Yes, this morning it seemed like more than the usual amount of strands fell away when washing my hair and brushing it dry. Nothing noticeable to anybody but it may be the beginning of the end (of hair, of course). I knew it just couldn't be possible that I would bypass this chemo side effect. I'll be watching for more fall out in the next day or two. Time to bring out that wig and hat collection. They may be needed very soon.
Today I did not return to work as I noted in my last blog. I composed an email that was distributed to all my section explaining my absence. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to share some details about my diagnosis, surgery and treatment plans. I received lots of return emails with well wishes and support. I'm going to miss those guys. It's going to be a long couple of months.
Back to my weight problem. I have lost weight it seems. Even after the magical tapping and resetting of the scale, a reading today is lower than I like and definitely not what the doctor is going to like. I am now looking to pile on the calories to gain 2-3 pounds by next week when I go in for my next treatment. I did well tonight by having a big slice of chocolate cheesecake after dinner. It was a large slice if you can imagine what the Cheesecake Factory slices are like. I felt like a blimp after consuming it, but the scale showed only 115 lbs. I was in my pajamas. When they weigh me next week, I'll have a jacket and tennis shoes on. That will help too. :-) And I think it's time to do some workouts with weights again. It would be nice to build back my muscles.
You need to start upping the calories before it becomes an issue. You can't afford to lose more weight. I lost 30lbs and I was eating 2000+ calorie milk shakes per meal!
ReplyDeleteAnd you definitely don't want to lose muscle. That won't do your heart any good and could cause problems further down in your life.
@Michael - Yesterday I tried your suggestion on how to get more calories in me. I added a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to a dark chocolate Ensure and blended it up. It was pretty good. Too bad Ensure costs so much. Maybe I can find a case cheaper at Costco, our membership store.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember it costing a lot. I tried to get it through the VA hospital store but I hadn't done the necessary paperwork to use the VA facilities. If you have a VA hospital near you this is a good thing to do. Grab your military papers and go sign up/register. Besides being able to use the commissary, you could use the hospital if you needed it. I've got my papers in the car but haven't gone over to register yet.
ReplyDeleteYou can also try putting a scoop of protein powder in that milkshake. Helps on calories and rebuilding of cells. I don't know about your treatment but I was told to get as much protein as I could to help the body rebuild the cells that are getting destroyed by the chemo.