Friday, June 03, 2016

Do the Stanky Leg. Do the Stanky Leg.

My legs feel weird today. That seems odd. I was warned by my oncologist and my oncology nurse that Taxol can cause bone pain - sometimes severe - within a couple days of each infusion. I don't have any bone pain.  No pain at all, as a matter of fact. So I certainly have no complaints in that regard.

But my legs still feel...I don't know...weird today.

I have a friend who has been through Taxol chemo before and she ended up having to use a cane to get around because of the bone pain. We also ran into a previous co-worker of Ruanita's at our very first chemo session. She was receiving Taxol and walking with a cane. So a cane seems to be a recurring theme with Taxol treatment.

But I don't feel any pain.

I woke up this morning and climbed out of bed and my legs felt like I had just done 100 squats. If you know me at all, you now how ludicrous that sounds. I don't squat. But my legs were jittery. Kind of jelly-like. Like they did not want to hold me up. Still, an hour and a half after rolling out of bed, my legs feel unsteady. I am not entirely sure that they can be trusted. Even sitting down typing this, my legs feel weird.

Okay, so I know "weird" is not a very descriptive word. Let me try to do a better job. My legs feel like they are tingly...sort of. Sitting here, I am acutely aware of my legs folded cross-legged under my laptop. It feels like there are nerve impulses shooting through them that are giving them almost a life of their own. Like I would not be surprised at all if they just got up and walked out of the house without me. Okay...that sounds borderline psychotic, doesn't it? Hmmm.

I am hoping this feeling goes away soon. It is not entirely pleasant to not trust your own legs. I fully expect to try to walk to the bathroom here in a little bit and have my legs say, "Bitch, we are going the other way!" I will end up legless and covered in urine on my living room floor. That's a nice visual, huh?

Ruanita just left to go do our twice monthly grocery shopping. She hates grocery shopping with a passion. She would rather clean gutters. She would rather scrub toilets. I am pretty sure she would rather give birth to another 10+ pound baby than go to the grocery store. And if I'm being honest, she's just not very good at it. I hate to say that, but it's entirely true. There are certain things you can buy generic (hot dog buns, certain spices, zippy bags, etc.) and certain things you simply should NEVER buy generic (peanut butter, aluminum foil, pads, etc.). Ruanita tends to grab the cheapest option in her desire to just get the abominable task over with as quickly as possible. So we are subjected to generic sanitary napkins that are comparable to size 3 Pampers in both size and scope. Shopping is just not her thing.

I was supposed to go with her today - to supervise, you know. And to test and see if I can go back to doing our grocery shopping now that I am no longer at the mercy of the red devil. But then I woke up with my legs all a quiver and that pretty much shot that plan to hell.

If nothing else, I am getting a glimpse of how I will feel when I am 95 years old. No surprises for me.

Silver lining...?



3 comments:

katsue63 said...

I'm sorry you're experiencing new problems. It sounds similar to some of the symptoms I have with MS. Many times I awake with my legs feeling like my bones are cooked spaghetti. I have found that my body needs either vitamin D, magnesium, iron and/or potassium.
I pray that you will feel better soon! My love to you all!!

katsue63 said...

I'm sorry you're experiencing new problems. It sounds similar to some of the symptoms I have with MS. Many times I awake with my legs feeling like my bones are cooked spaghetti. I have found that my body needs either vitamin D, magnesium, iron and/or potassium.
I pray that you will feel better soon! My love to you all!!

Anonymous said...

Nothing in this journey is easy. So sorry you are having leg pain. I think this is exactly normal, sad but true. Let's hope it comes and goes quickly.

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