For the last couple of rounds of AC, I’ve actually felt quite strong on my nadir day (day of lowest blood counts). Today, I’m tired.

My biggest struggle today is mouth sores. On the weekend I started to develop mouth sores (the ones on the underside of the tongue are especially painful) and along with it thrush. I’ve now started treatment for the thrush, so my mouth isn’t as full of gunk, but boy do the sores ever hurt! I’m on a pretty much liquid diet, as solid foods get stuck under my tongue and in the back of my cheeks, and I cannot move my tongue well enough to clear it out. I also cannot easily open my mouth wide enough to do a decent job brushing my teeth (plus with low platelets, I need to be really careful with teeth brushing as my gums bleed).

It all sounds rather awful, and feels that way too, but in the grand scheme of things is it more an annoyance that a real problem. I will need to run out to Costco later today (after the plumber comes to look at the toilets) to buy more ice cream. The coolness and non-acidity of ice cream actually relieves a lot of the pain in the mouth and ensure I get in some calories – however, they are not enough nor the right calories for exercise.

I biked to an ophthalmologist appointment yesterday – but that proved to take too much out of me. Biking in the sun, without adequate hydration and an inability to suck on the water bottle (and pain when opening mouth wide enough to get the water bottle nub in my mouth) meant that I was exhausted by the time I arrived (about a 40 minute bike ride). So until I am able to eat solid food (even soft solid food) and hydrate adequately, biking is out. Today is officially an exercise rest day. Tomorrow I’m allowed to get back into the pool, so if I don’t have the energy to bike (cause I’m not eating the right foods today), I can at least do a gentle swim.

I’m looking forward to the rebound!