Ears

The weather forecast says we are in for another round of winter weather.  My head gets really cold without any hair on it to speak of, and I've been joking that I wanted a hat with ears.

When I found this one, I realized it wasn't really a joke, that I really DID want one, so here it is.  I hope it's cold on Monday, so that I can wear it all day at work. AND yes, I WILL.

As you can see, I am making the best of the situation.  It's what I do.

Things are good.

I am having a bit more fatigue just lately: the kind that feels like a head ache, but isn't really a head ache. Does that make any sense?  You know how sometimes you just feel so tired that your head sort of hurts?

But really, all in all,  I'm doing fine.  Even when I feel that level of fatigue, and I try to rest, I don't really nap or fall asleep. I just rest a bit, and feel better.

Like today, for example.  We got up and going pretty early, and went out and did all of our grocery shopping and errands this morning.

We came back home, had lunch, and Dave went to see his dad.  I was feeling a bit fatigued after Dave left, so I lay down for a while to finish the book I was reading.

I read, and rested on the couch until Dave got home, and then we went out again and did a few more errands, and I felt normal again.

Dave was out of town this past week, though, and I slept badly while he was gone.  Then last night, I had leg cramps and didn't sleep well again, so I am thinking that all of the sleep interruptions over the past week may be why I had the bouts of fatigue.  Not sure, but it feels right.  We'll see how the next couple of days go, provided I sleep well tonight.

For the most part, though, I have been sleeping really well in general, and eating well, during this process.

My sense of taste and the way my mouth feels returned to normal almost exactly at the 10 day point, and since then, I have had no appetite problems, and my weight has returned to where it was before diagnosis.

Other than the fatigue, I've been really congested, and my poor nose has been bleeding from all of the blowing and wiping.  The tissue can't heal as quickly as normal, so the bleeding has been a bit troublesome.

However, during the "chemo mouth" phase, I re-introduced certain comfort foods back into my diet that have not been a part of it for YEARS....foods that cause me to be congested.

So, duh.  Time to take them back OUT of my diet, since I don't need to entice myself to eat for the moment.

But it sure has been fun to be eating grilled cheese sandwiches, and other dairy and grain based foods!!  Yum.

And one last thing is that my ear piercings have become intolerant to almost all metals (I believe I mentioned that in a previous post or two).  Even the stainless steel earrings Dave got me to try as Valentine's gifts turned out to be irritating.

The piercings became infected and painful, and it's really aggravating because I WANT to wear earrings now that my ears show all the time.

Anyway, I've gotten three of the holes healed by soaking my ear lobes in hydrogen peroxide, and putting antibiotic ointment on earring posts and putting them through the holes in order to apply the ointment inside the piercings.

One piercing, however (one of the ones my mom let me get when I turned 16) seems to have closed up entirely.  I can't get anything through it.  So that one may have to be re-done after this is all over.
We shall see.

A friend has suggested titanium earrings.  Unfortunately, I don't have any, and my vast collection of jewelry is mostly silver, gold, and "cheap,"  all of which cause a reaction at the moment.  It stinks.

So.  Next week, I receive round #3 of chemotherapy on Thursday.  

REALLY hoping I continue to do well, since I have to go to work the day after.  Not sure why they switched me to a Thursday, but I for sure prefer Friday, and will ask for it for #4.

Meantime, hoping that the winter storm they've predicted doesn't cause too much of a mess. Everyone stay warm out there, and have a good weekend!