Taxol

I'm tired. Surprisingly tired. But today was an odd day at work, and I think the slow pace prevented me from ever gearing up and getting out of my doldrums. Even started into a migraine at around 4 pm, but a couple of Excedrin Migraine tablets took care of it, thank goodness. I came home and meditated on dealing with the fatigue and actually feel better.

So, so far, the fatigue is the worst of the Taxol. I was tired over the weekend, and now again today. I sure as heck hope this is not in store for the entire 12 weeks. Or beyond...I WILL find some way to combat it. My oncologist told me that iron would not help as this is not iron-deficient anemia, but brought on by chemo. Still, be it the placebo effect or a real response, I felt a bit better when doing iron, and I will get back to it tomorrow. Also to the homeopathic remedy that had helped me earlier in my treatment. I did walk for about 20 minutes earlier today but didn't get it together to walk the dog tonight. Maybe in the morning.

I'm also hoping that Wednesday will be easier with an oral Claritin dose rather than IV Benedryl. Perhaps I will not be knocked out by that and will have Wednesday evening to do some activities, even laundry, which would be preferable to losing that entire time to a drugged out sleep.

I am taking 30 grams of Glutamine daily, 10 grams 3 times, to fight the peripherial neuropathy that is the most commonly reported side effect of Taxol. Several recent studies indicate that there is no danger and significant benefit with using this amino acid to address that side effect so I'm on it. It's pretty easy to take, a powder you dissolve in water or juice, or even sprinkle on fruit, cereal, etc. Anything I can take in a non-pill form makes me very happy as my already-present swallowing difficulty has been a bit exaggerated since beginning chemo. I'm getting physical therapy myself to address this and I do feel like I'm able to swallow a bit better, with less stuck pills in my esophogus lately, but it's still a chore to get them down and requires preparation and focus to avoid pain, coughing or hiccups. Hopefully more PT will lead to a huge reduction in this response.

Anyway, I always think of hundreds of things I want to write about here during the day when I am away from my computer, but at the moment, that's all I got. Be well. XOX.