I stress from one thing to the next
Last week I stressed because my liver enzymes were way up and I feared the cancer on my liver. But that came back to mormal and aparently a side affect the the chemo I finished 3 weeks ago. This week...
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Three weeks to the day after I finished chemo I woke up and literally had to fall out of bed. Nothing worked; my legs felt like I had run a marathon, my head felt like it was nailed on, my feet felt like they were made of wood and my joints wouldn't bend. It was like I had been beaten up during the night.
I freaked. Up until that point I had struggled with chemo, my gut was particularly affected, but the rest of me was sort of OK. I was tired, but was walking 5 km most mornings and having the occasional swim. Logically I knew that it was unlikely to be cancer--total body cancer developing over night? No.
This, on top of my wavering mental state, really sent me on a downer. I found out that the pain I was experiencing was pretty common and that myalgia (the muscle pain) and tendonitis (mad pain in joints) are, indeed, listed as side effects of TC. Listed, but well down the page. Since then, I've discovered that what I am experiencing is very 'normal' but it seems to be glossed over when you are told what to expect when you have chemo.
Good news is, it has gotten better. I'm now taking Femara so thought it would get worse. Bad news it has taken, for me, months. I know that when I get stressed I hunch my back and clench my fists and jaw. This doesn't help with the neck pain and I have to consciously try to relax before I become completely rigid. I had to learn all this stuff and it shits me to tears, but I'm stuck with it. Which doesn't mean I don't have a damn good whinge every once in a while.
Hang in there. Marg xxx