Tigger Juice .....

…..please Sir, can I have some more?

Rest assured, it does state on the packaging that ‘No Tiggers were harmed in the making of this product.’ I can’t honestly believe anyone would allow a Tigger to be juiced anyway, can you imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth it would cause? Eeyore wouldn’t know what to mope about first!

Good thing it’s not real Tigger Juice then and only a nickname for more medication (I can hear the sigh of relief from here!). Tigger juice is the Bad Fairy nickname for the dexamethasone steroids given along side chemo. I had them with the last lot and am having them again. Taking into account that not too many of us would be clapping our hands in glee at the thought of chemotherapy, I do when Tigger Juice is mentioned.

The medical opinion is that it helps as an anti-sickness treatment, along with reducing any inflammation, reducing the risk of allergic reactions to the rest of the cocktail and can increase the appetite of those who lose theirs as a result of the rest of the chemical cocktail given. I’m sure it does a lot more besides but those are the reason I’m aware of.

Good news is it does the trick with me. No sickness (the important bit in my book!), a slimmer liver and thankfully no allergies.

It does however have side-effects. It makes me bounce …. Just like Tigger! Hence the name. Now normally I could be described as a sort of laid-back kind of person. I don’t rush out to run marathons, nor does housework appear that often at the top of my list of jobs to do, there are far more enjoyable things to spend my energy on. But, Tigger Juice messes up my sleep. I’m a night owl anyway and tend not to be in bed much before midnight and then catch up with a lie-in at the weekend if needed. This week has seen me up at 4am most mornings, and that’s after going to bed at about …ooh….1.30am!

Without Tigger Juice, this lack of sleep would have me sulking, stamping my feet and having tantrums and tearful outbursts, in much the same way as a sleep-deprived child. With Tigger Juice I find myself loading the washing machine at 4am, cleaning out kitchen cupboards (sorry spiders!), baking and writing blog posts (well at least I can do that quietly!!). I have a sneaky feeling that Mr Bad Fairy is quite relieved that the days of me waking him at 4am to share a cup of tea and look at the gorgeous sunrises have passed.

The Bad Fairy household would like to reassure you that I’m only allowed the Tigger Juice for four days of the week …. shame really, but there you go, I quite like the Tiggered-up me!