Chocolate

I can't stop eating chocolate. It's like a weird addiction, I see the biscuit, the biscuit has to be eaten by me. So it is and oh GOD it's so good. 

This was assisted by my friend bringing me biscuits yesterday and me stuffing my face full of chocolatey sugary badness. I'm sure my blood sugars went for a little party at this sugary smorgasbord of treats, though fortunately I wasn't due to test myself. 

ANYWAY. We are on the "let's mess with my medication" mode at the moment, with the purpose of no insulin or dexamethasone in the coming months unless something happens. Which we know is probably likely. 

I'm getting a lot of phone calls and I'm struggling to remember who is who and who I've had a conversation with at the moment. I have prescriptions to pick up, medicines to take and general confusion with it all which I'm sure will pass with time. But I also have my chocolate. 

Hungry Like the 53 Year Old Woman I Am

I vowed if I was near the laptop and hungry I'd blog, so here I am.

I'm SO hungry. I had my usual lunch, I've had a mid-afternoon biscuit because I was still so hungry. Yet I'm still hungry, needing food for my groaning, croaky stomach which is making sure I don't forget it needs feeding. It's a bit of a pain. 

My hunger needs are definitely on the side of "feed me NOW" (a la Little Shop of Horrors) - though I am able to not eat. Then I just think about food - which we don't have as much of as I've been eating. Plus - diabetes.

I'm also annoyed as the Eat Real multipack crisps I'd been buying no longer seem to be available at my online shopping place. I don't have the energy to check all the local supermarkets so am doing without or am just splitting a large bag into smaller portions. Not quite the same but btter than nothing I guess....

I have more than enough to eat at lunchtime, it's the steroids switching my appetite around again I think. 

Dietary

There I was sitting on my phone when my hospital app alerted me to a phone appointment which was starting in 30 minutes. It was new, I knew nothing about it. It wasn't a mystery though as it had been suggested the last time I was in the hospital.

They'd had someone cancel so it was my turn. We talked about my diet (improving) and what and when I ate (increasing), how much I drink (happy) and my blood sugars. 

From the time we talked about the appointment in hospital to now I'm like two different people. The one that tried to eat versus the one that can't stop eating. So we had a positive call with me being told to get in touch with them if anything changes. 

So that was nice as I feel like unless something happens maybe I've a month or so off all of this. 

(I know better than to assume this though)

They're happy with my management of all my eating anyway. I think they're probably impressed with the delicious Marmite toast my sis-in-law makes me every morning. She's GOOD! 

🍞

Side Splitting

So here I am, no longer updating daily like I was. Mainly as my repetition is quite obvious when I post things, but also there's nothing new to log.

I'm on my phone, so constructing the above paragraph has made me forget what I was going to post about. Irritating!

School holidays have started so the teen is at home through the day, apart from right now as she's watching the Barbie movie with her school friends - dressed up as Ken. 

I am currently administering injections daily to make me healthy which seem to be helping - I had an irritating dry cough which has shifted, they spotted some blood clots too so chemo is on hold until things are a bit more stable. They're bigger needles than my insulin ones, my stomach now covered in tiny bruises and a slight stinging feeling as my skin calms down. 

My overnight sleep pattern is good at the moment though I find myself waking at strange hours, I'm able to get back to sleep easily. 

Anyway, that's my Tuesday update. 

Been Quiet.

I was back at the hospital this week. What was going to be a three appointment visit ended up being an epic six appointment one instead - including a two hour wait. We were there for a long time, a very long time. No lunch either - I didn't want to move away from where we were as our phone batteries were low - we're talking 5%. Whoops. 

So my tumours are stable. I'm not sure what that meant, but I'm not worrying about it as it seems like all is well. The consultant was apologetic as she thought I had been told. This is another good reason why being anxious about test results isn't a good thing - I'd have probably been very stressed had I realised the results were on my records a good couple of weeks before I was even told. 

There are concerns about my bloods, there's another level which isn't playing ball so I've been given injections which I'm phasing into the earlier part of the day so I can take around the time I take my insulin (I'm more likely to remember then). So I go back into the cycle of medicines and restarting the steroids and all the things I'm not a fan of. The most drastic thing that we found was my weightloss. The previous weight check was done in March 2023, and I've lost 12kg since then. If only losing weight was that easy! I'm not enjoying the lack of appetite though. It's improving again, I only left three slices of pizza last night although that might be the lack of lunch too....

So now I'm getting more appointments towards helping me get towards whatever my new 'normal' will be. Dietician appointments (I know what I can eat, it's what doesn't make me retch - although it is improving). Stuff like that. I will go to them because I'll gain something from them I'm sure - and to be honest, being at home for a lot of the day you really need to get out of the house. Not helped when the weather is rainy and windy like it is at the moment. 

The Memory Thing, Food and Not Sleeping Too Well (I guess) & AOB

The Memory Thing - my days are getting mixed up again. Why, just yesterday I asked the husband if I went to a cafe with the teen at half term. I couldn't remember at all. I think he may have been surprised I didn't remember too. Mainly as he pointed out to get to the cafe, I'd have had to drive. Oh yeah... I can't drive can I. He was there too. Whoops. There have been more of these happening of late.

Food - I am conscious that my eating has slowed down a lot. These days everyone has finished while I'm only half way through my food. I'm hoping the food aversion isn't coming back again because that was annoying. I finish most things, however am leaving food in the evenings as I get too full. But it feels like it's changing again.

Not Sleeping Too Well - this isn't new. I've always had problems sleeping. I'm even worse at the moment, getting by on a steady five or six hours every night. I miss the days when I'd wake up at 10am, it's more like 6 or 7 these days unless I can get back to sleep quickly. I've cut back my coffee to one a day and none in the afternoon to see if it helps too.

Any other business? Well, yes, actually. This is a new one that's got into my head more than it should. I saw a lady in her seventies (maybe) walking outside, enjoying the sunshine. I felt really sad inside - that might never be me. I want to be an old person enjoying the sunshine, except instead I'm having to limit my time in the sun thanks to burning quickly. For the first time since this whole treatment started I felt quite sad for myself. Not sad burst into tears sad, just sad that something I'd have taken for granted might not happen. But then again it could, such is the unpredictable nature of this annoying tumour. 

Electric Shock - footnote - it's gone. 

Dermatology appointment - I got cream, it's all good. 

Hunger Revisited

Seriously. This hunger is too much.

Husband reckons it's steroid related, I'm not so sure. Other than right now I need a giant bag of crisps and that's with husband outside starting the BBQ. Which we have lots of food for.

Which I need to eat now.

I'm not starving but I'm the hungriest I've been in a few weeks. 

It's becoming a bit of an obsession.