Seventeen Days After Whole Brain Radiation

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it isn’t a train! I have cut down to one pain patch, and am feeling a little more ‘awake’ and not foggy or dopey. Steve says my brain seems to be functioning closer to normal instead of being in a fog. The tradeoff is that my throat still hurts when I swallow, but it isn’t as bad as it was. I’m currently existing on a diet of soup and soda. We don’t normally drink soda, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Virgil’s orange cream soda seems to really help. It isn’t super fizzy, and tastes good. I’ve been drinking it at room temperature and it doesn’t hurt going down. And I’m still managing to drink my coffee.

We have switched my meds, so that the anti-nausea med is a quick-dissolve-on-the-tongue – no swallowing required. My pain med is now a tiny one that isn’t going to scrape my throat going down. My feet and ankles aren’t hurting, and neither are they swollen. I only needed half the hydration on Thursday, and none yesterday. My PA left it up to me as to whether I thought I needed it today, and I don’t. I think I’m eating (I was able to eat mashed boiled eggs for breakfast!) and drinking enough that I don’t need any supplemental hydration today. And I’m feeling better. I can still nod off at the computer, but that will improve once I don’t need the pain patch. I don’t feel like I’m 80 – maybe 70 – and I’m steadier on my feet.

My eyesight is still off, but I don’t think I can do anything about that until everything else is back to normal. It makes it difficult to read and to write, especially since my fingers aren’t cooperating either. The sores on my scalp are healing. And since I’m feeling better, I might venture out for some shopping.

I know I’m not 100% better yet, and may not be for some time. But I’m getting there. And I have a PET scan scheduled for Monday.

Onward and Upward.

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