Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Holidaze
The past few weeks have been a blur. I can't believe I haven't posted in three weeks. Treatment 2 went about the same as the first...four or five days of feeling like you have the flu on crack followed by ten days of just feeling tired and a little miserable. Real levels of fatigue have finally begun to set in. I'm getting exhausted really easily and not really sleeping all that well.
I'm not sure if treatment 3 went better than the first ones but since I had it on December 21st, the flurry of Christmastime obligatory activities distracted me enough to where time flew and I never felt too bad. Christmas was really low key and simple which was nice.
My hair is starting to fall out in gobs. It's at the point where if I take a pinch almost all of it comes out. I think I'll be pretty bald in a week or so at which point I'll just go to the barber and get it all shaved. Might get some crazy neck tattoos to go along with the whole look.
I go back in for round 4 on Monday and then I will be halfway done with chemotherapy. If everything goes to schedule, I'll be done with radiation by the beginning of Summer.
I'm not sure if treatment 3 went better than the first ones but since I had it on December 21st, the flurry of Christmastime obligatory activities distracted me enough to where time flew and I never felt too bad. Christmas was really low key and simple which was nice.
My hair is starting to fall out in gobs. It's at the point where if I take a pinch almost all of it comes out. I think I'll be pretty bald in a week or so at which point I'll just go to the barber and get it all shaved. Might get some crazy neck tattoos to go along with the whole look.
I go back in for round 4 on Monday and then I will be halfway done with chemotherapy. If everything goes to schedule, I'll be done with radiation by the beginning of Summer.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
The shaving of the head
I decided to be proactive today and cut off all my hair. I think I'm going to go to the army surplus store this afternoon and buy some combat boots.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I think I spoke too soon...
When I posted last Thursday morning, I did not realize that the full effects of the chemotherapy do not materialize immediately. Things got progressively worse that day, culminating in me having to leave the Thanksgiving dinner table at a friend's house because I thought I was going to hurl. Luckily I made it home quickly and took some medicine and the queasiness subsided. I actually made it through this whole course without vomiting which I am claiming as a victory.
A lot of people have been asking how I felt after my first treatment, and I have discovered that describing the chemo "sickness" is actually really difficult. It is sort of like a bad hangover in that you just feel generally awful and don't want to move an inch, but it lasts several days and sort of comes in waves. The easiest way I have found to describe it is just to say "You feel like total shit." Mornings were much better...by the afternoons I was a miserable piece of man. What was most surprising to me was that I felt the worst 48-72 hours after the treatment. I have been told this is because the steroids they give you as part of the regimen begin to work their way out of your system. Luckily my dad bought me a really sweet leather Lay-Z-Boy where I spent most of this time watching the entire first season of Showtime's The Tudors which is surprisingly excellent despite its poor production value.
Dad and I are off to Chicago tomorrow morning for some much needed R&R while I am still feeling relatively well and my immune system is not yet totally wrecked. Should be a good time considering I am finally starting to feel like a normal human being again. I've been hitting up the gym these past few good days, and it is amazing how weak I am and how easily I tire. I guess this is to be expected, but it is still odd to do half my normal weights and be exhausted. Oh well.
A lot of people have been asking how I felt after my first treatment, and I have discovered that describing the chemo "sickness" is actually really difficult. It is sort of like a bad hangover in that you just feel generally awful and don't want to move an inch, but it lasts several days and sort of comes in waves. The easiest way I have found to describe it is just to say "You feel like total shit." Mornings were much better...by the afternoons I was a miserable piece of man. What was most surprising to me was that I felt the worst 48-72 hours after the treatment. I have been told this is because the steroids they give you as part of the regimen begin to work their way out of your system. Luckily my dad bought me a really sweet leather Lay-Z-Boy where I spent most of this time watching the entire first season of Showtime's The Tudors which is surprisingly excellent despite its poor production value.
Dad and I are off to Chicago tomorrow morning for some much needed R&R while I am still feeling relatively well and my immune system is not yet totally wrecked. Should be a good time considering I am finally starting to feel like a normal human being again. I've been hitting up the gym these past few good days, and it is amazing how weak I am and how easily I tire. I guess this is to be expected, but it is still odd to do half my normal weights and be exhausted. Oh well.
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