BY JENNY AHLSTROM Right after my myeloma diagnosis, I started a new relationship that put me into a spin. It was nothing like I've ever experienced.
I would stay up late at night, laying in bed staring at the ceiling until 2 am. I became a neat freak, making five trips a day to the laundry room to obsess about how the laundry was stacked, or randomly throwing away formerly useful items that were now "clutter." I was indignant for the first time that my house was not at all Fung Shui-friendly and started noticing that my kids were really, really LOUD.
Depending on the day, I would cry without warning or become enraged at someone who took my parking spot in the middle school parking lot. I had it bad.
Losing my sense of humor was my husband's first clue. This mad-woman was not the girl he married. Was it the stress of the myeloma diagnosis? Was something or someone else on my mind? It took us both months to realize what was happening - and none too soon.
Yes, my new bad co-dependent relationship with Dexamewthasone (Dex) was throwing us all for a loop. It was one of those truckbrokedown/husbandleftme/dogjustdied times in my life, which meant that it deserved a song. I wrote this song for the myeloma drug we all love to hate and the drug that makes everyone else stupid.
Hope you enjoy it!
about the author
Jennifer Ahlstrom
Myeloma survivor, patient advocate, wife, mom of 6. Believer that patients can help accelerate a cure by weighing in and participating in clinical research. Founder of HealthTree Foundation (formerly Myeloma Crowd).
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