I Hate My Pee.

I hate my pee.

For ten days, my pee stunk so bad. I mean STUNK. I have talked to about this before but I am going to address it once more. Why? Because, it’s my blog.  While in the hospital, my dual port is hooked up to two (most of the time) IV bags.

My Port

My Port

I had Thiamine being pumped in me pretty much the whole time I was there. The other port would have the chemo, pre-meds, potassium, you name it, was being pumped into me. Because of this, the RN’s wanted to make sure I am peeing enough. It’s a pretty big deal.

They set up the bucket in my toilet to catch it and measure how much I go, when I go. Gross right? Bleech!  Well, I pee ALL THE TIME and the thought of calling the tech or RN every time I go, to tell them how much and then they can dump it…ugh. Not going to happen.

So I kept track of it myself. Each time I went to the bathroom I wrote the amount, the time and the date down in a little notebook I had with me. The RN or Tech would check and cross off the amounts. This worked out great especially during the middle of the night. They didn’t have wake me up to ask, they would just check my little notebook. However, all this peeing, monitoring and the smell really made me hate my pee. I know, who loves their pee? But I really can’t stand mine. Coming home meant no more tracking but for the first four days I could still smell that chemo every time.

My Pee Log

My Pee Log

What’s hair today can be gone tomorrow.

The hair on my head is gone. The hair on my right leg is gone. Armpit hair= gone. Hair done there, also gone. However, my arm hair is not. The hair on lower left leg is still there too. Still have some of my eyebrows and eyelashes. I wonder why I lose the hair on my head but not the hair on my arms. How does the chemo know what hair to kill off?

Can’t I lose at least 10 pounds?

When you think of chemo patients, you think of bald, pale skinny people right? Yeah, no. Not me. I am bald. I am paler then usual. What I am not, is skinny. I mean, I thought I was going to lose some weight here! I had a friend who lost over 30 pounds! Me, I have lost 4. I am not saying I want to be weak or nauseous or have no appetite but COME ON! Give me 10 pounds! Guess I will have to lose it the old fashion way.  :)

Feeling Good Louis!

I know a lot of people are surprised by how I have been feeling, the energy I have, the appetite I have etc. I was talking to my friend Gerri who has had both chemo and two thoracotomies, like me, and she asked which I though was worse. The thoracotomies or chemo.

Thoracotomy

thoracotomy or thoracostomy is an incision into the pleural space of the chest.[1] It is performed by surgeons (or emergency physicians under certain circumstances) to gain access to the thoracic organs, most commonly the heart, the lungs, or the esophagus, or for access to the thoracic aorta or the anterior spine (the latter may be necessary to access tumors in the spine).

Thoracotomy is a major surgical maneuver—it is the first step in many thoracic surgeries including lobectomy or pneumonectomy for lung cancer—and as such requires general anesthesiawith endotracheal tube insertion and mechanical ventilation.

Thoracotomies are thought to be one of the most difficult surgical incisions to deal with post-operatively, because they are extremely painful and the pain can prevent the patient from breathing effectively, leading to atelectasis or pneumonia.–From Wikipedia

Hands down the thoracotomies were worse. Now I am not saying chemo is easy, cause it isn’t. I think one of the reasons why I am doing so well, is because I am admitted into the hospital for five days and do receive all the different medications and Thiamine. Then I come home and get injections of neupogen for five days. I also try to keep ahead of the nausea as best as I can, so that when it does hit, I am only in pain for about twenty minutes. But who knows, every cycle of chemo has been a little bit different. I wonder how cycle three will affect me.

My Head is Cold

My Brother asked me to talk about being bald. He thinks it is great I am bald, since he is bald too. We probably look the most alike then we ever have. Here are some random thoughts on being bald:

-Taking a shower takes all of 5 minutes if that. All I really have to do is wash my body. I really have no idea what bald men do that keeps them in there so long.

-If my head is not under the water while in the shower, it gets really cold.

-My head sweats a lot.

-I sleep in a beanie or my winter hat with a ball on top.

-I still shampoo my head out of habit.

-Sometimes I forget I am bald and when I see myself in the mirror I am like “what the hell happened to you!”

-I never go out in public without a head covering. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

-I am not sure what it feels like to swim bald but should find out this weekend.

-I have a small red birthmark on the back on my head.

Give Away!

Reader’s! My Hotel Yorba and doing its first ever giveaway! Woot! Woot! Over the next three days, three people (total) will have a chance to win their own Hotel Yorba key chain. I know right!?!

Here is what you need to do:

1. Comment on the Saturday, Sunday or Monday’s posts. You can comment as often as you want. Tell me what you like. Don’t like. What you want to see more of on the Blog. Do want to see an interview with Timber or Turbo? You tell me…as many times as you want.

2. The contest will end Tuesday night @ midnight. On Wednesday morning, The Boy will randomly choose one person from each day’s comments as the winner. To make it fair and scientific, he will have his eyes closed.

Go make a comment!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 thoughts on “I Hate My Pee.

  1. Glad you aren’t losing too much weight. That’s what worried me most about my dad while he was going through it. Looking forward to the weekend. Woot!

  2. I wore a human hair wig but times were different then. My head would get so hot that it would start shifting. Looking back at my year of chemo, it doesn’t even feel like it was me. I remember it of course but more like I watched a very detailed movie where I was the star. You’ll get to that point as well. Side note-I couldn’t deal with red wine because one of my chemos was that color (the one that made me the most sick) until I went to France with my dad in1995. Then I understood what the fuss was and the color never bothered me again!

  3. Spot on! You are feeling everything I felt except I never once looked at myself in the mirror without the nightcap! I was so cold all the time and that keep warmth in and it meant I did not have to see my bald head. Eventually the rest of the arm and leg hair will go. And the Nose hair -so not so bad! It all comes back, maybe a little patchy at first. Pee smell is bad. I hated the way I could taste the heparin when they flushed my port. Part of the time I had a PICC line instead so it could have been then.
    Shay you are flying through this like Bat Woman! I never had the energy you had so you are some kind of woman! Here is a good thing about chemo (other than keeping you alive)- for at least the next 6 years,everyone who sees you and knows what you’ve gone through will say “Wow, you look great!” Even when you may not! But it is good to hear anyway! Where is the interview with Timber?

  4. Lol! Agree fun post. Yesterday was my first shower and hair wash since my surgery. It was torture. So painful. I have very long and super thick hair. And I thought caring for it before surgery was a challenge? Secretly I think I’m looking forward to being bald! I could pass on the being cold and the stinky pee though:)

  5. I love this post. It really illustrates some of the downsides of chemo with your typical humor and good attitude! For the record, I too HATE the smell of my pee and I LOVED swimming bald! I’m so happy to have you as a cancer comrade, but I pray that we have many years of cancer-free camaraderie too! XO

  6. Definitely agree with Calanit your blog was awesome. Loved your writing about being bald it will be interesting to see my children together at Thanksgiving. Granddad did not loose all of his hair but my granddad and great granddad lost theirs. Your spirit is something even though I talk to you I love reading your blog. Keep drumming love you lots, Momee

  7. I wore a wig, as you know (until a very warm March put me into ball caps)…but when I would get home from work off it came..so damn uncomfortable…I was bald through the winter..and my condo was drafty as all get out… I wore little cotton jersey type beanies around the house and to sleep… my head sweats started with chemo…that’s the only place I sweat now… wait til you lose your nose hair… as unattractive as it can be at times…it’s there for a reason…took mine forever to come back and I sneezed constantly. I have a birth mark on my head also… and…I got to see the scar I have from when my sister dropped me on my head when I was a baby … honest.

  8. I love reading your blog Shay. You are so funny. I like the line about why do bald men spend so long in the shower! I think that you must have a photo taken of you and your brother together with your bald heads. Even if you never show anyone. How many times in your life will that happen that you are both bald? It’s a cool documentation and sibling bonding moment and memory for you both when you are well beyond this and cancer free. ;-)

  9. Gotta agree with the pee thing. Took care of my mom when she was sick with cancer. Having to take her to the bathroom was always my least favorite as the pee smell was just unbearable. Can’t even stand “normal” pee now. Can’t believe I’m writing about pee. Had a kid pee in my class once. That was interesting. I will have to send you one of those swimmer’s nose plugs. That might work.

    • Heather, it is crazy how things like talking about pee become normal when you get sick or hurt! Who would have thought!!!

  10. According to the dr’s my dad did some of the strongest chemos available and he never even really lost his hair. Crazy how some chemos kill hair and some don’t. We did shave his head though because it was falling out at one point and I had to give him my nike hat because his were too scratchy and big. He wore my hat everyday and now i have it back and i love to wear it because it reminds me of my dad. Also, Eric flushes as he is peeing. I always thought it was weird because the flush finishes before he does but you should try it as it might help with the smelliness.

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