I Have No Pulse This Morning? Is That a Good Sign?

Try as I might this morning, I could not find my pulse! What's with that?! I found it instantly last night before bed but this morning I'm embarrassed to say how much time I spent looking for it. I still can't believe I couldn't find it. The wrist is not such a big area to scout and I knew to look at the base of my thumb. Sometimes I would feel a little flicker but nothing I could count. I then tried finding it in my neck with Kevin instructing me by phone and I couldn't find it there either, though I gave up pretty easily on that one. Maybe I'm dead?!

I meant to take my pulse this morning and THEN phone Sylvia with an update. I wanted to phone her asap so she wouldn't worry about me because she knew I was feeling lousy last night and was alone at home, but I gave up and phoned her anyway. She just arrived here in her guise as Nurse Cratchet and she took my pulse. It did take her a while to find it, too, and, perhaps to make me feel less stupido, she told me I have a tricky one to nail down.

The happy news is that my pulse is down to 96! Under 100 is what I've been aiming for. Hopefully it will drop even more.

Doesn't it seem that there is a direct correlation between my heart rate and this edema? It seems that way to me and to Sylvia. I'm surprised, then, that my oncologist and nurse immediately dismissed the edema as a cause.

Hmmmmm ...

My ankles are now starting to swell a bit so I'm going to elevate them right away and try to keep things in check. I'll look for a movie to watch since I don't feel like sleeping and because I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!