I am pleased to say I do gradually feel more normal, a bit more energy with each day, and the bone pain and abdominal bloating have pretty well subsided.
On Friday (day 11) I went to my hairdresser to get my already quite short hair cut very short. I felt emotional about this, but can’t face the idea of longer hairs everywhere when it starts shedding. Everyone is saying it looks good but I feel they are being nice to me, it’s not something I would normally have chosen. My hairdresser takes a look at the couple of wigs I have, and thins out the sides of the longer one to make it a bit more like me. In the evening I am well enough to cook a 3 course meal for friends (I am a keen amateur cook), which again seems like a step back to normality. I am so glad EC doesn’t seem to have affected my taste, and that my mouth is also still feeling normal.
On Saturday morning (day 12) I head down to my local parkrun and decide I am well enough to gently run it. It needs a couple of walking breaks, and I am well towards the back of the runners, but again, it’s a step back to normality. I can’t stop smiling. I take it easy for the rest of the day other than cooking a variety of curries from scratch for dinner.
On Sunday morning, we tackle the question of whether intimacy is possible, and find not only that it is, but it’s fully successful for both of us. That’s a relief as I had been feeling rather dead to the world ‘down there’. Then a lovely walk in the forest.
I am hopeful the rest of the cycle will be plain sailing.
