Just take my word for it -- that was an exhausting week! Though I may be almost recovered... Monday, okay. Tuesday, so exhausted that the Genesis doc -- a stand-in one, Latham? -- cancelled my gut zap for the next two days. Wednesday, exhausted. Thursday, tired. Friday -- today, as I type -- almost recovered :-)
Let's just look at a few interesting lessons learnt:
... Drugs do this and drugs do that
Remember that the onc doc had Kytril on my drug list? I tried it till it formed poo rocks in my gut. A bit later I tried Maxolon, a milder form of anti-nausea. And have spent days before and since pooing water with finely ground bits.
Now here's the lesson, learned from the stand-in doc:
Kytril and Maxolon are both anti-nausea. One works by solidifying food in the gut so it will pass in smooth but solid lumps. Maxolon works by breaking down the food so that it will pass faster. Not necessarily firmer. Oops!
... Causes and effects
So why have I been passing very watery poo? One side-effect of having my gut zapped is that it can damage -- or destroy -- gut bacteria. So I've been told. Which makes me think, Okay, another week of gut zapping and I'll be okay again.
Stand-in doc tells me that the relevant area of my gut is *not* being zapped... Oh. Having had my body pumped full of anti-bacteria -- in at least one of my two recent visits to ED -- and each day via bacteria-blasting pills... now that could have killed off my gut bacteria. Ah.
Either way, my gut bacteria may have been exterminated. Bring it back to life with probiotics, says stand-in doc. The probiotics work one day... not the next... but what the heck, it's no great problem. Just one of the "side-effects" of treatment.
Lesson: Original causes may be important so they may, in future, be avoided. Identifying the immediate cause is just as important -- in the short-term -- as long as it leads to effective treatment.
... Those feverish nights
I often --- healthy or not -- wake up wet and sweaty. I tend to be cold when I first get into bed, pull up too many blankets then sleep till I wake up... too hot. Fever makes it worse. In ED a nurse changed all of my bedding -- and left me sleeping on towels -- after one sweaty evening.
I'm used to it. I've taken to sleeping wearing a wool thermal. That way I am still almost warm and can get back to sleep despite being damp and sweaty.
Now I realise: I can wake up sweaty then... change all my sleeping clothes! I go back to bed feeling dry -- and warm. And fall asleep again, very easily. In this warm Spring weather -- if I wake up a second time -- the thermals, at least, are dry again and ready to be worn again.
Lesson: I can put up with some discomfort, getting back to sleep in damp clothing. Or I can double the pile of washing -- two sets of sleeping gear -- and go back to sleep in warm dry clothes. Okay, the decision is simplified because I do the washing in our house :-)
... Health can be up and down like a yo-yo
Tuesday I was really crook. Wednesday ditto. Thursday not feeling too good. Friday, well enough to walk the 5km from treatment to home. Now I'm feeling well enough -- tired but not too bad. I can walk but not run.
Mid week my brain was flowing like treacle. Or slower. I believe I was thinking accurately. But very, very slowly. I would look at a book, or the pc, and wonder... why bother. Today my mind is operating at golden syrup speed, still below par but much clearer. I have the urge -- and the ability -- to actually do things.
eg I came home this morning with the idea for a short story. Wrote it. In between doing loads of washing and, eventually, eating lunch. Wrote a letter to the Minister. (I hope it does make sense. At least as much sense as I intended :-)
Lesson: Health can be up and down like a yo-yo :-)
Only a weekend plus two days and I'll have finished this phase of chemoradiotherapy ! Woo hoo !
I bet my health yo-yo will then be on the up-swing :-)
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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"Give a man an inch and he'll think he's a ruler" … Agent 86
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Now much more than a clever name for a holiday journal:
Sounds horrible. Cheers Col
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