you normally this jittery?"

"Not this jittery - a bit, I can be, especially at a hospital... I'm totally wired on dexamethasone." (and I was - I blather and blather and can talk the leg off a donkey or a micmac (lovely chatty friend), and I jitter and my face is bright red, I feel as dry as a chip, etc etc.)

"Hmm..." she says and chats with the pharmacist.

"No more dexa. No pre-med. We'll give you an infusion with your next chemo."

Interesting! The dexamethasone has several roles. One is to help prevent bloating/ascites/water retention. Another is anti-nausea. It settles down inflammation. There's probably other things it does too. But I am special, with a capital SPESH, and Linda was clearly concerned about how jittery I was. I've already complained about the dexa. I've noticed my heart rate goes up 20-30 beats per minute and I tend to keep my heart rate up longer if I exert myself (and not just because I am unfit now - it only happened on the dexa). I've noticed weird things that I think are more the dexa than the chemo - now I will find out!

Anyway, I'm still here, still alive, starting to have the side effects kick in.

BTW, if anyone knows of a good, cheap skin cream that is
* fragrance free,
* paraben free,
* wheat germ oil free,
* oatmeal free and
* cheap, oh and
* available in Oz,
please let me know. I can get 4 out of 6 but I have not found anything that has all six criteria. My skin is getting to be totally awful, mostly on my hands from all the washing but the rest of me is drying out like that chip I talked about earlier.

I finished the little shawlette I was working on. Must block it and get pics. It was so quick - I knitted half of it today. I've got heaps of yarn left over too - it might not even qualify for the 10 in 2010 shawls project on Ravelry (250m+). More on it later!

I've started another baby singlet, having not finished the first one. First one is awaiting one seam and two armhole facings. But really I have to finish my chemo queen jacket - it has languished a bit mainly cos I've been horribly distracted by shawls). Also I have to knit a chemo queen crown. I need it for my last chemo. I am then going to gift it to the chemo unit - when I mentioned it, they got all excited. I figure if someone has gone through months of treatment, they deserve a little silliness for the last one! I have the yarn, I just have to work out how to make it. Plus I want to knit a heap of handwarmers for the chemo nurses, as a thank you. They have been lovely, particularly the ones that actually do the infusions. It takes a special kind of person to work in such a place. They work hard and they really care about the people they are looking after.

Tomorrow we are going for a drive. MiL is picking us up and we are off to Heathcote, on the northish side of Melbourne for a winery tour and pub grub. It will be pleasant to get out of the city. Hope my side effects don't kick in too much - I'm finding I run out of steam by about 2-3pm. However I don't have to drive, I just have to sit there and enjoy the ride and the views :-) Should be good! And if I am up for it, I can go with MiL to Kuranga on Monday. (DH wants to do work around the house though but I am not much use for that when I am all sore and unenergetic and crabby.)

Time for beddie byes. Gotta be up bright and early in the morning - we leave at 9am!

anon!

Comments

  1. Well at least you were enjoying your hyperactivity!! Pain the neck though, having to wait. I think the waiting is the worst thing.
    Have a great trip tomorrow!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you find your self waiting inline too much can you carry one of those seat thingys? I reackon I need one,my back gives in!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is that it, the last chemo? Or one more? Either way, yay! So close to done with that icky part. Glad the nurse noticed your side effects.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Would vaseline work as a skin cream? I sometimes put if on dry skin overnight, when the greasiness isn't as much of a problem. Apparently it's really good for cuts as well. I use it (ick warning) when sinusitis and allergies dry out the inside of my nose.

    It certainly is cheap!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have recently picked up on these guys: http://sukinorganics.com.au/
    but after checking the ingredients list on the website they use wheatgerm oil in their body moisturiser, I have their hand and face moisturisers and they both have the wheatgerm oil. The body wash is wonderful and passes all of your tests. You can find their stuff at *P*riceline. Will check with my sister to see if she anything she uses that might be appropriate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Don't know if it's available in Oz, it's not cheap but it is terrific...Aveda Hand Relief...doesn't feel greasy afterwards, you can just start knitting...maybe it's cheaper in Oz than in the States...

    Glad to see that your are in good spirits :)

    ReplyDelete

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