Solitaire

This week hasn't been too good. I had a good rest on Monday and was expecting to be fine and back at work on Tuesday, but started to feel ill Monday night. I didn't sleep and by Tuesday morning felt worse. Mum had agreed to come over and look after me, so I phoned and she came Tuesday afternoon. I didn't feel like doing anything at all, so we sat on the sofa, in the sun, and played solitaire on the Asus! I was a little better on Wednesday morning, so mum went home after lunch and I had a nap. Thursday I was able to move around a bit more, and started to feel more alert so planned to go back to work on Friday. However, Friday morning shower and hair wash was too much for me and I stayed at home to rest again.

The treatment seems to be affecting all of my body, and it's not like an illness where you are in pain in one part of the body and it then goes away. The various pains and feelings change and there is no regular pattern. Here is the (full!) list of what I have experienced this week:

Swollen and painful glands in my neck, head, chest, underarms and groin. Normal painkillers didn't work, nor did stronger co-codomol.
Aching lymph (I'm assuming the pain was coming from the lymph 'veins') in my upper arms and thighs
Painful joints in my shoulders, left wrist and right hip
Pain and bloating in my stomach and abdomen
Constipation and then the opposite! (And, for those interested, the darkest, strongest smelling urine!)
General feeling of weakness and tiredness
Not being able to sleep - feeling wide awake and feeling too uncomfortable to rest at night
Tingling and numbness in my tongue, fingers and toes
High pulse rate - I could feel my heart racing even when resting
Light-headed and dizzy after standing for a few minutes
Feeling sick and no appetite
Sudden stabbing pains in the middle of my back

Some of these effects of the treatment are what I expected but every person reacts to the treatment differently. Ian says that I am very sensitive to the treatment - I hope this means that it is working exceptionally well too!