Hot Flashes, Nose Hair and a Milestone
Okay, first milestone yesterday. I finished up my fourth round of the “AC” (called the Red devil) chemo yesterday. Thanks to a very awesome, attentive nurse (always befriend the nurses), she noticed that my white blood count was normal and was able to talk to the doctor and call off the yucky Neulasta shot that always follows the next day! Praise Jesus, and the nurse that cares!! That makes me so happy! (Never believe those pharmaceutical commercials, the Neulasta one, it is all these beautiful healthy people of different ages and ethnicity standing in a field of flowers, with a gentle breeze blowing, talking about how this shot has given them more energy, after their chemo, HA! They skirt over the wicked side effects!) Anyway, one of the side effects of all these chemicals they are pumping into me is HOT FLASHES! So last night I crank down the AC to 55* (Luckily my unit is separate from the rest of the house), Heyward sleeps with Cole after my chemo treatments, because I want the bed (ha, really the TV remote!) to myself. Aaaah, sweet victory, HOT (kick cover off, cold cover up, HOT, cold, I manage to sleep pretty decent with the air and fan blowing on me. Heyward comes to check up on me the next morning, as I peak out from under the comforter (a cold phase), I see him laughing.
Me: What is so funny?
Husband: The only thing I could see when I came in was the top of your bald head. You looked like a little bald baby bird in a nest! It’s cute.
What can I say, I will take cute that early in the morning!
So, I am noticing the green pollen everywhere. In the mornings now, my eyes are glued such, and my nose won’t stop running. Allergies have never been much of a problem with me. So I am trying to figure out why it is bothering me so much. Flash to the bathroom, One of the pluses of chemo is I no longer have to use surgi cream to remove my excess facial hair (ok moustache). As I am expecting my face for any other hair that may need to be pluck, (another story in itself) I notice I have very little nose hair as well. Well, I put 2 and 2 together, and figure my allergies are so bad, because I no longer have nose hair to filter out the pollen. This was yesterday, so while I talk to the doctor about everything , I point out that I no longer have nose hair, and my allergies are killing me. Hoping for a prescription or something, This is how the conversation goes.
Me: Hey, Doctor Doogie (since he looks like he is 12) This pollen is killing me, could the fact that I have no nose hair be part of the problem?
Doctor Doogie: Ummm, well Tammy, this is a first, I have talked about a lot of side effects of chemo, but no one has ever brought up the loss of Nose Hair before.
Husband : Only Tammy could come up with a question you never heard before.
Me: (Thinking but not saying, Yeah, but Dr. Doogie, has only been in practice like what, only a year.) Ha!
Needless to say, I didn’t get a prescription, but Dr. Doogie got a good laugh.