16th-17th July - Cycle One, Treatment Days 2 & 3

I was surprised how easily the first few days went.  Aside from a bit of tiredness on the third morning I couldn’t really tell that I was being pumped full of toxic chemicals and felt pretty normal.  Everything was great at the hospital.  I’d settled in to becoming one of the regulars and it was good chatting to other people on the ward, many of whom were having tougher battles than I was.

I was really happy when I was able to leave hospital at lunchtime on the Friday as my first round of treatment was done!  However, this relief was soon short lived.  Jacki and I stopped at McDonald's on the way home for a well deserved full fat treat and it was around then that the effects started hitting me.  I just couldn’t stomach my food and started to feel really wishy-washy.  We got home and I spent the rest of the day on the sofa feeling sorry for myself before going to bed very early.

As well as an immense feeling of tiredness and being extremely lethargic, I also developed a really annoying case of hiccups.  I just couldn't seem to get rid of them for a period of around twelve hours, although thankfully (at the nurse's suggestion) a couple of Biscopan IBS tables seemed to help a little.

Thankfully I was no longer attached to my back-pack of fluids so I had a little more freedom in being able to move around, not that I felt like doing much moving.  Looking back it was such a strange way in which the effects started hitting me, it was like something creeping up on you from behind and then all of a sudden, bang!  I also kept waking up through the night feeling uncomfortable and feeling nauseous, although thankfully once I took the anti-nausea tablets they helped to calm things down.

From the Friday afternoon into Saturday I must have slept for around 17 hours which shows just how much my body was craving some rest.