2nd Day After Chemo 07-28-2010

2nd Day After Chemo 07-28-2010

Let me sum it up in one word: hiccups.

Julie said she heard me hiccuping last night... in bed, long after I had gone to sleep. I don't remember it but she said I answered when she called my name.

Then I had 'em off and on all day today. Just got 'em back again. On some websites it says that the Prednisone AND the Cyclophosphamide (got that in Chemo) can cause them.

Other side effects: On the take home list they gave me after Chemo, it shows what over the counter medication I should stock, and for what:

Yeah, you could have constipation or you could have diarrhea... hopefully you wind up in the middle, but BE PREPARED! Could go either way, or maybe both.

I also saw that there was another scrip I could get to cure the hiccups, but honestly, I don't want another one. Right now I've got four that I'm trying to keep straight. I'd rather take more than less. If the hicks get totally out of hand, I might have to reconsider.



Other than that, I've had a little bit of a floating feeling and have had a little difficulty staying on task as I seem a little jittery. Nothing I can't handle.

I'm not getting any more / less sleep than usual, but once I'm off Prednisone, we'll see.

I noticed that I take the Prednisone on Chemo day + 4 more days. The doctor said I wouldn't likely get sick after Chemo for 5 days..... hmm. I know you don't ideally take Prednisone (probably especially a high dose like I'm guessing this is) for too long. Maybe there's only so long they can hold the nausea off before they have to drop the 'roids.

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ANOTHER SUBJECT

---------This part is out of sequence. I should have posted this before, but I didn't have any time to do a post between the family reunion and my first Chemo.---------

On a totally unrelated subject, we had my side's family reunion at our house this past Saturday. It was great to get together with brothers/sisters/mom/nieces/nephews, etc. We had a great time reconnecting and I'm sure you can imagine that this year, for me, felt a lot different than last year.

I took some time away to go for a quick bike ride with my nephew, Michael. We zipped out to and through Silver Springs State Park. Took about an hour. It was great for me to have someone to ride with and Michael's got the biking bug too. He has a mountain bike but he really liked my road bike.

In addition to my newer road bike, I had an old Schwinn Traveler (a road bike) that I had since Julie and I were dating (1983-ish). It's in good shape, very ride-able, and pretty fast (these are cycle geek's concerns). I had plans for it but they never came to anything. I decided to give it to Michael. He seemed pretty happy to get it and that made me feel good. I really loved that bike but better to give it to someone who would appreciate and ride it rather than keeping and neglecting it.

The reunion was a chance to get caught up with the whole clan. They're a great bunch of people. Unfortunately, since the last family reunion about a year ago, we've all been mostly out of touch. Shame on all of us. I'm just as guilty as anyone. Daily life and distance conspire to rob us of our connections to the past AND to the future. And it's our loss.

Boy, did I ever cherish the time with these folks that I love.

So, what I'm trying to say is that the family reunion was a very life affirming event for me. It had a feel of shared past experiences, making new memories, passing things to a (terrific) new generation, the circle of life, all that.

Yeah, that's corny. Sue me:)