Happy Holidays!

Hi Everyone! First I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! (I only got a portion of my Christmas cards out...eek!) So....I hope everyone is able to relax and enjoy the holiday season...(and that all you new nurses get some time off!!!) and... I hope you all take the time to ENJOY your loved ones! I'm happy that I get to do this, and feel good...as I'm on the mend again! (I'm ready to play, and win, all the family games!)

So...now the yuck of the 11th treatment! It was not fun! I've now experienced the bone pain of neulasta...and its pretty debilitating. Neulasta is the shot I get on Thursdays to boost my white blood cell production (therefore gives me an immune system). I also got a shot on Tuesday called darbopoetin to boost my red cell production (hgb-9), as I had met the criteria...aka, I was anemic enough. I actually was pretty sure that I would need the darbo...as I think I'm beginning to notice the difference between anemic tired, and normal tired. All day at work on Monday, my whole body was exhausted...not just my head. It's funny, sometimes my preceptor will check in with me saying that I look tired and encourage me to take a break...but my response will sometimes be..'no this is a good, normal tired'. Anyway...tangent...so I'm thinking maybe the combo of the two shots enhanced the pain.? (By the way...these are the two most painful shots ever created...I'm sure of it! The medicine burns as it goes in!...but...its only about 30 seconds which makes it tolerable).

Whew...I am scattered this morning...hope you're able to follow! Anyway..the bone pain is unlike anything I've really experienced. Most of my pain before could be pinpointed (usually to my head, as I've always had problems with headaches), but this was just a pain all over. It hurt to move, to be touched, I just ached all over. The acupuncture on Thursday didn't seem to help, rather it hurt too! Actually, it may have helped release some emotions, as I started to cry when I got home, and couldn't stop. I cried all through dinner, then my mom brought me to bed again and just sat with me as I slept. It was really rather pathetic! Don't worry, I've progressed since then. I've felt better each day (my movement increases by about a decade per day...Thursday, I moved like a 90 year old, Friday I was down to 80....) Today, I feel much better...and feel the need to stretch and walk to loosen up again!

Anyway...I guess I didn't feel the need to sugar-coat anything... I'm sure you've all had about enough sugar with all the holiday goodies! So...yes, #11 sucked...but it's over in time to really enjoy my Christmas...and that I'm am excited about!

So...again...Merry Christmas everyone!