Day 2 - 5th Chemo Cycle

Today was a quiet day.  The prednisone interrupted my sleep last night along with having to take the anti-nausea medication at 1:30 a.m.  As a result, I slept on and off throughout the morning and afternoon today.

I am trying to be aware of how I'm feeling.  Am I feeling the beginnings of a rolling stomach?  Is it because of nausea or is it because of bowels?  Or is it because I'm tired?  Do I feel the beginning of fizziness in my mouth to indicate the beginning of thrush?  In order to keep ahead of being sick, I need to recognize when to take the supplemental anti-nausea medication.  I'm hoping that I can avoid the awful Nystatin which caused me to be sick last cycle.  That is a rinse and swallow solution.  I read that thrush can be kept at bay by using 8 oz. of water mixed with 1 tsp. of baking soda as a rinse and spit solution.  So as soon as I've felt the fizziness of the thrush starting, I've been rinsing and spitting with the water/baking soda.  It seems to have worked so far today.

I hate the smell of chemicals that exudes from me.  It seems to come from my pores and definitely after I've been in the washroom.  In the last cycle, I thought I could even smell it on my clothes even after having washed them multiple times.  I hope that smell will not linger in my nostrils after all the treatments are done.  I hate it!!!

I found my appetite started to dwindle as today went on.  I normally like caesar salad, but tonight the caesar dressing tasted too vinegary (if that's a word).  I had a little bit of spaghetti and some meatballs.  I liked the taste, but I was afraid of having an upset stomach if I ate very much.  Again, I'm just trying to manage and avoid these side effects as much as I can.

When I wasn't sleeping today, I read a novel, did some knitting and watched some television.  I also used some of my quiet time to reflect on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  This is the first Good Friday that I haven't been involved in the morning church service in a very, very long time.  I missed singing in it.  Certainly, I've been carrying my cross throughout the Lenten season.  All I could think about today was the other friends that I have who are also carrying their own crosses (cancer) at this time.  Some of these people do not have very good prognoses.  I was always taught that Christ's journey to the cross and his ultimate crucifixion allowed Jesus to experience all human emotions and suffering so that we would feel comforted as we experienced our own crosses.  I continue to be very blessed and fortunate to have so many friends and family supporting me in their prayers and thoughts.