Starting Chemo in Nov. 2011...anyone else?
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Hey Yaya, Thanks for your concern. We must have posted at virtually the same time.
Linnyhopp, If you find out anything about Bentyl, please let me know.
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DH just came home sick from work..he had his flu shot..but he seems to be having flu-like symptoms..fever, headache, sinus pain, body aches.. I am very concerned..for me..oh my..
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Hi Ladies, I hope everyone is hanging in there and doing okay. I'm day 5 of cycle 2 and have been dealing with horrible nausea this time around. I'm taking the nausea meds which help a little but make me feel dizzy and tired. My taste is also gone and my tongue is burning. I'm also feeling quite emotional and weepy which I didn't experience last time around. Anyway, I know this too shall pass and I will bounce back, just feeling sorry for myself right now
( and needed to vent - thanks for listening! We're heading up to Mammoth Mountain for the Thanksgiving break and I know if I can just will myself to prepare and get there, it will be good. It's snowing lightly and the air will be fresh and clean. It's so beautiful up there .... Linda, I'm taking Ativan at night, it's great for the nausea and also helps you sleep. I hope you feel better soon. I wish all the dear ladies on this list a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that we can be here for each other. xoxoxo
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GrandmaV ~ Just got a call back from the nurse and doctor prescribed a prescription for the mouth issues. He wants me to take Maalox (ick) for the stomach issue and said to take Immodium for any cramping, etc. She said they will "tweak" things for my next chemo. Hope they tweak it the right way. Am glad you are home and am sure you were cute in your hair halo and hat. I am picking all that up on Wednesday.
Lory ~ I know how you feel about your husband being sick. My husband has a terrible cold and we are trying to be as careful as possible. He bought masks and we are about to take out some stock in the anti-bacterial wipes. He wipes down EVERY single thing he touches and is sleeping in the another bedroom. Poor guy is going to set up a TV in there tonight as he is very bored. Lots of women have talked about having small kids with colds. That has to be really scary. I am hoping we both get through this without being contaminated by our husbands.
Tipnas ~ I am so sorry you are having an emotionally difficult time right now. I think we are entitled to feel how we feel at any given time and I know I have done my bit of grumbling on this board. I try to be strong, but sometimes a good cry is what it takes. Have you asked your doctor about something for your mouth before you leave for Mammoth? You WILL bounce back and I think that beautiful scenery in Mammoth may just help you with that. I was supposed to see Patti for my wig today, but postponed til Wednesday. Just not up for it today, but am thinking I better get prepared soon. By the way, my doctor prescribed Ativan today as well, so I am going to see if that helps with sleeping, etc. I sure hope so. Wishing you a beautiful, serene, SE free Thanksgiving. Relax and take care of YOU!
Hugs to all...Linda
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Hey Ladies, I have a silly question: I am dire need of a chin and upper lip wax, but do not wish to risk infection..anyone think that hair will fall out??
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Linda, Mammoth mountain sound wonderful!
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Lory, I would be very concerned if my husband came home sick. I don't know what I'd do.
Tipnas, You go ahead and vent. Believe me, we all understand. It just seems so crazy, that we willingly go and sit in a chair and let them pump stuff into us that we know will make us sick, while at the same time we know it could save our lives in the long run. Just remember it's all going to be worth it and the good days will come around again. Now in about week, I'm probably going to need you to remind me of these things, so you have to get better to help the rest of us as you so eloquently do.
linnyhopp, I'm glad your doctor got right on the things you needed the help with. I think I wasn't taking enough of the imodium. The nurse said I could take it up to 8 times a day if I needed to. But I was going by what was on the package and it said 4 times a day. So I'll double up for sure next time. Sounds like you have a good plan for dealing with sick husbands.
I'm just playing the waiting game again. I thought I would get a blood draw today and find out if my counts were going up, but the nurse said as long as I'm not running a fever and don't have shaking chills, we'll just keep doing what we're doing. Then Wednesday we'll find out about the counts. Waiting is still a tough part of this.
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Soo Why does the bone pain hurt more right after I move around a bit.. I get up and do some stuff come back at sit down and the throbbing!! OMG
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GrandmaV, I know.. I am terrified of getting sick.. I told him to get some masks and where them.. he thought I was joking!!
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lory, yes, the chin and upper lip hair will fall out, or at least it did for me.0
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LOL Thanks Yaya.. I know random babblings of chemo brain..
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When will this nausea end?! ugh! I also have a ridiculously heightened sense of smell! I feel like I'm pregnant with this "morning sickness" that lasts all day, weird smells and crying at the drop of a dime! I know it's just a phase, but I'm ready to move on to the next one! Since I'm getting AC every 2 weeks I'm starting to wonder if I'll feel better at all in between rounds?!? That is all....just needed to vent
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Kim, I am sorry you are feeling ick...maybe your team can change up some meds for you for nausea??
{{{hugs}}}
Lory
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Kim, my nausea didn't exit until day 6 after chemo. I'm so sorry, I know you are just miserable!! I'm one week out, and I feel okay. Still have thrush, but am on meds for it now. Oh, and doubling up on Zantac to see if it helps with the stomach acid. I'm glad I get a week of normal now, until the next dose. This dose dense thing is tough! Hang in there, you WILL feel better soon!
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Kim, I agree with Lory and gamergirl. The right meds can make a big difference. Each person is different, though and you just need to find what works. I heard a lot of people rave about emend and ativan. If you haven't tried those ask you onco about it. Have you tried ginger. It helps me in just about any form, but the gingerale is the best.
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Kim, I agree with Lory and gamergirl. The right meds can make a big difference. Each person is different, though and you just need to find what works. I heard a lot of people rave about emend and ativan. If you haven't tried those ask you onco about it. Have you tried ginger. It helps me in just about any form, but the gingerale is the best.
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Bonseye-Yes, I am excited to have people at all stages of the chemo. Most of these ladies have already been getting their treatments (on this November post), so it is so helpful to read their experiences and ways they have dealt with the side effects, etc. But I am also glad that we will have the exact same days for our treatments. I am planning to try to get back to work on Mondays, Tuesdays if I just can't get back there on Mondays. I teach middle school, so I need a lot of energy to be with 7th graders all day and keep up with the workload of paperwork, etc. I have been able to get the same sub for all of my absences so far, too. I have the benotine mouthwash, the ginger ale, and some Kroger brand stool softeners. Besides that, I just have 2 prescriptions my oncologist had me buy to take the day before, day of, and day after treatments. I know one is for nausea.
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GrandmaV ~ Did the cramping, etc. last for over a week? Mine seemed to start last Thursday or Friday and continues on. Not really nausea with it...thank goodness. I am going to take the Immodium and see if that helps. The nurse I spoke with also said they sometimes tell patients top double the dose. Holy moly...what will happen if I do that? By the way, you are so right about the Emend...it works! Will be getting the Ativan prescription today and am anxious to see if that helps for sleeping.
And I had a great laugh when i read about the chin hair...I was tugging on mine when I got to that post. Guess I will tweeze it til it goes away "magically"...otherwise I will be tugging on it and making myself even crazier than I already feel.
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Thanks to all of you who shared with me about the port. Since I am afraid of needles and would rather have both eyes poked out than to have to have a blood draw, I was really dreading having to get the port. I read anything online from no problem, port was great, didn't feel a thing to this port is worse than the whole mastectomy and lymp dissection and many other comments in between these 2 extremes. I had mine put in today, and although the IV was terrible, (They had to stick me 3 times -2 each time because they gave me some numbing shot, which didn't numb anything, then the IV stick, decided they missed the vein, then blamed their incompetence on me because they didn't like the way I was breathing 3 different times. It takes all I can do to psych myself up for 1 stick, 3 is something I could not have even imagined.), I really barely have felt pain except for where my arm and chest meet and in the black and blue needle prick sites. My arm is sore when I move it, and I can't lift it high or carry heavy items. I also found that I couldn't spread peanut butter on my cracker. That seems an odd thing, but my left side is still healing from the lumpectomy and node dissection surgery and still a little sore. This plus, I am right handed, and I couldn't do that task with my left hand and my right was too sore to spread the peaut butter. I am not sure why the surgeon gave me nausea medicine, but it says to take as needed and I haven't needed it. The other is a pain killer, and I have taken it earlier today because I was afraid it would hurt later on, but I just realized that I should have taken another pill 2 hours ago and didn't, so I didn't take another one. I will take one tonight because I have a hard time sleeping anyway, and I am hoping the pain pill will help some. I can't sleep on my left side because it still hurts from a wear and tear injury I had before all this started, and now I won't be able to sleep on my right side because of the port. So I am going to have to try to sleep on my back, which I can never do. I hope I get used to that pretty quick. So unless the port freaks me out when they start trying to access it, I will be very happy that I got it. Of course, it the nurses there are anything like the two different ones who tried to put in my IV today, I will probably be very happy even if the port is a little scary too. Now I am ready for my first treatment on Friday.
Bonseye-Be sure you eat ice chips during your treatment Friday. Several ladies have said that really helped with the mouth issues.
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I was so glad to see you got the port. You'll be glad you did. The nurse also had trouble threading my veins for my IV prior to my port implant, which only made me even more glad I had decided to get the port.
I had my worst SEs on Day 4 after first treatment. Each day, I'm getting better and feeling more normal. Today I met two friends for breakfast (actually ate a good, healthy breakfast) and did almost all of my nomal, routine stuff. I go for my Herceptin chemo tomorrow, but I'm hoping for no serious SEs with that treatment.
As with linnyhopp, I've had some diarrhea, but it hasn't been major, along with the minor "bone aches," especially during the night.
So, I'm finally starting to bounce back in just a week since the first treatment and looking forward to a somewhat normal Thanksgiving.
Just continue following all of this great advice on this message board, and I feel sure that all of our fellow "chemoists" will help us make it through our journey.
Wishing you good luck on Friday with your chemo and new port.
Deb
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linniehopp-thanks for the good luck wish and the advice. I am very anxious to get it started because the sooner it starts, the sooner it will all be over. I am still in awe over how quickly all this has come about. It seems like just when I am able to process one aspect of the treatment for a disease that I still have no idea how I got, it is time for the next treatment. I am very happy to have gotten over the port installation today. I told my husband today that, that was one more thing I could mark off my list of bad things to get through.
Everyone-I really like a quote that I saw at the end of linniehopp's last post about wishing us all a symptom-free day. That really says a lot and applies to all of us. Whether we are recovering from our surgeries, chemo, radiation, hormone therapy, and/or the myriad of other obstacles being placed in our ways, a symptom-free day is a great thing for all of us at whatever stage we are experiencing.
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racerdeb-I am glad I got the port too. I am grateful for your encouragement to get it and your advice about it. Also, I am thinking I will take off Mondays also after my Fridays' treatments. I had thought the worst part would be right after and I could go back to work on Mondays, but now I am thinking I should take off Mondays too. I may go ahead and call my sub and make sure she is available.
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Bahamamom--We sound so much alike! I will be getting my treatment through my port tomorrow and I am NOT looking forward to it even though I know it will be better than through a vein.
I also cannot lay on my back. I had bilateral mastectomies and had to sleep on a wedge on the couch for three weeks. I put a body pillow in the middle of my bed to rest on so there was not a lot of pressure on my sides. I did that until I got the port. Now, I have eased into laying on my right side for at least half the night. We really do get used to what they are doing to our bodies. I can finally sleep like normal again. This is really good since the treatment wipes me out. I tried to move furniture today and couldn't. Everyone rolls their eyes because they know I shouldn't be doing it. I really just want to cry about it and I do sometimes.
I hope everyone has a good night tonight. I'll let you know how my 2nd treatment goes. I am so nervous!!!
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Can someone please tell me why the bone pain is so much worse today 5 days AFTER my nuelasta shot?? I had little thigh pain int he first 3 days, that went away.. Now OMG claritin is not touching this..only pain killers..
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linnyhopp, my cramping was on and off for about 5 days (along with Big D and gas). Been feeling great since, even though my wbc bottomed out, it hasn't affected how I feel. I hope the imodium helps you. Next round I'll know to double up on the imodium.
bahamamom, you are very brave. To have such a fear and let them do that to you took guts. Have you asked you onc about numbing cream. Some give a prescription, and some centers (like mine) have it on hand. It has to be applied 30 minutes before the stick to do it's job. I arrive 30 minutes early and they put it on. YaYa was telling us that she put it on at home and covered it with plastic wrap. Also, if you're doing taxotere, it's good to not only suck on ice, but to ice your finger nails and toe nails. I learned this from the ladies on the TCH thread. Taxotere can in some women cause nail issues, including nail lifting and drainage. The icing minimizes this. If you'd like the links for that, tell me and I'll get them for you. There was a study that proved this helps.
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I have Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Stage IIIA. I start chemo on Dec 2nd. I am doing the TAC regimen, 6 rounds every 3 weeks. Does anyone have any advice on whether to eat before chemo. My sessions are at 10-11-ish in the morning. Thanks.
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Lory,
So sorry for your pain, i had alot in my hips and wrists after first chemo, took pain meds which really didnt help very much, i started taking claritin and had a shot this morning and havent been too bad. Maybe the two together? Hopefully you have some pain meds. Heating pad helped a little on my lower back with the hips. Well, its happening, even tho I buzzed my hair, it is still upsetting and unnerving to see it coming out in little clumps. This whole day has sucked, and this too on top of it. And if I dont stop spotting im gonna scream, and I havent been able to keep anything down for 3 days except half a bottle of gingerale. I told the nurse this morning who was supposed to tell onc. Yeah right. They never called anything in. Makes me feel like they really care a whole bunch.and I agre with bahananon boy would i like a symptom free day.
Hugs to everyone
Connie (sniff)
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Ricki, I ate a light breakfast (1 egg and a piece of toast) At my cancer center they serve food, drinks and snacks. Some people brought soemthing to munch on.. I woul djust eat a light breakfast and bring something like crackers or gingersnaps with you along with water and or gatoraide..BTW I am triple neg as well
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Connie girl.. {{{hugs}}}... Call them and bother them..you are worth more than being ignored..call them again and again until you get results..they will figure out your not to be ignored with your SE's
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boxcars, definitely keep calling your onc's office until you get some relief from the nausea. there are many, many good drugs out there now and you don't have to suffer. lory is right! there's no reason to be so miserable. i hope you get good results tomorrow.0
