Friday, February 26, 2010

Another Good Day - And Friday too

My blood sugars are slowly coming down as in 172 this morning instead of the usual 200 or so.  I was down to 121 last night and decided that I should eat something in the late evening to avoid a potentially low blood sugar overnight.

Now that I'm on a new diabetes drug that gets me to produce more insulin, I need to be careful not to take too much metformin. I want the blood sugars to come down slowly so I don't over shoot on the down side.  Especially late at night when I might not be able to cope so well.

I spent the day working but had time to get out for a walk and went back to the dumbbells frequently. I've been eating healthy food but also food that has a high level of carbohydrates.  When I saw my blood sugars spike to 285 I brought it down by going for a long walk and using the dumbbells.

I'm trying to decide when to go back to the fats and proteins.  I haven't felt like having eggs for breakfast; but I like them for lunch.

Since I've started on glimepiride I don't get the same cravings and I am loosing the sense of lassitude that I had; I also feel stronger.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Another day until...

It is amazing how quickly three weeks go by.  I'm just past the two week point and feeling almost like I never had an infusion in my life.  No nausea, no headache.  I feel good.

I had a glimepiride this morning (this is day 2) and I actually feel better although I can't tell that my blood sugars have come down yet.  I just tested and I have a 152.  Last night I tested before I went to bed and I had a 254 but that was clearly from overeating. Sometimes my blood sugars scare me, but then I think I've been here before and I will get better.

It was cold today, but sunny and we went to the whole food store to pick up some things.  It was nice to get out even if it was only to the store. I never got around to going for a walk. 

I've been working out (if you could call it that) with a couple of dumbbells I have in the hopes that I can build up some arm and shoulder muscle.  I had been hesitating because my port is on my right pectoral muscle and I was afraid of irritating the place where it is attached.

But I need the exercise.

While I'm contemplating side effects, such as irritation of my muscle,   I should note that my sinuses have been acting up lately.  With or without the flonase.  It's like I have allergies in the morning and in the evening no mater what drugs I take.

But otherwise nice day, and I became involved in a script I was writing and couldn't put it down.  It's a silly thing, but fun to put together. 

I missed the post last night - just got busy and forgot about it. It has occurred to me that I run into a great number of days when I have no symptom or appealing recollection to report.  Especially in the second week out from an infusion.  I have gotten past the sickly part of the cycle and I'm into that part where I can't feel the depredations going on under my skin.  The diminished cell counts, etc.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I count the days until...

It was a rather hum drum day, by blood sugars were 194 this morning and I am expecting to pick up my new diabetes drug any day now.  Maybe tomorrow.  I'm not worried, I've been worse than this before with less of an excuse,  but the simple fact is they have to come down.

I did take a walk of the usual distance about 4 or 5 blocks.  It was a nice day, and tomorrow it should snow.

A week from tomorrow is infusion number 4 and I will be seeing Dr Park again.  The lumbar puncture is in the AM and I wonder what drug they're going to give me this time. This will be my last lumbar puncture in the series and I certainly hope the last in my life. Nothing like an errant lumbar puncture to let you know what you've missed in life. I so look forward to it being over.

If the path report is good there will only be two more of the regular infusions after next week and I look forward to getting them over with.  Life calls to me.

Getting the port pulled out sounds wonderful too.

After all this there will be the business of getting back into shape and that will take a few months.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Rainy and drab today...

It has been a rainy and drab day today, and I've been working although taking frequent breaks to rest my eyeballs.

No serious headaches or other symptoms to report. No walks to talk about as the weather was inclement.  I am simply trying to recuperate from lunch.

I have a new diabetes drug to throw into the mix: glimepiride at 2 milligrams per day which I will be taking on a regular basis with my metformin.  According to a Wiki it acts by increasing my insulin production. Wish me luck in mixing it with the metformin. 

This came as a result of my emailing my doctor about Monday's upcoming tests where I will have a dye injected and the fact that I cannot take metformin while that is going on.

My blood sugars have been cruising along in the 150-200 range and I think my doctor wanted to bring that under control. 

I am building a resolve to get back to controlling my diabetes via diet and exercise but I can't do that now.

There will come a day when the chemotherapy treatments are done, and my highest priority then  will be exercise, caloric and carbohydrate restriction.

An interesting article on dolphin insulin resistance.

Everyone hates to diet even dolphins.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Altogether, reasonably...

Part of my nightly ritual is to take an anti-histamine, a bit of Singulair and spray some Flonase up my nose.  What fun you say. I think I have been having some sinus trouble recently and that may be what is causing some of my headaches.  Well, tonight something interesting:  I started to sneeze (the flonase makes my nose run) and found myself with a bloody nose.   Even more fun.  Let's see how this clots.

This is day 11 which puts me right in the middle of the "nadir" of white/red etc. cells.  Which in my case might not be as bad as it sounds. Platelets dropping?

It was a good day for a walk today and I took advantage of that fact and went for the walk up to Knob street which is I believe 5 blocks up the road.  It is a reasonable walk but back in the day I used to walk more than twice as far.  I felt body-tired after this walk but I didn't feel winded.

The effect of a chemo cycle is to feel very weak at first and to gradually get stronger.  I feel pretty strong by now but I probably don't have the usual degree of strength because as my body feels better from throwing off the chemo it is weakened by a drop in red cells which help stamina. 

Just an aside: the night sweats have been getting better.  I don't have then as often. But I still sweat up the bead occasionally.  Could be the warm comforter not the cancer.

A week from Monday (tomorrow) I get scanned to see how well the chemo has been working.  Hopefully all my little friends are gone by now and I won't have to take care of their welfare.  The scan entails an injected dye that will probably have to go in through my arm.  It would be too nice if they could just use the port.

I will have to come off the metformin for a day or two so I will be calling up my doctor this week to get something to bring my blood sugars down a bit so they don't spike too high. The dye and metformin are both excreted by my kidneys, so the rule is to wait a couple of days to come off the dye before going back on the metformin.

I'm thinking that I will seriously have to diet when I come off chemo (in the distant future) not only to bring my blood sugars down but to get rid of all the excess weight I've gained in the process.  Maybe I should see if my gym (which has been through a couple of owners) is back and I can start to exercise again.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Blather, Blather...

Well, at least temporarily the constipation is over.  Maybe there's something magical about three days. Let's hope?

Last week the projects I was working on were installed and I have new ones.  But I have eyestrain headaches and plain ordinary headaches that start to hurt when I bend over and blood rushes to my head.  I feel the pulsating sense that the pain is due to some other reason.  Maybe I should just sleep.

I watched a Netflix down loadable movie on meat packing agribusiness last night and decided that I really needed a big juicy hamburger today so I got over a pound of grass fed ground round from Whole Foods. I will fix it for lunch for Mary and me.  I wonder what I should put with it?

I scratched the back of my finger this morning, considering that I did it on a lid from the cat food in the garbage I was very careful to clean the wound with soap and water.  It didn't bleed much, which was unexpected considering my platelets should be low right about now.  It seems OK.

I did not post yesterday. More discussion about the pressing weight of the constipation and the bloated feeling that comes with eating a rather large quantity of chilly on top of the pressing weight of constipation would be boring.  So I decided to skip it.

But today things changed and I am no longer bloated and actually feeling pretty good.  It is a bright cheerful day and Mary and I have been out grocery shopping.  I'm contemplating a walk if I don't fall asleep first.

And then of course that big juicy hamburger is waiting.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Let us not discuss the matter

Once again no nausea in the AM, although I can't say the same for the evening. 

My walk was long and the weather was not quite as brisk as yesterday but I think I walked more briskly.  It was a sunny, breezy day and a pure joy to be outside able to stretch my legs.  I dressed warmly.


I expect that over the course of the remainder of these treatments I shall have the same recurring issues.  This followed by that.  That of course is the dreaded constipation and I am normally constipated.  I wonder how many little magnesium oxide pills I have to take until they work?

Fiber, I have to take more fiber!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A little late, but better late than never...

I wasn't sick this morning, although I was stuffed after overeating the day before.  It's nice to wake up feeling well - and that feeling in the tummy that it doesn't want to puke.   I didn't get around to taking Zophran until mid afternoon.  A bit after my walk. A nice long walk in the fresh air.

Today was one week after my infusion; and that's why I felt better.  Now only two weeks to go until I feel wretched again.  But until then I will bask in the after glow of normalcy that comes from having most of my symptoms recede into the background.

As I ask myself why I must focus with such exclusivity on my intestinal system and the proper processing thereof I realize that this is the also first day of constipation following my infusion.

Constipation should have been here Monday, why did it wait until Wednesday?

Well, better late than never; and I have taken a number of those magnesium oxide pills, so the problem won't last past tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

All's well that ends well...

The day began with nausea and a difficulty concentrating (I felt sick) but then as the day progressed, I got better (yes I can take two Zophran).  I managed to get a little work done, and took a sufficient number of breaks to prevent serious headaches.

Took a walk about 10:00 and walked about five blocks; not feeling breathless at all.

So it was a pretty good day, today and it would be nice if tomorrow would be just as good.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Well there wasn't then there was...

Yes there was a bit of diarrhea today, although it has been on and off for the last several days.  I just didn't expect it on a day that should have been dedicated to constipation.  Normally (over the last two infusions) the day I come off the prednisone is the day I become constipated.  It didn't happen.  Disappointment to an extraordinary degree.  Well, maybe not so much.

Otherwise I've been trying to deal with the headache by looking up from the computer and taking my glasses off.  Not to mention staring out the window. 

Or watching television.  Anything to rest the eyes on something other than the computer screen.

One last thing - things have started to taste funny, and I have a bad aftertaste.  Kind of a permanent "yuck" factor.  Soda can be OK; but water is definitely nauseating. 

Actually my stomach hasn't felt that good today either.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

An unusually well comported first five days..

The title translated: no diarrhea today.  Lot of nausea and upset stomach; no headaches to speak of. 

Now that I have that out of the way, it was a very pleasant day and I went for a walk but didn't get all that far before becoming winded and coming back.  Maybe several blocks some of which was up hill.

Today is my last day on prednisone for this infusion and I am quite relieved and looking forward to the constipation tomorrow.  I have been dry mouthed and dehydrated more than usual.  Water has a peculiar unpleasant flavor.

I'm hoping everything gets back to normal tomorrow.

Although I have been eating well I haven't had the usual cravings that accompany prednisone. Must be adjusting.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Diarrhea delayed is...

I have been expecting some diarrhea to show up since I was infused, and it has finally shown up.  With it came some stomach upset and general nausea. 

I'm waiting for it to all go away.  And I know it will in just a couple of days.  I may feel rotten, but not this rotten.

Otherwise it has been a restful day - a day to get groceries and nap in the afternoon.

The headache seems to be related to computer stuff; when I focus and work on the computer my eyes hurt and my head feels worse.  If I read a book it is not so bad.  If I stare off into space it gets better.

I will soon opt for staring off into space.

FYI: my blood sugar was 117 this morning:  Yippee!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Walkies...

I took a walk today and it was reasonably long. Strange, so soon after infusion.

The biggest problem was my headache which did not respond well to drugs. Tylenol is out because it could hide a fever, the NSAIDs are out because they could give my platelets  the double whammy.  I have to take an oxy-somthing-or-other-codeine-or-done.  It's such a long word.  And doesn't work all that well.

It's probably constipating.

I spent a lot of time today working or resting from work.  My project really got done this time; or at least to the first acceptable level of testing. The oxycodone I took didn't seem to work very well.  Eventually after work was over I took a skelaxin which is a mild muscle relaxant and that worked.

So my headache is really muscle tension?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Ex Post Facto: surprisingly a day without cramps and diarrhea

My intestinal fortitude has me surprised I must have taken a drug that prevented the worst of diarrhea and cramps.  Things are moving through better than normal, which is not really normal just like the first time I was infused. 

Infusion number 2 was a feast of poop whoopee!  Forgive my transliteration.

I don't feel half bad but if I try to work I get a very bad headache.  I wonder what it is about programming that does that.   Reading non work stuff seems to give me a headache, but not so quickly.

Writing this will give me a headache shortly.   Considering that I've been working in pain of one form or another since June I should be used to it by now.

I walked - I got as far as the next street over which is up a gently sloping hill but started to feel, not winded but kind of weak in the chest.  My leg muscles felt strong but I felt like I ran out of energy.

Experience tells me that in several days I shall feel stronger.  I wonder which drug in the R-CHOP makes me feel so weak.

So far so good on the blood sugars.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

That needle looks like a big plastic pipe

Today was my third infusion and once again it was done with the port.

R-CHOP is a combination of drugs and fortunately I tolerated the R part of that pretty well.  Somewhere after that is one that is infused via a couple of very large syringes and I always wonder about that.  I imagine it to be some viscous fluid that you wouldn't dare inject into body parts but seems to dissolve in the blood.  One of the nurses on an earlier infusion said that it was also infused for breast cancer, and had the nickname of the "Red Devil".

It ranks up there with prednisone for being a drug I dislike. I feel funny when it is infused and it is also the drug that is heart toxic. Today I briefly felt a sliver of sensation go from my heart down to the fingers of my  left hand as it was being infused.

This is the one that makes you pee red.  Well, a pleasant copper color in may case.

The lumbar puncture was once again with methotrexate infusion and the gentleman doctor took out an 11 point something CC for the lab.

If he was able to get that out I had apparently hydrated properly yesterday.

I haven't had much of an issue with side effects yet, although I had a brief deep chill a few minutes ago starting in my head and going down through my whole body, but now I'm back to normal.

The tech that did my MUGA so long ago had a button that said "Cancer Sucks" and it is certainly true as I would be on my way to Paradise or a Reasonable Alternative but for the Chemo.  However I have to say that chemo runs a close second.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Drowning in water

The last time they tried to get a sample of spinal fluid they only got 2.5 cc; this was because I was dehydrated. My personal opinion is that the infusion itself (which I had just had) is pretty dehydrating.  But the instruction was to drink lots of water the day before, and I have.

I stopped at one cup of coffee this morning and I have been belting down as much water as possible.

Excuse me,  I have to fill my jug.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Another day, Another Headache

I have been trying to ignore my headaches.  I wonder if they are caused by withdrawal from the chemo.  Just a thought - it seems to get worse towards the end of the cycle, in the early part I don't notice a headache.

Of course that could be because in the early part of the cycle I have so much else going on I don't notice. The doctors talked about headaches from the spinal infusion; but I believe that is an immediate issue.

Aside from it's pulsating characteristic my headache is of a different quality than the old headaches caused by the neck tumor. 

Of course my little friend did eat into my C2 vertebra (looking ghastly on the CT scan)  and that may not have healed yet.  It looked like a good bite taken out - I wonder if it will heal at all.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

BS stands for Blood Sugars

My blood sugars have been high in the AM for the last few days. 

I've had figures of 195; 214 and 215.  A little disturbing because I have not been on prednisone for a couple of weeks.  I expected the numbers to come down.

I will be back on the drug in a few days and I wonder what it will spike my sugars to then.  Of course I am well armed with metformin so unless I get badly nauseated I will be able to ward off the exceptionally high numbers.

I am sticking to a protein/fat diet most of the time which normally controls my numbers. 

Not now:  I took a couple of metformin with breakfast and that brought my numbers down to 134 later in the day but it is not what I would like.  My prescription is for one a day and I want to save the metformin for the period when I am on prednisone.  That was the plan.

I should probably be thankful that I'm not waking up to numbers over 300.  But if I wait a week it will probably happen.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

I got my project done!

Well, more or less.  It passes the tests, but I may have done funny things to some transactions.  I'll try to clean that up tomorrow.

We went shopping today and I got drugs for after next weeks infusion (to keep the nausea away).  I'm feeling pretty good, although I have a headache.  I still feel like I'm coming down with something although the sensation is waning.

I'm over the "nadir" of white and red cell counts and feeling ready for infusion number 3.  After which we will have to make appointments for tests to determine if I am cancer free.

If I am cancer free I am limited to six cycles which would be very nice.

Friday, February 5, 2010

...yes I have been missing posts..

Well, my body went poop today and I think I'm just going to go to sleep.  Much like this point in my first infusion cycle I am feeling like I am coming down with something.  I just don't feel well. I assume I'll feel this way for the next several days.

I don't feel that my little friends are back, I mostly feel exhausted.  Part of this may be a blood sugar issue which I am trying to control and part of it (I would assume) is the chemo.

I wanted to sleep late this morning, and I should have.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Well, I slept late today...

I did sleep late; and rushed downstairs to log into my computer so I could get to work.  Better late than never I suppose. But with the passage of a couple of hours I realized that I had a headache and couldn't focus.

Well, they don't pay me to be an idiot so I emailed my boss and told him I was logging off for the day.

Today is day 14 after my last infusion and I'm not surprised to be a little dysfunctional; red & white cell counts are down and God knows what else goes along with it.

Otherwise it is a pretty day with sunlight on the snow and lawn and I'm thinking how nice it would be to go for a walk.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

after a day I wanted to sleep

I spent the day working, but with going from one project to another and an hour long project meeting I became very tired and retired from work early. 

This was after having a half hour nap at 11:30.

I'm back on my diet after being off it since the first infusion.  Somehow the novelty of prednisone led me to eat way too much of the wrong stuff and now I need to reduce what I eat and stick to the list of approved items.

What fun.

I had a blood sugar of 192 an hour after dinner which was not carbohydrate free, but everything had a reasonable glycemic index: cheese, a bit of turkey breast,  a few olives and some hummus.

I have discovered an insulin index while Googling for a glycemic index list and it looks interesting.

I should probably be taking more metformin, but I hesitate to manage my diabetes on an ad-hoc basis.  I'll see how the diet works out.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Another delightful day

A pretty good day altogether, although I can get tired and a headache when I work a bit more than I should.

I am into the 10-14 day period from my last infusion where my white cell count will have dropped and I still feel pretty good. 

Naturally, I went to whole foods with Mary to see if I could pick anything up. I am in the "pleasantly coasting along" period of this until Wednesday February 10th when once again I will be infused via my port and with a lumbar puncture. 

But that's a week and a half away and I'm still euphoric about being over the constipation.

Although the infusion itself isn't too painful, I still grip the pillow in the lumbar puncture and clasp my eyes like I'm about to lean over a precipice.  The next few days after the infusion are a feast of gut wrenching cramps and defecations  that leave me bleary eyed and joylessly asking myself when it will be over.

But I don't have to worry about that now, I'm going to have a good time.