clapped-out Friday

Blindsided. Did the usual Thursday tx and mostly chilled, expecting to start recovering Friday after the last of the prednisone regimen. Wrong. Really had a good Thursday night's sleep, 7 hours or so, and got up early yesterday to cover the email, read the electronic SLC Tribune and then have some breakfast. Lulled! When I arose from this chair I was woozy, a momentary low bp from sitting around and then arising. I staggered to breakfast and completed that, but every time I stood up I was in danger of passing out. I thought a little lie-down would care for it, but each time I got up throughout the morning I had recurrent episodes. We started some bp tests with a good home machine. Recall 120 (systolic) over 80 (diastolic) is considered normal. Quite a number of my systolics were in the 60s and quite a number of my diastolics were in the 50s. We called the docs and, of course, got their nurses. But they were very helpful. AbJ's nurse suspected dehydration and asked about vomiting (negatory, but some nausea). She said force fluids; that was what the ER would do. We discussed my bp meds, particularly lisonopril, which I had taken earlier--along with a boatload of other meds and supps. She said discuss with my primary maybe dc'ing the lisonopril for for awhile. We did. Upshot: woozy all day. Virtually slept all day except for breaks to eat or a brief visit, then slept all night. Actually spent almost 31 hours in bed counting the 7 hours on Thursday night. Amazing. Anyway, bp last night at 6 was 105/50 and this morning is 100/66. Not going to die with these figures, but I am still light headed and will head back to the rack to get rid of more fatigue. The lisonopril has been dc'd.

I probably ignored fatigue signals this week. I have been reading several compelling (to me) novels that were hard to put down and they make my adrenalin flow. This could all be a big come down from that. Or it could be the accumulation of tx effects via 4 cycles of chemo. Or it could be interactions among the many meds I am taking and the chemo. I vote for all of them. I commend to my psych colleagues out there a fine article on the placebo effect in the newest New Yorker in re belief and expectation. I am ready to believe more of what they are finding now myself.I am sure there are head effects in all of this, too.

Anyway, this process continues to surprise me in ugly ways. Now to bed again.