Woozy Woo

(6/25/09)

Well, it seems hydration is not the total solution after all. I've been feeling pretty woozy and light-headed the past couple of days - it got worse after my treatment on Monday. This is actually a good thing, as I believe it's a side effect of the Navelbine, though not a common one it seems. Just to be sure, I'm going to have a brain MRI tomorrow (actually later today, as it's quite late). Sometimes the light-headedness comes from standing too quickly, but sometimes it just seems to be there when I'm sitting and walking around. It definitely makes it hard to concentrate and get stuff done, or even just do not-so-productive things. Urgh.

Usually, I am not so acutely aware of how my body has revolted against me - I can just go about my daily business for the most part - but this has been driving me a little nuts. If it is a side effect, I'm not sure what the solution is, other than to grin and bear it - and hope that it goes away or I get used to it. It's possible that it's due to vasodilation caused by the chemo, where the blood vessels (esp. in the legs) don't constrict when they're supposed to (e.g. when you stand up), in which case wearing compression socks is supposed to help. I tried this out yesterday, but to little avail. My doc wants me to give it more of a chance. I guess I'll try again tomorrow. Nothing like stylin' in over-the-calf black socks.

And now. . . some pics for the day:

My friend Alexis, her daughter Maya, and husband Najib go to the local organic farm to pick up fresh produce every Saturday outside of Boston. Two Saturdays ago (6/13/09), I got to go with them.

You get to pick a certain number of vegetables from the stand per membership.

After picking up stuff from the stand, we went to the field to pick some sugar snap peas, of which Maya became immediate keeper and distributor once we got in the car.

Just don't get the number wrong when you request how many peas you want. "You can have 5, 10, or 12 peas. How many do you want?" "I guess I'll have 5." Looks at you with a slight frown. "Are you sure you want 5. . . ?" She doesn't flat out say your choice was wrong, but it's definitely in the subtext.