November 2019 Chemo Club
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Karen, so sorry you are having the weird sensations and extra meds...I hope this passes soon.
I found the link you posted and saw where you mentioned fluoride treatments....please tell me more about that when you feel up to it.
Can you tell if the cold packs helped any or is it too early? Dang it, it’s too late to order from amazon now, but will get them before 2 nd treatment
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Margo, I forgot to answer you about the measurements. My MO used a caliper tool to measure the tumor. It felt strange, the two points sticking me, but whatever works!
I’m having a Breast MRI done after the 3 round of chemo to check the size and effect on the chest wall.
Are you having CMF too
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Margo53, not a seroma. Just keeps draining. Very disheartening. As we all are working through all the steps, it’s tough when more steps are added.
They did take a culture and I’ll get the results on Monday.
Trying to get mentally prepared for chemo....
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Margo: the fluoride trays were recommended by my dentist to keep my teeth strong during chemo and radiation. My dentist made mine, but you can also order versions of them on Amazon. They're like night guards that you fill with fluoride and put on for 20-30 minutes a day. My dentist gave me the fluoride. He also gave me Biotene rinse and gel for the dry mouth you can get during chemo
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Karen, I didn't have skin tingling. It's interesting that the nausea meds alleviate it. If you find any answers, or even an educated guess, I'd be very interested to hear it. How many days has it been since chemo for you? I think we have the same nausea meds. Zofran and prochlorperazine? When I picked mine up from the pharmacy, the pharmacist gave me a consultation because those meds have their own set of side effects. Maybe they have withdrawal symptoms as well. I only took the zofran/odansetron, I didn't try the prochlorperazine.
I don't remember if you said anything about neuropathy, did you experience that?
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Hi all! Welcome to all new members! 😊
I wanted to give a quick update. I had my second A/C last Friday, so today marks 1 week since. Both treatments I felt 100% like myself at the end of the first week. My side effects have continued to be pretty minimal and manageable. I did notice extra fatigue this round and just a general blah feeling, but it hasn't been too bad.
I had my husband shave my head on Monday. It started coming out pretty good, so I knew it was time. I actually did better with it than I thought. Maybe because I had started making a mess.😂 Yesterday I had a hard time with my scalp being uncomfortable. It's pretty hard to describe....Almost like if you wear tights or long socks a few days after shaving your legs and it kind of pulls? I know wearing anything or having anything touch my head was not a good feeling. I had him leave a tiny length (maybe a centimeter) so it wouldn't inflame it even more (not sure if that makes a difference).
One thing that is driving me crazy. ..I've had this crazy cough that will not go away. It definitely started as a cold--Starting Sunday the 17th I had congestion and a bad sore throat. But this cough! I haven't felt sick from it, even when I had the congestion. Has anyone experienced this king of cough that will not let up?? I've never had such a thing, especially when not displaying any other symptoms. I'm starting to be convinced it's from the chemo. Nothing I've done to try to alleviate the coughing has worked.
Hopefully everyone was able to enjoy some really good food and time with family!
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Margo : also, you can put your hands and feet on icepacks, frozen water bottles, frozen peas, etc. during your first infusion (and all the rest too if you want). The goal is just to shrink the tiny blood vessels so the chemo doesn't reach the nerves and cause neuropathy. If you're really interested in doing icing, I would suggest definitely doing some form of it at your first infusion so you don't miss an opportunity to prevent it.
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Good luck to Dixie02 and Margo with their chemo on Monday. I have an info chemo session on Thursday. I hope I will get lots of tips from it.
For those who have started chemo I was wondering how is your appetite? Are you able to eat normally or smaller meals?
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Mac: I can’t even remember what measurements you are referring to.... I already have chemo brain without the chemo, I will be getting 4 rounds of TC
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That’s ok Margo. I think the chemo brain surprises most of us. It does me
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Eigna: The steroids caused me to have a bigger appetite, but I was "sick" so I wound up eating smaller meals more often. The flavor of things didn't change for me, but the chemo did effect the inside of my mouth and throat. It became tender, more sensitive (mine healed after the first week, but I wonder if it will be a little worse the second time around). So if you normally like big flavors like spicy, sour, vinegar... you may prefer more bland things while you're going through those side effects.
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Dixie02- thanks for your reply. When you say you were sick .. do you mean nausea and vomiting?
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No, not nausea. I put the word in parentheses because it's a bizarre state of feeling sick, but you're not sick. I could have eaten anything I wanted, but I craved things that I typically eat when I'm sick. I'm probably making no sense. I was mostly worn out and tired all of the time.
I shaved my hair further today. I used the electric razor without a guard, so it's just stubble now. I previously had a short crew cut, but so much fell out in the shower today that I had to go shorter. It was slightly traumatic LOL little hairs all over me and in the tub. I'm glad that it wasn't long hair.
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Dixie,
Thank you so much for sharing your journey. You are a brave warrior!
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Round 2 tomorrow and this time I will be prepared. I will start Restoralax tonight and keep that going through the first week. I will make sure I have zero plans for days 5-7. So glad my parcels will be mailed out tomorrow so I don't have to worry about getting them out too late for Christmas in case this round is worse than the first for fatigue. Is everyone else who celebrates Christmas pretty much ready or are you confident you will get it done come what may chemo-wise? I still have shopping to do but I think I can do it on Amazon- what a fantastic invention that is
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Charliebug , I have my first treatment tomorrow and I am pretty much ready for Christmas except for , like you, what I can get on Amazon. I hope this cycle goes well for you. I am super nervous
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Wishing everyone a good week, especially the ones having chemo this week. Keep strong 💪
As for me I am totally not ready for Christmas... haven’t started shopping. We put the Christmas tree up for the kids though. I think I will rely on my husband for Christmas shopping. I will try to do some shopping online. Sigh. Hoping my hair will fall off after Christmas but not sure I will have them for New Years. What a way to celebrate...!
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I'm in the Christmas spirit this year, but I haven't done anything yet. My kids are older, boys age 17 and 14, so I'm just going to tell them my budget and they can tell me what they want. I'll surprise them with a few smaller things. Most of my nieces and nephews are older as well, and they're happy to get money. Boring, I know, but they genuinely do prefer cash.
I did buy my boys chocolate advent calendars. They forgot that they had them today, so I jokingly said that I was going to open them (I have enthusiasm for holiday traditions), and they both were like, "no, no, no, we'll do it". It made me happy that they were still into it.
I started a tradition when they were young of having a fancier breakfast on Christmas morning, and my older son has already been brainstorming ideas with me. He enjoys cooking. But, he's got places to go, and people to see, so I usually do the research (I'm a dork) and run ideas past him as I stumble across them.
I just need to get those decorations started so I can cozy up with a movie and a hot beverage.
I'm really enjoying talking with you all. I'm glad we found each other.
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Butterfly, I caught a head cold the Monday before Thanksgiving, and it had a cough with it. Felt like crap for the first two days. Got the head cold cleared up but still have the cough. Have been taking Musinex with a cough suppressant and antihistamine. I think it just has to run it's course. It's been a week now and my head is clear but the cough is aggravating still have yuck coming up but it's clear so no infection just sinus drip. The weather here goes from the 30's at night to the 70's during the day for the past week. Most my friends at work have all had the same problem and I am not even exposed to them.
Dixie, buzzing your hair is hard, I did mine the 2nd week after treatment #2.. Just got tired of brushing my hair and having a sink and brush full every time. My Hubbie, God Bless Him thinks it's sexy. Never knew he had a thing for the girl in the original Star Trek Movie..... V'GER....LOL. Well I go for my last TC infusion today. I am supposed to start the Taxol in 3 weeks but that puts it Christmas week. Will have to ask MO can we start it the following week. Have to see what he says.
Good luck and blessing to all
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Back from second round. I didn't get a private room this time...I guess I'm not special anymore lol! Actually it was lovely sitting with some other ladies chatting and reading. The first and second day is awesome for me- so much energy. I got my parcels mailed finally ($48 for 3 packages no bigger than shoe boxes and weight no more than 2 lbs each- yikes!) Tonight I am making homemade burgers and oven fries (store bought) with Caesar salad. That is the meal my fiance has chosen for his celebratory dinner. He has an interview today for a FT permanent position in town (he has been working in the neighbouring city for the past 4 years). Fingers crossed he gets it!!!!
I hope everyone is having a good or fair day today.
RadQueen- I hope my fiance finds my baldness sexy when the time comes. He asked me how long it will take to grow back once it's gone lol!
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LOL I don't think mine finds it sexy, but he's OK with it. I suspect nobody is bothered by it but me. I never had health issues growing up, so I'm thankful for this new emotional perspective.
Charlie: that dinner sounds great. I'm on steroids as well, so I'm hungry.
I meet with a genetics counselor tomorrow. Are there any questions I should be asking? I'm in the dark with this one. I know that it's for the BRCA gene because I'm triple negative. I wonder if she'll already have results for me with all of the tests and biopsies that I've done already, or if she'll have to start her own tests.
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Hi Dixie. How was your second infusion of TC?
I did the genetic testing prior to my surgery. Turns out I was negative so i didn’t need to do a mastectomy. It’s a simple blood test. She will do your genealogical tree and ask you if any family members were affected by BC. Chances are very slim if no one in your family has BC but they want to be sure so you can make the right decision with surgery
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I had an incident with the second infusion. The nurse that I had the first time had 28 years experience with chemotherapy. I could tell that she really knew what she was doing. I should preface the rest of this story with the fact that I've never been much of a drinker, I've never done drugs, and I barely take medication unless it's an issue that isn't going away on it's own. So, this second nurse may have been doing everything that she normally does for everyone else, and I just reacted differently. However, she didn't go slow. My saline drip had just started when she was preparing the pre-meds and hooking those up. Then she went in with the first chemo, docetaxel, I could see it dripping fast. I first felt a burning in my stomach, or heartburn (I couldn't tell exactly) that I had mildly felt the first cycle, but it got way worse. My breathing became a little labored, and I got hot. My mom said that my face and neck turned red. I pushed the nurse call button, and they were in immediately. Everything subsided as soon as they stopped the drip. A doctor prescribed an additional steroid, and we started again, slowly. It went fine after that. I think I just need to pace the infusions for my tolerance, or the second nurse still has some trial and error learning to do (she was otherwise a good nurse, but I'm at a teaching hospital so I always assume that the younger ones are still figuring things out. I think the chemo nurses have already proven to be good in their general field).
But, other than that it went fine LOL. They say that each cycle can accumulate in your system, so we may get stronger side effects each time. I'll let you guys know if anything different/bigger happens. I was anemic for the first cycle, and I'm not now, so I'm curious to see how that effects my energy levels. I felt stronger going into this one than I did for the first one.
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wow .. what a story! Hope your side effects are manageable like last time. Keep us posted.
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Dixie- I drink on a fairly regular basis, I also smoke...lightly, but I smoke. What you had was a reaction to an infusion that was done way too fast. In the clinic I go to, they stay with you while they push the AC into your veins...slowly, and they add extra saline where needed. You were not at fault for your reaction...it happens. Ask them to go slower next time and add more saline. Also, drinking and smoking might have had something to do with getting some of us here (but not always- and not me (lungs clear lol) but it is never an excuse for cancer or your reaction to the treatment. Nobody deserves cancer...and nobody deserves the side effects of treatment. It sucks...
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Well #4 AC is done and in the books. YEA... Almost thought I wasn't going to get it as may WBC was so low. Had to have my blood drawn the previous Wed. instead of Thurs. due to the holiday. So when I get there they have to check my blood again, They accessed my port. I had it all creamed up with the EMELA cream, the blood work only took 7 min. to get the results. My WBC jumped up over 3.5 pt. So I was good to go. Had a different nurse this time,
Dixie I know what you mean this nurse was good but she just didn't have the experience of the nurse I had for the first 3 times. But every thing went well.Came home took the Phren and Zoph ate some roast beef. Was hungry, never can I eat before the infusion way too nervous and infusion doesn't start till 1 and ends at 4 so by the time get home it's 4:30 and I'm famished. Also a full tummy makes me sleep better, and sleep did. Hubbie still woke me every hour to drink my water, but I only remember half of it. at 10 pm woke me up again with Zo, Ph, and my Musenex and my multivitamin. I have trained him to be a good nurse. LOL
So now is Tuesday morning it's 30* and I just took my Zo and PH. Don't feel nauseous just don't want to take the chance. Think it will be a oatmeal kind of morning.
Hope everyone day is good, much love and strength.
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xxxxx
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Yeah, I'm paranoid about nausea as well. As soon as I feel a slight twinge of anything in my stomach I take a pill. It's not often, and the pill does last 8 hours, or more. I've never felt like I was going to throw up, but I do sometimes get the sensation that the medication is working to keep it at bay. On a scale of 1-10 it's like a 1. I feel it, and I take something to prevent it from getting worse.
Today is day 2 for me, cycle 2, and I feel fine. I'm still on steroids, tomorrow I won't be.
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Keep it up Dixie02. One day at a time...
We haven’t heard from Margo? Margo give us an update as soon as you can. Hope everything is okay with your first round.
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