Wrist Pain is not for Sissies

It's been awhile since I've posted. I'm past due on a general Nicole update. The good news is that when I don't post, I'm feeling good. I've been on Nexavar for almost 2 months now. My limited side effects are: (1) dry skin (2) blisters on feet (3) thirsty.The good news is none of those impact my life in a way that makes it hard tojust live life. Of course, I'm writing because I have a new side-effect.

Saturday morning, I woke up and my wrists were hurting. I thought maybe I had slept on them. You see with my arm being the way it is, I can't roll over in bed. I attributed the soreness to sleeping in a strange position (maybe I got stuck on my stomach with my arms trapped under me?). Saturday we did yardening (yard work and gardening) which didn't help the situation. On Saturday night I could barely pick up a glass or water or change my clothes myself. Sunday morning was the same as Saturday evening. I notice my wrists had turned bright red. The hubby and I talked it over and decided if it was still like that in the morning, that I needed to see the doctor. Monday morning, I was barely able to shower and do my hair. Doing both of those activities (poorly) resulted in tears. I called the doctor.

My doctor looked at my inflamed wrists and agreed it was the drugs. It was in the same place on both wrists. They have no idea what happened. They said the drug is usually given to patients who are very sick so side effects are harder to document. Regardless, they took my blood work and said my counts looked good. I was given special permission to take ibuprofen to reduce the swelling. It worked and the swelling went down. The red rash subsided this morning and the heat associated with the rash is almost gone. The only downside is that my blood is very thin right now. I brushed my teeth and my gums started bleeding. The inflammation and rash on my wrists was strange.

Also, I talked to the doctor and post-poned my MRI. We agreed ,we'd get better (more accurate) results after 3 months of treatment. So I go back in 3-4 weeks.