Fluffy Face


Steroids swelling my face.
It has been about three weeks since I took my first dose of Lomustine (CeeNU). Today’s blood tests reveal that my platelets have dropped (from 139) to 48.
I will re-test in two days. If my platelet production doesn’t pick up and numbers drop too low, I will get a transfusion.
I am decreasing my steroid (Dexamethasone) dose today. I’ve been experiencing many unpleasant side effects from it. My face is swollen (which isn’t unpleasant, just an explanation of the title of this post. My doctor called me Fluffy Face.
Increased appetite is actually a good side-effect. I’ve gained some needed weight. Now I just need to get back to exercise and yoga to recover my atrophied muscles.
Retraction
In the previous post, I recommended watching the film, Forks Over Knives and declared I was cutting out meat again. I decided to look further into the validity of the claims in the film and now think that the film was biased and data distorted. Meat is not going to kill me. I’ll probably keep it to a minimum though. (Here is one source for my change of mind.)
Nausea

Oncology called today. My blood platelets are back to normal. I’m all clear to continue taking my chemo pills. This is the good news we were hoping for today.
Being eager to get back on track, I took my dose without giving a thought to the anti-nausea medicine. One of the doctors (a resident) had suggested that if I wanted I could try to take the chemo without the anti-nausea, because there is a chance that I might not need it. Well, I needed it. For an hour I tried all the tricks I could to fight it off. I finally just had to give in.
In a waiting room one day, another tumor patient explained chemo nausea like this: imagine the sickest you’ve ever been… multiplied by ten. It was pretty rough. But not as bad as throwing up from having drank too much booze in college. That is, I felt fine afterwards, and the room wasn’t spinning. So, lesson learned.
The squirrel
Tina loves squirrels. I like squirrels. But like most Atlantans that I know who feed birds, squirrels are regarded as a nuisance. I happened to take a look outside this afternoon and see the squirrel in the photo above. (Note, some mobile devices aren’t displaying the photos.) Looks like the poor guy has a big tumor on his shoulder. I don’t know what it meant, but it struck me as something I needed to take note of.
Drugs!

My poisons have arrived.
Some of the more common side effects are listed below. The list of “serious” side effects is too long to type and frankly too disgusting or horrible to share here.
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Headache
- Tiredness
- Weakness
- Anxiety
- Back pain
- Cough
- Dry skin
- Hair loss
- Joint pain
- Loss of appetite
- Stomach pain
- Mouth sores
- Muscle aches
- Taste changes
- Trouble sleeping
- Vomiting
- Weight gain
Looks like I’m ready to get this party started.