January 2013 chemo group

Fighter69

Hi Ladies , 

I am doing just fine for those that inquired. I just got my scans done yesterday and I meet with onco doc Fri . I am happy to hear that in spite of the ups and downs you all are doing fine . Read through all the posts and the information you shared is very helpful and from that I take that chemo and its se is different for evryone. 

Great info on the teeth cleaning def. will make an apptointment and a gyno exam is good to have as well . We can slay this beast and we are each day we are given .

keep up the inspiring work . 

Fighter

Anonymous

russell33, there was a day last week that I thought everything tasted awful. I thought it was just me and the things I happened to eat that day. But, maybe not. I would venture to say that happened sometime between day 7-9. So maybe it isn't so odd and it really is the toxins working their way around. It is a really difficult thing for me to comprehend. I keep thinking that I went for chemo, felt the effects for a few days, and then that was it. I just can't get my mind around the idea that the drungs are still in me working their way around now since my body doesn't exhibit any signs. Does anyone else have this false sense of denial?

I was also all prepared to loose my hair, but it is so hard to think that it may just start falling out any day now with no sign whatsoever. Anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

gd2shuz

Hi skigirl, yes, they are the jp drains. Not too bad, but I think my nerve endings are starting to come back to life so I am more aware of the pulling and phantom breast sensations. 1/2 a Percocet does the trick and allows me to get comfortable enough to go to sleep, such as it is. Can't wait til my appt tomorrow so I can get questions answered.



That was "funny" how you took back your words on bone pain being "interesting" (was thatcyou who said that?) . I have become quite accustomed to putting my own feet in my mouth and chewing vigorously!

Sure I will be back on tomorrow night with info from the doc and more questions. In the meantime, I hope everyone has the best night they can.

Sue

Zorina

Re:  Taste buds

When chocolate tasted like 'sheet' (literally) on day five,  I knew something was definitely wrong.  FWIW, Rice-a-roni tasted good as did other salty food.  By day seven things were tasting better, and on day eight, I had beer that tasted mighty fine!  It's definitely normal, and blessedly (so far) has a short duration.

RE: Range of movement after axillary node removal

The PT says 80 percent of my problem is cording.  In two weeks, he will begin working on this.  He wants to wait until six weeks after surgery before doing anything aggressive. He is also going to show me how to reduce the scar tissue that is developing which can also limit range of motion.  Wow!  I love this guy! If you have any issues, find a PT that has experience with chemo and post surgery complications associated with breast cancer.

RE: Chemobrain

Officially, my MO does not believe in it.  They've done studies of the brain and found no difference in brain functionality.  That's fine, but just because there is electricity you cannot conclude that the light bulb is on.  So, because I had so many cognitive difficulties she is sending me for a brain MRI. They've gotten better as time passed, but it was bad for awhile.  I nearly curled up in a ball crying in the office when she said she wanted to test this because brain cancer is too scary.  Except for the cognitive issues,  there are no other symptoms that I could have cancer in my brain, so I've now reached the conclusion that she is just wrong about chemobrain and that the MRI will just prove that there is no other area of cancer in my body.  The PET scan ruled out everything else, so why not rule out everything completely.  It's just too late in the process to find a new MO. 

The PT loaned me a book: Your Brain After Chemo.  

My hair is almost falling at the same rate as the dandruff that I had developed recently. I will be so glad when it is gone, but I have a lot of hair.  It looks awful now...the gray shows, the line from the last color job shows, the style is overgrown, and I don't want to fight with it anymore. FWIW, that tingling/creepy crawly feeling is definitely happening to me.

Breathe in, Breathe out, Move on.....the hair will come back, but the cancer will not!

Anonymous

Zorina, although there are lots of different opinions and finding on a lot of things, such as nutrition as we have all discussed recently, chemo brain is one that is almost always consistent from very reliable sources. I'm surprised to hear your MO doesn't believe it is a real thing. So, don't sweat it. It will be good reinforcement though just to have the last, tip-top part of your body shown to be cancer free though. Here is a tidbit from an article, that even showed pictures of the brain activity that demonstrates the difference after chemo:

A recent study points to the cause. The study relied on PET (positron emission tomography) brain scanning to examine brain blood flow, a marker for brain activity. Abraham and colleagues scanned the brains of 128 breast cancer patients before chemotherapy began and then 6 months later. The results showed a significant decrease in activity in regions responsible for memory, attention, planning and prioritizing.

Bryona

Ladies, remember how I told you I'm a cheap drunk? I am! I didn't have any problems with my Adriamycin Cosmo other than the taste, and chewing ice took care of that, but the Cytoxatini? Whole different story. They had to slow it way down because I started getting sinus pressure and headache after the first two minutes. It cleared up at first, but by the end of the slow drip it was back, and it isn't going away. Phooey. And I'm getting shortchanged on my steroid high, too. I'm feeling kind of fuzzy and sleepy, but also likeI can't sleep. And even a bit of nausea. What's up with that?

On the bright side, there was no karaoke machine at my bar, so we were all saved from my singing...

louise8118, ciao bella! I'm glad you've found us, and I'm glad you decided to pamper yourself today. If ever you deserved it, this may be it! Which chemo are you on?

Nikki, glad to hear things went well today. My pee was more orange than pink, and just once. I'm kinda disappointed -- I was expecting a full Tahitian sunset...

Fighter, it's good to hear from you. Keep us posted on how things go with the onc Friday. Hang tough, my dear!

Zorina, lovely mantra. I'm not sure which part I like better: the breath in, breathe out, or the hair will come back but the cancer won't. I guess I'll just have to switch back and forth. As for chemo brain, I'm with skimommi: It is real. It's just been poorly studied. I think it's one of those side effects that doctors prefer to dismiss as just being in our minds because that's easier to do than figuring out what's actually happening and what can be done about it.

I'm going to try to go to bed now. Maybe. I don't know. Gotta love a mystery, right? Ci vediamo, belle!

LeeA

Bryona - do you have a prescription for an antinausea med?  If so - take it!  You know what they say - you don't want to chase it back. 

LeeA

Just a tidbit: 

I GAINED SEVEN POUNDS IN A WEEK ACCORDING TO THE ONCOLOGIST'S SCALE!

Ack.  And he doesn't think it's steroid weight!

Regardless, I'm going to take a Lasix tomorrow (but not tonight!  I would be up all night). 

My WBC is low and hopefully they'll be able to administer Chemo#2 next week.  He said there might be a few day delay but I sure hope that's not the case.  I have my iPad filled with all these chemo/Herceptin dates going all the way in September (Herceptin only at that point).  

Is anyone else having (or had) a low WBC?  Mine was 1.9 last week - 1.8 this week.

Sandra60

Lee - my onco did not order and mid cycle blood work so I do not even know if WBC was low . I did get a fever about day 7-8 and it lasted 5 days . I am hoping it was just from an infection - not the febrile neutropenia ! Wish my onc was more proactive - when I asked him if I should be concerned about running a fever this next time ( I go in of tx 2 1/17 ) he just said we would have to wait and see if the fever came at the same time !! Wow - wait and see ?

I hope your counts come up quickly !!! Your doing the neulasta or neupogen shots right ?



Bryona - so glad u all went fairly smooth for your first treatment - except for the sinus pain ! Bigs HUGS for u and all the mentoring u do on this thread !!

LeeA

Sandra, If it comes down to having a shot - it will be Neulasta.  I wish there was a way to build up the WBC without a shot.  

Also, my MO said salads were fine and not to worry about it.  It's funny how much difference there is between different doctors and/or medical facilities.  

Re: bloodwork - the cancer center I go to does it once a week but they also have a lab right there in the oncology practice.  Before my port is bandaged back up they already have the results!

Bryona

Zoiks, Lee! What a pair of tidbits. I wonder if there's a black market of some kind where you can trade pounds for neutrophils. That'd be awesome. But on a more serious note, did your MO talk at all about giving you Nupogen to raise your WBC count?

As for me, I took some compazine, but I can't really tell if it's making a difference. It's not really severe nausea, just enough to get my attention. MO said not to bother with Zofran at first because it does the same thing as the Aloxi, and the Aloxi is already doing that. I'm more surprised than anything else; with that fat dose of Aloxi, I thought surely I'd get a little further than this. Maybe it's what I ate for dinner. I usually trust my taste buds to tell me what my stomach will tolerate, but maybe chemo is going to mess that up. I guess we'll see.

Biggest disappointment so far, though, is definitely that I don't have the steroid high. I was all ready to post like a crack monkey, but I think the only thing keeping me awake is the nausea. Oh, well. I'm going to post the crack monkey picture anyway. It makes me happy.

LeeA

Bryona - lol @ Mr. Crack Monkey... may he live to post like a crack monkey on crack another day?  Oh dear.  Chemo brain seems to be upon me...

re: antinausea - I think one of my IV bags had the Aloxi or maybe it was the one that starts with a K (wish I had taken notes of everything every step of the way on this darn cancer "voyage"). 

Also, the infusion nurse said "take your first anti-nausea med at 9:00 tonight then again when you wake up."  The bottle instructions were one every eight hours and my husband would even wake me up at 5:30 for my dose.  

I hope the ickies subside - SOON!  

Anonymous

Bryona the crack monkey made me laugh .... as I lay here in bed at wee hours not being able to sleep.



I've found that the dry air really plays a number on me these days. Ive been sleeping with a humidifier, otherwise I wake up with a dry throat and bloody nose. wwell darn thing shut off and sure enough woke up coughing. So I had to jimmy the thing to get it working again.



Seems I've also turned into a germaphobe. My daughter had her 11 to friend over Monday night, and she looked liked she wasn't feeling well. As soon as she left I was wiping everything down with Clorox wipes. Then last night DH said he felt a little nauseous. So I went on a rampage wiping everything down around him and he is sleeping on the couch. Wish I knew what my WBC is so I'd have some factor as to whether I should be this paranoid or not. Leea that's nice u get everything checked between cycles.



I have been so utterly unmotivated, eating like crap and now I'm gaining weight. Looked in the mirror tonight and swear I must be 7 months pregnant. Yoga once a week just isn't going to cut it if I keep eating this way. And all along I was preparing to not have an appetite. Well that certainly isn't the case.

SherylB

russell33,

My first chemo was Thursday 1/10 so today is day 7 or 8 depending on how you count. My taste buds seemed different early on but definitely by day 5. My favorite thing to eat or drink is diet coke and it tastes different which makes me sad. It will make my family happy if I never like it again LOL. I guess we are all different. My mouth doesn't have specific sores but the whole thing feels puckered like I have been eating really salty stuff or sucking on a lemon. I have done the baking soda/salt rinses no less than 3 times per day and I started the day before my first chemo. Who knows??

Hang in there, Sheryl

SherylB

Hey all my friends I need to whine,

First chemo Thurs. 1/10 very doable until Sat. then bad pain everywhere, doctor on call ordered me lortab and all has been doable. Actually said more than once on Tuesday and Wednesday ok I feel pretty good, hopefully next treatments won't be much worse. HAhahaha....WTF!!! Went to town with husband around 5 PM last night to pick up new glasses for him, asked him to drive which is unusual for me in first place. My back was hurting, lower back where I have lots of stuff, arthritis, disc etc, but have chosen no interventions until I can't walk (seen to many back surgeries in my >35 years go bad). I even said to my DH what's going on the neulasta should be wearing down not kicking back up. During the night I would wake and be aware of significant back pain, had taken ibuprofen before bed so drank water and dozed back off. Woke up about an hour ago with the WTF pain in back, could feel my pulse in my head and took temp. 100.3. I had a temp Monday 100.8 which responded well to ibuprofen, and mo said to monitor it no antibiotics yet. Been ok since then. I am scheduled to be at clinic at 0830 for a 6 hour infusion of iron, seems my stores have been in the toilet for who knows how long. Anyway just wanted to vent, things always happen when office is closed, that's Murphy's Law, I live about 38 miles away and will need to shower and go maybe to be turned away who knows. I am not so bad that I need to call the doc on call I can wait 3 hrs till office opens. Oh well nothing else to do, will plan a drive on this rainy Florida am. Been in the 80's for days now high of 66 and raining.

I have to put a positive spin on things now. I am so grateful for this forum, because as soon as I took some medicine and started drinking fluids I got on here and vented. Writing and thinking takes my mind off how crappy I feel so what a gift this forum is.  More to come later, have a glorious day.

Sheryl

Anonymous

Bryona~I also get that sinus pressure. On Day 2 after first AC I had a sinus headache for about 4 hours. At AC #2 I got the sinus headache as I was getting chemo. I thought it was the zophran they gave me before tx. Could it be the cytoxan? That one lasted all day.



Sheryl~My favorite drink is decaf iced tea, but between days 6-8 it has no flavor. Nor does my diet Coke, flavored waters, or coffee. So, I drink Gatorade. It's not real flavorful either, but its wet and has electrolytes.



I find foods that are spicy, salty, or sweet, are a little easier to taste. I wonder if I'll be able to taste at all for the 12 weekly taxol.



I have AC #3 tomorrow. I'm praying my WBC is high enough to get it. I'm dreading it, but want to see it in my rearview mirror.



Blessings

Paula

Nicole503

Bryona -  I have the same reaction to the Cytoxan that you do (incredible sinus pressure) and found that taking a sudafed with my pre meds helped.  It didn't totally make it go away but it seemed less intense and shorter in duration during chemo round 2 (with the pre med) than in chemo round 1.  In Oregon "real" Sudafed is only available by Rx but I had no problem getting it from the oncology pharmacist.

LeeA - My white blood cell count also crashed late in cycle 1 and I almost had to be deferred for my second AC.  The day before I was scheduled for AC it was 1.9 and they told me I would have to defer if it had not started rebounding.  I got my blood drawn on the day AC was scheduled and it had come back up to 3.05.  My nurse said that WBC counts do shoot up quickly so hopefully yours will rebound before your next round.

IFightLikeaWoman

Hi Ladies,

I have been reading your posts and enjoying the camradarie. I am a little ahead of you in terms of treatment. First tx was on 12/12/12, second was on 1/2/13. I get some pretty crappy side effects; nausea, metal mouth, exhaustion etc. But, I am making it through! I have 4 more treatments to go and I am going to beat this Cancer. So will all of you. As I was reading through your posts I was in awe of all of your strength. Chemo sucks but it kicks cancer bootay! Good luck to all of you! I know you will all make it through just fine!

ldcpt1

Hi Ladies,

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm starting my chemo a wk from today on 1/24/13. Since I'm 45, my doc recommended the dose-dense regimen of AC every 2 wks, for 4 cycles, then the T every 2 wks, for 4 cycles instead of your regimen. My question to everyone is that I just got my port put in two days ago. It's VERY awkward, tender, and uncomfortable. The thought of having to live with it for another 17 wks at a minimum upsets me. Does it feel tender and uncomfortable the whole time, or does that go away? If so, when?

Hope my fellow January chemo sisters who've started already are tolerating well. The rest of us will join you soon

ziffy321

Had my first TC treatment Tuesday 1/15, neulasta shot (with hydration) Wednesday 1/16.  Almost no discomfort!  Today, a little heartburn and a little tongue-tingling, but otherwise OK.  Keeping up with Zofran and Claritin.  If only all the treatments would go this smoothly!

Oh, and I'm convinced there is a special place reserved in Heaven for the inventor of numbing cream.

hope49

Hi Girls!

Just catcing up on all the posts from the past day or so...lots going on!

Zorina, sounds like you have a good PT for your shoulder issues - anyone else in the same boat be sure to see if you can find a therapist who specializes in lymphadema.  I had a wonderful lady who really educated me and had me back to full range (actually better than my good arm) in only a few visits.  She's having me wear the arm sleeve proactively until I finish treatment - it's been shown in studies to ward off issues later on, so I wear it all day and take it off before bed.  I have some nice colors that blend in with my clothes and since it's winter no one is the wiser...

Faithhopeanluv and Ifigghtlikea woman - thank you so much for letting us know things get better on the 'other side' it really means a lot when the 'veterans' pop onto our board to insprire us to keep going...I look forward to the day I can do this too!

Russell, my taste - or lack of - has been my biggest complaint in all of this...things just mostly taste salty but I have noticed that now a week out it is getting better so hopefully it's just a temp thing each time...trying to get enought calories when nothing appeals is a bummer...I've lost a couple of pounds that I can't reallly afford to so I'm turning to creamy hi fat type foods which normally would be a fun binge if I could really tast them...

I did have some lower back pain yesterday which I am sure is related to the shot, despite the Claritin, I felt like an old arthritic woman must feel...after 4 couple extra strength Tylenol and a couple of stints on the treadmill, I'm happy to say that has passed!

skimommi - I can totally relate to the germ obsession - I travel a lot and so am kind of in that mode to begin with being in so many strange hotels and countries but now I have applied it to my house - I'm continually wiping and sanitizing everything around me, using paper towels like I own the company and wearing cleaning gloves to do any work around the house...I'm sure a lot of it is just mental control, but I'll take it!!

Have a good day everyone, and best to those at 'the bar' today

Skigirl72

My scalp is tingling today again and nothing is coming out. So, I wait. Everything else is status quo. I am going to venture out tonight for a bit and see a small group of friends. I will post some pics on our 'secret group FB page'. For all of you who want in this group... friend me (Debbie Inzana). Nancy started this group. It is easier to post pics and stuff on there and anything else we dont want the whole world to see... She named the group 'Ciao Bellas'. Great idea! 

I just left the Social Security Adm. office. Do you all know that there is a Compassionate Care Act for SS disability? You don't have to be out for 5 months to a year. It is for breast cancer patients who cant work or work full time due to medical condition (chemo and low WBC) and situations like that. They expedite the process also. Answers within 2 to 4 weeks... www.disabilitysecrets.com/social-security-disability-breast-cancer.html or contact your local office. Its worth a shot right?

louise8118 and nikkiliz- glad your first tx went well. Thank god for the anti nausea meds. My nurse said years ago it was so bad that women were unable to complete treatment b/c the SEs were horrible. So, do not be afraid to take the meds...

Sheryl- Sorry you are having so much pain! Hopefully you and your MO can get a handle on how to minimize it. Everything was tasting funny for a while. I love sweet tea and that is tasting like stale water now. That is a bummer. Hopefully that changes. I had a beer last night and I swore it tasted skunky. My DH had a sip and said it was perfectly fine. Now THAT is a real bummer.

Russell- My taste buds were non-existant for a few days around day 6. I wanted everything to be spicy so I cound taste something. It went away as quickly as it showed up. So, totally normal.

Byona- love the crack monkey! My nurse told me I might have the sinus thing with the Cytoxatini... she said she would slow the infution down a bit if it was too much. I had a little sinus burning at the end...

Skimommi- I am now officially a germaphobe. My DH was already a germaphobe and now I am constantly running around wiping everything down with the clorox wipes. I need a holster to keep that container of wipes with me. 

Enjoy the day!!

Lauren15

I so need to get back to work, but I've been sitting here for the last hour catching up on the posts.

Hope49 - my port was put in last Wed., so I'm on day 8.  I have to admit that today is the first day it doesn't hurt.  I had it put in the day before my first chemo treatment so the surgeon left it open for use.  If anyone would have tried to touch that area, I would have torn their hair out!  I have the numbing cream, which I pray works for when my 2nd TAC treatment is on 1/31.  I didn't take anything for the pain, because the thought of swallowing more meds made me more nauseous than I already was.

Skimommi - Soooo funny.  I feel the same way about 1 week post chemo, and I'm back to normal.  I feel like I should be feeling worse.  I just wish my hair would fall out.  I too want to look in the rear view mirror already.

I don't have the time to go back and respond individually to what everyone said, but WTF is up with the weight.  I'm in my sweats - jeans don't fit any longer.  I only want salty/spicy and comfort foods.  A salad makes me gag.

I stopped hydrating 1 week out - is that bad?  I'm so sick of drinking liquids.

I haven't been doing the rinsing, but I do have biotene spray for when the sores come.  My mouth also feels like I have a bigtime hangover.

Sheryl, hope you're feeling ok . . .

Have a great day all, and I'll check in later, before they fire me via email.  :-)

Lauren

Zorina

IDCPT1 - Sounds like you had similary surgeries and will have the same schedule of treatments as I do.  My port was put in 12/17, and while sometimes I feel it when I make a broad arm movement,  it does not hurt or bother me at all. I think the discomfort will decrease over time a lot.  So, just give you shoulder some time to heal and make other folks in your family do the housework

Nicole - I lived in PDX for over 10 years.  Moved to Florida in 2010.  As much as I miss the culture, the amazing restaurants, the public transit system and the small-town funky vibe, having frequent sunshine and warmer weather has greatly improved the quality of my life.  DH seriously misses the numerous microbreweries!

Re: chemo brain - My MO definitely wants hard-measurable truth and cited there is none, although I amy show her the link that skimommi sent. Because of my frustration--don't even have a number to recall because the MO office staff scheduled an MRI during scheduled chemo, I called my breast care coordinator and left a message expressing my frustration and requesting a phone number.

Chemo tomorrow, and I am running around trying to clean and get things in order for the next few days when I am unable to do anything.  Although, I think I have put too much stress on myself,  which is probably a bad idea.  

Colleenkelly

Hello, I hope all is well with everyone. I Had my drains taken out the other day and I have some swelling on one side. The cancer side. Did anyone else have this kind of swelling? If so, any suggestions to help reduce it?

Watta

Hi everyone, I've read all 24 pages of posts and feel like I know many of you. I'm 60 yo and never thought I'd enter my golden years this way! Hah just goes to show that life likes to surprise you. I was diagnosed on 10/26/12 with ILC on the right side. I had a DMX on 12/6/12. Pathology report showed 0/1 nodes, 2.1 cm adhered to chest wall, weakly E+, P-, HER-, and slow-growing. With a high-med oncotype score my MO recommended chemotherapy. On January 9 I had my first treatment of AC, with 3 more to go. I'm also going to receive rads and long term hormonal treatment after chemotherapy is over. It appears my cancer is is unusual and he is throwing everything at it!



My experience of surgery was that it was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. I still feel like crying when I remember it. In retrospect I think that the dilaudid painkiller just didn't work for me. My son is a hospital pharmacist and I called him in tears one night for help. As a professional who creates pain cocktails for hospital patients, he created one for me consisting of dilaudid, Tylenol and ibuprofen such that every two or three hours I was taking something. It worked! Now 6 weeks out I'm only a bit sore under my arm and above my ex-breasts.



Then I started chemotherapy. Assuming that it would be so much worse than the surgery that was so awful, I was terrified. I cried when they put in the IV, I took Ativan, I sort of dissociated from my surroundings. The staff was wonderful, kept talking, handed me Kleenex, told me I was perfectly normal but everyone reacts differently. One nurse asked me if I'd had morning sickness when I was pregnant, saying that it seemed women who didn't have morning sickness seemed to have less or no nausea during treatment. At last! A small ray of hope! To make a long story short, chemotherapy has been a breeze for me! No nausea 😄, the only SE's have been fatigue and funny taste buds. Eating and drinking enough have been difficult, but manageable. My biggest problem is the waiting to get on with being well...recovery is a slow process and I'm not real patient Hahah. Yesterday I hauled the hose around outside watering the chickens and ducks, and panted for 20 minutes catching my breath....never would have happened in the "old" days!



I saw some posts about vitamin E...my MO team says NO!!! Although the antioxidants are good for people w/o Big C, it has the opposite effect on those of us who do, causing mets, often in the lungs I think she said. As Vit C is an antioxidant, I'm not ever taking it again either...although I didn't ask about it so I don't really know.



There was also discussion about the beneficial effects of acupuncture, and I can attest to that. As soon as I was diagnosed, I started seeing my acupuncturist and it has helped immensely, ESP with the SE's of chemotherapy, my low blood counts, and energy. Now that I think about it, I have the energy but not the stamina! Maybe that's why the waiting is so hard



Going wig shopping Saturday. Waiting on a ponytail to put in my baseball caps that I ordered (I have a large collection of baseball caps). Going out today to buy a buzz shaver to shave my head, and looking forward to it (I've never really liked my hair, maybe it'll come back better). Also going to pickup my sewing machine and computer that were in for tuneups.



I LOVE being Breast-free!!!! Maybe I'll even have a glass of wine 🍷

Skigirl72

I have swelling on my left side where the drain site was. They keep telling me this is normal b/c of them cutting into the lymph system. They said they've disrupted the path for the fluid to find its way to the lymph nodes. I have been wearing a sports bra to compress everything a bit. they also told me to wear spandex type stuff for my belly incision also and that has helped with any swelling. Sometimes it's uncomfortable. I have been massaging all my swollen parts to get the fluid moving. If it's too bothersome, call your PS and have them refer you to PT.

They also told me to stay well hydrated... somehow that supposed to help.

Colleenkelly

Thanks Debbie. Is ice recommended do you know?

Anonymous

Colleen, My PS was always very supportive of using ice for swelling. Just stay away from heat!

Watta, IFightLikeaWomen and ldcpt1, Ciao Bellas! We are so happy to share your experiences and information with you, although not happy you had to find us here. Watta, very interesting what your nurses said about morning sickness and if you didn't suffer then you probably wouldn't suffer as bad during chemo. I didn't have morning sickness with either of my girls, and the SE's now (knock on wood) have been tolerable. So sorry surgery was so awful for you. That part was the easiest for me.

Lauren, stay hydrated! I found a week out that I wasn't drinking enough water and had one really bad night where I started feeling terrible and cranky for no reason. As soon as I started to hydrate again I felt much better.

Zorina, take it easy on yourself. Now is the time to be placed on a pedestal and let others help you out. Of course, that is always easier said than done.

It is very interesting to hear some of you talk about the lower back pain. I did yoga last Thursday and then Friday I was having the strangest sensation in my lower back. After walking some it was pretty intense, and knocked the breath outta me. I attributed it to overdoing it in yoga. But, that was one week after the N shot. I had stopped taking Claritin a few days after because I didn't feel anything. Wonder if that was related to the N rather than the exercise. Of course I've been a literal bump on a log since then so I wouldn't know if it was related to exercise or timing or what. 

Sheryl, did you take Claritin? Try that next time as everyone swears by it. My MO wanted me to not take it the first time so that I would have a point of reference and know whether it was needed or not.  No thank you!!!

For those having the sinus issues, are they giving you anything during chemo? I received Benedryl prior to the C infusion. I could feel the difference too because I was all hyped up on steriods and chattering like a chipmunk to my friend.  Then all of a sudden everything s-l-o-w-e-d . .  w-a-y . . . d-oooowwwwnnnn.

Noticed several hairs falling out this morning as I styled my hair. Skigirl, my head is a little tingly. Everytime I notice it my immediate reaction is "Uh-oh". Although I know it is coming.

milkyway2

Somedays may be dark and some days we may stumble and fall but dont let anything hold you back for long.....you.ve got to get up and keep moving and one foot in front of the another. Along with lots of baby steps will all lead you to where u need to be..u gotta have faith and know that even when u cant believe it GOd is watcjing out for you and sun will shine on you again