Never under estimate the power of your immune system. I do believe I did too much recently, but am testing the waters. Anyone would be if you have been segregated from the rest of the world for weeks on end. Monday, my daughter and I did a few errands -- no big deal, right? Well that depends on what it is, of course. We did happen to go to a Goodwill outlet in Temecula -- not a good idea. The moment I walked in the place I noticed there were a lot of people milling around the goods within the store. I walked further into the store checking out things for my daughter yadda, yadda, yadda.....Bottom line, there she was, a sniffling, sneezing SICK female spewing her germs everywhere because SHE HAD TO BE THERE FOR THE GREAT DEAL OF HER LIFE.........Yeah right! One can tell I'm really tollerant of people spreading their germs everywhere. Anyway, I walked out of the store immediately got in the car and left.
Was out a day or two later as well, then I got my flu shot because now more than ever, my immune system is compromised. Perhaps, I'm hoping that my immune system wouldn't be affected so easily -- boy, am I wrong, wrong, wrong....................
I woke up at 3am yesterday morning with body aches, muscle spasms, etc. Very uncomfortable. Put myself into a tub to help relax my body. That seemed to help a bit. Took a couple Ibuprofen and went back to bed. I rolled around for a couple more hours -- so it was around 5:30am by the time I finally started to be able to go back into what I call a light sleep. Either way, that was the start of my day. I finally got up around 8:30am and took care of myself -- eating breakfast, feeding dogs, etc. I rested a bit but had a lot of laundry I knew I needed to get to. Everyone else was gone out of the house doing whatever they needed to be doing. Had a couple of bouts of the "runs" which was no big deal till the 3rd time around. I will spare the gorey details, but suffice it to say it was a moment that could have come out of a comedy movie scene. Jim came running in and quickly turned around and left me alone to deal with what I needed to deal with.........Isn't that lovely? Oh, the joys of bodily functioning. Gotta have comedy from time to time, but during the runs? Really? ARRRRGGGHHHHH! Oh, well, such is life..
By early evening, I had 100.9 degree temperature. Now, in my world of post chemo, that is still not good. And it's amazing how lousy one can feel with that temp. Needless to say, I put myself to bed, got a tepid washcloth and placed it on my head & neck. Due to my compromised immune system, the docs want me to take antibiotics for the just-in-case because in my situation it can turn bad so quickly it can make your head spin. And, yes, I realize, antibiotics are for when you have bacteria infections, but once again, if you are a cancer patient with a compromised immune system, those rules go out the window apparently. I get it now. Pisses me off, but I understand it.
I get frustrated, yet again, due to the fact I find myself in a "weakened" state which I don't want to be in. Of course, I have and will take care of this by "being a good girl" and rest. But now I have to stay in and stay away from neighbor kids because we all know they are walking petri dishes -- not their fault, but that's the facts of the matter. Now, the other night we had our neighbor kids over for a couple of hours due to their dad needing to borrow our BBQ because their BBQ was broken. One child is 5 years old and the other is 10 years old. This, too, could have been why I got a fever. Not their fault, but goes to show how sensitive and susceptible I am to germs. Wow! Sucks the big one if you ask me. But that could have been another reason why I got sick.
I also know that chemo has settled into my joints and periodically I get aches and pains and my muscles react to this as well. So either way, this is what happened to me last night.
The good news is I slept really well. Got up one time and quickly went back to bed and back into a deep sleep. Woke up at 7:30am. Wow, pretty good. No fever this morning which is great. But in my case a fever can reoccur in the afternoon. So we'll see. So I plan on keeping my fluids way, way up today and eat/sip clear fluids and keep my diet very bland. It's supposed to be around 102 degrees here today. Great! So I will be kicking on the AC to be sure to keep comfortable and not suck it up trying to save on the power. Imust be comfortable.
My darling hubby will be having a minor surgery as well tomorrow on his carpal tunnel wrist/hand and then a scope on his elbow on the same arm. We are going to be the dynamic duo! Bless his heart. He's had to put this off for so long due to his employment commitments over the years. Nevering having the time to be able to take time and be down for days on end. Well, now he can and I thank GOD he's finally able to get it done. We have our daughters and son-in-law who can take care of us with food and whatever else we need. But I'm still able to do things, just not at the level I would like.
My hair is getting so much longer. And I'm grey with salt and pepper throughout my hair. I find it pretty. I doubt I will be coloring my hair, but we'll see as it grows out. What's really impressive are my eyelashes -- they are coming in thick. Sooooooooo thrilled. My eyebrows are coming in too, not as thick, but they look really good. I love, love, love having my eyelashes protecting my eyes again. And I don't look so alien like. I think within a couple more weeks, I might even try placing some mascara on them. Time will tell.
I haven't heard back from the radiation office, but I'm sure I should hear something by Friday. Needless to say, it's going to start soon and I will be onto the next chapters of this journey. I'm not afraid or concerned. I'm in good hands and I continue with my prayers and positive thoughts -- meditations. Have to. It's simply a part of my life. I need to begin my yoga. Beginning to record yoga classes. So off I'll go soon, I hope, but I realize I'm limited to my bending cuz of my expanders in my body/chest. However, I still stretch and do other exercises. Exercise is key!
The Cup's Half Full!
Ciao, Ciao
Was out a day or two later as well, then I got my flu shot because now more than ever, my immune system is compromised. Perhaps, I'm hoping that my immune system wouldn't be affected so easily -- boy, am I wrong, wrong, wrong....................
I woke up at 3am yesterday morning with body aches, muscle spasms, etc. Very uncomfortable. Put myself into a tub to help relax my body. That seemed to help a bit. Took a couple Ibuprofen and went back to bed. I rolled around for a couple more hours -- so it was around 5:30am by the time I finally started to be able to go back into what I call a light sleep. Either way, that was the start of my day. I finally got up around 8:30am and took care of myself -- eating breakfast, feeding dogs, etc. I rested a bit but had a lot of laundry I knew I needed to get to. Everyone else was gone out of the house doing whatever they needed to be doing. Had a couple of bouts of the "runs" which was no big deal till the 3rd time around. I will spare the gorey details, but suffice it to say it was a moment that could have come out of a comedy movie scene. Jim came running in and quickly turned around and left me alone to deal with what I needed to deal with.........Isn't that lovely? Oh, the joys of bodily functioning. Gotta have comedy from time to time, but during the runs? Really? ARRRRGGGHHHHH! Oh, well, such is life..
By early evening, I had 100.9 degree temperature. Now, in my world of post chemo, that is still not good. And it's amazing how lousy one can feel with that temp. Needless to say, I put myself to bed, got a tepid washcloth and placed it on my head & neck. Due to my compromised immune system, the docs want me to take antibiotics for the just-in-case because in my situation it can turn bad so quickly it can make your head spin. And, yes, I realize, antibiotics are for when you have bacteria infections, but once again, if you are a cancer patient with a compromised immune system, those rules go out the window apparently. I get it now. Pisses me off, but I understand it.
I get frustrated, yet again, due to the fact I find myself in a "weakened" state which I don't want to be in. Of course, I have and will take care of this by "being a good girl" and rest. But now I have to stay in and stay away from neighbor kids because we all know they are walking petri dishes -- not their fault, but that's the facts of the matter. Now, the other night we had our neighbor kids over for a couple of hours due to their dad needing to borrow our BBQ because their BBQ was broken. One child is 5 years old and the other is 10 years old. This, too, could have been why I got a fever. Not their fault, but goes to show how sensitive and susceptible I am to germs. Wow! Sucks the big one if you ask me. But that could have been another reason why I got sick.
I also know that chemo has settled into my joints and periodically I get aches and pains and my muscles react to this as well. So either way, this is what happened to me last night.
The good news is I slept really well. Got up one time and quickly went back to bed and back into a deep sleep. Woke up at 7:30am. Wow, pretty good. No fever this morning which is great. But in my case a fever can reoccur in the afternoon. So we'll see. So I plan on keeping my fluids way, way up today and eat/sip clear fluids and keep my diet very bland. It's supposed to be around 102 degrees here today. Great! So I will be kicking on the AC to be sure to keep comfortable and not suck it up trying to save on the power. Imust be comfortable.
My darling hubby will be having a minor surgery as well tomorrow on his carpal tunnel wrist/hand and then a scope on his elbow on the same arm. We are going to be the dynamic duo! Bless his heart. He's had to put this off for so long due to his employment commitments over the years. Nevering having the time to be able to take time and be down for days on end. Well, now he can and I thank GOD he's finally able to get it done. We have our daughters and son-in-law who can take care of us with food and whatever else we need. But I'm still able to do things, just not at the level I would like.
My hair is getting so much longer. And I'm grey with salt and pepper throughout my hair. I find it pretty. I doubt I will be coloring my hair, but we'll see as it grows out. What's really impressive are my eyelashes -- they are coming in thick. Sooooooooo thrilled. My eyebrows are coming in too, not as thick, but they look really good. I love, love, love having my eyelashes protecting my eyes again. And I don't look so alien like. I think within a couple more weeks, I might even try placing some mascara on them. Time will tell.
I haven't heard back from the radiation office, but I'm sure I should hear something by Friday. Needless to say, it's going to start soon and I will be onto the next chapters of this journey. I'm not afraid or concerned. I'm in good hands and I continue with my prayers and positive thoughts -- meditations. Have to. It's simply a part of my life. I need to begin my yoga. Beginning to record yoga classes. So off I'll go soon, I hope, but I realize I'm limited to my bending cuz of my expanders in my body/chest. However, I still stretch and do other exercises. Exercise is key!
The Cup's Half Full!
Ciao, Ciao
