Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Xeloda a Bust: now we try Gemzar
My appointments today ran rather longer than expected. The nutritionist gave me lots of sample protein supplement drinks and mixes, gave me a folder filled with nutrition information, suggested small, multiple meals per day (I think I'm going to have to make myself a schedule) and told me exactly how many calories and how much protein I should be getting to not lose any more weight.
It's a lot more than I expected.
She also gave me advice about dealing with the horrible taste in my mouth. Lemon things seem to be pretty good.
Of course, with the change in chemos, I might not have the same appetite problems, although I do see "loss of appetite" on the list of Gemzar side-effects. I shall try not to psych myself into having the side-effects that are listed. Brian is at the grocery store and asked me about whether I'd want ingredients to make one of the smoothies. I do not want smoothies...I wish I did; it would be fairly easy to put them together. Oh well.
I got very nervous when Dr. Hayes mentioned that 5% of people taking Gemzar develop pneumonia. How lucky am I feeling now?
Also, tomorrow I am to have an ultrasound, and if there is a pocket of liquid in my belly, they'll stick a big ol' giant needle into me, push in a plastic "straw" and let the fluid drain out like I'm a maple tree. Later this month I'm having a brain MRI to get a new "baseline" and check up on how my noggin is doing.
Busy month!
It's a lot more than I expected.
She also gave me advice about dealing with the horrible taste in my mouth. Lemon things seem to be pretty good.
Of course, with the change in chemos, I might not have the same appetite problems, although I do see "loss of appetite" on the list of Gemzar side-effects. I shall try not to psych myself into having the side-effects that are listed. Brian is at the grocery store and asked me about whether I'd want ingredients to make one of the smoothies. I do not want smoothies...I wish I did; it would be fairly easy to put them together. Oh well.
I got very nervous when Dr. Hayes mentioned that 5% of people taking Gemzar develop pneumonia. How lucky am I feeling now?
Also, tomorrow I am to have an ultrasound, and if there is a pocket of liquid in my belly, they'll stick a big ol' giant needle into me, push in a plastic "straw" and let the fluid drain out like I'm a maple tree. Later this month I'm having a brain MRI to get a new "baseline" and check up on how my noggin is doing.
Busy month!
Labels: brain scan, Brian, Dr. Hayes, Gemzar, MRI, nutritionist, ultrasound, Xeloda
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Having Solved the "Skullet" Problem...
Do you think they'll let me wear my hair like this to work?
Brian and I went to the Detroit Festival of the Arts last Saturday, and went to see the performance art group "Osadia." They do creative hair-sculpture onstage to techno versions of classical music. We saw them a few years ago and found them highly entertaining, so this time we made sure to get good seats.
When the performers take the stage, they select audience members. They communicate non-verbally, which can cause a little confusion if multiple people think they've been picked.
I got picked first! The performer wearing red was a man. He looked around the crowd for his first subject; people were raising their hands anxiously like Hermione Grainger in potions class. I tentative put up my hand and he pointed and nodded at me right away. When I whipped off my bandanna, displaying an obviously bald head, the crowd cheered. Peruse the photo album and you'll see a sequence of events leading to my ending up with a fabulous "hair" style and rad makeup. I had great fun the rest of the day. People came up to me telling me how great I looked, and we got stopped several times so people could take pictures.
Driving home was particularly funny, because I kept trying to get the other drivers' attention. It is amazing how many people just don't look around when they're driving. An older lady did notice, and looked at me disapprovingly. A woman maybe in her 20's saw me and tried conspicuously not to look my way or stare. And another guy was definitely checking out the bizarreness via his sideview mirror, but nobody else looked. (It was a long drive, too.)
Oh well. I have the pictures. And the memory of how much fun that day was.
I went to see my general practitioner today, who was of the opinion--after thumping on my belly like it was a ripe watermelon--that I seem to have a lot of air in there, and that regular meals will help. I wear thigh-high compression stockings that look sort of normal in the morning, but then by the afternoon I have muffin-tops on both of my legs. Food is still very gross to me (except for the Longhorn steak my dad treated us to last night...I was going to link to their website, but music starts playing right away so I opted not to. It's http://www.longhornsteakhouse.com if you really want to go there and listen to the song) so I'm seeing a nutritionist on Tuesday. I went in for I.V. hydration last week and may do so again if I'm still feeling like a raisin in the sun...
I also went back to work last week, found out interesting things about my work this week and am wondering if it's too soon to go on vacation!
Brian and I went to the Detroit Festival of the Arts last Saturday, and went to see the performance art group "Osadia." They do creative hair-sculpture onstage to techno versions of classical music. We saw them a few years ago and found them highly entertaining, so this time we made sure to get good seats.
When the performers take the stage, they select audience members. They communicate non-verbally, which can cause a little confusion if multiple people think they've been picked.
I got picked first! The performer wearing red was a man. He looked around the crowd for his first subject; people were raising their hands anxiously like Hermione Grainger in potions class. I tentative put up my hand and he pointed and nodded at me right away. When I whipped off my bandanna, displaying an obviously bald head, the crowd cheered. Peruse the photo album and you'll see a sequence of events leading to my ending up with a fabulous "hair" style and rad makeup. I had great fun the rest of the day. People came up to me telling me how great I looked, and we got stopped several times so people could take pictures.
Driving home was particularly funny, because I kept trying to get the other drivers' attention. It is amazing how many people just don't look around when they're driving. An older lady did notice, and looked at me disapprovingly. A woman maybe in her 20's saw me and tried conspicuously not to look my way or stare. And another guy was definitely checking out the bizarreness via his sideview mirror, but nobody else looked. (It was a long drive, too.)
Oh well. I have the pictures. And the memory of how much fun that day was.
Slight Medical Update
I went to see my general practitioner today, who was of the opinion--after thumping on my belly like it was a ripe watermelon--that I seem to have a lot of air in there, and that regular meals will help. I wear thigh-high compression stockings that look sort of normal in the morning, but then by the afternoon I have muffin-tops on both of my legs. Food is still very gross to me (except for the Longhorn steak my dad treated us to last night...I was going to link to their website, but music starts playing right away so I opted not to. It's http://www.longhornsteakhouse.com if you really want to go there and listen to the song) so I'm seeing a nutritionist on Tuesday. I went in for I.V. hydration last week and may do so again if I'm still feeling like a raisin in the sun...
I also went back to work last week, found out interesting things about my work this week and am wondering if it's too soon to go on vacation!
Labels: baldness, Brian, Dad, detroit, Dr. Collier, hair, nutritionist
