Unexpected Bump in the Road

When are bug bites not truly bug bites? When does the change in how food tastes not have anything to do with the food? When does having a bit of trouble breathing on my walk have nothing to do with my conditioning? The answer to all these questions lies in a small pill I've been taking the past week.

If you can read the small print in this picture, you see that one of the rare side effects of Arimidex is hives and itchiness. On Tuesday, I felt what seemed at the time a mosquito bite as I walked. It was on my stomach, just below the waistband of my pants, and very difficult to get to while bundled up against the rain and chill. When I got home, I put cortisone on what turned out to be 4 small bumps.  My only thought at the time was how weird to get mosquito bites this time of year and in that area.

By yesterday, these bumps had multiplied, spreading to my thigh and one on the top of my foot. I remember having a reaction to amoxicillin, and the rash was all over. This didn't seem like a bad reaction, if it even was such a thing, but I perused the medical information included with the prescription and online to see if hives might be a possible side effect. Last night, I told Walt that it is likely that I am having a mild allergic reaction to the drug, especially as I saw no change to the bumps after several days. I looked at pictures of hives online and realized my bumps looked more like those than mosquito bites, after all.

At dinner last night, I noticed that all the food tasted bland, which helped me not enjoy the food as i usually would. I still didn't connect the dots that my tongue might be numb because of the Arimidex.

Intending to call my doctor this morning but still unsure if this was a true allergic reaction, I took my pill as scheduled last night. This morning I didn't have any achiness when I woke up. To tell you the truth, that has been the side effect I was zeroing in on, making sure I exercised and stretched so I could prevent or alleviate any stiffness. After seeing the kids off to school and having my daily time reading the Bible and praying, I set out with Sugar for a walk. I had climbed a hill outside our neighborhood and felt a tightness in my throat. At that moment I started thinking that this really was a reaction,  and I hope it isn't serious. Then I remembered that I hadn't taken a Claritin this morning. Since it worked so well at eliminating the sharp back pains I experienced my first days of the medicine, I faithfully took it every morning. In hindsight, I think taking that antihistamine daily kept my allergic reactions to a minimum, which is why I had a hard time believing they were real.

I had only been walking about 10 minutes at this point, and knowing I probably wouldn't get out another time today, and since it really didn't seem all that bad... (yes, I can rationalize with the best of them), I continued on my walk, electing to take the shorter route, just in case, but still going further away from home. At one point, with the rain soaking my pants, feeling my throat tightening a bit more that I slowed my pace, I wondered how good of an idea this actually was.  Fortunately, I made it home safely, but I have to say, not without some concern toward the end.

As soon as I got home, I took a Claritin and almost immediately felt the swelling and numbness lessen. I called my doctor and spoke with the nurse, who said she would relay the information and get back to me as soon as she was able to connect with Dr. Kohn. I mentioned that I knew I should discontinue Arimidex, but would I need a time for the medicine to clear my body before starting back on Tamoxifen?  I noticed when I spoke that my tongue felt a bit clumsy and my voice sounded like I had a sore throat.

While waiting for the return call from the doctor, I sipped water and felt my throat loosen up even more. I don't think Ben noticed anything different as I read and discussed history with him. When the nurse called, she said Dr. Kohn agreed that I should stop Arimidex, that I should take Claritin or Benadryl (which I told the nurse I had and it was helping), that I could go back on Tamoxifen tonight without a waiting period, and that we would discuss trying one of the other aromatase inhibitors at my next appointment. I told her that I thought that was a good plan and hung up.

From the start, I was hopeful that I was going to be able to handle this medicine, expecting to gain a bit of advantage in this fight against the cancer coming back. I think that desire for it to work prevented me from seeing how it was truly affecting me. I am thankful that the reaction was minor. I'm glad to be back on tamoxifen, something I know. Every new entry into the world of prescription drugs is tainted with lots of uncertainties and cautions. For now, I'm thankful that I have something that will work (tamoxifen), and my doctor and I can figure out in February if we should try something different.

Today, I'm still recovering from this unexpected bump in the road. My body is a bit shaky, my mouth is still numb but breathing is fine. My skin and eyes are still itchy, (connecting that final dot that it wasn't my contacts that was causing my eyes to itch so badly). I foresee these all returning to normal soon. In the midst of all this, I'm thankful, at peace, knowing God is in control of all this.

Job 11:18 

You will be secure, because there is hope;

you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

Yes, what he said.

Day 3 of New Meds

Thursday night I took the new anti-estrogen pill. I woke  up Friday feeling a bit achy, almost like I was coming down with the flu. I went for a walk, trying to work out the slight achiness in my back. Exercise helped my back, but the slight nausea remained. Since it wasn't a school day, I decided to spend some down time reading a novel. By the afternoon, I decided that too much laying around wasn't helping, so I started on a project for our bedroom. We have lots of mismatched picture frames, so I decided to paint them all white and work on organizing a wall collage. While they were drying, Becca and I went shopping. Being out helped take my mind off of how I was feeling, but I grew tired quickly. Friday night I went to bed early.

Saturday, I woke up feeling better. The achiness was there in my back, but I tried taking a Claritin and it seems to help. When I was getting shots during chemo to boost my white blood count, I found Claritin helped with the bone pain. I read on breastcancer.org that sometimes Claritin helps with the bone pain of the anti-hormonals. I am hopeful that the problems I'm having are temporary, as my body adjusts to the new medicine. Sometimes symptoms can increase over time, so I'm still figuring this all out. I want to give this a good shot, hoping that I don't have to make the hard choice of deciding between whether the way I feel is tolerable and worth the extra percentage points against recurrence...or if I should switch to something else. 

After putting on a second coat of paint on the frames and doing a bit of cleaning, we left to watch Nathan's soccer game. 

It was rainy and cold. It looks like fall has settled into our area at last. I huddled under an umbrella, a bit achy, but thankful that I could watch this game. Nathan played very well and his team won. I remembered the days during the fall of 2012 when I was too sick after chemo to make it out to soccer games. My bit of nausea was a piece of cake compared to that. 

I'm hopeful that my symptoms are improving. Today, Sunday, I felt less nausea and only occasional sharp pains in my back. I planned to go to Becca's soccer game this afternoon, but the game was cancelled. You probably all heard of the school shooting in Marysville, and Becca's team was playing against girls from that school. While at first they wanted to play to get their minds off of the terrible circumstances, they changed their minds when a memorial service was being arranged at the same time as the game. So instead of watching Becca's game, I went for a long walk which helped eliminate any lingering feelings of sickness. 

My plan for now is to make sure I get my exercise in to help with the muscle soreness (as well as numerous other health benefits that exercise offers), try to eat well, and monitor the effects for a few weeks. Hopefully, I won't have much to say as my body adjusts. If not, I know that God has another plan in this.