Update on the steroids - after a weekend away which almost brought my body to a standstill with too many aches and pains, particularly in the right leg, I thought I would try my low dose steroid, dexamethosone, and started on 1 mg on 22/3/16.
Well it certainly does what it says on the tin. It has given me an amazing boost in so many ways. My brain has been active and clear and I have completed a whole host of work projects. Secondly the aches and pains have simply disappeared. I have to watch how I sit as my right leg remains a problem if I find myself in poor seating but otherwise it is as if I have been oiled and everything works so much better. I had a few days in Malta with my daughter and it was a great time. My stamina was good and each day I woke up refreshed and not stiff at all. The other impact has been on my enjoyment of food. I seem to have got my tastebuds back in ways I did not realise had disappeared. Of course it makes me want to eat more and I am watching that but for now to really taste food again is great.
Now I know this is a temporary fix and I know it won't last forever. But what a holiday from the fatigue and just at the right time, I cannot thank my oncologist enough for spotting that this was the right time to suggest this, given all the projects I have to complete before retirement, now only two weeks or so away! I would like to feel like this when I get back to the novel but as always I am in the hands of my PSA and likely to move to enzo in May if it has continued to rise.
But for once I can convey a real sense of well being. I still get tired and know the effect is illusory but for now I am enjoying this steroidal induced holiday from the constant pain and fatigue!