Warning - mentions of bodily functions and smells, do not proceed if you are easily offended.
Monday 23rd September
Well, its been over two weeks and I am still waiting to hear what the CT scan showed. Hopefully I will find out this Wednesday when I see the Oncologist - fingers crossed it is good news and 'Boris' has shrunk to a more manageable size.
I had what was hopefully my last Chemotherapy session on Thursday 12th and have been pretty drained ever since. At least I haven't had the severe back spasms of previous weeks, but the 'Treacle Legs' and Fatigue have been very debilitating - to the point that I haven't even been on here to update the blog for ages.
To be honest I feel somewhat abandoned in a post Chemo wasteland. What happens next? No-one has said, but my inner voice tells me that had the scan shown anything serious I would have been called in to see the Oncologist sooner. I have a blood test tomorrow and see him on Wednesday,but then what? I had got into a routine of going for Chemo for 2/3 weeks and then fighting the battle between steroids and insulin.
Now, I am just constantly tired and wobbly on my legs. I have abdominal bloating and horrendous (noisy) wind to the extent that I blame JenHur for exhaust emissions when I am out lol (although it is not actually that noxious), although that said it is usually at night so I don't suffer cold feet at the moment ;) when I need a wee, I REALLY need a wee and daren't venture far from the loo in case of mishaps and wet feet.
At least my urine doesn't smell now, that was one that Ron found had a very strong 'pong', I said it was the cancer cells leaving my body but it was probably something in the Chemo?However, I had to make sure I sprayed the bathroom with weapons of gas destruction after using the loo. Mind you I said it was in retaliation to the grossly smelling Vapes he uses in the Living Room/Kitchen/Bedroom/Bathroom (although not when I am in there) but the minute I go out of the door, his head explodes in a cloud of vapour, the smell of which makes me feel sicker than any of the Chemo drugs I had.
The past couple of weeks have been pretty uneventful although last week Ron and I both had our Flu jabs. Unfortunately, Ron seems to have had a reaction to his and is now suffering from what he describes as 'flu' symptoms. I did check and he hasn't got a temperature, but he has been suffering form an old adversary for the past week - GOUT! He has been taking Allopurinol for years and cannot think what has triggered it this time - it is usually sea food, especially mussels, that start it off, but he hasn't eaten anything like that containing purine. This is the diet recommended for people with Gout.
Actually, having now done some research it seems that Tomatoes could be a trigger food, and as he has had a glut of ripe tomatoes we have both been having a lot of tomatoes to try and get through them - looks like I will have to get through them on my own, or maybe the girls will help us out - they need to be rewarded now all 4 of them are laying almost every day. Fortunately Ron can eat eggs, although his Cholesterol Specialist Consultant at the hospital, (who in my opinion is a bit of a dinosaur), believes he shouldn't have more than 2 a week! He is supposed to be on a low fat diet and takes fortnightly injections of Praluent to keep his Familial Hypercholesteraemia under control.
Poor soul has spent today in bed, I made a mercy dash to Morrisons when I read an article in (a newspaper that makes me sick when I mention it's name) about Montmorency cherries. Apparently studies have shown that just 30 mls in 250 mls water of 100% natural, tart Montmorency cherry concentrate (Cherry Active) can help relieve and/or prevent Gout.
Of course Morrisons didn't have any of this particular juice, but I managed to get a version containing 5% Montmorency cherries so he is drinking that like it is going out of fashion - it was on special offer at just 80p a carton so I stocked up and brought 3 litres - hopefully the Cherry Active will arrive before he runs out, or his gout subsides.
On a more positive note, last week we went to Ryde Esplanade to show off our old lady, 'Daphne' at the 2019 Car Extravaganza. There were hundreds of Classic and Vintage Cars and she got a lot of interest - from people of all ages. It was lovely to see so many children fascinated by her, she is obviously very different to the cars of today with their onboard computers, sat-navs and sound systems. I always say the air conditioning is excellent, but the heater is rubbish!
To get an idea of some of the cars we saw you can see the video I took as we left the show and I sat in the back like a character from Downton Abbey.
As an aside, I am thinking of changing my website to a Word Press or other Blog and Domain Name, when I feel more like my old self, but I need to look into that as this current one is free. If anyone reads this and has and suggestions of a cheap, or free version lease let me know.
Footnote
Ron has woken up this morning (Tuesday) feeling much better and even the gout has subsided considerably. Was it the Cherry Juice? or would it have been better by today anyway? Either way, it won't have done any harm.
