hello all. just wanted to give an update on andy. he is 3 months post treatment now.
he is doing fairly well although things are not as i had imagined they would be. guess its that "new normal" thing happening.
he has gone back to work. that takes ALL his energy...has nothing else left. he is on thyroid medication. still has extremely dry mouth. eating is very challenging, everything is dry. water bottles are a permenant fixure everywhere we go. he has not gained back any weight, as a matter of fact-he has lost a little more. i make him drink the supplements still even though he fights me every step of the way.
he is always so tired and fatigued. seems endless.
he is off all pain meds.
he still goes up to MO office and sits with other patients while they do their chemo--takes naps right along side of them lol. he says its his way of giving back.
i have learned to take time for myself. i never did during his treatment.
taking one day at a time....

Good to hear from you Teresa! As time goes, it will get better, but y'all have a new "normal". We're all praying for the two of you...keep pushing the supplements, they will help.

Paula

Teresa,

I don't think I was much better off at three months then Andy is now. I was back to work, but I could not gain weight and was pretty much shot at the end of the day. Personally, I was happy to be alive and not having to go to the hospital every day, and was drug free (after finishing two months of anti-depressants)

I'm 8 months out now and just got back from camping with the boy scouts in the black hills. I am back to work full time and now go to the beach and do other things after work. I'm gaining back some pounds and my saliva is still improving (lots of water bottles around here too).

I guess the message here is that you still have a lot of upside to experience in the next few months. I posted a while back that I made it over some kind of hump around 4 months out. After that the good days started outnumbering the bad.

Hi Teresa (My Laker Buddy),

Andy is doing fine, it's only been 3 months. Things will get better, I promise. Just have patience and keep taking care of yourself.

Love,

Shelley

Teresa,
Andy will continue to get better. The dry mouth is stilll an issue, but you learn to deal with it. I am know 5 months post treatment and eating almost everything except for breads and meets. Everything has to be very moist, and I had my PEg tube out and not losing weight or gaining weight. So glad to hear from you.

Good to hear from you Teresa!

It will only get better with time. Keep being the awesome wife that you are to Andy!