One week

One week down from the first chemo and today is the first day I kind of feel normal. Here's how it's been.

1) Chemo-brain. This is the feeling that you brain is pickled and needs to swim up about 1000 feet just to interpret the basic information that is coming. Luckily, Cupcake Wars doesn't take that much brain power. It. Sucks. (the feeling, not cupcake wars). I feel bad for my long suffering classroom aides who have to deal with my normal distraction times 1000. It keeps waxing and waning, too so when I think it's over, it comes right back. It's like my body is processing the poison/medicine in packets instead of on a continuum.

I am attributing my overall sense of horribleness to this. I described it to a friend as the feeling of being too drunk from red wine and then getting hit by a truck. The hit by a truck feeling is compounded by my delusions that I would sail through chemo without effect. Grrrr.

Friends, family and coworkers have been awesome! Food, kid outings  and a clean house have all just miraculously happened! On Tuesday I was convinced that a bowl of soup saved my life.

2) Nausea is not really that bad and I have good medicine. Appetite was gone for about 6 days, but last night I had a real dinner. Chemo seems to be like being pregnant. Weird cravings. I really wanted a McDonald's Filet o Fish Sandwich. I got the ingredients from Safeway and made one so it was slightly less bad for me.

3) Fatigue has been off and on. I wouldn't really describe it as exhaustion, just that moving seems impossible because your brain doesn't work.

4) Hair. Still have it, but it's coming out a little bit. My scalp hurts and I have this weird sensation of the hair actually coming out.

5) Heparin. This is the medicine that they use to prevent blood clots in your port. It's so weird, but I smell it all the time. It has been a week since I used my port but the smell keeps entering my brain.

6) Vitamins- You are not supposed to take any antioxidants during chemo. Don't want to give bad cells any help. I feel like my I need to be guzzling Vitamin Water, but instead I am opting for Sobe Coconut Water since all it has are water and sugar, a bit of salt and coconut water. (Good for hydration.)

My next rounds of Adriamycin-Cytoxan are November 1, 15, and 29 and then onto the next chemo, Taxol, which I have heard is better not as bad.