Thursday, August 20, 2009

Chemotherapy side-effects

While I have known about vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, terrible mouth sores, weakness, fatigue, anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, nausua, hair loss, and all... which Ron has not suffered some of these things too badly except when he had that high-dose chemo treatment... I was taken by surprise in this one side-effect (even though we had received literature about it), and was trying to dismiss it as " just Athlete's Foot"... nice of me, huh, to dismiss what the doctor's tried to tell him... nope, it is much more obvious now... he apparently has CIPP... chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy... hope it isn't permanent, cause it sure is causing his feet some real pain! He said he could barely finish work today... he is walking like his feet are raw, but I don't see any real sores... poor guy... he is convinced it will ware off soon, since he just had the last of these chemo treatments that he has been on (guess that they can't give him anymore of this kind). He's a tough guy, but to have "pins and needles" feelings strongly in your feet can be pretty tough! He felt kind-of rough today, so I gave him his Neupogen shot (he thought his white blood count was low)... and, maybe he will feel better tomorrow, but I don't know about those feet.
If you cannot find a run-on sentence in this post, you need to go back and take English 101... it is 11:30pm, so please forgive my increase in grammatical errors.
GOOD NEWS
My dad was back in the hospital again, and had another heart cath, and it came back good this time.
My friend who was sick, seems to be getting well, and hopefully she will be all well soon.
The scary phone call I received a couple of weeks ago seems to have been reversed to a VERY happy note.
My sister and I have been able to have late night chats online and it has been just plain fun!
My daughter,Faith, is doing FANTASTIC in her kindergarten work.
Charity did several somersots by herself today (not sure if that is good... I hope she doesn't hurt herself)
Hope has been enjoying school devotions greatly, because she loves to "sing."
I have been loosing weight... hurry!!! I MAY have lost as much as 8 lbs recently... I have about 51 yet to go... but, I am experiencing excitement here! I will tell you that this weight loss business is tough! I have to exercise ALOT! I can't eat much at all either, unless it is something like celery, tomatoes, or another low calorie veggie or fruit... with which, I feel okay in splurging... but, it is worth it... I can already feel the difference! I am excited, yet nervous, as I step on the scales these days! I got at least one thing I wanted for my birthday... an accountability partner who is also aiming to loose weight. And, then, what Ron bought me for my birthday is definitely helping me to reach this goal, too... Thanks, Ron!
By the way, if anyone out there has had neuropathy of the feet and would like to tell me about something that made their feet feel more comfortable, I would love to hear about it.
I have been a little bit into a book my sis-n-law gave me called "The Hallelujah Diet"... I tried to cut caffeine cold-turkey... ohhhh, that was bad!!! What a headache and sickness! I think I am going to take it slow. Got some food for thought from the book, though... pardon the pun!
Well, that is all for tonight!
Goodnight

4 comments:

Missy said...

Sorry to hear that Ron isn't feeling very good. We will continue to pray for him!

3 cheers for you for losing those first 8 lbs! Yay!!! 8-)

trakylynn said...

Jeannie said to use Aspercreme.. she too has neuropathy... she has it bad... dont know if rons will go away or not... she has had her fo a LONG time.. she has some meds she takes for circulation.... she will think about it and if any more ideas will let you know!
We are praying for you both, expecially Ron... any news of a transplant yet??? Love Tracy

Im gonna print off your family picture and take it to our church ad post it up so people can pray!

Jessica said...

There are medications like neurontin that my mother takes for her chemo induced neuropathy. You mayy talk to his oncologist about what is best to start if over the counter remedies like aspercreme or bengay to not effectively manage it. He also needs to watch things like water temperatures when bathing due to the fact that neuropathy can cause alterations in sensations of hot and cold. You may also want to check his feet regularly to ensure that he has no cuts or wounds as he may not be able to fully feel other sources of pain if the symptoms persist.
Sincerely,
Jessica

Chemotherapy side effects said...

Maxium people opt for chemotherapy sessions for curing cancer. But it causes side effects like feeling nauseous, queasiness and vomiting. But because of the many medications and advaced science, this has been brought under control. If nausea and vomiting are not treated on time, then it could lead to things like exhaustion, anxiousness, dehydration and malnutrition. But controlling nausea is quite crucial.