[NEDenise]

Hey Friends...
So, in case you've ever wondered just how goofy I am sometimes...let me tell you the tale of how I scared myself silly this weekend... Let's call it ~ "When you hear hoofbeats...look for horses ~ not zebras!"

I had the 2nd Avastin infusion...I dropped down to 6mg/day of decadron...
Mon, Tue, Wed...even Thursday...I felt fine. No dizziness, weakness, nausea... NOTHIN'! Yay! But hold on...not so fast...

Friday morning I woke up and I felt baaaad. I was dizzy, had a headache, felt nauseas. Oh s*&t I thought! What's going on?! The swelling is getting worse! Now I'm screwed!
But, I had a busy day scheduled...meeting at son's school, errands, lunch date, grocery shopping... so like any good woman/mom worth her salt, I plastered a smile on my face and set off to muddle through my day. I actually found myself hoping I was coming down with a stomach bug. Can you imagine? Anything but brain swelling!

Now, as an aside...allergy season in our neck of the woods has been brutal this year. When one of us has a terrible runny nose, we joke that they're "leaking brain lubricant". All four of us had been leaking quite a bit. I even joked that I wished mine was the "brain goo" I need to get rid of - not just lubricant.

By Friday night, I was getting worried. The dizziness was getting worse. Saturday morning I woke up to all the Friday symptoms...but with weak achy legs too. Uh oh! Not good. Now, I was starting to get scared. New swelling would be a very bad sign, indeed. I found myself running through the "signs of a stroke" list in my head...just in case.

It wasn't until late afternoon that I realized I wasn't "leaking brain lubricant" at all anymore.
And then it all fell into place:
All that fluid was stuck in my head.
Which meant my ears were clogged.
Clogged ears make you dizzy.
Dizzy people feel nauseas.
And people who go out all day, walking waaay more than usual...
get sore legs the next day.
Duh!! Not tragic medical issues...ALLERGIES for heaven sake!
HORSES! not ZEBRAS!!

I took a Benedryl, and some advil. Slept for a few hours while they worked their magic, and felt like a new woman! Or...actually, more like the 'old' woman I had been on Thursday! What a doofus!!

So, thanks to Benedryl, and better living through chemistry...two days later I was able to drop the steroids to 4mg/day, on schedule...and no problem! I'm so excited! That can only mean the swelling is decreasing. Thank God!!!

Still no change in all the puffiness...but it took months to build up...it's not going to disappear any quicker! Big deal! In the scheme of things...I'm just so thrilled to think that the Avastin seems to be setting things right...I'd even settle for permanent puffiness if that's what it takes!

God is good, all the time! I just need to pay attention...all the time!
Thanks for checking in...
Denise