New Hope for Being Pain Free

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The new week brought initially new hope for being pain free, nausea free, and complication free. I was told that the blood transfusion was supposed to make me feel like a new person with new energy within 48 hours. I am still waiting to feel that. The reality is that since last week, I have been feeling extremely tired and nauseous. I have a difficult time eating - nothing sounds good. I also have a hard time taking my pills because there are so many of them that I have to consume almost a whole glass of water to get them down.

My stomach is still distended and hurts, so the more liquids or food I eat, the more pain I feel in my stomach. Even water is not appetizing anymore. The ironic thing is that I am constantly thirsty! My throat feels sore and I can’t seem to get enough liquids. My caregiver this week, Carlinda, has experience working with cancer patients, and she recommended drinking Vitamin Water. What a savior this drink is! I have also taken a liking to Ensure. It irritates my stomach a little because of the dairy; however, it is a great way to get at least some nutrients on the days that I can’t eat. Even my sugar cravings have disappeared.

This Friday I have a PET scan. This will show us the progression of the cancer and how the treatments are working or not working. I am a little nervous; however, I am also anxious to see where we are and what the next steps are. Everyday I wake up, I feel horrendous pain in my body. It usually is different areas so it is a little difficult to explain. I’m not sure how long it takes to get results back, but I am assuming that I probably will have some answers by early next week.

I also met with Dr. Deitrick at the Arizona Heart Institute in regards to my blood clot in my right leg. They looked at my charts and did a venous doppler scan to determine the status of the blood clot. Dr. Deitrick said that I do have significant blockage in my leg, but it doesn’t make sense right now to do surgery unless the clot become dehabilitating. They don’t want to push back the chemo schedule.

On the other hand, my leg and foot on the right side seem to be changing by the day. The swelling has gone down, but now the ankle and foot are really sore and it hurts to walk. They are also colored a purplish-red color. My oncologist switched my medication from Lovenox to Fragmin. If the clot gets worse, they will switch me to an even more hard-core drug. After that, there are no more options except for surgery.

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.