trouble sleeping

I've been having trouble sleeping through the night. SOmetimes the gas is part of the problem, but sometimes I'm just awake.... not even stressed, just awake. The other night I woke up at 4am and lay in bed planning an elaborate breakfast. Then I finally got back to sleep, and of course was way too sleepy in the morning to make any of the great food I'd planned!

The fitness oncologist said it's a menopause symptom. I didn't even ASK her about it and she told me -- I thought, what, am I wearing a sign? She said it's common. I am guessing that it's going to be more pronounced for people with chemo induced menopause, because the hormone levels drop for us abruptly, and we need to encourage that.

ANyway the solution for me has been more exercise, and no days off. I used to take a couple of days off a week, but now I find that when I do that I have too much trouble sleeping the night after and then I'm wiped out the next day -- and what kind of day off is THAT ?!

Also I wonder if the steroid I get before the taxol does something that makes it hard for me to sleep. I have no experience with steroids, but maybe that could happen....??? I jsut think that it should be possible for me to bike only 12 miles in a day (to and from chemo) and sleep at night -- but I couldn't get to sleep last night until 4am. Then I got up early to bike. I could have slept in instead, but then I would have had a worse time sleeping tonight, right?

I thought of it because I was remembering how when I was on Adriamycin & Cytoxan, which made me feel queasy, I slept great -- for a whole weekend with no workouts! Who knew I would miss the stuff.....

Halfway through Taxol

... which means I'm 3/4 through my chemo!

I'm well. I was tired yesterday, but I don't think it was the chemo. I had walked the dog 4 miles and swum a mile the night before (Em was at a sleepover and everyone else was gone -- so I made it my business to do stuff I like to do that I can't, usually! I even ate fish for dinner, which Em hates, with old Led Zeppelin records playing, which ALan hates - before the walk and swim.) And then I woke up and went on a 34 mile bikeride, because I had planned to and it was a beautiful day. HOnestly, I struggled a bit on the ride. I had meant to eat a better breakfast but hadn't, and got hungry before we even got to the bread store...... had to "sample" two slices. But it was too nice a day to miss -- I was COLD on the way out -- in DC in August!!!

Next THursday is going to be interesting. I have a doctor's appt at 9 and then I have to be back near home for Em's middle school orientation at 11 and to meet with teachers. Then I go BACK to G-town for chemo in the afternoon. Let's see how THAT works! I did try to get the middle school orientation schedule at the beginning of the summer so I could change one or two chemos to Friday if necessary...... but of course they didn't know then. I was lucky I was able to change next Thursday's to afternoon.

Thanks to everyone who posted comments and sent emails. I got about half and half (half the comments here and half via email.) All the emails said that google gave them trouble posting comments.... why am I not surprised? At least my explanation helped one person (yay Bill!)

Thanks for everything, everyone. I'm not done trying to get more chemo -- or hormone therapy earlier or whatever. I have to call the Mayo and talk to the oncologist I saw when we were there in April, who did a really nice job helping me comb through the options and make my own decision. It's just harder now because even if he thinks what I'm interested in doing is reasonable he (or I) will still have to convince my G-town doctor to do it -- becauseI can't just pack up my life and move to Rochester MN for a month. My doctor here is very good but I am missing that part where she understands that it's MY BODY and MY LIFE so I have the final say. I mean it may be that ultimately she is right, but I need to decide that for myself, not just do it because she says so -- and I am not there yet. (I know a great eye doctor in Boston who could teach her a thing or two.)