Interesting Day

It has been an interesting day. I started out taking my blood pressure first thing this morning and it was a little high. I took my shower and then started to get shaky and dizzy - now my blood pressure was WAY low. Ate my breakfast and drank some water - the bp started to climb. Headed to my first day at cardiac rehab and the bp was perfect there. Go figure. Yesterday I woke from a nap and had one eye that wasn't focusing right - a check of blood pressure showed it was very high. I am not sure what this high low stuff is all about - but I am sure it is directly related to my chemo treatments.

One side effect I get from the Avastin is a bloody nose. I also get bloody gums when brushing my teeth. The joys of chemo. However, I have had some pretty serious drainage from the same said nose, so my oncologist has prescribed a z - pack (antibiotic) as a precaution. I appreciate his proactive stance as an infection while on chemo can be hard to get rid of.

I have also had a weird side effect that I think is an allergic reaction to a new laxative. I won't go into details, but it is painful and is located where no one particularly wants to visit. My onc said to go to my gp to have it checked out - cowardly onc. My gp said he wasn't sure what it was, but to change laxatives next time and that it would eventually heal. Sigh.

This morning I put a call in to my cardiologist. Now, mind you, I have had a call in to her for a week with no response. I finally called this morning and asked to have a nurse call me. When I hadn't heard from anyone by mid afternoon I called again. This time my call was returned by a nurse. Because of my breathing test my cardiologist is taking me off of my heart rhythm medication. I thought maybe she would just switch me to something else, but her nurse said no, they were just going to see what happens if I go off. OK..... Not sure I like that idea, but guess if she is OK with it, I am too. She made a very small change in how I take my meds, which she hopes will help with my weird high/low bp. Time will tell. However, I would certainly appreciate prayers concerning my heart rhythm and lung function.

I will be going to cardiac rehab three days a week for awhile (except when I am down for the count from treatment). I am looking forward to it and hopefully getting back into a regular exercise routine. I ride my recumbent bike now and then, but I was always timid about doing too much for fear I would stir up my heart. I will be monitored while at rehab, so it should put me at ease. They also have classes you take about diet, etc. I found out today that I can back off a little on monitoring my salt intake. I am still suppose to watch it, but since my last heart function test showed good pumping ability I am not as much at risk for congestive heart failure - yea!

How many of you have had water in your basement? My hand is raised! We have had so much rain that our foundation finally just gave up the ghost. Luckily it was in the storage room and not on any carpeted areas. My friend Carol in Topeka called to say that school was cancelled down there because of flooding. We shouldn't have any drought problems for awhile!