This...I Can Deal With.

Cycle 2, Day 4 is almost in the books.  

I'm still really tired from the chemo, but life has been so much easier this time around.  Physically, I have had enough energy and motivation to do my daily walkabouts.  Today, it was just three meandering laps around Willamette Park with my friend Delyne, but yesterday I was able to do most of Terwilliger. I'm hoping to make it down to the Eugene Roubaix tomorrow and get a walk in while the girls race, and Sunday, hopefully, take my track bike to the velodrome for a half hour or so.  A couple of good runs off of the top rail at Alpenrose will definitely be good for the legs--and the soul. 

Mentally, its been like living on a different planet.  Simply put, I feel like I can deal with all of this right now.  

We made a few changes to my medications this time around and I think it has made part of the difference.  I'm taking half of the original steroid dosage and, fingers crossed, haven't had any nausea complications as a result. My skin immediately cleared up and it has been easier to wind down in the evening.   I've also don't need as much sleep medication.  Part of that is probably attributable to the lower dosage of steroids, part of it to keeping up with the exercise. 

I've become one of "those people" in the last two weeks.  You know, "those people" that watch every little thing that they put into their body.  Many things have been eliminated from my diet because they don't agree with my newly finicky stomach:  coffee (!!!!!!), processed sweets and heavy carbs, soda.  I'm drinking a ton of homemade iced green tea and Nuun-flavored water.  Alcohol doesn't even sound good...a glass of wine or a half of a beer with meals on my good days has been all I've been able to handle. 

And I'm eating like a champ:  lots of protein, fruit and only organic eggs, dairy and meat.  Slowly learning how to work more legumes and greens into my daily routine.  It's been hard because by the time I eat everything on my "must-eat" list, I'm usually at my food intake limit for the day.  (The anti-nausea meds keep things down, but also make harder to funnel stuff in the opposite direction.)

Too bad it took me 30 years to consciously think about these things, because, all things considered, I feel great right now.  Less toxic, less bloated. Able to, you know, deal. 

Time for a nap...have a wonderful weekend, y'all.  I'll get into some trouble this weekend and have some good stories on the flip-side.