Hola,
I had a great time at Celebrate Spanaway last sat at the Curves booth. It was wonderful to see my friends from Curves. It was a blessing to see Jessie (thank you for all your help with setting up the booth), Kathy (thank you for staffing the booth), Theresa (arriving way to early to meet me, loading up the stuff, and setting it up), Rebecca (working double duty), Debbie, Riece, Mary (working out at Curves) Bertha, and Norma. Norma couldn't resist rubbing my bald head. Although, it's not so bald anymore, I do have some fuzz on it now! I enjoyed the hugs, smiles and conversation. I was totally exhausted later that day and most of sunday, but it was worth it. Kathy and I entered our dogs in th pet parade contest at the fair, but our dogs didn't win anything. I thought Guizmo would win the smallest pet (he weighs 2.2lbs) award, but some kid brought a guppy and a snail. That ain't right.
The pain in my muscles has begun to subside, yet I still have it in my joints. Dr. Standish, my ND, said that my joints were inflammed still from chemo; myalga (loss of muscle tissue) in my muscles and tendons was causing the pain. In the last two weeks, my eyebrows have begun to thin even more - it's no biggie though, I just pencil them in.
I have only 2.5 wks left of radiation. YES! My skin on my chest wall and underarm looks really good. The Redness, dryness and soreness is very minimal and I attribute that to the seeweed poultice that I'm using (prescribed by Dr. Standish). My radiaologist wasn't to sure about the benefits of the seaweed in my first few weeks of radiation and she insisted that I would turn red. Well, when I saw her last week, she was amazed by the condition of my skin. She and her nurse would like to know more about it and where to get it so they can tell their other patients. I think this is very cool. Dr. Standish will call Dr. Morris to tell her about the benefits of seaweed for radiation patients. Dr. Standish has been telling her patients about it for 1o years.
Enjoy your weekend.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
WK 4 of Radiation
Happy Tuesday fam and friends,
I am now in wk 4 of radiation (only 3 more wks left!). The only notable side effect thus far is fatigue, but it's not to bad. Each day, my body seems to allot me a certain amount of energy and when I consume most of it then its time to rest/nap. When I awake, I remarkably have more energy to expend. I am trying to learn how to conserve my energy rather than deplete my reserves, but that is not an easy task. My skin has not turned red yet from the radiation although that is likely to occur in the coming weeks. I have been using a seaweed poultice several times a day which has healing properties to help illeviate burns, eczemza, etc. that my ND prescribed. My radiologist said that my skin looked great and she was very curious about the seaweed and where to get it.
Last saturday, I went for a 3 mile walk with Theresa and on Sunday went for a 2 mile walk with Theresa and Meoka. That is the farthest I have walked in a very longtime (pre surgery). It felt good.
In the last 3 weeks, I 've been experiencing some side effects that I believe are left over from chemo or steroids. It started with muscle tension in my hamstrings, quadraceps, calves, neck, and bicep & triceps. Each time I would flex my leg whether laying down or stading up it was quite painful. I thought perhaps they were just tight and that I needed to stretch them, but that didn't help. In the last week, the tension has lessoned in those muscles, but now my joints (hip joints and sacral illiac joint-low back) are stiff. When I get out of a car or get up from the couch, I stagger like an elderly person. It lasts for just a few minutes then I resume standing erect and walk normally.
I am still having hot flashes, yet not as intense as they used to be. I experience them several times a day- usually in the morning and/or midafternoon. When I drink something warm, that can trigger a hot flash. Thank goodness I don't have night sweats. Some women have shared with me about this and that doesn't sound fun at all. Vaginal dryness is another side effect of menopause which I was kicked into early because of chemo; chemo shuts down the production of
estrogen (hormone) in my ovaries thereby decreasing the glands in my vaginal wall from secreting. This can result in (and it did for me) painful intercourse. I mentioned this concern to my oncologist, Dr. Rinn, and she said that one of her patients did a thorough research on trying to find the best lubricant on the market and she found one. It is called Pjur and can be purchased from Babeland. I bought some and it feels like silk-wonderful!
I'm enjoying my classes this summer qtr. - learning good stuff. Don't be surprised if I ask to take your pulse or stick your tongue out. In Chinese medicine, they believe that information can be gained about what is systemically going on with a person through tongue and pulse diagnosis.
Acupuncture has helped me and I would recommend it.
I will be in Spanaway this Saturday at "Celebrate Spanaway." I will be at the Curves booth from 10-2pm so stop by and say hi.
I am now in wk 4 of radiation (only 3 more wks left!). The only notable side effect thus far is fatigue, but it's not to bad. Each day, my body seems to allot me a certain amount of energy and when I consume most of it then its time to rest/nap. When I awake, I remarkably have more energy to expend. I am trying to learn how to conserve my energy rather than deplete my reserves, but that is not an easy task. My skin has not turned red yet from the radiation although that is likely to occur in the coming weeks. I have been using a seaweed poultice several times a day which has healing properties to help illeviate burns, eczemza, etc. that my ND prescribed. My radiologist said that my skin looked great and she was very curious about the seaweed and where to get it.
Last saturday, I went for a 3 mile walk with Theresa and on Sunday went for a 2 mile walk with Theresa and Meoka. That is the farthest I have walked in a very longtime (pre surgery). It felt good.
In the last 3 weeks, I 've been experiencing some side effects that I believe are left over from chemo or steroids. It started with muscle tension in my hamstrings, quadraceps, calves, neck, and bicep & triceps. Each time I would flex my leg whether laying down or stading up it was quite painful. I thought perhaps they were just tight and that I needed to stretch them, but that didn't help. In the last week, the tension has lessoned in those muscles, but now my joints (hip joints and sacral illiac joint-low back) are stiff. When I get out of a car or get up from the couch, I stagger like an elderly person. It lasts for just a few minutes then I resume standing erect and walk normally.
I am still having hot flashes, yet not as intense as they used to be. I experience them several times a day- usually in the morning and/or midafternoon. When I drink something warm, that can trigger a hot flash. Thank goodness I don't have night sweats. Some women have shared with me about this and that doesn't sound fun at all. Vaginal dryness is another side effect of menopause which I was kicked into early because of chemo; chemo shuts down the production of
estrogen (hormone) in my ovaries thereby decreasing the glands in my vaginal wall from secreting. This can result in (and it did for me) painful intercourse. I mentioned this concern to my oncologist, Dr. Rinn, and she said that one of her patients did a thorough research on trying to find the best lubricant on the market and she found one. It is called Pjur and can be purchased from Babeland. I bought some and it feels like silk-wonderful!
I'm enjoying my classes this summer qtr. - learning good stuff. Don't be surprised if I ask to take your pulse or stick your tongue out. In Chinese medicine, they believe that information can be gained about what is systemically going on with a person through tongue and pulse diagnosis.
Acupuncture has helped me and I would recommend it.
I will be in Spanaway this Saturday at "Celebrate Spanaway." I will be at the Curves booth from 10-2pm so stop by and say hi.
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