I Feel Human

Do you remember Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" singing "I Feel Pretty?" Sing it with me, folks - only here are the new lyrics:

I feel human!
Oh, so human!
I went poo and now I'm so light!
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me tonight!

You get the picture...

My extreme discomfort for five days following chemo was due mainly to constipation. Yes, I was retaining some fluid but not nearly as much as what was being retained in my colon. EEK. "They" told me this could happen. They told me to take constipation countermeasures. Every good chemo patient hears the same thing. My bowl of All Bran cereal each morning had been enough -- until now.

Now I will start taking appropriate countermeasures (i.e., stool softeners) at least one or two days before my next chemo session. And I will continue to take them along with my bran cereal for at least a week. If I need Miralax, I will toss that in there, too. Whatever it takes. I only have one more round to get through.

In other news, I had also been experiencing nagging pain in my kidneys after this last round of chemo. I was a little worried that maybe my kidneys were not up to the task. I had my blood counts checked today and they also checked my kidney function. They are fine and functioning normally. I just happen to be someone who feels them working extra hard when I am drinking so much water and trying to flush the toxins out of my system.

Speaking of blood counts, my white cell count was a little on the low side but my oncologist is not making me do a Neulasta injection. I would have refused it anyway. She asked me to just be extra careful to wash my hands, stay away from sick people and take it easy over the holiday weekend. I can do that.