Something on Side Effects

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that the side effects are far worse than anything I have been through so far. 


A new one hit me today - painful soles of feet. I had forgotten that this might happen until it hit me this morning that my feet shouldn't really hurt. 


After a quick trip to Sainsburys to invest in Milk, Bread, Oil and some insoles, which might or might not work. I decided to look at the interweb.


I have found the forum on Beating Bowel Cancer really helpful and was not disappointed this time either. 


It seems that this particular side effect is going to get worse and I might have some days when I am going to struggle to put weight on my feet. This will be .....mildly inconvenient to say the least with 2 active toddlers who need entertaining. 


However I have also found out that reflexology may be helpful with this particular side effect and the local Cancer support centre, The Olive Tree, offers reflexology to cancer patients. So now I have to find time to locate my Olive Tree information pack, find out when they offer relexology, call them, book it & crucially attend the session. But I will, I have already managed to book a Yoga session with them for next Friday & more importantly it allowed me to invest in a new yoga mat, because mine was looking a bit the worse for wear.


So what other side effects have their been?


Well the weirdest one is the sensitivity to cold. That kicks in as soon as I leave the hospital. When I am walking down the corridor some moisture on my lips makes them start to tingle. It gets worse. I can't go in the fridge, freezer, pick up cold clothes, use the wet wipes, take wet clothes out of the washing machine, touch the wet car etc etc etc. I thought that it wouldn't last too long, but I am only on cycle 2 of 8 and there is still a little bit of tingling going on every now and then. 


Then there are the 'conventional' side effects 


- Tiredness normally kicks in about 2-3 days after the treatment and is sheer exhaustion. I need to sit on the sofa and sleep, but 2 toddlers do make that difficult, but I can then go to bed and try and get a full nights sleep.
 - Nausea can be controlled by the multitude of pills I am given and by the 2nd weekend I am normally eating normally, although the quantities are smaller so I am loosing more weight. I know most women would be excited by the prospect of loosing weight, but I have never bothered about my weight. I think with my height I can kind of pull it off and if I am too slim I think I look ill rather than healthy.


There are other side effects too. I think my hair is starting to thin, because I am certainly fishing more out of the shower than I used too. This doesn't really bother me. 


I am also a lot more irritable than I used to be. I am not happy about this. I am snapping at the kids and don't want to do that. Its not their fault. I am hoping that the yoga and maybe a massage well help reduce my stress levels and henceforth reduce my irritability although I also think that a good nights sleep would probably have the same effect!!


I am sure I will have more to say on this subject as my treatment progresses and things get worse, but for now I am done!!