I haven't had strep throat since I was in middle school, the year I had my tonsils out. The surgery was preceded by seven (yes SEVEN) bouts of strep and/or tonsillitis, so at the first sign of health, I was scheduled for surgery. I didn't have another surgery (or even hospitalization for any reason) for TWENTY years.
Then, as Chris says, I started falling apart. Ha. Hahahaha.
Case in point: I had chemo this week, which was fine. I even went for a hike on Wednesday. I was feeling great, I thought!
Then that night I was hit with a fever, chills, and inability to swallow without feeling like I was being stabbed. I've got fatigue that has me winning sleep trends on my Up24 (not so much actual fitness, alas). And a self-diagnosis of strep (confirmed as "likely" by my oncologist's assistant) led to my second Z-Pack in as many months.
I no longer have the fever or chills, but am still holding on to the fatigue and sore throat. Why is there no place to put "I'm sick" in my Up tracking? Instead, my "smart coach" keeps encouraging me to take more steps if I want any chance of reaching the suggested 10,000 per day. I'm not just sitting on my ass because I'm lazy, guys.
Still, I am the worst at being sick, whether my smart coach is goading me to move or not. I want to go to yoga, but won't, because I don't want to get anyone else sick lest my antibiotics haven't kicked in yet. Also, who am I kidding? Down dog when you have a headache is decidedly NOT fun. I should probably just take a nap, but keep thinking there must be something I'm not marking off my to-do list that I should while I've got a quiet day.
I want to do a tutorial on my eyebrows but haven't figured out the logistics yet. I thought about talking about capsule wardrobes, but here's the gist: I cleaned out my closet, which isn't all that exciting. I love to cook and was thinking of doing a series on foods to help you get past chemo but then our stove broke (again) and I haven't had an appetite this week because it is so very, very painful to swallow. Maybe I'll do a series on smoothies?
Or maybe I will just nap, after all.
Kidding. Off to the grocery store. Because someone in this house still has an appetite.
i had a cold for the first 3 months of my chemo. i was convinced that the drugs were giving me the cough, and the exhaustion and tiredness and soreness must have been the aggressive treatment i was being pumped with. then, my partner got the exact same cough. not chemo. just a cold. the cold went away, and i felt better than i had in years.
ReplyDeleteyour blog is great - i've just found a few really great blogs written by other stage IV people, and seeing them makes me feel just that bit more hope that i'll be kicking around in a few years too. (8 months since diagnosis, primary bowel, secondaries in liver & lungs, 30).
Thanks for reaching out! I found that reading other peoples' stories of survival helped me so very much especially in the first few months after diagnosis. Don't underestimate the power of hope. And I'll be sure to check out your blog too. Best wishes to you. xx
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