It’s been 13 days since my first round of chemo. I had expectations of what might happen. Maybe anticipation is a better word to use. I talked with a lot of people concerning what it was like for them and began to anticipate their experiences. This caused me to be anxious on more than a few occasions. When will the nausea start? Will I be too tired for this or that? When will the pain or numbness begin? I finally realized that I had to let go of the anticipation and compartmentalize their experiences until a better time.
Overall, I didn’t feel too bad. I was a little tired, but that could have been the result of less sleep. I developed a UTI (urinary tract infection) which is common for chemo patients. I didn’t recognize it right away because it only manifested symptoms at night. There was an urgency to go to the bathroom every hour. So I lived with it the first weekend and called about it Monday morning. I got my prescription on Tuesday and was feeling better by Thursday. But getting up every hour to go to the bathroom made me very sleep deprived.
I set some goals to drink at least 64 ounces of water every day during chemo. This was one of the biggest and most consistent pieces of advice that I received. But I was the worse at drinking water. 16 ounces was my average, so I knew it would be challenge to meet this goal each day. I’m proud to say that I drink 80 ounces or more every day. The Sergeant stays on top of me to make sure I do and I’m glad that I have someone who holds me accountable.
I also started to walk for an hour each night, which I love to do. Out of the 13 days, there were 4 where I didn’t have the energy. But again, it may have been the sleepless nights and not necessarily the chemo. Exercising during chemotherapy can help ease side effects, like fatigue and nausea, and can help boost my immune system. I’ll try to keep it up as much as I can, but not push myself too much.
I learned on the day of my second round of chemo that my white blood cell counts were low. White blood cells help to fight infection. It turns out that the Neulasta didn’t get into my blood stream. I posted before how I bumped my arm that had my Neulasta patch. I and the nurse thought only a little spilled out. Nope. Based on my counts, I didn’t get any of the necessary dose. But with this second round and dose of Neulasta, it should help build things up again.