Round 1 in the books

Posted on by keenjellybeancreative

I’m on my way to the upswing from last week’s infusion, which has shown to be a little easier than the first week’s. The nausea is still ever-present — where I was told by my doc I’d only feel that way for a few days after the infusion. Ha. I am on Lexapro, which does list a side effect of nausea so I’m meeting with my psychiatrist tomorrow to go over the best mixture of drugs while I’m on chemo.

And added new side effect not yet experienced with chemo: mouth sores & an aversion to certain tastes. (So long, spicy food…) You can’t imagine how inconvenient these little fuckers are. I’m nice enough to spare you any photos, but imagine really, REALLY chapped lips on the outside, and like you bit all parts of your tongue and all sides of your mouth on the inside. That has meant a lot of soft foods (THANK YOU OLIVIA!) because just the act of eating can hurt.

I’ve got this stuff called “Magic Mouth” (not kidding, that’s how I order it at the pharmacy) and I use it at night, so I can get my night guard in. It’s essentially lidocaine in liquid form (no swallowing, just swishing).

Other than the severe constipation and … sorry, I seem to be out of symptoms at this point … I’m actually doing quite well. Now that I know SOFT foods, that’s helped a lot in the mouth pain department. I was losing so much weight that Patti (Oncology RN) told me one trick they tell their patients is to swap out milk for heavy cream. I make the best cream, banana, chocolate peanut butter protein shake you’ve ever had. If you’re looking to gain a couple pounds…

Of course, I can only take that shake in small quantities, since I’ve been reminded I have no gall bladder. (Seriously. I forgot I don’t have one of those.)

Thanks to everyone for reaching out, coming by, and just overall for your support. It helps my fighting spirit burn a little brighter each day.

14 thoughts on “Round 1 in the books”

  1. Sending you good wishes and strength! My husband has no gallbladder either and just learned from the integrative health practitioner that taking Ox bile supplement can really help breakdown fat that you can’t – of course we’ve had a lot of laughs about taking Ox bile but it seems to help! We miss you!

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  2. Love you friend and praying much for you. I can’t believe you take the time to fill us all in, but I’m so glad you do. I wish I lived close enough to pop by and bring you whatever soft foods you wanted. I love you much. Oh, what about protein pancakes or are pancakes not soft enough!?

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  5. You’re amazing Jess, I love your attitude and dogged determination to give a big “FUCK YOU!” to cancer. Sending you good vibes and saving you a seat over here on Team Remission.

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