It started Saturday. I woke up and just felt yucky with a lot of pain in my right side around my liver. I took my pain meds and felt better once they kicked in, but it's been up and down with the pain all week. As well, my digestive tract has been rather uproarious, so that I have been a little scared to get too far from home and the bathroom. It also makes me feel drained and I think that makes me more susceptible to the pain, too.
To make matters worse, I also discovered on Thursday morning that I have thrush! I had been having a sore tongue for a long time and thought it was just part of the chemotherapy. Mouth sores are common, and the chemotherapy drugs attack the fastest growing cells in your body. Your mouth membranes are some of the fastest growing, so of course they get attacked. Well, yesterday I noticed little white patches not only on my tongue but along the roof of my mouth and my cheeks. I knew immediately what it was because Elder Daughter had thrush as an infant. Fortunately, a quick call to Dr. Cutie got me the appropriate medication and I will soon be clear of the thrush, I hope.
I did a little quick checking on the internet and found that the sores at the corners of my mouth that I thought were cold sores are in fact a symptom of thrush. Over the past few weeks, the sores had come and gone but had never completely disappeared. I found a picture on the 'net that showed exactly what I have - they do look like cold sores.
In case you aren't familiar with thrush, it's an overgrowth of a yeast called Candida Albicans (there are other Candida strains that will cause it as well) that naturally grows on and in most people. Healthy people with normal immune sysems don't usually get thrush; it happens when your immune system is compromised by something like chemotherapy or HIV-AIDS infection. You can also get thrush from taking antibiotics. The antibiotics kill off the bacteria in your system that usually keep the yeast in check, causing an overgrowth. Since I have it in my mouth, every time I swallow some of the yeast goes down into my gut, so I'm hoping a lot of the gastrointestinal distress I have been experiencing will go away with the thrush. Let's hope so, anyway.
Now that the icky stuff is out of the way, let me share some pictures with you.
These two pictures were taken last week. Me and Pearl getting to know each other.
And this is Rusty, our new English Setter. Nice dog. He's very quick to learn and eager to please, plus he has very nice manners. His manners do need a little work, but he's getting to be a part of the family very quickly. Still miss Mac.
Have yourselves a wonderful weekend!
-- Lori
1 comment:
Hi Lori, Thanks for the update. I apologize for not being able to stop and chat on Friday, but I was to be at the church for 6:00 pm to take the tickets at the door for a function...seeing all the cars parked there already, I knew I was late. Anyway, I will surprise you with a knock on the door one of these days. I see you've got an addition to your family. That's good news. However, I also know how you felt when you had to put your old pal down. We had a dog for 17 years and thought never again. But 18 years later two stupid seniors bought a puppy. We love him and he rules the house. Nice to see the sun today and hopefully tomorrow. My son in law, Paul, is running a marathon tomorrow so I hope it's nice in the early morning. Just want you to know I think of you daily and keep you in my prayers. Take care my friend, and keep in touch. carol
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