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| Beau's Lines |
I'm pretty sure I was more worried about side-effects of chemo than I was about the actual chemicals being pumped into my body. As it turned out I had good reason to worry. I had some doozies of side-effects.
Here is my Side-Effects List. These did not all occur at once, of course. I had a combo platter of symptoms depending on where I was in the chemo cycle.
Alopecia (that means my hair fell out)
Anemia (and many blood transfusions)
Anorexia (but not Nervosa) a.k.a. lack of appetite
Anxiety (!!!)
Constipation*
Diarrhea* *they took turns
Dizziness
Dry eyes
Dry, dry, dry, parched, peeling, skin
Edema (once I had elephant-sized feet and legs)
Electrolyte Imbalance
Fatigue
Fever. Fever.
Headache
Infections
Low blood counts
Nail changes (Beau's Lines)
Nervousness
Neutropenia
Peripheral Neuropathy and foot drop
Rapid Heart Beat
Shortness of Breath
Vertigo
Visual Disturbances (Ocular Migraines)
Weakness
Weight Loss
Most of these have gone away since I am no longer taking chemo. I do still have trouble with fatigue and I still have some balance and mobility issues. I also continue to have electrolyte problems--I have been referred to a Nephrologist for a consultation. Appointment is next week.
I think the most fascinating thing was what happened to my fingernails. Nothing felt bad or wrong but I developed pale bands that went from side-to-side across my nails. Dr. V said they are called Beau's Lines. They are growth arrest lines caused by a decrease of blood flow to the nail matrix. I got one for each chemo. By the time I finished, you could count the lines, like the rings of a tree, to see how many times I had chemo. Weird. The lines started growing out once I finished chemo.
There are also After-Effects of hospitalizations, severe illness, and treatment for a life-threatening disease. I will talk about those in another post.
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| Beau's Lines half grown out |
