Starting Chemo April 2009

HelenNC

Welcome to the club no one wants to be in Shawn Teresa!

I am having lots of pain tonight from my Neulasta shot. I got it on Wed. Today was a good day, all day. No side effects to speak of. But right now, every part of my body hurts. I am taking the Claritan, & I have taken Vicadin too. I hope tomorrow is better.

And....I hate only being able to post 5 posts a day until I get to 50. I have so much to say, but save my posts.....

annadou

Chelev-good luck -i hope all the problems get sorted soon

Everyone  hope you have a good day-today i am actually feeling ok -9 days out -anyone due for  an infusion early next week?

Good thoughts to all

Anna 

annadou

Anyone got bleeding gums?

sakura73

Annadou bleeding gums are likely caused by dry mouth and also by the fact that the clotting agent i your blood is reduced by chemo. I have had this a little. Switch to a more sensitive toothpaste, keep up the Biotene - and good luck!

ikat

Well I am shedding like a puppy, I just hope I can make it through the day. I am bringing a hat and a scarf to work today just in case (and calling my hairdresser for that buzz cut). I get to pick up my wig tomorrow.

Bombus I agree about the legs... I had to shave mine yesterday missed a spot you would think the hair would just fall out but no its still there. 

Have a great day all.

kathy 

Paula3558

Thanks for the supportive comments.

 I've taken three doses of Valtrex and do feel better. I've never had shingles before, but have worked with patients with compromised immune systems that have had shingles. Was hoping to feel good this weekend and take my grandchildren to the Towsontown fair. Instead while my immune system is recovering I'm going to stay away from crowds and the grandkids.

Alaina, my husband already read the Breast Cancer book for Husbands. He did apologise yesterday for being insensitive. Said he didn't want to argue. He's glad I took it out on the clown instead of him. DH gave me a hug and said that one day we will laugh about the poor clown.   

ikat

Paula,

I think our husbands and family really don't know how to handle what we are going through, they just was to make us all better, and they know they can't.  I think sometimes just getting that hug says more than any words can.

I do have to admit that some of the things they say and do are pretty outrageous, and it is really nice to have a place to vent.

AmyIsStrong

Alaina - AWESOME news about the gene tests. I am getting my results on 5/13. I am starting to get a bit more anxious about it. I am confused though, - why, if it is BRCA negative, do you still need the mastectomy in September? Or did you have it already? Perhaps I misunderstood what you wrote.

Kathy  - good luck with your hair. I think I will be following right behind you in the next few days. Not much happening yet and I am HOPING to make it to my big client meeting on Monday without having to be shaved and wear the wig. I think I may make it because it isn't falling out yet, just a bit itchy so far. After Monday, I'm ready to go.

 I hope everyone has a good day and a peaceful weekend.

Colette37

I have just started Chemo on April 9th.  Sucks, but I have found a drastic decrease in my lump to where I can barely feel it at all!  I am on Taxotere, Herceptin and Carboplatin.  I am due for my next chemo treatment on Monday.  Anyone else get really apprehensive just before going in for treatment?  I seem to be very short tempered and tearing everyone's head off in the process!

HelenNC

I hate to keep complaining, but the pain I am experiencing is just overwhelming. I have pain up & down my whole body. I can't find a comfortable position to sit or lay. I never fell asleep last night at all from the pain. Today, I finally slept from 11am til 2pm. I did just call the chemo nurse, & she assured me this is just what happens with the Neulasta shot.

luckofthedraw

I'm finally meandering back to the boards.  I had an initial consultation with a radiologist on 4/22, and at 3:45PM, the day before chemo, he was telling me that I might not be having chemo the next day.  (parts deleted to protect the not-so-innocent.  )

My first round of chemo was 4/23.  I was there for 8 3/4 hours.  Good thing DH took the whole day off.  I had a dual-lumen (sp?) port, and they could get fluids in either side, but could not get a blood return, so they kept sending me back to radiology to do dye tests. 

I had very minimal side effects, but here's a good one for you:  when I stretch, I get very cold.  How's that for odd?  

So I thought I was doing pretty good, until yesterday.  I went in for blood work, and found out that my WBC had tanked so low that the doctor put me on an antibiotic for a week.  My neutrophil # rounded up to .1

(parts deleted to protect the not-so-innocent.  )

Are any of you considering postponing chemo if you have a swine flu epidemic in your area?  I just don't feel comfortable going into a hospital, and subjecting myself to a disease that could be so life threatening to someone with a seriously compromised immune system.  

Anonymous

Hi all - just wanted to report that the CT scan of my chest/lungs showed no clots, and the port-a-gram showed the port is fine.  So, that's great news - although still weird about the pain and swelling.  My onc says it's just another in the line of the "different" side effects I have, and that we definitely made the right choice to stop treatment.  Have a call in to the breast surgeon to get an order written to get the port out within the month (sooner, if possible), so I don't have to have it flushed again or anything else.  My onc called me personally to reassure me all is fine - my bloodwork is perfect and everything.  My husband and I are convinced the port is trying to get out by itself!!

Still having the coughing from the Neulasta shot last Friday, this stuff really doesn't agree with me, although the Claritan for bone pain really worked well, the coughing doesn't let up.  Anyone else deal with that particular side effect?

Good luck to everyone who had treatments this week - and I hope you all feel well - no wicked side effects!  I am feeling pretty good, but the roof of my mouth still feels strange, different textured almost, and I still don't have great feeling in my fingertips.  Energy level is getting better.

Now, how do we grow our hair back???

shannon56

tulipbebe - add me to the April list.  Started chemo on April 10 (TCH).  I opted for this 1.) I'm ER-/PR+ and TC is recommended for that 2.) HER2+ automatically required Herceptin 3.) my MIL had C for lung-cancer and I had alreday read every study there was on that particular poison 4.) Taxotere is less nasty than Taxol.

I ask you all to be understanding for a minute as I need to vent.  I do understand all of your concerns and know your feelings to be real.  I wish people could/would understand my feelings.  Because my aunt had BC in the late 80's I was sort of prepared for the potential of BC but she wasn't considered a "risk factor" because she wasn't a first degree relative.  Also, one of my closest friend had BC in 2003 and while I never asked for her dx she talked alot about chemo, radiation and her reconstruction (the tummy thing).

Thus when I found out that there was a good chance the lump in my breast was cancerous I basically said fine let's get rid of it.  At first I was pretty insistent on a masechtomy but my Doc said that lumpechtomy + radiation had as good a 5 yr survival rate as masechtomy alone.  When I went in 3 days later and had the dx confirmed I was insistent and unmovable (Taurus in me) on wanting chemo.  Since it turned out I had only one tumor not 2 separate ones I didn't have to fight for the chemo.  Yes I know I'm nuts and probably the only one here who looks forward to her chemo treatments.

 Am I afraid? Yes, I am too young to die.  So the best thing to do is fight back.  I didn't inherit this -- my aunt was ILC and I was IDC.  I feel kind of out in the cold because I haven't seen anyone posting that has ER-/PR+ and HER2+.  This is supposedly the least found combo.  I have side effects but nearly as bad as most of you so I thank God every night (it will catch up to me one day).

How do I cope like this?  I'm a recovering alcoholic.  There are no drugs to even put you into remission for that.  You have to learn to accept that you have a disease you don't want that has no medical cures and that the next sip of alcohol will probably kill you.  Thus I figure that if I've been sober for over 2 yrs I can deal with BC through prayer, meditation, and God.  I suggest anyone having a real hard time with acceptance read the book Alcholics Anonymous (sometimes called the Big Book.  The first 3 steps can help you with this very very scary road).

Luckofthedraw -- last week (4/23) my neutrophil count was .19 but this week it rebounded to 4.7 and I was a very happy camper.  UPMC (Univ of Penn Med Ctr) has a wonderful section on the neutropenia diet.  I posted it on the refrig so I knew not just what I couldn't eat but what I could eat.  Also, if you are concerned about swine flu in your area, wear a mask and gloves (i have some lose woven work gloves from Home Depot) to every appointment, carry hand sanitizer with you at all times.  While hospitals are notorious for breeding infection you are much more likely to pick this up at the grocery store, hair salon, and places where many people who go there don't think a thing about personal hand and cough hygene or the transmission of disease.

Sorry this was so long but I only get 5 posts a day so I have to make the most of them.  I sincerely hope I didn't offend anyone.  Everyone's feelings are important even when they're in the minority.

Nico1012

HelenNC ~ I find it hard to believe that this is just a typical reaction to Neulasta. Something similar happened to me with Taxol and the nurse kept saying it was just an se of Taxol. When I told the onc that I was in so much pain I couldn't sleep and could barely walk he went ballistic. He told me that no one knows my body better than me and if something is intolerable not to hesitate to let HIM know. As it turned out I was allergic to the Taxol and had to switch to Taxotere. One alternative to Neulasta is Neupogen. Maybe you could ask your onc about it and see if it agrees with you better. One thing you could try on your own is plain Claritin (not Claritin D). If you are having se's from an allergy to Neulasta it might help a lot. Chelev  (and many others on these boards) have said it really worked well for them.

Hang in there Helen, there IS something that will help.

Nico

luckofthedraw

Shannon, I was just reading on the foods that are good for boosting WBC on the Natural/Comp forum.  Unfortunately, that list is already my diet...almost exclusively.  And if eating that diet gives me a .06 neutrophil, I'm wondering what it would look like without having eaten those foods.  So I'm hoping to find more tips from the UPMC diet. Thanks for the suggestion. 

Yep, I am more paranoid than most about hospital germs.  I have a hospital-bourne MRSA-type pneumonia infection in my right lung.  Mask, gloves, and sanitizer are givens. 

HelenNC

Thanks Nico. I am already taking regular Claritan. It hasn't helped. I have also been taking Vicadin too. No help.

Alaina

Hi Ladies,

I'm WIDE AWAKE (thanks Dread-a-Dron!) so I figured I'd pop in here and give you a quick update on my 2nd chemo session yesterday.

Glenda & Cindy are the best BFF's a gal could wish for. Cindy picked me up in the morning and we made our way to the hospital. Glenda met us over there.

Glenda is one of my team members in Mary Kay. She is a Director and her whole unit banded together to get me a gift box chock full of head coverings! Tons of hats and the most GORGEOUS African scarves/headwraps I've ever seen! They are going to come over one day to teach me how to wrap them! I can't wait! She also gave me 2 tubes of Extra Emollient Nightcream to rub on my head to keep my scalp moisturized and shiny! :-)

The treatment itself was uneventful. Lunch was better (salad, tuna sandwich, and ice cream (no more dessert surprise for me) and I managed to wolf it down before the Carboplatin started pumping. I peed 9 times in 5 hours. The gals took turns rolling my IV pole behind me as I rushed to the bathroom.

I was there from 8am until 4pm! That was longer than my 1st treatment by 1 hour! The blood lab was backed up, the pharmacy took their sweet time getting my pre-chemo-meds and my chemo up to my nurse. OHHHH, I got Nurse Joanne again! I was so excited to see her and she greeted me with a big hug and escorted me back to my original chemo "suite" in the corner with the double windows!

I met with my oncologist (who was also running behind time-wise) after my treatment ended and asked him a list of questions. I asked for a copy of my pathology report which he happily provided. I asked him when I would get a scan/MRI to determine if the chemo is working to shrink my tumors...he said probably after Chemo #3 or #4 based on his physical assessment of me after #3. I asked him if I was Stage 3a, b, or c, and he told me 3b. He also said I was T4 (both tumors over 5cm), N1 (one node involved), and M0 (no mets).

He said he would order the enzyme test for me at Chemo #3 to determine if I should be taking Tamoxifen or something else once all treatments are over.

He said the Oncotype testing was not appropriate for my type of cancer. Given the Stage and size of my tumors and the fact that one lymph node was already involved, chemo was going to come first for me no matter what.

He seems to be happy with my progress so far and pleased that I am tolerating chemo so well. He re-stressed the importance of staying hydrated and both he and Nurse Joanne tried to comfort me that I had gained BACK the 5 pounds I'd so happily LOST 2 weeks prior! They told me to keep eating, it's a good thing! My numbers (red and white blood cells and neutrophils) were in a beautiful range pre-chemo today. So the Neulasta shots are working and I'm apparently eating enough.

The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is this weekend and I was told I absolutely could not go by both Nurse & Doc. Crowds and Farm animals are an apparent no-no right after a chemo-treatment. LOL!!! Go figure! So I gave some friends some cash to get me a surprise grab-bag of yarn and kits and notions! Ever the crafter (and shopper), it is breaking my heart to not be able to go this weekend! *sniff*

Well, the Compazine is finally making me drowsy...so I'm going to sign off!

I WILL get out of the house today though....just gonna avoid crowds....*pffft*

Alaina (I won Scrabble! ~ the only dirty word I placed this time was GROPED) LOL!!!

inthemoment

Today is day 3 after 2nd A/C.  Happily no heartburn because this time I was pro-active and started Zantac the day of treatment.  Only a slight blush from decadron, which I know will get rosier today, and I am feeling more fatique than first tx - not terrible, just need more rest time.  Taking my Emend and kytril and no nausea, so happy camper.

Wore my wig out yesterday (stopped at my office to say hello - not back to work yet) and I think it went over pretty well - had to actually tell 3 people that it was a wig after they asked when I would lose my hair - so that was a spirit lifter.  Around the house I am just me bald, or keeping sleep cap on since it does cushion my still slightly tender scalp (some of those little "nubbies" are still hanging in there.)  BF is coming over tonight - he hasn't seen this yet, but keeps saying he knows I'll look cute - not exactly my word for it, but I'll take it!

Bombus - know exactly how you feel about the leg hairs - now come on, fair is fair - let us at least have a summer free of leg shaving!

Chelev- great news that you do not have clot.  I'm sorry you have had such troubling side effects, and glad that you and onc have a plan that you are in agreement with.  Sending you cyber wishes for only good things ahead.

HelenNC - The pain you describe sounds very severe - disrupting sleep which we all need right now.  I would ask to speak with onc directly - it is side effects which cause people to hesitate continuing on chemo - you need to see if they can handle this for you before it gets you too far down.

Shannon56 - Welcome to this great group of ladies, not dissimilar to 12 step groups.  Sounds like with your background you may be a little ahead of some in the "acceptance" phase of this.  No, we can't change it - although I do have the occassional dream of "oops, we made a mistake - no b/c for you!!)

Alaina - Aren't  supportive friends wonderful?  I am going to try to be a better friend during and after this experience, because I've seen what a difference it makes.

Luck of the Draw - MRSA is a nasty organism (nurse here), so I don't blame you at all for being extra cautious with the unknowns about this new flu - hand washing, hand washing!!!

well ladies, off to do some errands while my energy is at it's best.  BTW - I kept a short daily log for all my treatment and post treatment days, and I've found it to be very helpful in planning ahead - noted my symptoms, what helped, what days I felt good, what days I didn't etc.  Also, my neutrophils fell to 0.06 on day 7 of my first treatment (with Neulasta day after), and started antibiotic to prevent infection - this time around onc and I decided to strat antibiotic on day 3 instead.

I hope everyone has a calm weekend

Geri

Nadine54

Good Saturday Morning from my little rainy Idaho town"

Chelev:  So glad you are on top of things.  Hang in there.  My heart dropped when I saw your postings then on your updated postings, I gave a sigh of relief.  So glad things are going better for you.

Shannon56:  My DH is a recovering alcoholic.  I understand one sip is all it takes.  You sound like one strong lady and I know you are going to be fine.  Early on my fear was my DH would just take that sip to calm his nerves...standing by watching me have SE's and then top it with my fears.  In our house you would wonder who is really the person drinking for the cause...fluids and fluids and more fluids.  I do the juice, water, and all of the good stuff...maybe one soda a week.  DH, drinks enough OJ and Lemonade to sink a ship.  I hope you have all of the support you need at home.  Life is a struggle as we all know.  And my dear friend, always know you can turn to us here.  We support, understand and do love each other.  We have a strong sisterhood and we can work through anything.  Will be thinking of you each day!  You are a fighter, I can see that...so FIGHT!  We all have those moments of, "WTF" but fight and get mad.  The other day DH was home and he probably figured I had really went off the deep end.  I was trying to do a quick vacuum on the carpets.  All of a sudden, I turned off the vacuum and screamed.  Yup, a deep down, loud, cussing scream.  He came out of our computer room and looked at me like maybe he should call the men with the straight jacket.  I just smiled and told him I was fine, I was just needing to vent.  He looked like he didn't know if he should laugh or run.  Yup the neighbors probably figured I had finally went nuts.  NOPE I vented and then felt fine.  This damn cancer may kick me down, may make me sick with SE's, may make me depressed at times....BUT I will conquer!

As far as how I am doing....had terrible knee pain for several nights.  Nothing worked to releave the pain.  I found if I wear shoes during the day and not just slippers or socks the pain is less.  Over all my SE's haven't been to bad this time, just seem to linger.  I am finding my "honeymoon phase" is taking longer to get here this time.  I am back to having problems with staying asleep at night....going to talk to the doc on that.  I go right to sleep then wake up a few hours later for the trot to the bathroom every hour.  Ever wonder how in the world a person can go to the bathroom so much?!?!  My main problem has been excessive mucus this time and meds aren't helping much, also continue to use OCEAN for the moisturizer part...huge clots followed by nose bleeds...not to bad just uncomfortable and getting pretty old.

NO mouth thrush this time thanks to the meds...hate meds by the handful's but sure nice when they do their job!

Hope everyone is chilling this weekend.  And Anna, thanks for jaring me into remembering I hadn't checked in for a while...do read the forum several times a day...need my forum fix!

OOPS>>>been wondering on my hair....well lack of...will it be more gray, thick, straight or curly again.  After my shower last night I told DH to smell my head....got to love those DH's who will do anything to make us smile...he came over and sniffed my head.  I told him, "smells good doesn't it"?  He smiled and told me it smells clean...I used Strawberry shampoo, and he couldn't smell it...and when he gave the sniff, he shocked my head!  What a weird sick joke, but now we are on the, "WANNA SMELL MY HEAD". 

Oh well flipping back to the forum and wishing the sun would shine...way to dark today. 

Have a wonderful day and remember to find humor even in the craziest of things...(yup the brain is flipping today but doing A-OK)

Nadine

jeezy

Good afternoon all...

 Just checking in.  

 I go for my second TCH on Thursday.  My hair started coming out on Wednesday and continues to shed at a pretty rapid pace.  I think I'm gonna let my 18 year old shave my head today to tomorrow and get on with things.  Since day 9 I've felt pretty good. The only problem I see from the weekly Herceptin is dry mouth and a little runny nose the day after.  The Neulast shot after the last big 3 was pretty rough so I might not get it this go round.  Port has been infected and I've been on anitbotics for going to two weeks and it's finally starting to look normal so I hope they can use it this week.

I see everyone is about at the same place all SE's and hair loss.

Chelev...so glad your onc agrees to discontinue the Chemo, but stay with us if you want so you can see what you will miss.

To everyone else have a great SE free weekend and I will try to do better posting this week.

connette

Shannon56, I am ER-/PR+ and HER2+,and started chemo on April 15.  I have tried to post 3 times today, but our computer is acting strange and won't submit my message.  Just wanted you to know that you are not alone.  I'll try and find you when our computer is fixed.  Connette

ikat

Well I did it, finally got Joes' haircut. ... I think it was harder for him than for me.   I was looking forward to "No more head pain". 

. 

Jeezy getting it over with was such a relief, no more hair falling out all over the house. Hated that. 

Nadine, My new mantra is " Bald is beautiful", and "You got a problem with that", (I think its the buzz cut, GI Jane and all).

Alaina there is always next year for the Festival. You will look forward to it even more, and its really nice to have friends who will shop for you.

Geri have a great dinner with your BF.

Shannon 56 welcome aboard. This is a great group of ladies.

Kathy 

kathimdgd

Kathy,

You're hair looks cute now,but you will continue to lose it,and the best way to deal with that is to get one of those lint roller thingys for clothes and run it over your head,and it will pick up all those loose hairs so they don't end up in your food or eyes.Learned that little trick here on one of the boards.

I finished chemo feb.5th this year so my hair is starting to come back in.I actually went commando(no hat,scarf,wig ) or anything else on my head ,as i went to the base to pick up meds.It felt soooooooooooooo good.I don't have as much hair yet as you do,but those hats and things make my head sweat so much,that i decided the He** with it,and went without.

Kathi

Paula3558

Alaina,

Just wanted you to know that I had the TRAM flap procedure. I had problems with fibercystic breasts and was always being called back after mammograms for every 3 month or 6 month follow up. So when cancer was discovered in my right breast I decided to have a bilateral masectomy with immediate TRAM flap recontruction. Yes, I got a boob job and a tummy tuck!! I did alot of research on the internet about the procedure, and looked at before and after pictures. The pictures I saw were not pretty. So I didn't expect to look like a playboy bunny! I just wanted to use my own tissue, for me it helped me feel more normal having breasts made from my own muscle. The plastic surgeon was excelllent. My results are alot better than what I saw on the internet. If you decide that's what you want I can give you her name since we're both in Balto. My surgery was 2/23/09. I'm very happy with my decision and the results.   

Thanks for the "mow the lawn" youtube. I enjoyed it. We all need to laugh.

Paula  

Nadine54

IKAT:  Looking beautiful girl!  Nothing like power!  On another note, the hair does continue to fall out.  I wore out the lint brush, so DH told me to get the masking tape...it didn't help much so he told me get the duct tape...OMG...I told him now thats going to hurt.  He took a strip at a time and pressed gently on my head.  Let me tell you a back rub couldn't have felt so good.  I just knew I had died and went to heaven. 

I noticed earlier the leg hairs coming in before the scalp hairs...now whats wrong with that?  No more shaving really works fine with me.  Told DH we should start a forum on how our hair color comes back...different? Curly? Straight?  For me I have been Shirley Temple curly my whole life and so glad to have had blow dryers to blow it out.  So straight is fine with me.  Hate those times getting a trim and someone would say..."What pretty curls, when did you have a perm"?  Gee about 54 years ago.  Oh hell any hair will be fine, I just seem to wonder what its going to look like.  And, "PLEASE" less curls this time...I will have a fro as it grows back if its real curly again.   Thanks Mom and Dad, you gave me the curse of curls.  No really curls aren't so bad...but then thick would be a welcome change.  Hate having baby fine hair and curly to boot at my age.

I think I am finally entering my "honeymoon phase".  No leg pain today so I believe there may actually be a week of doing better before the #3.  Keeping my fingers crossed for sure. 

OKAY, a question I don't believe I have seen and really want to know if I am normal...My sex drive is zip.  Are others experiencing this also.  Thank goodness DH doesn't say anything, hate to tell him at this point I could really care less...and this is not the norm for me.  HELP is this NoRmAl???

Sending love to everyone...baby steps girls we are getting through this and will be much needed support for those to follow in our steps!

Hugs to all,

Nadine

Alaina

Amy, I still need the mastectomy because of the original size of my tumors and the involvement of one lymph node.  I suspect it's going to reduce my chances of recurrence. I am doing chemo first to reduce the size of the tumors and kill any cancer that MAY be elsewhere but didn't show up on the scans.

Right now, the surgeon only wants to remove the affected left breast and nodes under my left arm, but I am leaning towards a bilateral mastectomy.  Just take them both...let me get a new matched pair! :-)  But I'm sure I'll change my mind many times before Sept.

sandlee79

Hi all,

Had my 2nd treatment on 4/24/09.  This past Tue/Wed started getting terrrible pain on the bottom of m feet...  Felt like blisters were forming and the skin was turning a yellowish color.  Call Onc office and she said that some chemo drugs can cause this.  It is so painful that I can hardly walk.  Any pressure (walking) on the ball or sole of my feet is so painful.  Finally called again on Wed. and went in to see Onc doc.   He said some patients about 1% experience this side effect from one of the drugs so he will change the next time which is Friday 5/8.  He said to take 3-4 advils for pain and inflammation and vitamin b6 tablet 3 times a day which I've been doing.  Still so very, very painful to walk.  Can't believe this has happened as otherwise I feel fine!  Can't do much at all, since everything involves walking.  After doing some research of my own on the internet, I believe it is Hand and foot syndrome, but he didn't really give me a name.  Anyone else experiencing this painful side effect???  I'm afraid he will postpone my next treatment if it still is as bad by Friday... although he didn't say that.  That's what I read.  Don't know what to do to help it heal.  I can't believe it's no better than when I saw him on Wed.  Any advice???

Nico1012

sandlee ~ Several bc sisters have suffered with hand and foot syndrome and many said that wearing Crocs helps. Also a cream called Udder Cream was very helpful for the red feet and palms. It contains urea and for some reason speeds up the healing of this painful condition.

You might post a new thread on the first page of the boards and ask for suggestions from the community. Many gals will come along with more suggestions, I'm sure.

Nico

shannon56

Thank you to all who have been so supportive and given such great advice.  I didn't sleep at all well have trt #2 Friday so I went to bed around 8PM last night and slept great.  Feel really well right now so this morning will be a do as much as possible while the energy is on high.  I think the zofron is what caused my insomnia so I may just stick to compazine next time.  DH and I shaved my head yesterday (still have fuzz on top)  as it was falling out all over the place and I had bald spots in places.  My head doesn't look to bad bald with next to no hair.  Eye lashes falling out and into my eyes which is a pain and eye brows are falling out too.  No more leg or under arm hair .  I just hope the next 3 weeks are like the last 3 weeks.

Nadine - you are not alone with the zero libido.  Between DH's back and my cancer it's been a long time since any good sex.  Most men can wheather the storm and the ones that don't had issues of their own all along.  (Yes, I do know of one or two women who's hubby was not a DH and left them even before their surgery What creeps).

Nadine54

SHANNON56:  Thank you for your input on the sex end.  My DH never says a word...lucky for him because the steroids could cause me to poke his eyes out at the very least.  I am with you any DH of BF who wouldn't be supportive and understanding during all of this would not be worth my list of people to be around.  Mother was a nurse and she told me of many cases where couples split due to cancer, treatments and so on.  I am lucky to have a solid marriage...just wanted to make sure I was normal in my thinking. 

Plus who in the world really feels on top of the world with no hair, sickly two weeks out of three...bruises from blood tests and IV's...anyway you get the picture.

EVERYONE:  Since so many of us are bald for now I have a couple of questions to toss out.  At what rate does hair really grow back at per month.  What is the general consensus on how long everyone wants their "new" hair to be?  I keep thinking of hair...not bad being bald for now...however...told DH last night that I am going to grow my hair long long this time...no more letting it grow then cutting it short.  After this is all done I think I will have my fill of short to no hair.

Many hugs to everyone...hope everyone is not over doing it! 

Nadine