August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Hi Calamtykel---I am hoping you are wrong. My first treatment--although fine in the chair was pretty rough for two days afterwards. Seems like I am the only person who has actually vomited and I mean vomited (like bad memories of frosh week at University), I vomited all Friday night and Saturday morning. By Saturday night, I was no longer vomiting but was nauseaus until probably Monday---then got progressively better. They are going to switch my anti-nausea to help. Other than that vomiting, I have had no other real SE. I have two sores in my mouth (one on my tongue like a canker) and one underneath--they are not that bad. I wash my mouth continously with club soda and biotene so hoping that will help. I haven't lost any hair--I shaved my hair---but haven't really lost any. However, I have noticed that I haven't had to shave my armpits (TMI) since one week---not sure if that is to do with chemo....maybe? Anyway, I had low WBC this week but actually feel pretty good--my back is achy but not much else. Hoping for a better 2nd treatment.
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well it is the evening after my first AC and so far I have an incredible headache which isn't letting up and an overall feeling of uneasiness. I am beyond exhausted because I only slept for 3 1/2 hours last night thanks to the steroids and everytime I try to sleep my head keeps me awake. I am praying for some sleep tonight. Thanks for all of the well wishes today. Dreading Neulasta shot tomorrow especially if this darn headache doesn't go away.
Someone mentioned the Brian Joseph's Lash & Brow: I used this religiously when I did chemo this past spring. I have to say that I do think it helped. After TCHx6 my eyebrows had thinned some but were still present. My eyelashes hung in until after round 5 but by the time chemo was said and done I was left with only a few eyelashes on each eye. I will warn you that the tubes aren't very big and since the tube is silver and not clear you can't tell when you are running out. I bought mine at a wig shop for $50 a tube and I think i went through 4 or 5 tubes during treatment. I am not sure if I will purchase this again but I do think it helped somewhat. Just wanted to share my experience.
Carolyn: I am sorry to hear about your son. I have 8 & 6 year old boys and they have definitely expressed concern that I could die or that the chemo and surgery won't stop the bad cells in my body from coming back. It is so hard to hear this from them because honestly these are my fears too. He will see after you get through your week of chemo hell, that you are still the same mommy that he knows,loves & trusts. And if all else fails, you may need to have a chat with your parents about what not to say in front of or near his little ears.
Good luck to all of you ladies going in tomorrow.
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Very serious question: did anyone experience heart flutters after their port insertion? I was having flutters during the procedure and then a few times after. Now I was just watching the news and it started again. I also got a little pain near my heart. I am getting kind of nervous. Anyone out there?! Please let me know if you had that experience.
Liz
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Calamtykel - I too am hoping #2 is the roughest. i'll be thinking of you on Monday. Try to have a "stress free" weekend : )
Liz - congrats on the port. Don't forget to ge your script for Emla. I don't feel a thing when they access it for tx and labs.
Sweeny - I hear ya on the mouth thing. Water takes icky. Sorry your round 2 was just as bad. Hopefully 3 will be a lesser version of 1 and 2.
Youngmomof3 - Thanks for the input on the Lash & Brow. The tube I got was from a friend so was not aware of how much it cost. I'll keep my fingers crossed it helps.
Went today for lab work. WBC and RBC are within range so that was good. When I told the nurse I was still having nausea and feeling lightheaded, she had me stay for an IV drip of fluids. I also took an oral pill of Ansemet. We both agreed that I was dehydrated and that may have contributed to my tension headache. She did say Aloxi will cause tension headaches as well. Not sure which is worse the headache or the nausea. To take Aloxi again or not???
It's time like these that I really want my boring SAHM life back. My biggest decision was what playpark we would go to. Now it's Meds, diet, SE, survival rates, etc..... UGH!! Time for bed - Goodnite everyone.
Michelle
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Call you Doctor now. If it is nothing good but don't delay, call right now or go to the ER or dial 911. Do not do nothing. Please.
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Liz - I get heart flutters all the time from stress, especially around the time of my period. If you have never had them before, it is best to talk to your doctor, but just know that there are heart flutters that are completely benign and don't mean anything. I have dealt with panic attacks a few times, and it is always brought on by several days of heart flutters. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
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Liz,
I hope everything settled down! I get flutters occasionally, I notice them more when I am tired or stressed, but it can also happen if you aren't getting enough fluids - maybe you took less in because of the procedure? It's one of those viscious cycle things too, if your heart feels funny you get frightened and that of course increases your heart rate and awareness of it and then more anxiety...so if it's possible to do something relaxing like deep breathing that can help. We certainly have some added stress in our lives right now and it takes it's toll.
Carolyn
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Well, today's the day. I didn't get as much sleep as I'd like, 4 hours. I fell asleep just fine but at 3:00 my eyes popped open and my brain turned on. I think it was probably more anxiety than the steroids. To top it all off I went to the dentist yesterday to get a couple cavities filled and one of the novocaine shots must have hit a blood vessel. My cheek is now swollen and a bruise is developing. Oy! As if the chemo wasn't bad enough now I get to go with a black and blue chipmunk cheek! Oh well, this too shall pass.
My best wishes to all of you dealing with chemo now and those yet to come. JSW19, I hope everything goes well for you today! I'll be thinking of you.
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Lisa, Ckptry and Ginger: thank you all so very much. I put in a call to my doctor this morning. I am getting tingling on the tops of my feet, a little numbness in the side of my face, although the heart flutters seem to have abated...I dunno about this port business! The weird thing about palpatations is under pre-bc circumstances, I am sure I ignored the occassional flutter, but now it is quickly put under the microscope! Lisa, also, that *monthly thing* showed up yesterday so maybe I can expect flutters with that monthly situation now! It is just since bc I think I am hyperaware.
Ckptry: you are so correct about the vicious cycle. You feel the flutter, get nervous and then cause more flutters!!!!!!
So, in the end, I have put in a call to my doctor/nurses and we will see what happens. I might just be making myself nervous about everything...but then again I might not!
Happy trails, girls, and thank you for your concern-
I will keep you posted-
Liz
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Liz---I hope you feel better soon. Hopefully, its nothing but nerves.
I'm off for round 2 fun fun fun.
Y'all have a great day and an awesome weekend!
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LIZ: CKPTRY is probably right on about you being dehydrated after port insert, no food or water long before surgery. I'm not a doctor but I play one on-line. Well I'm on day three after first chemo-sabe session, slept better last night but still not great. I am going to ask for sleep help from my onco when I go for blood test next Wed. Food not tasting so good, a little like having something in between the taste and the taste buds. My overall feeling is a little like having a mild to moderate wine hangover, bearable but sucky. The best part so far is REMAINING REGULAR, when I was chemoing, Nurse Teresa mentioned that constipation could be a problem and the dozing man next to me let out a big groan of aknowledgement, scared the hell out of me, so far so good. I know, too much info.
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Mmahle: good luck with your tx today.
Onemonga: we are TMI headquarters!!!!!! That is what this entire thread is about! Don't ever feel you are sharing too much because the worst thing you can do here is share too little! There is no such thing as TMI here!!!!!!!!
I spoke with my nurse and she explained to me, with all those medical words, how the port line is run into the top of some major intersection to your heart and that moving in a certain way might cause flutters! Great...the news just keeps getting better and better!!!!!! Good times, good stuff!
Your (previously) FEARLESS Leader!
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http://www.breastcancer.org/pictures/treatment/chemo_port.jsp
The above shows a diagram of the port and tubing...
Straight to the heart! Isn't that another song? (c: Take care.
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Adey: you are a regular juke box!!!!! Thanks for the link, I will check it out.
To all: the nurse was explaining to me this morning about the port. She said if they forego running a port and run each treatment through IV, the potential for the chemo to leak into our arm, at the point of access, is all but guaranteed!!!!! YIKES! Horrifying...and so goes our luscious disease!
Good day, girls,
Liz
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My biological misunderstanding! Adey, I assume that picture is correct, which means our heart is in the center of our chest so why, when we say the pledge or I am feeling particularly patriotic at a Yankees game (!), we put our hands "over our hearts" which, we all seem to think the heart is under the left breast!!!! I also used to think my lungs were very large and located to the left and right, under my breasts and slightly above. It was only a few years ago I found out the lungs are small and pretty close to our neckline! If my biology professor in college was not SO UBER HOT perhaps I would have paid more attention but he was startlingly distracting! I am not joking when I tell you he looked like Vin Diesel! None of us could concentrate!
Liz
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Lizzie---I asked at my first chemo about the chances of chemo leaking into my arm--and although there is a chance---for those chemo that are IV push. They sit beside you the whole time, slowly pushing in and then checking for blood drawback. I don't seem to have any problem with my arm but I will mention to Nurse on next chemo---they must just love Doctorologists!
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Lizzie---I don't have a port and two of the three chemo drugs that I am on--are IV push which means that the nurse sits beside me and slowly pushes the chemo into the vein and also checks for "blood drawback" to ensureit is always in the vein. Your story has made me a little worried and I will check with Dr/Nurse about this. Like onemonga said: I'm not a Doctor but I play one on-line--that's me. I am sure when I ask my questions--they know that most of it is driven from an on-line source!!! Anyway, I will check because they didn't say anything to me when I started chemo.
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Rachel: I am sorry...I don't want to make you nervous. You know they tilt these stories "in favor of the house!" Yale is a machine and is processing several patients. I think, this morning when I called, they felt perhaps I was getting cold feet about the port and were trying to explain to me the benefits of the port. When you speak to your onc nurse they will undoubtedly tell you about the benefits of IV push and the downside of the port. Really, I just think it is because some hospitals process so many people they want the most expeditious, and failure-proof, access. Please don't be nervous...I am POSITIVE there are pros and cons to both like, in my case, having to live with a mild flutter for a year!!!!!! Oh, girlie, these are just such fun days!
Don't ever forget...the stories are always heavily tilted in favor of the house!
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Lizzy: I have the heart flutters too, but my doc actually diagnosed it as something like PVC (yea, like the pipe), some sort of benign condition that just means my heart beats a few extra times occasionally. It happens to me, mostly, from stress, anxiety, fear ... hmmm, anyone having any of that?
But definitely get it checked out. Our hearts are nothing to fool around with. I'd much rather be told in the ER that I'm just neurotic and having a panic attack than to be found dead on the floor because I ignored a symptom!
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KatherineNaomi: Good luck!! Let us know how it goes. (((HUGS)))0
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Had my Neulasta shot yesterday. And the nurse said that oftentimes the first Neulasta is the worst as far a pain goes. She actually had one patient call the doctor and accuse her of not giving the correct shot because the second one caused no pain at all. I told her I hope that is me -- and she showed it to me so I was sure it was the real Neulasta shot.
Anyway, I didn't sleep at all last night - not sure why. Got up in the middle of the night with a low blood sugar (odd, since the steroids make my blood sugars higher) and then couldn't go back to sleep. Finally took at Ativan at 4:00am, and woke up at 9:00 completely groggy. The good news is, almost no pain! Just a little bit in my back, but NOTHING like the last time.
I'm going back to the acupuncturist today. But it seems that things are looking up.
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Hi again, just wanted you ladies to know that I got three new modified baseball caps from Headcovers.com yesterday grey, black and navy blue and they are light weight and are great grab, put on and run out of the house kind of head covering and they do not scream I HAVE CANCER for all to see. Being a victim is not my cup a tea and I know you all feel the same way. Still gotta go get my wigs and have a couple picked out but I need the seal of approval from my 15yr. stylista Granddaughter. Wouldn't go without her because I would pay the price later.
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Well, I am back from my first AC tx. I got light headed during the C and they had to slow it down. I got Decadron, Emend and something else for the nausea before the tx started. I have Emend, Decadron, and the Neulasta for after. I have heard a lot of ladies talk about the Emend and how it is the best. We shall see how it works. The whole process was pretty quick and I was outta there earlier than I expected.
Went to the grocery store, came home, had a sammich, and bammm, I now feel like crap. Not sure how to even explain it. I feel sorta light headed, but its not like during the C of the tx. My stomach is trying soo hard to revolt, but Im ignoring it "Mind over Stomach"... I am willing it to calm down. Oh, yeah and when they say your urine will be red... hehe no doubt it is red.
Now for something funny, I apologize if anyone gets offended now, but its not that bad. One of the older gentlemen going thru stuff here started laughing like a school girl, and he brought over the paper for me to read. Hope you get a kick outta it too.
"Driving While Inappropriate"
An Ohio police officer who stopped a car for having illegally tinted windows received a bit of a shock when the driver rolled down the window.
Officer Ross Gilbert said he saw the driver, Colondra Hamilton, sitting with her pants unzipped and a sex toy in her lap.
Hamiton, 36, admitted that she was driving while watching porn on a laptop computer.
She was charged with "driving with inappropriate alertness" and having illegally tinted windows.
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lisa - I had no pain from the neulasta shot. Not anything real - I did feel a little "achy " the next day but it's like when you have a cold or something. For me, it was nothing worse than that. My thighs had a burny feeling but honestly I think I took tylenol once. And I'm a BABY for leg pain. But I've had flus, cold and lyme disease and the neulast shot didn't even come close as far as pain. And some of that could have been chemo aches too.
Interesting to know that the first can be the worst? Counting down 'til Monday!
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Lizzy - after my chemo, I had heart flutters - it skips one beat and then beats one beat hard. I've had this since I was 15 under various circumstances. When I had lyme it was real bad. And when I was pregnant I had it too. I've had three echos and they have all been fine. My mom has it too, so it's hereditary and she okay also.
I haven't had it in about a year and when I got the chemo, it started up again. Now it's been gone these past few days. You can mention it to your doctor - it is probably something benign though and I wouldn't panic.
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KIMMIE68: Ms. Hamilton needs to take Oprah's "No phone,no text,no laptop" pledge
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KIMMIE68: Ms. Hamilton needs to take Oprah's "No phone,no text,no laptop" pledge
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Onemonga - agreed but still found it humerous.
Well, I took a nap, feeling a little better and my son is making me some tea. Head still feels weird, and body is achy, think all that is making my stomach feel like revolting. I hope I can eat dinner in a few, cause not eating isnt good either. I tried drinking water before I slept and it made my stomach feel worse... sigh. Hope those that did chemo today are doing better and are not feeling a thing.
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Kimmie: I guess that'd be one way to kill time in a traffic jam.
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Kimmie-
That story was hilarious!
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