Wearing Flip Flops

For months I have been complaining about my swollen ankles and feet. Dr R says it's a side effect from the Docetaxel that might last as long as a year from my last dose (October '09). I have had to wear compression stockings and take a diuretic and only wear my sneakers to keep the swelling under control. Sandals and MaryJane shoes were completely out of the question because my feet would swell where ever there was an open space that let them swell.  Yuck.

But for the last few days, the swelling has been gone! Completely gone! I should have taken a photo of my skinny feetsies.

I even wondered if "lack of edema" was a known side effect of Doxorubicin that they had forgotten to mention in the handouts. But I didn't think about it a lot because I did not want to jinx it.

My feet and ankles were so un-swollen that I have been wearing flips flops since our lunch outing on Saturday.  Flip flops!  Not just any old lousy flip flops, either. Pale pink flip flops with a "secret" compartment built into the sole, just large enough to hide a credit card or a hotel key or a couple of folded dollar bills. These are party flip flops. Spring Break flip flops!

Well, last night, I felt a familiar and unwelcome sort of tightness in my feet and realized that there was a tiny bit of swelling.  Grrrr.

Then it hit me. I spent so much time in bed in the last week, probably 20 out of every 24 hours, that of course my ankles were not swelling. Being prone or elevating your feet is an excellent way to stop swelling. But after one day of working from home, a mere 7 hours of sitting at the table in front of my laptop, the swelling was coming back. Darn. Party's over.

Let's not be drastic. Party's not over. But a couple of people have started to look around for their coats and empty potluck dish, in preparation for saying good night.

I am hoping I can use this new knowledge to keep the swelling under control.