Happy early morning to you, friends. I'm (barely) awake and will try to remain that way for a few minutes to squeeze in a post. The steroids have finally left the building so I was able to hang on until about 8PM last night before going to bed. I woke up (like I frequently do) in the 3 AM hour. I'm still sleepy (which is a fabulous thing) so I'll be going to back to sleep once this post is finished. It's the little things...right?
So, a few updates. Let's review side effects for this round.
So, a few updates. Let's review side effects for this round.
- Benadryl haze - day 1. I finally figured out I needed to use this to my advantage. The goal is to go to sleep immediately after I get home from treatment. It allows me to get some "bonus" sleep before the Benadryl wears off and the steroids then keep me awake for a day.
- Fatigue is still, by far, the worst of the side effects. Let me update that, it's not the worst, it has the biggest impact, the most disruptive. The worst would be unending pain or nausea, etc. You get what I mean here. It makes me a little useless. The hardest part for me is that while I'm useless, I spend most of my time sleeping and my children need supervision. My parents have been so fabulous about taking care of my precious babies for days at a time. They are keeping them entertained, active, loved and possibly a bit spoiled. My in laws have helped too. We are so blessed to have the level of support that we do. It's just very hard for me to be away from my babies for the majority of the week. If it wasn't for FaceTime, I would go crazy. As always, I remind myself that this is only temporary, they are having fun (though they miss us too), and they are spending time with family and doing things they wouldn't normally get to do. I'm happy to report that yesterday was dance class day so they came home to visit. My mom helped with the kiddos, dad mowed the grass then Bobby and his dad worked on the "kiddos surprise" after work. I fell asleep before they were done but they are moving right along. Also, we're continuing to get meal help from family - SUCH a blessing. Anyway....lots of support, lots of love and TONS of appreciation for everyone who has stepped to assist while I play Sleeping Judy.
I know....I "squirreled" a bit there so let's get back to side effects. - No mouth sores so far this week. YIPEEE!!! Last week's is healed and gone.
- No joint pain, as of yet.
- Eyes are still watering
- Hair situation - I still think the hair that's there is growing but it's not quite filling in yet. I'll keep you posted. ;-)
Thanks to everyone who checks in via FB or text. With the exception of treatment, I don't really leave the house much. Bobby does his best to get me out for a short trip for ice cream or something (he's awesome, by the way, have I mentioned that?) just to get me a change of scenery. It's nice to hear from friends and family from time to time. **Please don't take the reference about not leaving the house as a negative. I love it here. It makes me happy and I feel at ease. I think of it like a resort. It's quiet, I have my furbabies to hang out with, I spend time sitting on the patio, reading (when awake), I walk the driveway to make sure I keep moving per dr orders. My immune system situation has been OK so far but my deep need for no treatment delays keeps us as cautious as we can be. So far, so good! Plus, there's not a lot of opportunity to get out when you're sleeping for several days...well you know the story.
Well, it's time for me to go back to sleep for a few more hours.
Love to all!
Andee