Bone Aches

It is now two days after my last chemo infusion, which was series number five on Tuesday. Chemo number five was with the new drug Taxol. And apparently the fatigue and bone aches that I was warned about, was an accurate accounting of what to be prepared for. 

Wednesday was a good day, with Sarah spending the day with me to head back into Santa Rosa's Redwood Regional Cancer Center for my Neulasta shot. We were also able to take in the Wednesday Farmer's Market and get some greens for juicing and the Maitake mushrooms for an omelet this week. We also had lunch and made a stop at REI where I found a couple of tops. As is usual when Sarah spends this day with me, she stayed for the afternoon and dinner. I needed a bit of napping when we returned home, which felt good.

Come Thursday, I was back to the sleep issues. I woke at 3am and could not get back to sleep. Hopefully we can cut the steroids in half next time, as Dr. Anderson indicated might work out if no allergic reactions occurred from the Taxol, to help me get a better nights sleep. After a morning nap, it became evident that the bone aches would be serious enough to warrant something more powerful than Tylenol. Thankfully we had some Vicodin in the house to help manage the pain, which is fairly significant from the knees through my mid-section; with concentration in the hips and thighs. Also a bit in the shoulder and neck area. I suppose some of this could also be from the Neulasta, which causes bone aches as the drug is drawing from the bone marrow to help return my blood count to something close to normal.

So here I am again on Friday at 3:00 AM wide awake. I think I will work on my weaving project a bit with the hopes I will get sleepy and catch a few more winks before the morning breaks. Wish me luck that this just lasts a few days, although some online research is telling me it may drag on for days.  :-(

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior; AND survivor 
Sonoma Relay for Life Team (8/6/11) ~  Debbie's Blasting Crew

LIVESTRONG: 

I AM STRONG. I AM LOVED. I AM HEALTHY. WE WILL WIN!