Be careful what you wish for…..

28 Jun 2011 3 Comments

by Sheena in Uncategorized

Greetings.

Here we are, 4 months down the road after getting off the chemo bus, mojo restablishing itself, and general health improving.

I am getting better every day, in every way.

Well.  Apart from one.

Lack of sleep.

During chemo, I was constantly fighting a losing battle to stay warm.  I was cold all the time, to the bone, and would often go to bed fully clothed, with hat, under a 13.5 tog duvet and still be cold.  I longed to be warm.  To not have to bundle up like an eskimo all the time.  To be hat free and operating like a normal human being.

Yes, well.  Tamoxifen put paid to all that.

I was having the odd hot flush during chemotherapy which the lovely consultant said was just my body reacting to the treatment.

Compared to what is going on now – they were a walk in the park.

Within two weeks of starting the tamoxifen, I was ‘glowing’ regularly – medical advice said to give it a month or so to settle down, so I wasn’t too concerned.  I carried on ‘glowing’ until you could quite easily fry an egg on my head.

Then the night sweats kicked in and life hasn’t been the same since.

I get so hot that it feels like I am in a sauna.  I break out in an instant sweat of biblical proportions and thrash about like a demented and de-bowled goldfish in an attempt to get some cool air to my fevered skin.

I toss and turn to try and get comfortable whilst constantly feeling like the Ready Brek kids.

In recognition of my now legendary power surges (you could run a small town off me), my friend and fellow cancer battler Nadders got me a ‘Chillo’ – specifically designed to remain cool and provide relief in these situations to avoid the curse of the broken nights sleep.

Well, dear reader, my night hots get so hot, the Chillo becomes a Hotto.

A full nights sleep seems a distant and fond memory.  TDB feels the same.  And he saves the western world from terrorism etc for a living.

Being cold is now wishful thinking………