Well, my fourth bout of chemo was rather eventful.
I was slightly apprehensive beforehand because I was switching to a new drug. My previous one caused vomiting and nausea, so I hoped that the side effects for this drug would not be as bad. I asked about them and was told I would experience some sensitivity to my nerves.
Thus, the first few days after my chemo session were very different to the aftermath of previous ones. I didn’t vomit once, suffered no nausea and didn’t even feel fatigued. I felt surprisingly good, but what I did not realise is this chemo is a deceptive bastard because after such a positive start, things went to shit.
Three days later, I was struck down by niggling little spasms that started in my back and travelled around my body. It felt like I was zapped by a thousand volts under my skin, pinching my nerves from head to toe.
The pain carried on for several days. It was an agonising, niggling, fizzing and deeply uncomfortable sensation and I can imagine that the feeling is similar to arthritis (not that I have suffered from it). So much for being a fatigue-free zone – the tiredness seeped into my veins and I had trouble sleeping. Not even Paracetamol or Voltarol helped – I had to grit my teeth to get through it. Honestly, I preferred the nausea and vomiting.
The ‘zapping’ sensation eventually calmed down to a dull ache, so it was not as torturous. I’m hoping that it is not a regular occurrence after my remaining chemo sessions, but according to Breast Cancer Care, painful joints and muscles are a common side effect and ‘[your] muscles or joints may ache or become painful two to three days after you have your treatment’. Great.
Also, everything I ate had a weird aftertaste. Things I loved eating stayed on my palate and tasted strangely bitter. As it was Christmas, mince pies were on my radar and I indulged but I have gone off them. It might have been because of the chemo, or because I’m a glutton. Who knows?
Yet this was not the worst part.
A few days before Christmas, I had a sore throat which got worse by the day. It was unbearable – eating my Christmas dinner was a chore because it was so painful. Even something as innocuous as a bunch of grapes made my throat feel like I swallowed a set of knives. I called the chemo helpline (on Christmas Day) and the nurse said it was a side effect of the chemo, but to be honest, she sounded distracted, like she was waiting for her turkey. I felt terrible and couldn’t take anymore so I went to the hospital on Boxing Day, thinking I would be prescribed some antibiotics and sent home. Turned out I had severe oral thrush and neutropenia. My white blood cell count was zero, which meant I had no defence against the infection. I was put on a relentless course of IV antibiotics and stayed in hospital for five days. Plus, I had an incredibly obnoxious period that decided to join the party, so both my red and white blood cells were affected.
Oh, it was a spectacularly shitty cycle.
Each cycle has been different and problematic, but this was the worst. My body hurt so much and I’m not sure how I coped. Only in the past few days have I begun to feel more like myself, which was a relief because there were moments where I felt horrendous and a bit despondent. At one point, the nerve pain felt like it was never-ending, but I got through it in the end. Praise be.
Oh well. Onto the next one.
greatbiglump 