Today I made it back to the gym to begin my second phase of weight loss...another 30 pounds is the goal. Fortunately, by being a winner in the Survivor contest, I got "club cash". Yes, they get you coming and going, but I was happy to take the fake dollars and sign up for the Biggest Loser program. I had tried this program a year ago and was doing well on it until I hit some more health issues.
A few months before the program started, I had my last surgery and had finished radiation. But during the program I developed a horrible rash on my chest where I had the radiation. It was not a rash that any of the doctors had seen before. The rash proceeded to spread over the top half of my body and was excruciatingly painful and itchy. I was put through an array of blood tests and biopsies, tests for Lupus, and all kinds of skin and allergy tests. But I kept up my exercising, albeit frustraited. My dermatologist and regular doctor agreed I should go on a battery of treatments of prednisone. Nose dive!!!!
I understand this medication can be helpful, but it sure would have been nice if the docs had said, "Oh, and by the way, this medication may make you act psycho, lose half your hair, develop extreme fat deposits around your neck and mid-section, and do absolutely nothing for the rash." Nope.
I had been fortunate enough in my cancer treatments to avoid chemo, which meant I was also able to keep my hair. Now suddenly clumps of my long hair were falling out in the shower. Then I noticed a strange swelling around the back of my neck and my stomach. In a 2 week period at the end of my treatments, I gained 20 pounds in 2 weeks. Then my daughter looked at me one day and asked in a tentative voice, "Why are you suddenly so mean and angry all the time?" And she was right...everything was pissing me off. Of course, after losing your boobs and then suddenly losing your hair and gaining a hump akin to Quasimoto, being pissed off would be a natural reaction I would think. But clearly I had to do something especially since the rash was still very much with me.
I ended up pulling out of the Biggest Loser program..."Only person to gain 20 pounds on the program" was not the caption I wanted to see under my "After" picture. Here she is fat, and twelve weeks later, here she is fatter, bald, scowling, and a humpback. Ugghhh.
So, I visited the array of doctors again. I asked one of the nurses about all these side effects I was experiencing. Her reaction could be considered either comical or criminal. She shrugged her shoulders looking down and just muttered, "Oh sure, that happens all the time. Didn't anyone mention those things to you?" Without waiting for my heated reply, she vacated the room, leaving me fuming. The docs all scratched their heads about the continuation of the rash. Finally, one of my doctors came to the conclusion that it must be "radiation recall" and will just have to work itself out of my body. Really, Doc? That's what you're going with? Radiation Recall? Sounds like a Schwarzenegger movie...not a real diagnosis.
A few months before the program started, I had my last surgery and had finished radiation. But during the program I developed a horrible rash on my chest where I had the radiation. It was not a rash that any of the doctors had seen before. The rash proceeded to spread over the top half of my body and was excruciatingly painful and itchy. I was put through an array of blood tests and biopsies, tests for Lupus, and all kinds of skin and allergy tests. But I kept up my exercising, albeit frustraited. My dermatologist and regular doctor agreed I should go on a battery of treatments of prednisone. Nose dive!!!!
I understand this medication can be helpful, but it sure would have been nice if the docs had said, "Oh, and by the way, this medication may make you act psycho, lose half your hair, develop extreme fat deposits around your neck and mid-section, and do absolutely nothing for the rash." Nope.
I had been fortunate enough in my cancer treatments to avoid chemo, which meant I was also able to keep my hair. Now suddenly clumps of my long hair were falling out in the shower. Then I noticed a strange swelling around the back of my neck and my stomach. In a 2 week period at the end of my treatments, I gained 20 pounds in 2 weeks. Then my daughter looked at me one day and asked in a tentative voice, "Why are you suddenly so mean and angry all the time?" And she was right...everything was pissing me off. Of course, after losing your boobs and then suddenly losing your hair and gaining a hump akin to Quasimoto, being pissed off would be a natural reaction I would think. But clearly I had to do something especially since the rash was still very much with me.
I ended up pulling out of the Biggest Loser program..."Only person to gain 20 pounds on the program" was not the caption I wanted to see under my "After" picture. Here she is fat, and twelve weeks later, here she is fatter, bald, scowling, and a humpback. Ugghhh.
So, I visited the array of doctors again. I asked one of the nurses about all these side effects I was experiencing. Her reaction could be considered either comical or criminal. She shrugged her shoulders looking down and just muttered, "Oh sure, that happens all the time. Didn't anyone mention those things to you?" Without waiting for my heated reply, she vacated the room, leaving me fuming. The docs all scratched their heads about the continuation of the rash. Finally, one of my doctors came to the conclusion that it must be "radiation recall" and will just have to work itself out of my body. Really, Doc? That's what you're going with? Radiation Recall? Sounds like a Schwarzenegger movie...not a real diagnosis.
Quasimoto, I feel your pain!
So, last summer I became a recluse, shying away from people because I felt that cancer and all it brought with it was finally getting the best of me. The rash is almost gone, but it also made me postpone my final surgeries. My hair has come back, and I can happily report that the hump is no longer. Oh, and my kids would agree that the Roid Rage has subsided.
I would just caution anyone taking any kind of steroids...Ask lots of questions and listen to your body. If it doesn't like the Roids, it will most definitely tell you!
I would just caution anyone taking any kind of steroids...Ask lots of questions and listen to your body. If it doesn't like the Roids, it will most definitely tell you!
RSS Feed