Feeling back to normal now, thank god. I had been feeling mildly ropey - like a hangover all day - even with the anti-sickness meds and steroids - so was convinced they weren't working very effectively. Changed my mind when the granisetron ran out. Which was Boxing Day. I had 5 days' worth of granisetron but was told to take it for 3. I took it for 5 because the last 2 days were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! You have to feel well on Christmas Day! And I was, reasonably. Functioned enough to watch DS open his pressies, cooked the main course of lunch and even ate some. My sister and friend were round and I had multiple migraines that night. In fact, I have had quite a few this week as well as just normal headaches. Think that must be my weak spot that chemo brings out. I just took ibuprofen after taking my temp so that it didn't falsely lower it. I think the migraines on Xmas Day were due to dehydration and too much salty food, and probably just overdoing it in general. And mine are always brought on by stress. Chemo is an incredibly stressful process, there's no getting away from it.
So Boxing Day was a duvet day. I wasn't sick but nauseous from the stomach cramps. I was also given Metoclopromide for nausea to take as needed but I felt that this was making my stomach cramps worse so stopped that. I read on a search of the discussion boards here that the Laxido laxative sachets can help with stomach cramps so I started taking them a bit more religiously and I do think they helped. Also helped me to actually get my bowels moving. I had thought they were ineffective so took some Dulcolax but in hindsight that was too strong for my delicate tummy, although I did go. Will know all this for next time. By the day after Boxing Day (day 8) I felt much more back to normal. Have a slight feeling like a hangover in the mornings but it wears off as the day goes on and better when I eat.
I had read lots of advice about taking ginger, not having an empty tummy, drinking plenty etc to stop the nausea but I am not sure if any of the above really worked. And I find even drinking hard when I feel sick. I just felt scunnered at everything. Even tea! I did take the advice of just eating what I felt like. For some reason, tinned or cup-a-soup, oatcakes and buttered toast seemed my staples. Mainly because anything I cooked gave me the boak. Top tip - don't introduce any new, strong smells when you feel this way. Hubby bought me some really expensive bath oil for Christmas and now when I smell it I associate it with feeling ropey. I hope I get over this!
Now that my appetite is back though, I am making sure to eat really well with lots of home-cooked food, a good breakfast, and plenty fruit and veg. I made fruit salad for the first time in years to snack on and am batch cooking soup and pasta sauce for the freezer for when I don't feel like cooking. It's nice to get a couple of weeks respite before the next chemo and it doesn't seem as daunting next time as I know roughly what to expect - fingers crossed that it's much the same anyway.
Hair is still here but will likely be gone by the weekend by all accounts. I have an appointment Wed to see the wigs I ordered and my sister is coming this time. I hope the colour is what I want. Can't lie - I'm dreading the hair coming out. You can hide from the world that this is happening until then but the being bald just screams 'cancer victim!'. I went down to my home town to visit my family on Sat and it was just like 'normal' as I seem well and still with my hair. But not next time. Maybe I'm overthinking it - I can be relatively normal through chemo - can't I??
xxx
