Starting Chemo in November 2017
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Feel pretty good today, except for tired from lack of sleep! Big D hit yesterday which I was kinda grateful for, feel loads less bloated. It just decided to hang out all evening and through the night. So sleep was sporadic all night. Seems better this morning, if not I will grab Imodium but I don’t want to take that route if I don’t have to, it will start the cycle all over again. Need to get my sheets and blankets washed today and a long hot bath, see if it gets me feeling human again. New symptom today is a runny nose. Literally just sitting here and it starts running out, everyday is something new. Also facial “bumps”, I have a few on my face and my neck, they hurt a little. I’m going to try a couple different skin care tricks and see if they will disappear. Learning to deal with my food tolerance, soda is so horrible right now I might as well be licking my grill. Ex had a suggestion, thinks since I drink diet that maybe it’s the fake sugar that tastes so bad. May test that out today. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it chocolate and sweets still taste amazing. Cheese is way too salty, and I normally love cheese. Protein shakes are my go to, may have egg beaters this morning but it’s going to suck not having cheese in them.
Tina
Day 6- Keep moving forward...👊🏻
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Tina...So happy you're feeling a bit better. I don't drink soda, so I can't relate to your missing them. Since on this journey, I chug down as much water as I can. Can you drink flavored water instead? I don't like flavored water, but a lot of people do. It would be much better for you than soda. I remember the horrible taste of some foods. You just have to pick and choose....hey, chocolate is a great one!! Enjoy while it lasts.
Hope
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Morning All.
Woke up with severe mouth sores. Ouch. All the swishing and baking soda, and biotine didn't help. Feels like my mouth has dozens of little cuts. After I cut my hair yesterday ( I just took some scissors and chopped away) a scaly chunk of hair fell out. Day #7 Any body have a fix to keep your head soft so it doesn't get scaly while its 'shedding'? And My Nose is dripping like crazy - they say that's a sign your loosing your nasal hair. (thank you Big C)
Yesterday I felt good. Took Truman on 5 walks/ 3 loads of laundry and did some trimming outside.
larajv - I can't believe you got pneumonia - well, I can, but geez, that probably really wore you out. Did you recover quickly? My Mom lives in an assisted LIving apartment and I've been told NOT to go over there.
Strange how diff rx effect us each differently. Blair said Ativan 'put her on the floor' It does nothing to me - But Xanax puts me on the floor!
Magari - I've never had a pedi - but I;ve been told by my MO to bring own equipment - chance of infection high while on chemo. They said No
Tina - I;ve downloaded the Chemowave App - havn;t used it yet - I will right now,
Hope 99 - YOU can Do This! I had to talk myself thru "what is the worse that can happened" (this might be a little TMI) but my worst fear is having Diarreha and not making it to the bathroom and not having enough energy to clean up. well, I called my SOC worker who keeps tabs on me and she gave me a list of cleaners who will come. I have Depends Diapers I can wear so I don't have to rush to the bathroom = and I have SIRI on my IPhone programed to call 911 (If its plugged in you say "HEY SIRI CALL 911" ) I don't remember if you live alone - I do - its scary. But its do able. Have a list of people to call in case of an emergemcy = whether you know them that well or not. When My mom had a heart attack the entire neighborhood came when the ambulance pulled in. I had no idea who 1/2 of those people were, but it wasn't morbid curiosity, It was "HOW can I help YOu? People want to help. Last months it was others on these threads that were saying Rj - You Can Do This! Yes I Can! If you ever want to private message me - plz do.... I was the most scared on this site ( in my mind) and the unknown was worse than reality.
PS - Hope - You Face your Fears by being prepared. go thru the "how to survive Chemo" (?) get things that you might need so you don't have to go out and get it - after symptoms appears. And take your Pre-meds! YOU can Do IT!
Later everybody!
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Day 6 - last night had a scare with my temp reaching 100.5. It was creeping up and down and so I kept taking it mostly because my cheeks felt warm. Called my DR and she said to take Tylenol and feel it out through night. She said was too early for white count to be too low. It was 98.0 this morning when I got up, but it will probably creep up again today. I’m still very tired. Now I’m constipated, but will give myself a stool softener by tonight. If nothing happens. More fiber today
Mom4gma3 - I too noticed a skin spot on my back that was itchy. I put a tiny bit of neosporum on it and feels fine. At my temples I have these small spots slightly raised - maybe my hair follicles are getting irritated as a pre-hair loss symptom. Hair still intact, but always falling out when I blow dry it anyways. I’m too trying to make myself feel human by putting some makeup on and washing clothes. Funny you mention sheets - that’s on my agenda too! Oh Whoopi do! At least we are functioning some!
Hope - you’re gliding through this? You never complain hardly - hope you’re feeling better too!
I’m waiting for my primary and dentist to call back for scheduling. Everyone is so busy. Need my stitches out later this week or by next Monday. Dentist needs to look at my chipped tooth at some point.
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rljes...Like you, Ativan only takes away my anxiety...nothing more. I've never taken Xanax. Great advice for Hope99...for all of us, really!
Blair...I'm "gliding" through this as best I can. Remember, I'm only on one chemo drug (Taxol) -- not like some of you. That, I'm sure, makes a huge difference. My only complaint is a bit of fatigue, and occasional joint/muscle aches...all remedied with Tylenol and a little bit of a nap - 20 minutes or so. I'm sure my side effects will increase as the weeks go by, but I'm trying to convince myself they won't....we shall see. "Mind over matter"...sometimes works!
Hope
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Hope-tried the flavored water but again it tasted awful. Probably just have to stick to regular water. Which luckily tastes fine.
Ran and grabbed some Imodium, Prilosec and tums. After my energy burst doing laundry and breakfast, all hell broke loose. even took a compazine and still feeling funky. Grabbed one of those holiday boxes of cookies hoping I can at least eat something without feeling horrible or running to the BR. I’ve already lost 4 lbs in two days but that’s partly from fluid loss and the big D. Heartburn and throat pain from it are my biggest complaints. Passed on coffee this morning hoping it would help. My MO is on vacation til Monday so just trying to combat symptoms for now.
Rljes- maybe that’s why I have the drippy nose too, it’s annoying to say the least. Funny it looks like my lip hair grew an inch. I don’t want to pluck because that’s just more pain I don’t want. Lol.
Tina
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Loving everyone's updates... it helps so much!
I'm back to work today and feeling pretty back to normal (day 8 after TC). Having a lot of fun gearing up for the holidays
we are going to Shop with a Cop with the kids this weekend, and doing Christmas cookies on Sunday with some friends. I'm halfway done and counting down the days!
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Great news Aymers33! It sounds like your energy is definitely coming back and your anticipation proves your going to feel good enjoying the kids and cops - cookie making - yum. Half way through - yea!
It’s so interesting to hear how we are all reacting through our joy ride. I’m impressed anyone can go to work with this going on.
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Blair2 - I am so grateful for how well I am tolerating all this! I really had myself set up for the absolute worst. I was so scared
It looks like you and I have almost the exact same diagnosis! My Oncotype was 25, but everyone else that you have listed was identical to mine. Wow. Have you decided what kind of Hormone Therapy you will be doing?
I was so happy to come back in to work today. I missed my team so much, and just human interaction in general!
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Hello sisters,
Did you experience the "chemobrain" ? is that real? according to my reading and the experiences on internet, I found a lot of story during and after chemotherapy. you will forget the names of your friend and loves, numbers, password, the structure of brain is change, forget words and meaning. its depend on the dose of chemo.
is that true? who face something like that?
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Hope - I totally have chemo brain! It goes away for me after about 4-5 days... but I still struggle a little bit intermittently. Whenever I'm having a moment, I say it out loud and that seems to help trigger my brain to kick back in gear. It also helps others understand what's going on for me so they can give me grace.
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I had chemo brain too Hope99, mine was more a fog. I had to really focus on my day to day movements, like walking and driving. Everything was kinda fuzzy and just off. By probably day 5 it was gone. My vision was off with my glasses driving as well, but that didn’t go away. I can’t drive anymore wearing them or everything is fuzzy.
Tina
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Aymerz33- no, I have no idea what hormone therapy drugs I’ll be on. I’m hoping Arimidix. My sister took it for 5 years and did fine on it. Tamoxifen scares me because of my heart condition, so I hope it’s going to be Arimidex.
I haven’t had chemo brain much. When I’m fluish though, it makes me absent minded just because I don’t feel good. I had this problem with my bypass for a few months after my surgery. However, at my age, being forgetful is not uncommon. I remember back then I was trying to think of “cantaloupe” and all I could think of was “cauliflower”! Now that’s bad! I remember being so frustrated over being so blank
It will pass.
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Blair2 - I'm hoping for Arimidex too. Research is starting to show for pre-menopausal women that Arimidex and the shots (I can't remember what they are called, but they are ovary suppressors) are actually better in regards to survival rates for women with early stage BC. Tamoxifen scares me too. Well, it all scares me
due to my age, it's likely that I will need to be on all these drugs for at least 10 years. So many changes, it's overwhelming. 0 -
I had my first infusion of CMF today and it went better than I thought it would. Had some pressure/congested feeling and the nurse said to take a clariton before next infusion and that they would do the infusion slower next time. I’m drinking more water than I ever did before but the nurse told me to drink more so my veins would stand out more. So far so good. I keep waiting for something to not feel right. Crazy, huh
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Tina...If you can drink plain water, drink as much as you can. As for coffee, my onco told me to start drinking decaf because regular caffeinated coffee is dehydrating. I'm used to it now...can't really tell any difference.
Aymerz...So happy you are back to work and feeling normal. Enjoy the weekend - sounds like fun!!
1950-1952....No, not crazy! I think all of us kept waiting for "something" to happen with that first infusion. Glad you did well and hope you continue to feel well.
I don't think I ever experienced what some call "chemo brain". Like Blair, my age is reason to forget things now and then. I've never had that "foggy" feeling that so many describe.
Hope
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19501952 - that’s good you didn’t have any immediate reactions. I think that scares everyone prior to their first treatment, but it’s probably very rare to have allergies to the treatments. Keep your fluids up as much as you can in next few days. You probably feel some relief now that the first one is done!
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rljes - I'm glad to hear your positive response now that you are a week into treatment. I know you were really scared, and even though it isn't a picnic, I'm glad to hear you affirming that this is doable. That is reassuring!
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Hope99 - your reading to much internet stuff! But, yes Chemo brain is real. I couldn't remember words and I was trying to have a conversation with my mom who has Dementia - we just laughed. I really think its the Compozine (anti-nausea) drug that makes me spacy. and it goes away - No chemo brain today.
1950-52 - Great news that your first infusion was a non -issue. Yeah You! Maybe nothing will go wrong - but for me it was day 4. Bloated, constipated, 5 diarehha, 6 was good, and 7 severe mouth sores and pain in my legs, hair falling out and nose dripping like crazy. I'
I'm with you about the Tamoxofen - my friend took it and had to stop. SHe had severe leg and hand pain, she couldn't drive or walk.
Ameyrz - my MO told me my imunne system would be at my lowest between day 7-14 and not go anywhere without a mask. Maybe because my Immune system is out of wack and diff treatmemts?Did I mention I felt like i was being bit by Fire Ants in my legs? Crazy.
And today is "COMFORT FOOD DAY" What are you eating ? with my mouth hurting - its mash potatoes and cressent rolls and noodles. yummmmm.0 -
hope99- you’re scaring yourself again. I am 46 and pretty healthy before I found the lump, chemobrain is just the way you feel after the infusion, the 5 days is post infusion. I’m sure everyone takes it differently. Mine was just foggy for a few days then it got better. I have never gotten sick just a little nausea. I drank a ton of water the first 3 days to flush the chemo. The infusion was actually a breeze it just took forever. I am going into day 7 now and think I’m feeling pretty good compared to what I expected. Everyone is scared about how they will react to the meds but your MO will make sure you are prepared. Make sure you are comfortable with the oncologist you are going to, I switched before I started because the told me nothing at all and I wasn’t comfortable with that and found someone awesome. As for age most people with BC are older so some with BC have other age related issues including forgetting things. I had to go through a ton of genetic testing because of my age and no family history of it. They don’t know where it came from or why I got it. But it’s here and we just keep fighting forward.
Tina
My new mantra is going to be Dory....
Just keep swimming.....
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Rljes-my comfort food today was Chicken pot pie!! Between the heartburn and the big D nothing is sitting well. Hoping it’s passed me now 3 Imodium later some Prilosec and lots of tums.
Tina
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Hey friends,
Just popping in to read and catch up and see how all of you are doing!
Tomorrow is Infusion # 2 of TC-just when I was feeling "normal" again, it's time to go back!
God bless each and every one of you!
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chicken pot pie ----yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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Hope99: Here is a little bit about "chemo brain" https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/che...
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LizabethM - good luck tomorrow with chemo 2! Another round bites the dust
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What is Magic Mouth wash? I guess I could google it - My MO called it in - can't get it till tomorrow. I'll besure to ask what is in it! (insurance is paying partial plus CVS is giving me rx card - so Its not so bad - maybe they've looked how much I've spent in their store and felt sorry for me!)
Night ALL
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Hope99, I was on the same regime except for me it was 4 FEC and 4 Docetaxol. My last treatment was Aug 1. Obviously I can't comment on long term effects. For me, it's a risk I had to take because if I didn't, I'd be dead within 2 years. At least with treatment, I have a shot.
I did the Valter Longo 48 hour fast before and 24 hour fast after treatment and my SEs were relatively minimal. Lost my hair but it's growing back. It's currently "Eleven: Stranger Things Season 1". Near the end of and following treatment, I was really tired. It was really hot out in July and August didn't help. I'm a lawyer and I've worked throughout although at 75% capacity.
I started to get numbness in my feet and fingers in August. Feet have resolved and hands are improving. I'm taking turmeric (capsules with black pepper), B6 and 12, Biotin, L-Glutamine, D3 and K2.
My blood counts were normal throughout.
I drank a TON of sparkling water throughout treatment. Perrier Green Apple was the best
.My gut would be upset about 4-5 days after treatment so kept the Immodium handy.
It sucks. You'll get through it.
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Hope99, we're the same age. I didn't get chemobrain. I have kept writing opinions, drafting agreements and bylaws and teaching my workshops
. I even ran a short hearing in October.Keep in mind that the internet is filled with "worst case" stories because there's not much to write about if there weren't problems and complications.
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hi Hope99,
Take it easy in googling... the threads here are more helpful in prepping you for chemo. google might just make you worry even more. but i understand. i googled a lot of things myself until i realized i wws not equipped to filter out what was junka nd what isn’t.
It’s easy to stumble into information that is the worst case but is made to sound like it’s the norm.
Side effects are different for everyone. what will help is to have the arsenal of meds and natural food to help you deal with which side effect shows up.
i have medication for possible side effects and a pantry full of food that helps deal with side effects naturally. I work remotely some days during chemo. When i was on EC, i usually work 5-7 working days towards the end of the 21-day cycle. Now that i’m on weekly Taxol + carbo, i try to work maybe 1-2 days per week but 2-3 days per week is doable. i’ve just been struggling emotionally and mentally lately and have been feeling subpar . But the team i work with is generous and supportive. They make adjustments so i can wirk when i feel
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