June 16, 2009

• Really Rough Weekend

  This wasn't the best of weekends for me except for one thing . . . my friend Lori K came to visit me on Sunday afternoon.  We sat together on my bed and she even held my hand for the longest time.  She knows exactly how to make me feel better.  Well, the truth is, her presence makes me feel better - no matter what she does or doesn't do.

                            
                            (The next time I make these, I'll put them in the frig before stacking them!)

  I had a HORRIBLE time with bone pain and now understand why they give you Percocet for pain after chemo.  Boy oh boy!  They've warned me about bone pain (after the shot they give you the next day to build up your white cell count) and I've experienced hand, feet, wrist, & ankle pain . . . but NOT bad enough to use much Percocet.

                      

  Apparently, the new chemo drug mixed with the "next day shot" caused me an experience that will last a lifetime (the reason I typed nothing yesterday).  My hips, sacrum, pelvic bones, and upper leg bones hurt like when you are in labor.  I'm talking "natural childbirth labor" and not "epidural labor" . . .  When I told the nurse my serious comparison to labor and that on a scale from 1 - 10 I was exeriencing a "10 pain", she took me VERY seriously and told the doctor.

                             

  The pain started Friday night and I went without sleep.  Saturday I could barely focus and Saturday night was more of the same.  At least when you are in labor you know there is an expected end and it will be all worthwhile when that baby arrives.  Can't say the same for this.

                                    

  Lori (from Ohio) came to visit and, while she was here, my chills stopped, as did the pain.  Actually I was sweating.  I had a lovely visit with her and we exchanged birthday gifts - a tradition we've established for many years.  After she left, I became VERY chilled (again) with my teeth chattering.  It continued through Sunday night.  I called the "nurse on call" around 11pm Sunday night because I began to break out in hives on my lower legs.  When I took my temperature, I found my fever was over 100 degrees (they tell you to call when it's more than 100.5), which is quite high for me with a normal temp of 98.0 and the fact I don't usually run a fever unless I'm VERY sick.

                                     

  The on call nurse recommended I try Benadryl to help me sleep, take the nausea away when I took her recommended TWO Percocet pills, AND it would help the hives.

                                                              

  Another very long night.  By morning (yesterday - Monday) I called my doctor's nurse to tell her how much I was hurting, to report my fever that kept fluctuating, and the hives that were spreading up behind my upper legs.  It took her 4 hours to call me back and, through tears, I was sure she had forgotten me.

                           

  After she DID call back, and heard me doing labor breathing while the shooting pains ravaged my body, she said she felt the fever and hives were due to the intensely high level of pain I was experiencing.  She prescribed Morphine and the pain FINALLY subsided.

                                              

  I feel much better today, but part of my upper left leg has gone numb (like Lidocaine has been placed on my skin).  They warned me about my hands and feet tingling and going numb, so I guess that's what my leg is about.  Leave it to me to experience foot and hand numbness in my upper leg (rolling eyes!)  AND, the nurse said I could very well experience this same intense pain with each chemo treatment.  Yippeee!

                        

  Please pray for me that this pain stays gone and that I can manage it in the future with the two pain drugs.  I have a pretty high pain threshold and so you KNOW it was bad if I agreed to take Morphine.  Morphine scares the pants off of me and I can assure you, I would never take it for a little amount of pain.

                                       

  Stephanie's birthday was lovely.  I'll start sharing pictures each day this week.  Her "biggest thing" she wanted to do for her birthday was play with Tango, our cockatiel. 

                         

  Last minute I made a stack of cupcakes into a mini birthday cake and she loved it and her gifts from her sisters.

  I think I had better go rest.  Just stopping by to show off pictures and say, "hey!"

   
  Be Blessed  ~

  • 10:38 am
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