Chemo in Sept 08
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FINALLY home........what a long day!!!! And my port is so sore!!! I forgot to pump the fluids yesterday so I may have been a little dehydrated today. That could have been why they couldn't get my blood very easily!!! But they did end up getting it out of my hand.........
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Genia - my port was sore last tx from all of the "digging" they did to get the needle engaged. My surgeon planted it pretty deep - so they needed a longer needle. Try numbing it with an ice pack or frozen peas. Hope everything else goes well for you!
Donna
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I have some numbing cream.....but it took them so long to get it in there......it had worn off!!! Don't know what the problem was today......they've never had that hard of a time getting it in there!!!
It's hurting......I know that much
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Chris,
Thanks for the kind words! You're a sweetie!
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Ango74:
That pisses me off about the drs. and nurses saying that people "breeze through" chemo. Next time, someone says that, ask them when was the last time they had chemo? As far as the pains, did you get a Neulasta shot? I got mine in my stomach and didn't have bone pain but also took the 24-hr. Claritin after the shot. My worst SE was horrible constipation.
Peeps
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Well girls, I am now shiny bald. I got a buzz cut a couple of weeks ago, but have still been losing hair like crazy. I couldn't take the 'nuclear fallout victim' look anymore, so I buzzed some this morning, then my husband did the back and then shaved it smooth. I look so weird but it truly does feel liberating (like others have said).
Susan:)
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Peeps.....I sure ain't BREEZIN. The more of that crap that went through my veins today......the more my stomach was goin BLAHHHHHHHHH. Then when I was finished I bent over to pick up my shoes and almost hit the wall.......don't think THAT is breezin through it!
Yes.....they don't understand. They see us leave on our feet walking and I guess that's good enough for them!
Sue....good for you g/f......BALD IS BEAUTIFUL!!!! Well at least that's what my husband says.......lol
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Donna, I am feeling good, thanks for asking
You asked about going out commando - like I mentioned, I am just now bald-bald. I wish I were brave enough to go commando. Has anyone done it??Tanzie, you are so funny! But I'm sorry you were feeling so down. I'm sure you will be looking great when your PS is all done. Hang in there!!
CJ - AWESOME news!! Yay!!! Good luck tomorrow (I think tomorrow is your next tx).
Genia - WTG posting and infusing at the same time - multitasking, huh? Hope you are doing good tonight. Just read your message - thanks!
Pottergal - pilates? I can't even make myself go walk around the block! I know I would feel better if did. I'm going to MAKE myself go walk in the morning! And Happy Birthday!!!
Ruth, hope tx2 went well for you and hoping for minimal SEs!
Chris, where are you? I'm worried about you!
Have a great night ladies!
hugs,
Susan
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Peeps,
I had the bone pain before the Neulasta, oddly once I got the Neulasta I didn't have bone pain. I am going to take the Claritin just in case this time. Anybody have any good advice for the horrible headaches?
I honestly felt like something went wrong with my tx because I didn't "breeze through it". I hadn't read in this forum all that much. I am glad I found it, it helps to know that I'm not the only one who didn't breeze through it.
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tanzie- i wish i could have seen the look on that dr's face! That was priceless and gave me a much needed chuckle this am.
cjh- i am soooo happy for you. congrats on the good news!
Jane- rant all you like! This stuff does suck and i wish all of us happier days ahead. This diagnosis is just one hurdle after another some days! Hugs to you
pottergal- PILATES???Man do i feel like a young loafer. belated congrats on your birthday.
Girls have any of you that are premenopausal started having symptoms?? I have had no hot flashes but was supposed to start last weekend and all of a sudden my nerves are SHOT, i am ill as a hornet some moments and some moments just want to curl up in a ball and bawl my eyes out (this coming from someone who HATES to have a good cry cause it just causes a headache after it's over.) My emotions are all over the place and i just feel really unbalanced...
As far as the breezing through chemo-- that is BS i think it breezes through us. Some of us are just fortunate to not have severe side effects and not look horible while we feel that way!
Thanks ladies for being here and for bringing some lighter moments to this. We are a large group and there are soooo many of you i'd like to reply to but my memory is short these days.
Good luck to all up this week
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Angie, I wish I knew what to do about the headaches too. I get migraines anyway, but even my migraine meds won't get rid of this headache. I've had a headache everyday pretty much since tx 2 (Oct. 6). Last treatment it went away a lot sooner. Ugh.
Susan
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ok, girls, what's your favorite thing to eat or drink when you have "metal mouth"???
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Juli - gingerale is my fave to drink. I force myself to drink water/gatorade. To eat - scrambled eggs, chocolate ice cream, chocolate pudding. Okay, I'm getting off the computer now LOL. Night girls
Susan
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Ginger-ale (and only ginger-ale) for me too. Scrambled egg sandwiches on white bread with mayo, Lipton chicken noodle soup, thin sliced smoked turkey on white bread with mayo. It is so strange the things that I crave because I haven't had white bread and full sugared pop in decades! Oh, and believe it or not I have to have a kosher dill pickle with my turkey sandwich. Cape Code 40% less fat potato chips tastes pretty good too; salty stuff, not sweets.
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Ruth - I hope that everything went well for you today; I'm thinking about you!
Donna
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Milk Duds.
Have any of you been to a "Look Good...Feel Better" class put on by the American Cancer Society? I went to one this afternoon, and holy cow, did I have fun! Not only did I get to take home pretty close to $300 in high end makeup (Chanel, Estee Lauder, Clarins, Clinique), I also got to take home a $250 wig for free! I swear, I felt like a million bucks when I left the building! I went to church this evening, wearing my wig, and everyone applauded when I walked in!
If you can get to one of these classes...do!
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I go to one on the 21st theprettiestmess.......can't wait. I need all the help I can get.......that's for sure!!! lolol
Aww....that's great......you deserved to be applauded I'm sure!
hugsssss
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I can only tolerate Ginger-Ale too. I've always loved it, but found myself worrying the other day that after this is all over I might not be able to stomach it anymore.
Scrambled eggs are also on my list. I'm excited about going to my LGFB class on the 27th. My skin is really taking a beating through all this and I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of loot I'm gonna come away with!
Sue and Ang-- I'm feeling you on the headaches! My onco sent me home with Lortab 10 for mine. I don't take them as I probably should though, since it's such a strong med.
Pottergal-- belated happy birthday!
Oh yeah~ I went commando today in Belk! O_O I had my hat on, but wanted to try on a few of the really cute ones they had out. So, I took a deep breath, whipped of my cap and tried a few on in the mirror! Yes, I felt weird. And there was that one old lady that boggled. But all in all, it wasn't terrible. I mean, the sky didn't fall or anything. *g*
Much love!
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Bettysgirl - I'm premen (47) - had a normal period a week after the first tx. I heard that the normal pattern is to go into men after the second tx - woohoo. I haven't had any hot flashes or major mood changes yet - I've always been in love with cold, so am not looking forward to that making it worse. The only time I'm naturally cold is when I'm dehydrated - a sure sign for me.
Favorite food for Metal Mouth: Popsicles - I've never liked them, but they are heaven during that time. Scrambled eggs were good enough to get down. I have jello to try for this round - we'll see. Toward the end I started rubbing my tongue with a half of a lemon - that seemed to help, but you never know. I couldn't stand any meat during that whole period, and even when I was a ways past and could eat a lot more - I still got metal mouth after eating meat...very weird.
Good news - my port was fine, so I was able to get my 2 tx. Everything went smoothly. I took the puppies for a 3 mile walk/run when I got home - that will be the last run for a week, but it was good to feel alive. I love smelling the fall scents - the walk ended next to a small lake with the full moon rising - absolutely gorgeous.
Fabulous news - my wbc was a 18.9 so they agreed I didn't need the Neulasta tomorrow. I will go in at 10 days to check my numbers, but hopefully that will greatly reduce my pain...I'm so excited. I know the weekend will be rough, but maybe a bit better than last time. (here's hoping.)
Okay - have a good night all - I'm going to go veg in front of the TV.
Ruth
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Good to hear you did well with your tx today Ruth.......I was thinkin about you all day!!! Mine went much better than the last.....once they got started 2 1/2 hours later than they were supposed to. I don't have that metal taste so far.....just crossing my fingers.......cause it was bad last time!!!!
Nite all......and thanks for being here........ALL of you!!!!!
hugssssssssss
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Hair now falling out all over. Dd wanted to call my brother (the barber) TONIGHT to have him buzz my head. I told her we were not waking my brother up at 10 PM to shave my head. I'm sure it will last until the weekend.
I did have another mini meltdown at an AA meeting tonight, but it was ok. They know me there and they still like me.
My daughter and I are going to a Look Good..Feel Better on the 27th. I'm looking forward to it.
Nothing seems to taste good, at all. I think I shared with you all my trip to the dentist last Friday. The tooth has been bad and yes, it does need a root canal and the whole 9 yards, but I just didn't have the money then and I don't have the money now. I wanted them to pull it last Friday, but the dentist insisted on trying to save it. That little trip cost me $107 AFTER what my insurance paid. Today, 1/2 the tooth fell off in my mouth ... not the filling - the tooth. I called the dentist office and was told that they could "take a look at it on Friday." I explained to the nice little lady that I have cancer and I have a very small window of time when anything can be done and that I can't exactly be walking around with something like this brewing in my mouth at this time. I told her the tooth needed to be pulled THIS WEEK while my white counts were still up. She said they could look at it on Friday, but they would not have time to fix it. I asked her to please run this by the dentist to see if he felt comfortable with that and she said she would. I called my onc nurse and told her what was going on. She's going to talk to the onc tomorrow and have him call the dentist. I'm so pissed off I just put a stop payment on my check. Now my check is as good as the work they did!
Had my IVF and Neulasta shot today. I have that wonderful grumbly, tumbly gassy feeling. But I keep reminding myself that it could be worse (and then, of course, it gets worse, go figure).
By the way, have I told you all how much I love you lately?
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aww Jane... when it rains, it pours, huh? huggsss to you!
Thanks to all who offered "metal mouth" favs. It was fun hearing it all!
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Susan, I am still here and alive. Actually, I'll call it a good day because I didn't feel like crap today.
I found the side effects to be completely different after the 2nd treatment, and I felt awful a lot longer. I think I may be getting an ulcer, so now have pills for that too. Such stomach pains.
I have been reading everyone's posts. I have had no pain from the neulasta shots. Take no clariton or anything else. No bad headaches, but always a bit of a sinus headache, for which I take another pill. But, usually just once.
I wouldn't say it's metal mouth, but my tongue gets strange and everything pretty much tastes the same for about 3 days. Doesn't really matter what I eat, nothing has any flavor. When the taste buds come back, then I get cravings. Usually for things that are not good for me.
I had a Look Good, Feel Better class about 10 days after my lumpectomy. It was too soon. The class was fine, the bag full of products was great, but I was at a very sensitive time and when the guy gave a demonstration of tying scarves and such I got all teary eyed. This was before I even knew that I would have to have chemo. I thought after the radiation I would be done. Thankfully, I kept the TLC catalog for some reason.
Donna, you asked about who is going through this on our own? Guess that depends what you mean by on our own. I have a grown son that lives with me while he works full time and goes to college. He isn't home much because of those things, but I know that he will be here every night so if I need something done I wait up for him. I have family a little less than an hour away, and a few really great friends here in town. They will come if I call. And there is one whose sister is going through treatment right now about five hours away from here who makes sure that I get out once in a while. But, I have driven myself to my surgeries and I sit through my treatments on my own, and most of the time I am here alone with my two cats. It isn't that no one will go, but I won't ask them to give up a whole days work to sit with me, or to get up at 4:30 in the morning to drive me to surgery. I'm sure they would if I asked, but I won't.
Chris
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Gena and Tanzie, thanks for your kind words, I am also very happy to have this site and you girls, as I am getting just as much out of it as everyone else.
I met up with worrus today, she is a great girl with a good sense of humour (which we all really need right!). It felt funny to say "we met on the internet". It made me think, wouldn't it be great if we could all meet up and have a huge "End of Chemo Party". We must think of a way to do a virtual one if nothing else.
I must say that I don't know anyone who has "breezed through chemo". Sometimes I make it sound like me when people ask how I am getting on. I feel good and hope I look good and they say "so you haven't had any side effect?" I then realise I have put too positive a slant on it and tell them if I wanted to, I sure could paint a pretty black picture, but choose not to. I lay thinking the next night and actually counted 30 side effects! I don't know anyone who would want to hear a story that black. Of course most of them I had to really think about, but I have had them, things like the flushed face, twitching muscles etc, none of them hurt and I wouldn't have even thought about them, but boy, this is still no picnic.
It's very sad to hear about the guys having their melt downs too, but at least we know it is normal if it happens to us. I am so glad that it is me who has cancer and not anyone else in my family, as that would be so much harder to cope with. I know I am strong and can do it,but would never wish it on anyone else.
Keep smiling everyone and stay positive. Singapore Chris x
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Hi, I have to say that even though I don't post much here but I read it daily and it is the most reassuring thing to know there are other woman out there experiencing the same thing as me. Not that I would wish this on anyone but it's definitley a bonding experience and a big Thank You for helping me get through this with laughs and tears!
Today is my third AC and I am anxious wondering will the S/E's get worse or stay the same?? As far as going into menopause is anyone crying at the drop of a hat like I am? May be a silly question but is that part of menopause?
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Hi Tamm36,
I am 47 and was not in menopause before chemo, but my periods stopped after two rounds of TX and have not come back yet. I am now 10 cycles on, I got lots of hot flushes on TX, but they have stopped on FAC. I occasionally brust into tears, but I think it is just the whole process of being in treatment and going through a hard time. Having said that, I think it is quite likely part of menopause as our hormones are all over the place, depression can also be a normal part of it, so don't think you are acting in an odd way. Just having cancer regardless of menopause is reason enough to burst into tears at any time. keep you chin up, (yes I'm English) and keep looking here for support, we are all with you,
I have been told the side effect DON'T get worse and mine haven't, so hopefully it will be the same for you. Good Luck and I will be thinking of you, so let us know how you are getting on.
Singapore Chris
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Tamm36,
I WAS going through menopause....have been for a few years now.....and let me tell you girlfriend...I have cried over almost everything. Some days that's ALL I do. I can hear a song on the radio.....and I cry. I'll think of my parents who are both gone........and I cry wishing they were here for me to cry too! Especially my mother.....
I think of my children.......and how they are all coping with this........and my husband..........and I cry some more!!! Then there are days I just have the biggest pity party you ever could imagine. I was told.......if you need to cry........CRY. That's your bodies way of releasing all the stress and anxiety. So I have followed that advice........and it does help!!! I think what you are experiencing.......is completely normal hun. Are you taking any anti-depressant meds??? If not......it may be a good idea. I couldn't make it without mine.
Big hugssss.......and we will get through this!!!
Genia
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Chris - You story sounds like mine. People have asked to drive me to chemo/treatments, and any time I say, can you do me a favor, everyone says yes, without even knowing what it is, but I never ask anyone to help with anything treatment related. Too independent I suppose. My son is 15 and tries his best to be supportive. He always asks me how I am feeling, and if I ask him for something, he helps. But BEST of all, he gives me good hugs whenever I need them!
Weird thing. My period stopped after the first round of AC, but this month, it started right back up again, even though I got AC the day before (last time, I got AC the day after). I thought I was done with that as a bonus.
Colleen
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I'm with you, I rarely ask for anything. Yesterday my sister and mother came and insisted on driving me for routine bloodwork before an appt. at the onc. today. The cancer ctr. was mobbed so went to the regular lab and was out quickly. I stupidly stopped by the cancer ctr. on the way out to tell them I thought I had thrush mouth again that was going down my throat and they said to "wait a MINUTE to see the nurse". An hr. later I finally saw the onc, told them I wasn't coming back again today and left with yet 3 more prescriptions. Of course my mother and sister were still sitting in the parking lot which made me crazy anxious, which is why I'd rather do things myself. The friends that go to chemo with me are off on those days. When I worked, vacations were precious and I don't want anyone wasting any time of theirs sitting in a chemo room!
As far as the headache, I get it on day 3 after chemo and alternate Motrin and Vicodin which my onc prescribed. I stay home on those days.
Peeps
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Hopefull Chris - I guess that I wanted to make sure that everyone had some type of support; be it children, family, animals, etc. I have my dh & 3 four-legged fuzzy children at home; my parents are just on the other side of the mountain and knowing that they could be here in an hour is a great comfort. I am very independent and drive myself to all of my treatments; even drove myself to have my port installed, but had to ask one of my co-workers to drive me home because the hospital would not allow me to do it on my own (when they told me I was going to have a local, I took it as a couple of shots of novacaine - like they did with my punch biopsy [which I had and then worked my 8 hr shift], but it was actually sedation). Most of my co-workers pop in on me when I having a tx, but I would feel anxious, like Peeps, if I had someone waiting with me or on me.
I don't really have "metal mouth" either. My mouth feels like the whole thing has been burnt by eating hot pizza - so I call it "Pizza Mouth"; kind of a numb feeling. I think that is way I crave salty stuff, those tastebuds must still be about to receive stimuli.
I had a hysterectomy ten years ago when I was 40; still have ovaries so was never on HRT. Ran an FSH on myself a few months ago to determine my status and I am (was?) premenopausal. My onc told me that the chemo would push me into menopause (Chemopause); yep, all this stuff is such a breeze.....
Tamm36 - I hope that everything goes well and your SEs are minor or absent - I haven't had a melt down since my first tx, which means I probably due to erupt soon - I haven't really felt to bad emotionally - just tired.
Got to go to lunch, will finish this later - have a lot more to comment on.
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