Mirror, mirror on the wall–A little kindness, please?

So, now that I’ve been on blood thinners for the blood clot caught a couple weeks ago, my face has returned to a normal state of appearance.  I can look in the mirror again without cringing.  Its bizarre how physically distorted my features became; and no, I didn’t take any pictures!

My stomach is now badly bruised from the twice daily injections.  My doctor is transitioning me to Coumidan, which is a pill form of the blood thinners.  Apparently, you have to watch how much vitamin K you consume while on Coumidan, i.e., leafy green vegetables.  Since that’s my base diet, the nurse practitioner stated to continue as normal and they’d just adjust the level of Coumidan to fit my diet.  I’ll just have to maintain consistency with the amounts of vitamin K foods I’m eating.  Time to get into a groove, and I guess it beats dying from a blood clot.  I was told I’ll have to stay on the blood thinners for at least 3-6 months.  She stated the medication doesn’t actually take care of the clot.  It just thins the blood and then your body resolves the clot on its own over time.

My doctor also stated my port could still be accessed for treatment, as treatment through the veins in my arms along with taking the daily shots would be a bit much.  So, last Thursday I had Taxol treatment as normal.  It went rather smoothly.  I initially started getting severe chills again.  I requested two blankets which helped; but then I got up, grabbed my IV pole and started to walk around a bit.  The chills then subsided.  It appears movement definitely helps.

I had a not-so-great visit with my doctor last week.  The CT scan revealed more than I wanted to know.  I couldn’t assimilate all of the information my doctor was spouting out.  Then the conversation turned to a discussion about the best plan for surgery.  Since my weight hasn’t significantly been reduced (I’d even gained 5-7 lbs with the swelling from the clot), she pressed me about having the mastectomies after chemo regardless of reconstruction timing.  All the information was swirling around in my head.  I was still trying to absorb everything.  For days afterward I felt like I’d been placed in an enormous vice and it just kept getting tighter and tighter–Oh, the depression.  Now I’m just trying to gain a better prospective on it all.

A little good news–I’ve lost a total of 12 lbs since last Monday.  Half of what was lost was likely from the swelling induced by the clot.  My goal is to lose 3 more lbs by treatment Thursday.  I had a setback last night with a margarita and some chocolate, but I’ll press on!

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