Things they never tell you

I started Chemotherapy this week. It was a most unpleasant experience. Maybe it would be easier if I'd been prepared.

It started out pretty decent. My nurse, Bonnie, was fantastic. She could tell that I was anxious, so after getting me started with my IV (which, by the way, I don't do well with, since I have a terrible phobia of needles), she hooked me up with some IV Ativan, which is a great anti-anxiety medication. It helped me to relax while she got things going. After the Ativan and a bag of Zofran (to help prevent the nausea that goes along with chemo), she came over dressed in a spacesuit. Or something like it. Apparantly, the stuff can burn skin if it touches it, so the precautions the nurses take are pretty big. They put on these big protective gowns and gloves (did she have a mask? I'm not sure), and hook that big bag of poison right up to you. (This is something they don't tell you in advance...they just let you find it out yourself.) Yep, that stuff she was protecting herself against went into my veins.

Another thing they don't tell you is that it burns. My arm felt like it was on fire the whole time. Bonnie brought over a warm pack (weird, the heat actually made it feel better), and it helped. Luckily the Ativan helped me to relax enough to sleep for most of the treatment. Afterwards Austin got me loaded up in the car and I slept almost the entire three hour ride home. (Had to have been boring for you Austin - sorry love.)

I kept expecting to start throwing up, but it didn't happen. I guess the Zofran did it's job well. I felt a little sick on Friday, but not too bad. Mostly the insane tiredness was what I dealt with. I slept the day away on Friday as well, but then was up most of the night on Friday night/Saturday morning. Saturday came and went and the tiredness didn't go away. That's something else I didn't know. I expected to get the treatment, get sick, and then be fine. I had no idea I'd turn into a walking zombie for days on end. I'm still exhausted.

Another thing nobody warned me about is food. I'm not turned off by smells; it's the taste. Nothing taste the same. The biggest crime in it? My favorite, my one vice, Dr. Pepper; it no longer tastes like Dr. Pepper. Even my toothpaste and mouthwash tastes funny. It's really a weird experience.

So....things they never tell you about with chemo. Wonder what next week will bring, since I'm getting two rounds of it.

Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.