First Chemo Aftermath

By Thursday, I was starting to feel some of the effects of the chemo. I was much more tired and my mouth started feeling strange and sensitive. Things seemed to get worse as the day went on, although I had no idea what was about to hit me. 

Friday and Saturday, I felt incredibly uncomfortable all over. I'd liken it to flu symptoms but I don't think I've ever had a flu that made me feel like this! The mouth thing got weirder, so much so that it felt like there was something wrong with the muscles in there. I am trying to be careful not to allow my teeth to do any damage to my tongue and the inside of my lips. 

I was so very weak that I could not muster up the energy to shower on Friday. I just couldn't do it. Spent most of the day on the couch with maybe an hour or so on a lounge chair in the garden. Had to employ my wife's old cane to get anywhere, and even then it was very slow going. Put the cane to immediate use again on Saturday. Again spent about an hour in the garden but it's hard to claim that I enjoyed it. It was a nice change of scenery from the living room but I am literally uncomfortable in my own skin right now. Nothing I do or take seems to alleviate the discomfort. 

This is absolutely miserable.

With my wife's help, I managed to shower on Saturday. It felt like a full-body workout by the time I was done. Lots of huffing and puffing. Even the simplest shower tasks felt like I was working out. It feels good to have gotten clean again, though. The hot flashes continue, though, several times a day, and one was there for me as soon as I got back down from the shower. Nothing quite like breaking into a sweat right after you've showered, dried, and are "cooling off".

It's probably safe to say that this is what awaits me about 48 hours after each chemo infusion. What worries me is that it could even get worse. (How could it get worse?!) A nurse told me that even people who feel nothing at all in the days following a treatment will end up feeling pretty bad after their third infusion. Since this has hit me like a ton of bricks after the first infusion, I can't even imagine what kind of fresh hell waits for me in the days following my second or third infusion. 

When they talk about cancer patients "fighting for their lives" this has got to be a large part of what they mean. The last couple days have literally felt like I'm fighting to stay alive.