Post Chemo Life

@kmakm...I feel for you, big time. My experience with this whole shitfest is this. As far as the chemo brain goes, by brain turned to porridge in a major way. I was reduced to bald headed tears in the bank one day after I completely forgot my pin number. I had gone into the post office to pay some bills, and the machine told me I had stuffed up with the number. So I went to my bank to see if they could help me. I was told that they could not access my pin number, so I asked if I could phone my husband. (I am the only person in the southern hemisphere who doesn't have a mobile phone). Well...under pressure, I couldn't remember his phone number either. I burst into tears, whereupon the teller closed her till, and took me into a cubicle...she's a sweetie who has known me as a customer for years. She tried to go about it by changing my pin number and essentially opening a new card, but would you believe, I needed my password to do this, and had no clue as to what that was either. What a cluster f**k!!! Eventually I got it sorted, but the result is I now have all phone numbers and my pin number written down on a piece of paper in my purse. (The pin number is the last four numbers on a fake name and phone number). I also couldn't remember the names of different things, and they were reduced to things like the clicky thing (remote control), the cutty thingy (scissors), the picky uppy thing (salad tongs), the pully outy thing (tweezers) and the sucky outy thingy (usb stick..it sucks data out of one computer and spits it out into another). For the terrible night sweats, I found that sleeping in the nuddy was worse for me, When I broke out into a sweat, the arms against my body and the legs against each other would become slick and almost oily and the bed would become saturated. I found a light cotton nighty, two sizes too big (from Kmart) were the best. As each became drenched, I simply pulled it off, blotted myself with kitchen paper (better than faffing about with a towel) then powdered myself with clouds of baby powder to remove the clammy feeling. By this time, I would be freezing cold, and so would return to my torture platform, also known as a bed, and start again with a dry nighty. Layers of bedding, starting with a sheet, and then a cotton blanket like the hospital ones, followed by a light doona and if needed a blanket too were the go. On my bald nut, I had a woolen beanie, which would also come and go as necessary. Nanna naps were de rigeur and were the only thing that kept me going. I would suddenly hit the wall, where even just sitting up was exhausting, so down I would go. I realise you have more family commitments on your plate than I have, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I cut corners on every thing that was not essential to life itself. Ironing was only for my husband's work shirts, meals  were frequently either frozen, take out or just quick and easy. My family wasn't going to die from malnutrition from crappy food for a few months... You have to make yourself a priority now, You can't look after them if you don't look after yourself first. I looked upon chemo as cluster bombs. In a military conflict, cluster bombs kill innocent civilians as well as the bad guys. Well the good cells were being smashed as well as the bad f*****s.  It will improve, much the same as early motherhood does. Those sleepless nights with crapping, piddling, spewing, wailing little babies does become a distant memory. Lots of hugs xoxo