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Starting chemo April 2019

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Comments

  • farfalla6
    farfalla6 Member Posts: 92

    Bam320 good luck on first chemo today!

    I am back in the office today but feel queasy; I just took a Zofran, I guess I was hoping that by Day 6 I wouldn't need it. Also slept badly last night without the Olanzapine (they said I should take it just for 4 nights). i think I was nervous about being back at work and needing to get up early again. How are others who are trying to work through this feeling?

  • msmarie
    msmarie Member Posts: 72

    Thanks Annie60 and frogonlilypad for hopping on here with encouragement!

    Thinking of all who started today and those starting the rest of week.

    Day 5 for me, 1st cycle of AC. Didn't sleep as well but I think the temp in the house was the problem. I had some mild heartburn.

    Farfalla, you may want to try melatonin for sleep if ok by MO. Mine encourages it.

    Today no more olanzapine or steroid so I will see what comes along as far as SE. I am slightly more fatigued but not that noticeable.

    Apr 2 chemo gals, I'm cheering you on! MM

  • Twelvestring60
    Twelvestring60 Member Posts: 65

    Hay Ladies,

    First day down, all good.  Tomorrow shot for keeping up blood cells. steroids in the iv along with the nausea and stuff. 

    MS Marie: Cheering right back at ya!!

    I'll keep it short.. I always yammer on.. 

    Dorene


  • kimg
    kimg Member Posts: 19

    How is the port access part? I'm terrified. I just got mine Monday and start tomorrow. It's so sore. I think I'm more worried about that than anything.

  • Twelvestring60
    Twelvestring60 Member Posts: 65

    kimg,

    I had 7 day with no access to port.

    They also prescribed a lidocaine port crème. The pharmacy was out so I used an over the counter 5% but I don't know if your allowed to do that!( So Don't) :] I a little super quick prick on skin. As far as the port itself feeling all the meds? I didn't feel anything. (But I was a week out with port..I see your having  AC-T also.. they did lots of preps for nausea, steroids for some and saline,et first. Chemos were last for me. I came home and vacuumed cuz the steroids were like Yee haw.. For me, the hardest part was being afraid of the dam initial Chemo. Bam, done. Nurses are right there. bring someone with you. And the place I went,they try to put you next to someone who is farther into it and talks if you/ they/ want . They write down peoples personalities..I said " I hope mine doesn't say "Idiot".. Man everyone laughed so bad... The lady next to me was her last day!! Little headache right now, probably from stressing out over first time.  Shot for blood cell count tomorrow. They said maybe achy bones. 3-5 days after for this chemo  side effects  are strongest for some people, everyone is different. I hoping to drive myself next week! Yep. Slow deep breaths ...

    Tell them your number one concern for tomorrow!

    Nurses in this field are Wow... Well, all nurses!

    Lots of good vibes, Drinks lots of water.. hehe

    Peace,

    Dorene




    Oncotype 31

  • Twelvestring60
    Twelvestring60 Member Posts: 65

    Thinking about ya Bam320.. I hope it went well today. and I know your waiting for some  test too.

    Good thoughts,

    Dorene


  • robinredbreast
    robinredbreast Member Posts: 49

    First chemo (TC) day done. No AE's (adverse events) during infusion. I used cryotherapy on my hands and feet (with the Texotere). Cold, but tolerable. I don't think I could have done the cap...

    My labs were a little low today, prior to infusion, but somewhat expected since I had 20 rounds of radiation that just finished a couple weeks ago. Dr. not concerned at this time, but monitoring (I return during Nadir for more labs).

    Back at work (thankfully, I work from home). Just now I'm having some heartburn. Not sure what that's all about. Zyprexa tonight. Looking forward to some rest (didn't sleep much last night).

    Regarding port access - I applied the EMLA cream (lidocaine cream) to my port 45 mins prior to access and didn't feel a thing.

    Onpro on my arm so hopefully won't have any SE's after it infuses tomorrow afternoon.

    Twelvestring60, glad to hear all went well for you today.

    Farfella6 and MsMarie - hope you're able t get the zzzz's tonight!

    Bam320 and others, hope your day is going well too.

    Best to everyone!

  • robinredbreast
    robinredbreast Member Posts: 49

    MsMarie - I forgot to mention (remembering you inquired about chemo caps, etc.). I recommended bamboo and listed I ordered from on Amazon...

    Anyway, I was advised today to purchase a bamboo cap to go under my wig, as bamboo also contains natural SPF (of about 50). Guess I should have known that, but good news nonetheless!

  • bam320
    bam320 Member Posts: 84

    Thanks for checking twelevesring60. It went well. My bone scan came back with no issues and my ct scans were fine too. This was a huge relief!

    I was there from about 9:45 until about 2pm. Had blood draw from port, saw MO and then onto chemo. I had ice and popsicle during and brought some almonds and grapes with me as well as a big thing of water with some miralax in it. I just feel sort of tired now from the anti nausea meds and it is not even like my body is tired just my head if that makes any sense. Some one else mentioned feeling fuzzy and that is a good description. I got home and ended up taking the dog for a walk since I felt pretty good and the sun is actually out!

    While waiting I was talking to a woman who is on weekly taxol and she says she has little side effects. She is doing A/C after taxol. Although she is weekly I hope we have the same experience with dose dense Taxol. Yes, I know I have only had one A/C but I am always looking ahead to the finish line!

    Kimg - the port access was fine. Mine went in a week ago today. The steri strips still had not fallen off so I took them off and used the lidocaine cream and then covered it up. My nurse said I should have used more but accessing it really did not hurt bad at all. Worst part was probably when she was wiping it down to sterilize it. She said to put the lidocaine on thick so that you can't even see the skin. My port area is still sore from it being put in and I get a weird feeling when I bend over like there is pressure and almost takes my breath away. Nurse also said that is normal and by next week should be much better.

    I cannot say how glad I am to have women to communicate who are going through the same thing!


  • robinredbreast
    robinredbreast Member Posts: 49

    Bam320 - yes, I too have felt 'fuzzy' and a bit tired, but not really sleepy. I thought it was just me. Glad to know others have experienced it too.

    Have you had any heartburn (not terrible, but there with burping, sorry if TMI)?

  • Twelvestring60
    Twelvestring60 Member Posts: 65

    Robinredbreast,

    Glad to hear things went well! 

    I feel bad when I leave out all of you awesome people. I already have the worst memory. Kinda funny when I'm singing and playing the guitar, I will actually sing " I can't remember the words to this song." Tee hee, and keep going with made up stuff! (some people notice and some don't)

    Yes heartburn. maybe some sleep tonight too!

    Thanks for thinking of me.. and everyone..very cool..

    Dorene

  • Twelvestring60
    Twelvestring60 Member Posts: 65

    Farfalla6,

    Any chance of working from home sometimes or for a short time? I don't know your occupation so it might be silly to mention.

    Right now, I have a computer driven Job, (first time ever) and I worked through surgery from home for the time I needed. You can remote access the whole darn office, phone computer, printer from home.  All prints out waiting at the office. If not, maybe they can let you do something that helps them another way? I sure hope so if you need the time. My friend is a caregiver and of course that makes it a bit different.

    But, they let her schedule people and straigten out some things on computer which she learned very easily and worked out. 

    I hope they can help you and understand.

    Dorene


  • Twelvestring60
    Twelvestring60 Member Posts: 65

    Bamn 320,

    So good to hear about testing!! Yea baby!!

    Yes fuzzy from the neck up.. and The energy left for me was steroids I think? House cleaned a bit. I am now sitting with one of the dogs talking to all of you peeps. Im never hot but I just got hot took off all the HUGE amount of clothing and .. fine.. Who ever said Panera Chicken soup? Yaaas.

    Dorene


  • iChan25
    iChan25 Member Posts: 8

    Bam320 so happy to hear about your scans!

    First AC round done and I have the neulasta on pro ready to go tomorrow. The actual infusions were not too bad, but I did get a headache with Cytox so they had to slow it down. Came home with that weird brain tired fuzzy feeling and tried to take a nap, I’m feeling some nausea but not too bad unless I lay down.

  • farfalla6
    farfalla6 Member Posts: 92

    Bam320: great news!!

    12strings: I can't work from home, but I have a lot of control over my schedule, so I can't complain. I don't want people to know I am undergoing treatment or look different. But I ended up feeling fine, no problem with long workday today.

    I'm just happiest of the fact that I didn't get constipated! And I haven’t felt any side effects from the neulasta at all.

    I'm getting my head shaved this weekend, I think it's going to hit me then in a different way.

  • bam320
    bam320 Member Posts: 84

    Robinredbreast- I am so sorry I missed you yesterday on the list of those staring this week. Glad things are going well so far!

    I have had some burping but no indigestion. I do have a prescription for 40mg prilosec but Drs never really talked about. Might just take it anyway to prevent any heartburn/indigestion.

    Hope we all can get some sleep tonight💤



  • debrac
    debrac Member Posts: 63

    Hi Ladies,

    Had my first infusion of TC this morning. Not bad at all. The nurses were very attentive. All went smooth, no reactions. Home now after a quick stop at the store. Feel ok, just a little sleepy from the meds. Slight head ache, but may just need to eat. Took a long nap. The Ativan the night before and in the morning really helped my nerves. Probably won’t need next time. Was at the infusion center 3.5 hours.

    Had a chemo blanket that my mom used in the spring of 2017 for her chemo treatments, so had memories of her today.



    image

  • Olynn
    Olynn Member Posts: 1

    Hi all,

    My mom (62) completed her first round of TC today (1 of 4). No reactions other than anxiety, and she happened to know her nurse from working with her at a restaurant many years ago (small world!).

    I picked her up lots of water, chicken noodle soup, and canned peaches for her to have in the coming days. Hopefully the next three rounds aren't too hard on her. The infusion center was full of friendly nurses - These women don't get enough credit for the work they do!

    I will keep everyone in my thoughts, we will all get through this!

  • ILOVERMONT
    ILOVERMONT Member Posts: 23

    DebraC looks like we have the same treatment a day apart. I hope it went ok for you today and you’re resting comfortably. I start tomorrow with TC. I’m a little nervous but reading this and the March thread helped me too. So sorry you went through this with your mom.

    Advice to every newbie: A good friend of mine is an oncology nurse of 28 years and she told me she could give the same chemo to 10 patients and they would all have different experiences with it so take what you read of other’s side effects with a grain of salt.

    Hope all who are starting this month like me have smooth sailing. We are in this together! We got this

  • bam320
    bam320 Member Posts: 84

    Good luck tomorrow Ilovevermont and My favorite!

    You can do this!👍❤

  • MyFavorite
    MyFavorite Member Posts: 9

    So glad things went well and you got good scans, bam320!

    I’m all set to start tomorrow...that is unless my consulting MO calls again tomorrow to delay. We spoke three times tonight after 6:00 about another question that came up on an ultrasound I had this morning. Ugh!! If it’s not one thing, it’s another!

    For the AC...I’m trying to remember if I should be prepared for diarrhea or constipation?? Anyone recall? Taking my proactive meds tonight, and can’t decide if I should start Colace now or wait.

    Good times!

  • annie60
    annie60 Member Posts: 296

    If any of you are using Neulasta or the shots to up your WBC, ask your MO or the nurse about taking Claritin. Yep, the allergy medicine. I use the off brand. For some reason, no one can explain, it helps with the bone pain you may experience while taking Neulasta.

    Sounds like you all are doing pretty well.

    Annie

  • debrac
    debrac Member Posts: 63

    ILOVERMONT,

    Best wishes on your tc tomorrow. I was nervous too and knew i wouldn’t sleep the night before, so I did take the Ativan. Helped so much.

    We’ll see what the next few days bring for me. Plan on sharing. Thanks for the newbies advise for us having different side effects.

    We can do this

  • debrac
    debrac Member Posts: 63

    Olynn,

    I bet your mom does great, My mom was 10 years older than your mom,she handled chemo well, mainly slept a lot. Her risk of infection was higher. Not sure they gave her the white cell booster, but she was able to handle the chemo.

    So positive thoughts for your mom

  • bam320
    bam320 Member Posts: 84

    Myfavorite - it seems that most people have constipation with A/C. I took 2 senna the night before, had a dose of Miralax during the day yesterday and 2 more senna last night. I am just going to adjust as needed. I am also eating as many fruits, vegetables, salads, as I can. I am usually very regular so I guess I will know soon if constipation will be a thing for me.

    Good luck today❤

  • Twelvestring60
    Twelvestring60 Member Posts: 65

    Hi all!

    It seems most everyone's first chemo was uneventful. yay.

    Keep it all going that way! 

    I like the canned peaches Idea. 

      DebraC, Your Mom's blanket, most awesome. My Mom and her club knit hats and blankets for anyone that needed them. They knit prayers into them. An incredible gal that was walking around the room yesterday asking if anyone wants snacks. She  would sit down and talk. She knew it was my first time. She told me her story, awesome story. Then I told her about the blankets and hats my Mom did. She came back with a BEAUTIFUL blanket made by her and her friends. They also prayed while they knit.. Only time I cried. An uplifting short smiling one.. Keep going everyone! 

    Lots of hugs,

    Dorene

  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,311

    For those experiencing unpleasant SEs: look into a brief fast or slightly longer semi-fast. I did it, and it works very well. Google Dr Valter Longo, Fasting Mimicking Diet or search this site for those terms. Dr Longo is at USC Med School. It's very effective at reducing SEs -- and, in animal studies, it boosts the animal's response rate to chemo.

  • marylinn222
    marylinn222 Member Posts: 5

    Hi! I start April 8th. Went for my wig yesterday. While totally surprised by how much it looks like my regular hair, I was in complete sticker shock at what a good wig costs. Oy vay! As if everything else during this process isn't expensive enough. Loopy

    Wishing all of you good vibes during treatment and may all of us come out on the other side better than we went in.

    Mary Linn

  • msmarie
    msmarie Member Posts: 72

    So happy to see how well everyone did! Best wishes to those starting today and rest of week.

    Day 6 post 1st AC and all has been smooth for me.

    I did a modified version of the fasting mimicking that santabarbarian posts about. My MO was not on board, and I also could not exactly match suggested percentage of fat, carbs and protein, but I got close with my own version and for the two days before my chemo, I did the calorie reduction and then came out of it slowly. Chemo day I ate very small snacks, cucumbers, olives, watermelon, gluten free pretzels, bone broth, just kept some food in stomach. I also drank alkaline water, a lot of it, which may have also helped ward off any constipation and moved those toxins out.

    Go Girls! MM.

  • MyFavorite
    MyFavorite Member Posts: 9

    First round of AC is in the books! It went so fast this morning, it was over before I knew it. I was chomping on ice like crazy...hoping to ward off mouth sores. I didn’t get the headache, luckily. Everything still tastes the same, but not sure when that would change (if it even does).

    My husband has moved all of his bathroom stuff upstairs to the other bathroom for the next few days. I almost feel like a bachelorette, having my bathroom all to myself for a bit. Ha!

    Is it strange that I’ve been hungry since my infusion this morning? I had some chicken and rice soup, but I’m still starving! Trying to take it easy, so I don’t get ahead of my nausea meds, though.

    Hope all of the other first timers today had a good appointment today! One down, three more AC to go. Hope the others that already started are handling SE’s well. 😊

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