The weather has been lovely here…but the mid to high 80’s without any breeze has been a bit to warm for us. It has cooled off today and we are thankful for that. We love being able to escape to our back deck.
I have been able to visit with a few friends lately, including Jim and Judy Jansen who were my second parents growing up! It’s nice to be able to spend time with friends when I am up for it. Most of the time it’s a last minute thing.
(more…)While I was at the infusion center today. Dr. Otsu came by and turned up the meds in my pain pump as it’s still not quite right. I have a feeling we will be tweaking it a lot as we try and wean off the last 150mcg of Fentanyl patches I still have on my back. I hope it’s worth it in the end!
(more…)Yep. 2127 is my name…..I mean room number. Actually I can now say it WAS my room number.
I am officially discharged from the hospital. My surgery was last Tuesday at 12:30ish and it is now the next Monday. Ugh!
I can’t believe I was in the hospital an entire week. That is crazy!
(more…)I have asked myself that question quite a few times this week. At first I was really concerned we had made a bad decision, but I still do think it was for the best IF I can get through this!
The problem was, is that my body was in a lot of pain and I kept having to go up on my pain meds, causing some side effects. This pain pump delivers the meds I need right to the spinal cord fluid and I can add a bolus (more meds. to help with breakthrough pain) 10x a day if I need it. I can go up much higher with this pain pump because it is so diluted, than with oral or patch pain meds, without big side effects. (At least that is what it is supposed to do.)
(more…)The Anesthesiologist that did my surgery, Dr. Otsu, said surgery went well on Tuesday. He is the one who I will be working with to control the medicine in the pain pump. He took off half of my Fentanyl patches during surgery and it took about 24 hours of working with doctors, nurses and pharmacists to get the pain back to where it was manageable. That was a long 24 hours of severe pain!
I messaged my Palliative Care Dr. in the early afternoon. (Her and the ARNP she works with are amazing!) I’m so glad I did. Things moved faster once they were part of it as they are used to dealing with the large amounts of narcotics I am on for pain.
(more…)I woke up not feeling very good this morning. But that didn’t matter because I still had to get up and have a covid test and go to chemo. My heart rate was in the 120’s so they gave me a bag of fluid and that brought it down. I have never seen it stay that high before.
(more…)Yep. My hair is growing and it’s going to be time for a hair cut sometime soon. How exciting! Hair loss is possible on this chemo, but so far, it’s growing. We’ll see what the next cycle brings. 🙂
I’ve noticed this new chemo is effecting my skin. It’s very dry. I have ton’s of dandruff and every time I take off clothes, I see skin flying in the air. Yuck!!!! Yuck!!!!!!! Yuck!!!!!!! My skin is so dry. So I’m starting to put on lotion every day and I’m sure that will help. I probably should shower more often as well, it’s just a pain to put on a shower shield every time to cover up the catheter we use to drain my lung.
Yesterday, I felt great. I had quite a bit of energy and did more than I usually do. Today I slept in ’til almost 12 and even then had a hard time waking up. It’s 3pm now and I’m more awake, thank goodness. We drained my lung again this morning and I can breath better. It’s a very different day than yesterday.
(more…)I’ve now completed the first cycle with this new chemo. I’m very fatigued and have some nausea off and on, which Compazine takes care of. I also have a funny taste in my mouth most of the time. So far, those are the main side effects. I’m taking 80% of the full dose I’m allowed and after talking to the Dr. today, we are going to leave it at that. This next week I have off of chemo and then the following week I’ll start up again. We’ll scan again after 3 or 4 cycles to see how this medicine is working.
My pain is under control with the Fentanyl patches and Oxy, but since I am on the high end of what I can take with both of those drugs, it looks like I need to go ahead with the pain pump. The surgery is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday the 18th, checking in at 11 am. While I’m nervous about the size of the device itself, I can’t find much online about people complaining about it once it’s in. So I guess I’ve decided yes about it after praying and talking to the doctors and Tom.
(more…)
Meet JenniferBreast Cancer Patient, Chef Wife and Mom
