Current Side Effects
Regarding most recently talked about issues, I am happy to report that:
a) within DAYS of my butt doctor visit, and the subsequent cessation of baby-wipe usage and underpants sleeping, my backside seems to be back to it's normal self.
b) on my last day of antibiotics, my UTI seems to be all gone - no more AZO and bright orange wee for me!
So, where am I with lingering side effects you might wonder? Or you might not, but I'm going to talk about it anyhow. Because it is on my mind.
1. FATIGUE - I am pleasantly surprised to see that the fatigue I was warned about seems to be almost entirely gone. Only on rare occasions now do I find myself confusedly tired for no reason before it dawns on me that this could be the reason. Rare like less than once every week or two. So that's awesome. I have to imagine that my activity level helped tremendously with this. From using the rebounder EVERY MORNING to working full days at my (very physical) job to evening workouts at home (not to mention walking 462 miles all over Italy!!!). Overall, this one definitely does not seem to be a problem! Woo!
2. SKIN - Almost all of my torched skin down at the radiation site seems to be back to normal. ALMOST all. There are still some odd spots, and I still have a ring of what looks like a brutal suntan that surrounds the entire area front and back. Sexy. Hair is returning as well, but not everywhere it used to be... things are a bit patchy down there, and not in a way that makes any sense.
3. HARD VEINS - Gone! I had almost forgotten about this, actually, until I looked down at my hands just now and realized that it has been months since I noticed any of those painful hard spots in my battered blood tubes.
4. "CHEMO/MENOPAUSE BRAIN" - I don't see this ending an time soon. I used to have a fantastic memory. Not anymore. I can barely remember what day it is. I used to remember all of the clients names of items I was working on at work - now almost every day I go in, none of the current orders seem familiar - even when I looked at them YESTERDAY! I forget dates and appointments, unless I put them in my calendar immediately. I lose stuff. I just feel... foggy. Like all the time.
5. NEUROPATHY - My toes are officially numb 24/7 now. It's a weird sensation and I feel less steady on my feet (which is bad because I was ALREADY super clumsy). My hands feel numb to tingly and very "tight" (not sure how else to describe it) every morning when I wake up and for an hour or so after. Sometimes during the day the tingling comes back for a while, too, but usually only for a few minutes when I've been doing a lot with my hands.
I guess that sums up the things I had on my mind. We're not going into the dilator nonsense today. That will, I fear, continue to be a disaster for a while. And talking about it makes me feel worse rather than better.
So there it is. Overall, that's pretty good considering how little time has passed.
Xxo, Phoebe
a) within DAYS of my butt doctor visit, and the subsequent cessation of baby-wipe usage and underpants sleeping, my backside seems to be back to it's normal self.
b) on my last day of antibiotics, my UTI seems to be all gone - no more AZO and bright orange wee for me!
So, where am I with lingering side effects you might wonder? Or you might not, but I'm going to talk about it anyhow. Because it is on my mind.
1. FATIGUE - I am pleasantly surprised to see that the fatigue I was warned about seems to be almost entirely gone. Only on rare occasions now do I find myself confusedly tired for no reason before it dawns on me that this could be the reason. Rare like less than once every week or two. So that's awesome. I have to imagine that my activity level helped tremendously with this. From using the rebounder EVERY MORNING to working full days at my (very physical) job to evening workouts at home (not to mention walking 462 miles all over Italy!!!). Overall, this one definitely does not seem to be a problem! Woo!
2. SKIN - Almost all of my torched skin down at the radiation site seems to be back to normal. ALMOST all. There are still some odd spots, and I still have a ring of what looks like a brutal suntan that surrounds the entire area front and back. Sexy. Hair is returning as well, but not everywhere it used to be... things are a bit patchy down there, and not in a way that makes any sense.
3. HARD VEINS - Gone! I had almost forgotten about this, actually, until I looked down at my hands just now and realized that it has been months since I noticed any of those painful hard spots in my battered blood tubes.
4. "CHEMO/MENOPAUSE BRAIN" - I don't see this ending an time soon. I used to have a fantastic memory. Not anymore. I can barely remember what day it is. I used to remember all of the clients names of items I was working on at work - now almost every day I go in, none of the current orders seem familiar - even when I looked at them YESTERDAY! I forget dates and appointments, unless I put them in my calendar immediately. I lose stuff. I just feel... foggy. Like all the time.
5. NEUROPATHY - My toes are officially numb 24/7 now. It's a weird sensation and I feel less steady on my feet (which is bad because I was ALREADY super clumsy). My hands feel numb to tingly and very "tight" (not sure how else to describe it) every morning when I wake up and for an hour or so after. Sometimes during the day the tingling comes back for a while, too, but usually only for a few minutes when I've been doing a lot with my hands.
I guess that sums up the things I had on my mind. We're not going into the dilator nonsense today. That will, I fear, continue to be a disaster for a while. And talking about it makes me feel worse rather than better.
So there it is. Overall, that's pretty good considering how little time has passed.
Xxo, Phoebe
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