Tag Archives: blepharitis

Mar. 20.

The Eyes Have it

By Liana Gardner | Posted in Musings |
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I can’t believe it’s Thursday all ready. Did someone put this week on fast forward? I swear I was going to post this on Monday … but life kinda has a way of happening and getting in the way of good intentions. First things first—my blood counts are doing well. The doc is super pleased with how stable my hemoglobin and platelet counts are, and the white counts have skyrocketed, which means the injection to boost them is working. They will fall over the course of the next three weeks, so I’ll keep you posted.

I have had a little bit of a setback this week, however, unrelated to the leukemia & lymphoma. Monday was the day for what I THOUGHT was supposed to be my last shot in the eye. I was more than a little discouraged to be told during my appointment that I would probably need to have a booster shot two or three times a year. I think I’m going to have my doctor refer me to someone else for a second opinion. The reason I went to the retinologist in the first place was that I have some splotches near the center of my vision and I can’t see through them. The shots are to treat the edema in my right eye, and have done nothing for the splotches, AND the edema has worsened through the treatments. I’m not saying I think the shots have made me worse. Perhaps things would have been much more severe had I not started the treatments when I did, but as things stand, I want someone else to take a look.

On top of my disappointment at learning I’d have to continue having more shots, my eye is a mess. This time the redness is visible and yesterday I had to go back to the doctor because the eye was matted and sore. They believe I’m having an allergic reaction to the iodine used to sterilize the eye. Next time they’ll wash the iodine out after the shot has been given. Seriously???? I have five treatments with no adverse effects, but shot number six and my eye decides to have an allergic reaction??? It is still sore, and has to be cleaned a few times a day, but putting drops in helps and I think it might be feeling a bit better overall.

My energy levels have been a bit better this week, but wouldn’t you know I’d have the eye thing… when your eyelid feels heavy it makes you feel tired, or at least it does me. I’ve been taking lunch time naps when possible, aided by my two furry companions, Phoenix and Elsa. The girls are always ready when it’s time to take a nap, and Elsa is my trusty nap barometer. Actually, at night when it’s time for me to go to bed, she’ll come get me, even if I don’t think it’s time for sleep. She’s very persistent. And she assesses the degree of napping need. If I just need a little power nap, she’ll curl beside me. When she’s serious about me getting some good down time, she’ll lie across my midsection, and when she crawls into my arms, and snuggles her head under my chin, it means there WILL be some serious nappage going on. 😀

Other than having the stupid eye thing going on, things have been pretty normal … as normal as things can be right now. Although I do have days, like today, where my energy seems to be taking a dip. So when that happens, I have to listen and try to get a little more rest.

The picture at the top in in homage to the eye. It looks something like that.

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Dec. 11.

A Difference in Perspective

By Liana Gardner | Posted in Musings |
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My Status: Improving
Mood: Appeased

Yesterday I was a bit down. Discouraged because I wasn’t able to go through with the chemo treatment as planned. I had actually thought I might not be able to do so because my allergies had flared because we have had some winds and I had been coughing. I still am. Post-nasal-drip coughs, but I woke up this morning wheezing. It’s the reason I am trying to view the non-chemo this week as a blessing. I do believe it is probably best that I did not undergo the treatments.

So why am I rehashing what I said yesterday? Because I figured out why I took the lack of treatment so hard. If I hadn’t been able to have the treatments because of the condition of my lungs, that is a long-known issue, and one I have lived with my entire life. The potential for something to go wrong with my lungs this time of year is pretty great, and therefore somewhat anticipated. But to be told to go home because of my blood results was something different.

Here’s how I heard it: You’re too sick for chemo. It’s hard enough for me to grasp the fact that I’m sick. Most days. But now I’m too sick for the treatment??? It made me feel like the picture above … climbing a treacherous path, not able to see clearly ahead. Just looking at that picture I feel claustrophobic. Conditions icy and dark, meaning I will slip and fall. And I did fall … mood-wise. Yesterday and part of this morning were a little rough. Not to the point of despair, but trying to focus on the positive was out of reach.

I am doing better mood-wise now. And part of that is due to seeing my regular doc for the Blepharitis recheck. The eye infection has cleared—YAY!!!—but that isn’t what caused my mood to lift. I mentioned the elevated liver enzymes to my doc and he agreed that the issue was the anti-inflammatories I took due to the knee pain. And having him confirm my gut instinct helped me. I can now focus on the fact that there is a cause which is no longer in effect. And he recommended Icy Hot for any future flare ups while I’m going through the chemo.

And he was a tad cranky because the oncologist did not advise him of the blood results. He had called her with the Blepharitis diagnosis and likes to be kept in the loop about what is going on with my treatments. I expect another phone call will be made. And I’m a little cranky that they didn’t call me on Monday to let me know the results. As they SHOULD have.

Tonight I have gained a little perspective about the road ahead. It’s still just as treacherous. It’s icy and dark, and the trek won’t be easy, but I can once again see the light. A beacon to guide me through my journey. Amazing how different the same road looks with different perspective, right?

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Dec. 03.

Heeeey, Blepharitis

By Liana Gardner | Posted in Musings |
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My Status: Are you kidding me???
Mood: Cheerful 😀

I couldn’t help but title the post this way… and if you don’t hear the Macarena playing in the background, then I don’t know what’s wrong. So let’s recap—knee is miraculously better, scudding along at 0 on the pain scale (may it stay there forever), back and arms are improving and will probably be pretty much back to normal tomorrow. So what else could go wrong?

I’m really going to have to stop asking that question.

Blepharitis—that’s what else could go wrong. When I awoke this morning, my left eye was bloodshot, rims were red, and it felt like I had little rocks in the corner near the tear-duct. My eyelids were both puffy as well, which they have been because my allergies have been elevated, but this felt different than allergies for the eyes. *sigh* A phone call to my regular doc later and I had a lunch time appointment for him to look at my infected eye.

Any other time, I’d have been tempted to use my allergy eye drops, warm compresses and wait a few days to see whether it cleared. But both my regular doc and my oncologist have made it perfectly clear, even to a stubborn-headed mule like me, that ANY infection was to be treated immediately. That I cannot afford to have any infection take hold in my system. Especially now since I had to have steroids for the knee issue, which further weakens my immune system. So the call to the doc was made.

Bleh!

Here’s what the informational sheet my doc provided has to say about it:

Blepharitis is a common and persistent inflammation of the eyelids. … Bacteria reside on the surface of everyone’s skin, but in certain individuals they thrive in the skin at the base of the eyelashes. The resulting irritation causes dandruff-like scales and particles to form along the lashes and eyelid margins.

So now I will need to use antibiotic eye drops 4 times daily, warm compresses to help descale my eyes, and wash them ever so gently with a solution of baby shampoo (Baby Magic is the best—no petroleum products in it). Or, potentially, I could lose my eyelashes. I know I’ve talked a bit about hair loss and how it’s not likely to happen from chemo, but now I have something that could potentially rob my eyes of their lashes? Good grief. I wonder whether I could have permanent eyelashes grafted on that are hot pink????

HolidayHairWhat do you do when life keeps raining on your physical well-being? *shrugs* I bought a purple holiday hat with bling on the brim and took a goofy picture of myself and posted it to Facebook. Why??? Because I can and it helps me to focus on things OTHER than my ridiculous health. Don’t get me wrong, I am taking the health thing seriously, and unless I tell them otherwise, I do follow doctor’s orders, but I also have to laugh because we have reached the point of if it’s not one thing, it’s another. By posting my pic on Facebook, I got to take a couple trips down memory lane with the folks who have known me for donkey’s years. I was able to reminisce about writing an epic ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas revision with my friend Nancy when we both worked at K-Mart. And I think there is a unanimous opinion that my curls peeping out from the cap bear a striking resemblance to Herbie, the Dentist elf in the Christmas Classic, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. So for the season, I shall be LK, the writer elf.

Oh and if you haven’t twigged it yet, I do love the holiday season, and will probably be decorating the posts with Christmassy stuff through the month.

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