It's been 12 days since my chemotherapy ended. I am still awaiting the results of my latest CT scans to determine what, if anything, the chemo has done to the cancer.
I am slowly starting to feel a bit better, and less fatigued. Every day I get a little bit more energy back, and my requirement to nap during the day has lessened. At night now, I am almost entirely off my sleep aids, and getting back to somewhat of a normal sleep pattern.
The only two issues I continue to deal with are; my nephrostomy tubes, and my bladder infections.
As for the nephrostomy tubes, they really are an inconvenience of having to cart around collection bags on each side of my body. It really does restrict my mobility somewhat. In addition, while the tubes do remove the majority of urine from my kidneys, it leaves very small amounts going into my bladder. This may sound like a minor issue, but I just want to get back to urininating normal amounts of fluid.
I still suffer a bit of PTSD from the days where I was retaining and passing very small amounts of urine, so now when I only pass small amounts (due to the nephrostomy tubes) I sometimes get anxious and worried again. It is very difficult for me to overcome the past traumatic experiences from June. The smallest issue can prompt me to suffer mental anxiety.
I have finally stopped taking my anti-anxiety medication as it wasn't something I wanted to be on for a long time. Perhaps that is why I may still have some anxiety but I will overcome that. I await the moment that Dr. Morash tells me I can get rid of the neph tubes.
As for the bladder infections, Dr. Morash started me on a daily dose of antibiotic as a strategy to prevent further bladder infections before they start. The first antibiotic that he prescribed me makes me quite ill, so he switched me to a new antibiotic today.
Around the homefront, we finally got all our Christmas decorations and tree up for the year. We finished our Christmas shopping (thanks to Amazon), and just have to wrap them up now.
Anyhow that's the update for now. The official discussion with my oncologist will be this Thursday, so we will definitely know what's next by the end of the week.
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