It's Been A Long Week...

I had a checkup yesterday and we stopped my meds. Thank you Jesus. I was going to demand that's what we do, but my doctor said it before I even had to argue my point.

Oh man, it's been a rough week. I have been dealing with side effect after side effect. It all started last Tuesday with a stomach ache. From there it just continued to go downhill.

I had to have blood work done on Thursday for kidney functions and med levels, got there and found out they can't draw from ports in the lab. We could call up a nurse from the ER, but it might take an hour, and it was a timely thing, so I said no. I don't know what that girl did, but it was by far the most painful blood draw I have ever had in my lifetime. I was yelping, crying, and almost screaming in pain. It was awful. She didn't hit a nerve—I know what that pain feels like—but it almost felt like she was stabbing my muscle or something. Ugh! From there, we found out my med levels were WAY too high, and non-surprisingly my kidneys weren't doing great because of it either. So, not great news. We adjusted things and lowered my doses, which made my schedule a bit better. I also drank nearly 2000 ml (aka 65 oz.) of water Thursday to try and help the process.

All told, I had one or more side effects going on all the time for the entire past week:

• abdominal pain
• gastritis
• back pain
• lethargy/tiredness
• stomach cramps
• depression
• chest pain
• swollen lymph nodes, neck pain
• weakness

...and that's just partial list. It's been a pretty difficult week. I have never been so aware that I was essentially having to poison myself in order to get better. 

Lesson learned: If I'm ever on this medicine again, stay in the hospital for the full duration. 

Yesterday I woke up with chest pain—centralized around my heart area—and that was the final straw, I had my mind made up that I was DONE; no more of this. At this point, a few more days is not going to do me any good. What I need is to EAT normally again and EXERCISE normally, which have both been compromised since I've been feeling like crap. 

Today I'm already feeling a bit better. My chest pain is subsiding. I am also feeling much better mood-wise, and you can even hear it in my voice. My mom says I have more color in my face already, too.

Here's hoping for an even brighter day tomorrow!