Well, we are approaching the 2nd round of chemo- it starts Tuesday of next week. Casey has really run the gamut of side effects from the first round but has not yet thrown up! He has felt randomly nauseous, and his first nausea pill really didn't help at all so he switched to Emend and has had some success with that. He has a prescription for Zofran as well but he hasn't had to use any anti-nausea meds this week, which is awesome because even these have side effects including but not limited to a dizzy/really drunk feeling. Seems a bit counter intuitive to take an anti-nausea pill that makes you feel drunk and dizzy but, the choices are slim.
Last week (the week immediately following chemo) was really hard. He was exhausted, he had little to no appetite (more on this to follow) and he felt awful most of every day. Sitting around the house was getting to him and while he wanted to get up and go on a short walk outside, he just didn't have the energy. On top of the chemo side effects, his doctor gave him the Neulasta shot last week. This is a shot that helps the white blood cell count (your immune system) from falling too low. Of course, this also has side effects; flu like feelings of chills and aches especially in the bones. Unfortunately, Casey suffered some severe aches and felt awful about 24 hours after the shot. The nurses told him to take Tylenol and he said it helped a little but it was "some of the worst pain he's ever felt." It was, however, gone by the next day.
Now, onto food. Last week Casey could only stomach a few different meals. He ate bagels, cheese quesadilla's, turkey sandwiches, and that's about it. Asian sounds awful, dairy is unappetizing, and although every one of his friends brought him sweets and chocolate desserts after about the 3rd one he was sick of them. This week he has been able to stomach more; fajitas, turkey wraps, oatmeal, banana bread, etc. One thing he said he will do differently this round is to try to eat more healthful and nutritious meals. It's a double edged sword when you know what you should be eating but none of it sounds good! I made him a broccoli and chicken casserole that he could refrigerate and warm up as he needs, and a potato and cheese with ham casserole. He thought both of them sounded good and they were both full of good fats and calories for him. You can click on the words above and use the recipes it you'd like- I thought they were both very yummy!
I went to eat lunch with Casey yesterday and he showed me that he has started to loose his hair. We were hoping that somehow he wouldn't have to worry about his hair falling out but, like I said to him, I guess that just means the chemo is working! He opted to shave his head today and while he looks very different, he had a shaved head for most of High School, so it's nothing we've never seen before! I think he looks great! :)
As we start the 2nd round I will do my best to stay updated! We are 1/3 of the way through this...2/3 here we come!!!
