Suzy on Steriods...NOT!!

It turns out that steriods and me are like ADHD kids and ritalin. Friday I came home from chemo completely mellowed out.

See, they give you a steriod and one other anti-nausea medication intravenously before they dump the toxins into you. The steriods are supposed to make you anxious and sleepless, as well as non-nauseous.

I was sleepy by 6pm, asleep by 9pm and barfing at 3am.

I was taking all of my anti-nausea medication -- and on schedule too! I didn't feel that bad. It was, well, rather like having your body feel like it needed to vomit without feeling really very much stomach upset. You know, that achy face feeling that reaches back up your cheeks to your ears ..and then your mouth starts watering? I felt this little pull in the center of my diaphram that said "Don't soil the sheets -- Run NOW!"

After that I felt really good. Really. The tiredness I felt was a bit like watching a really good movie on a TV with a snowy image -- my body feels like it's working fine, but there's a lot of interference. It's a bit abrasive, but not too unpleasant.

My friend Serena, who was going to stay up with me all night and enjoy my steriod ride with me, went walking with me the following morning. My friend Ilona came along as well. Then my family and I went to a pumpkin patch for pumpkin hunting and hayrides. I came home and went to bed at 4:45 pm. I barfed at 10pm, after getting up and spending some time with the kids as they went to bed.

Today, Sunday, it's been even better. I get a bit nauseous if I lay down and try to do my stretching exercises for my arm. But almost any upright activity feels just fine. It's 10:30 and I'm tired like 'had a hard stressful day at work and didn't sleep well'.

My friend Ramona and her family made us this MARVELOUS lasagna. Every single person in my family LOVED that lasagna -- and it's already half gone! (It's a BIG pan of lasagna.) Everyone is a bit relieved to have the first chemo over -- my kids are feeling secure enough to make bets on whether I would be barfing the lasagna back up later tonight.

Well now the hair clock is ticking. I made people take pictures of me this weekend so I'll have some of this pre-bald state documented!

It's hard to believe I'll lose my hair in about ten days. Seems like killing off so many cells would hurt more or something.

OK...I've got to stop now and go knock on wood.