Monday, December 05, 2022

December 5, 2022 Monday--4am

Good early morning.

Yup--you guessed it.  My hours are still flipped.  Many days I am not actually sleeping much during the day, either.  This has been a very crappy week.  Literally.  I have managed very little.  Emptied the bottom shelf in glass bookcase #1.

Was shoving things in glass bookcase #2...but decided that I should empty one of them at least.
Monday Ian was better but not well--no fever, anyways.  I had had over a week after the booster feeling rotten.  The chills, headache, and painful body aches subsided but the diarrhea remained...all week long.  And then got much, much worse.  I've been not eating very often but when I do it goes right through me.  Wish me luck--haven't eaten since about this time on Friday morning and I just ate a little now.  I'll see what happens.

I don't really like to bring up these crazy side effects I've been living with for months but I did mention having the pasty poop.  Seems like the covid booster shot set off the keytruda IBS side effects and pasty has been traded off for watery diarrhea.  Queasy all the time.  Feel generally crappy.  And I am just waiting to see what happens now that I ate about a cup of food.

I am drinking lots of liquids.

I am supposed to have my infusion on Friday this week.  If this doesn't subside I am seriously thinking about cancelling.  1) this hasn't totally let up yet but I haven't eaten for two days & wanted to know if it was going to get worse again if I eat, 2) it is hard to go anywhere with diarrhea when you can hardly make it to the bathroom right down the hallway, 3) I think my entire system is screaming for a break to heal for a while...to be left alone to recover.  I can't live like this.  I don't want to go into detail about how bad this has been but it is the worst diarrhea I've ever experienced--not with flus, not with over 20 years of IBS, or the time after the shingles shot where I partially shat myself leaving the eye doctors last year.  I could keep all this to myself, but I have always been honest with you all.  

In case this happens to someone else on keytruda, I want them to know they are not alone.  At the clinic they ask me every time many questions, one of which is have you had any diarrhea or constipation?  Pasty poop the last couple months or more hasn't bothered them.  Well, now I can say most definitely yes--a most excellent and prolonged case of diarrhea. lol!  It's on their list so there must be others who have dealt with this and now they might pay more concerned attention?

Needless to say--but I will--I cancelled Keanna for cleaning on Tuesday.  She's supposed to come back in two weeks.

Liam was sick by Tuesday.
Leah felt miserable with a terrible headache on Saturday and both the boys were still coughing.

Not a good week for me or McFamily.  Dagan's the only one who hasn't gotten sick yet.

I fasted from Monday afternoon till Wednesday afternoon so I could make a trip to the garage with donations.  10 degrees and windy--brr!  I thought I'd make a trip to the dumpster, too--but felt too awful after the one trip.  Ate and so it started full force again in a couple of hours.

Fasted again till Friday morning.  Did get my bullet journal set up for December during the night...before it all hit me again on Friday...and Saturday and into Sunday.  Been fasting since Friday.  Needed to be able to walk my check down to the office at 2am (in my robe--been in pjs all week) and check my mail from this week.  I think I also went down Wednesday in the middle of the night in my robe before I broke my fast, come to think of it.  Been a blur.  Hard for me to know what day it actually is or if it is day or night by the clock.  Good thing my Alexa or Hey Google contraptions know--lol!  I'd sometimes nap three times in one day and it is very disorienting to wake up three times and it be the same day--lol!  (In fact, I just asked Alexa to be sure it is my Monday blog day.)

So that is how my week went.  Worse in other ways than last week after the covid shot.  Good grief!  Sometimes I wonder how much more of this I can take.  And yet...I'm "getting better", folks--ROFL!  The tumors were shrinking last time I had a scan and were really small.  Lord--just get me through till my next scan in January.

Allie has known something is wrong.  She follows me back and forth to the bathroom and wants some reassurance...and then parks herself to wait for me on the rug...whether it is in front of the toilet or waiting for me to get out of the shower again.  (Yup--that bad.)  

She comes up often for some lovin--some neck and head scratching.  Here she is with that spacy look when I've been rubbing her neck and she's waiting for me to continue.  If I don't pretty quickly she gets up and rubs all over me-lol!
It had been warm enough to melt a lot of the snow.
Got cold again and snowed some more--but I never even got a photo.  Most of the time by the time I was awake and remembered...it was dark out.

All week (after I'd been fasting long enough to be able to move about a little) I'd gradually  work on moving things out of glass bookcase #2.
So now that one can be sold, too.  I need my desk and this bookcase to be moved to the garage before we can put them up for sale.  My hours are too crazy.  Leah can get into my garage and meet any buyer there without me even being there.  Kind of nice!  :)
I used a couple tubs and a box to just cram some of the stuff in...to go through it later, you know?
But I did purge a lot already as I have been going through things.

Got some photos from Leah on our shared One Drive account. 
Ian and Liam.
The McFamily photo by somebody at one of the family Thanksgiving gatherings.
(I try not to post pictures of the rest of the family members on either side or their friends & their families because I don't really have their permission, you know--but it is fun for me to see them.)

Leah found these at IKEA.  Well, I don't know what you'd call them...a kind of zippered portable desk?
The boys each have one...
...that they can use on car rides.  They really liked them!
Pics of the boys at a Thanksgiving gathering.
At home.  Liam and...
Ian.
Liam with his hair in a mullet type combing!
The boys watching something on TV someplace--lol!
Well, that's it from here.
I'm hoping for a better week, but I don't know how much will change, to be honest.  If I am still feeling like crap by Thursday you can bet I will cancel on Friday.  I'll have to.  Meanwhile...Allie is having a bath right now...and she does keep tabs on me.
I make sure she is fed and watered...and the birds get some food, too.  Critter Cafe has warmed up to 21 degrees tonight.  But our high is only supposed to be 24...and then get colder for a few days again.  If I get to anything this week it will be Christmas cards!!  That's top on the list this week.  Messes...piles & stacks...everywhere I look but I don't really care--lol!  Just want to make it through this week and work on Christmas cards.

I hope you all have a good week.
This too shall pass, right?
Till next time... 

13 comments:

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita. I am so sorry to hear that this week has been so rough. I certainly will pray that you get feeling better. What you are going through sounds really tough. Cute picture of McFamily at Thanksgiving. I do hope you are better soon.

Divers and Sundry said...

I'm so sorry about the sleep issues. I can empathize with that. It still looks like you're getting a lot done. All those shelves take time, I'm sure. I didn't have any reaction to my flu vaccine and covid booster (well, a sore arm, but that hardly counts). I'm sorry your reaction has been so severe. Fasting sounds like an extreme management measure, but I realize needs must :( And it's hard that the boys are sick. I know you'll be happy when people are all better!

That your tumors are shrinking is worth a celebration, and I hope improvements continue.

She is such a pretty cat. We're having highs in the upper 50s and into the 60s and rain all week.

Your family pics are delightful :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

So sorry you are having crappy issues. Hope it resolves itself soon, make sure you keep drinking fluids so you don't get dehydrated again. Perhaps your doctor can prescribe something that will help. :)

DJan said...

What a crappy week (pun intended) you have had. I am so sorry you're having such a hard time, for whatever reason. With all that fasting and purging, you must have lost ten pounds, at least! I am thinking of you and your name is always mentioned to the Medicine Buddha when I say my prayers. I hope he is listening. :-)

Anvilcloud said...

Sorry about the tough times, but I am impressed that you are still able to do some 'work' although I can't think of how you manage it. I hope this week is much better. It's got to be better. Right?

BTW we are just about finishing A Touch of Frost marathon on Britbox. Have you ever watched it. There are 15 seasons, many very short, starting almost 30 years ago. He is a somewhat frosty detective who also has a sensitive side that sometimes comes out.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What a mess you are having with your body. You sould tell someone when they give yopu all those canned questions. You sould expain how yoy ust fast in order to even walk dow3n to the lobby for your mail. It might make someone take notice. You exp.ained it to us, surely medical personel can understand,.

The boys look great and I love that photo of your family. It turned out great.

Hope you are better soon and that someone can take that bookcase to your storage shed.

Jeanie said...

I'm so sorry you are having effects and not pleasant ones, either. And that all your family is under the weather, too. I don't know enough about canceling things to know if that's a good idea but I certainly understand the body telling you it wants a little time to heal. Three cheers for Allie. Yes, they know. She's a dear.

AliceKay said...

I'm so sorry you're having such bad reactions to the shots and/or keytruda. I know you've had major issues with IBS for a long time, and I understand what you have to deal with. It's not easy and it's very hard on your body. I'm glad your tumors are shrinking, and I hope they continue to do so. Praying for good scans in the future.

Allie is a beautiful cat. I'm glad you have someone to keep you company.

Great pics of McFamily. The boys looks like they have a lot of fun together. I wish my grandsons would get along, but the 5 1/2 year difference (and personality difference) doesn't work out very well.

We've all been sick here. My 8-year-old grandson had RSV, so I was watching him on and off over a 3 (maybe 4) week period. He's feeling better, but the older grandson is sick now. I somehow contracted strep throat and was pretty sick last week, and even tho the antibiotic is killing my guts, my throat and head are much better. One day at a time.

I hope your week turns around and you start feeling better. You need to eat to get your strength back, but you know what your body can tolerate. Take care and hugs.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

You do more then I can at the moment due to pain

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

What an awful week, Rita, and most definitely a crappy one since you pull no punches in sharing, which is OK with me and I am sure other bloggers. Those side effects sound worse than the cure, if that’s what we are to believe the vaccines are and makes me wonder about their effectiveness. There may be a lot of truth in your comment that your body IS trying to tell you something and it may be to take a step backwards. While I do not know if cancelling your appt is the best move, perhaps in a day or two you will know better. Sorry to read that members of McFamily are also not feeling well. Hope that you and they will be feeling better soon. Card writing is also what I am doing this week.

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh Rita, in all the years I've been following you I never heard you sound so bad. You are probably right that your body needs a rest, it has had a tough time. I was actually wondering if it might be possible for your doctor to give you some intravenous nourishment? (I hate to offer unsolicited advice when I don't know anything anyhow - but I am just figuring that getting no nourishment can't be that great for anyone, so forgive me for mentioning it if it was the wrong thing to say.) I am glad that you feel you can share with us about the miseries, as now you know there are people out here sending you good vibes and thinking of you all. It's tough that McFamily are also sick and I hope they will soon be on the mend. It is good that your tumours are shrinking and the other good thing is the heartlifting photos of those beautiful boys, seeing their sweet faces is really wonderful and I'm not even their granny! I do hope things get better very soon.

Linda said...

Prayers for you, Rita, to feel better soon. You have had a rough go of it!

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh, Rita. The side effects sound horrible. I'm so sorry you are having to go through this. Allie sounds like such a compassionate cat and companion. She sounds worried about you. Glad you are still making progress on the move, despite not feeling well.