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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Hunger Games

Overall, today was a pretty good day and I think that from an overall perspective, I am definitely getting better. Pain wasn't much of an issue today and I only had to take 2 Vicodin all day. The goal is to not take any Vicodin. After that, the goal will be to be able to stay in one position for more than 10 minutes without developing discomfort or pain. One thing at a time, I guess. I've still got a case of the sleepys and had to take a nap twice again today. That seems to be my biggest barrier to productivity at the moment, just being able to shake the drowsiness and focus.

My weight loss was a bit of a wake up call. While I'm happy to be at 184 as that is probably the weight I should be at, I don't want to drop any more and now that I'm consciously trying to make sure that I eat enough, I'm finding that easier said than done. Nothing is particularly appetizing to me and I just don't get hungry. It's weird, when I eat, I don't really have a problem eating, I just have no interest in it. When I do eat, it takes very little for me to feel full and I don't feel like coming back for seconds later. My wife went to the store today and bought some things that she's hoping will make it easier for me to get calories as opposed to eating a regular meal. We'll see how that goes.

It occurred to me that when I was on the Fentanyl patches that I didn't have this problem at least not to this extent. I did still have an appetite though it wasn't very voracious. I would get hungry at meal time, but not much in between and I could eat a sensible portion without feeling stuffed, but I was usually good with that amount and didn't need to go back for seconds. I hadn't really noticed until the doctor pointed out my weight loss yesterday, but the loss of appetite does seem to have coincided with my starting the Methadone and Neurontin. Appetite loss is listed as a side effect of these drugs, but it was with the Fentanyl as well. Perhaps the side effect is stronger with these meds. Then again, I made this change in the middle of my radiation treatment so it could be a combination of the meds and the radiation. The radiation is over, but the effects are supposed to carry over for several weeks so perhaps my appetite will get a little better once the carry over from the radiation has ended. Too many variables and too many questions without any way to get a real answer other than through trial and error. Either way, I'm going to bring it up with the pain management Doctor on Thursday to see if he has any suggestions for better dealing with it.

1 comment:

  1. Maybe now is a good time to drink a bunch of shakes with gross healthy stuff in it, since your not really concerned about being a foodie right now...may the odds be ever in your favor.

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