Chemo May 2013

carla53

Thanks so much for the good thoughts and speedy recovery, Really made me feel good.

Ended up that I got out of jail...I mean the hospital yesterday late afternoon. Feels good to be home. Who would of thought I would be there for 6 days. It's all so weird. Hand is healing from surgery. Had a great day. Felt good enough to clean my house and go grocery shopping. So funny, that's a good day. Todays chemo postponed. Monday a port and probably next Thursday chemo. Glad to have a few days to recoup some.

Patty-So glad you made it to and through your sons graduation. One more treatment? Excellent! ...Darn such a shame that your relationship

with your sister is so strained. It's really something that twins could be so different in personality's . I hope one day she can learn that she isn't the center of the universe and that others have feelings.

Lorrie-Glad yor treatment went mostly uneventful. Hoping your s.e.'s are minimal. 1/2 way through -great,! Happy that your sis and you have

a great relationship pretty special.

Ukkate-I'm worn out just reading what's on your plate. Good luck with it all.

Gully-heartburn is yucky. Have you tried pepcid or something like that?

Annie-Glad it went well for you today. Hoping your se's are as minimal as it has been in the past.

Lorrie-it is a touching story. And you touched him. You both gave each other a gift. Yes there are so many less fortunate then us. Who are worse off than us. It is humbling and my heart hurts for those who suffer. But in my opinion your not being selfish. Non of us are. It still difficult what we are going through . And although it isn't as severe as some, it is still something we are personally going through and feeling.

My best wishes to all - Carla

elkatho

Carla....Glad to hear you are doing better.



Number of T/C rounds. My Mo told me the studies showed 4 rounds of T/C was as good as 6 rounds of the the 3 drug combination (cant remember which 6) it was compare to. So in his eyes if in the past it was 6 treatments regardless of combo of drugs, then 6 may even be better than 4 when T/C is used. He did say it involves some obstraction to reach this decision. It was a longer conversation but that sums up how I understood it. I decided If I can do 6 I will but if it gets too difficult I will not hesitate stopping at 4. Unfortunately in the science of it all and the continued reaserch we may never receive a black and white answer to some of questions. I am interested to hear what oyhers are told by their MOs.



Hoping everyone's SE are minimal...or better yet...none at all.

GoWithTheFlow

lps, isn't it so freeing to lose the wig?  Baseball cap seems to be the least hot to wear for me.  GOOD for you!  That's a BIG step!

Carla, glad you are home!!!

Ukkate

He is dropping the carboplatin and changing taxotere to taxol and taxol I think will be weeky instead of every three weeks. I'm not sure how many weeks of taxol I get and how it works with the hercepten. And this is all based on my severe side effects. He will explain more on Tuesday. And we can ask our questions then too!!

ReddHeddMomma

Carla - so glad you are finally out and that things seem to be healing nicely. That is great news.



Kate - so sorry they are changing up treatment on you. Did they give a reason for the change now rather than in the beginning when the treatment plan was formulated? A friend told me to never think that things are set in stone because each set of bloodwork results can change things on a whim. But I would have thought they would have known about the stage 2 requirements before now? I would ask if there was something showing up in bloodwork, just in case. Maybe I am anal retentive that way, but my docs know that I'm annoying about asking "why" every time something switches at all.



For everyone with thrush, the meds really, really helped me through both times I have had a bad case of it. The taste of the meds is awful (at least mine is yucky!), but getting the pain to lessen is worth every disgusting drop.



Am going through that point in my cycle where I cannot get enough sleep. I feel like a giant sloth right now. LOL

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Ugh.... Had to leave work... Nausea kicked in by surprise and couldn't beat it with anti nausea meds.... Ended up puking at work. Sucks! I pretty much got by without any sickies in the past.... & I usually have a day or so before my SEs kicked in.... Oh well...

Goldie1431

Elkatho,



I am also scheduled for 6 T/C treatments. I also asked my MO why. He told me it was because there had not been any studies of the difference in effectiveness of 4 versus 6 of this specific drug combination- only studied with other drug combos. As such, he feels it is better to do 6 especially since I am triple negative, as a way to really kill everything off especially since there is no long term drug therapy for triple negatives. We only have one shot at the beginning to get everything. Originally he told me 4 to 6 depending on my response to the treatments. So far the only really bad side effect I have is tinnitus which really scares me to think it could get worse with 3 more treatments.



I would also be interested to hear others weigh in on this one!

Alibeths

When are your blood counts the lowest???

Annie54

Lorrie - so sorry to hear about the nausea. Yuck! I had to leave work early today too...not because of my stomach but because I was so tired. Headed home for a nap. And like you, the se's are showing up a day or so earlier than last time. Sigh........hope you feel better!

Alibeths - I think your blood cell counts are lowest around day 9 to 10. Hope that helps!

Annie

Alibeths

Thx Annie!

elkatho

Hi All...I I had my head shaved a couple weeks ago.leaving some stubble....now I am breaking out. Pimples on my scalp. Any thoughts of remedies? I use shampoo everyday.

elkatho

Lorrie and Annie.....hopefully getting your SE early means they will leave quickly also.



Ailbeths..each drug has a different low white blood count time. My papers listed these dates for each drug.I am on different drugs than you are.

lpc

So Dr only gave me pills for thrush. Mouth still sore. Going to try benadryl with maalox for the pain. If not better tomorrow will call doctor. My dd had thrush constantly as baby now I have new insight into why she was so whiny. Lol



Hope all have a good weekend



Lisa

Ukkate

ReddHedd, he told me after Round 1 of chemo that if the pre-meds didn't help with round 2 then he would be switching up the chemo so it wasn't a huge surprise.  I'm honestly just so releived that I don't have to have that cocktail again...

I got the "Diflucan" for my suspected esophegeal thrush but my throat still is pretty sore.  My doc said that this type of thrush would be really rare, but from reading at Dr. Google it seems like 20% of chemo patients get it - so that doesn't seem like that rare at all...

I finished my first full week at work today, came home and took a 2 hour nap!!!  Guess I was tired!!!

DH is working tomorrow day/night - One Direction is coming to his arena (those of you with younger girls will appreciate that!!).  I'm going to "Wine & Design" with my girl friends and looking forward to that....

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Sorry about the mouth issues Lisa!



Got a nice nap in and tummy is better. Took anti nausea again just in case...along with the benodryl for the itchies... Talk about drowsy!!! Lol... I think it's the hunger pains making me sick, but don't feel like eating. My throat feels like it's swollen shut/hurts to swallow & got that golf ball lodged in my throat again. Nurse yesterday suggested pepcid for it, but can only take every 12 hrs.



Jeez, I sound like a mess and it's only day 1 after #3! Hopefully the claritin will help with this rounds bone pain...



Hope everyone else is feeling better than me! Haha

Happy thoughts

Lorrie

Teresa_G

I was given Fluconizole (something like that) pills for the thrush. I hate the chest pains I get with that.



My head is super itchy and blotchy now. I called and they said I can use cortisone for the itching. If my spots get puss then they will call meds in for my head. They told me to make sure my head is on super soft material. Like a really soft pillow case or something to help with comfort.



Sorry I have been MIA the last few days. Just dealing with stuff. I did go to work for part of a day today and it about did me in. Looking on the bright side my side effects should be about done for a couple if weeks.....other than my head.

carla53

Elkotho, GoWiththeFlow, RedheddMomma, Thank you.

ReddheddMomma just trying to picture a ReddheddMomma sloth

Lorrie and Annie- So sorry your s.e.'s kicked in the way they have. Really hope tomorrow is better.

Lorrie-Pepcid works pretty good for me. Hope they work for you.

Ukkate-Congrats on a full work week. Well done. Enjoy the "Wine and Design" Sounds like fun.

Teresa-Having spots on the head with puss. That's a new one to me. What causes that? So glad that your s.e.'s are almost over for 2 weeks..



A blessed and good weekend to all -Carls

Teresa_G

Carla I don't know what causes that, just something new to have I guess.  So far no puss, but my head is very irritated.  I take whatever head covering off as quick as I can once I am in the car or at home.  I even go around with nothing on my head still once in a while.  Maybe I just have sensitive skin.  It doesn't just feel irritated it looks irritated, red and blotchy.  Oh well, here is to two better weeks than this last one.  I hope all of you are getting some rest.....me not so much.  Maybe a nap this afternoon?  I didn't take one today.....

Michele2013

Good morning ladies, when I finished chemo in march I was nausous everyday and called my onc to discuss. He said def not normal and referred me to a gastroenterologist. Had an egd done with a biopsy. Biopsy was benign, however I have esophagitis...wtf????? So now I have to take protonix. Thankfully this medication is helping me.



Oh the joys of chemo and thier lasting effects.



Gentle hugs

Ukkate

Teressa - do you think you have ingrown hairs?  Can you "exfoliate" your scalp or is that too painful??  That sounds like a terrible SE..

Lorrie - ask your doctor for some better reflux meds.  Pepcid did nothing for me and my doc said to take it twice a day.  The prescription stuff was much better.  

I don't know what esophogitus is - I'm going to have to google that now.

Carla - glad you're feeling better...

I got my free scarft yesterday from that company that sends them to you (can't remember the name) and it's so cute!  It's like in a bonnet shape so you don't have to try to tie it around your head.  I think I'll wear it tonight.

Michele2013

My onc tried to tell me I had acid reflux and I said no I have nausousness everyday. Well the acid reflux causes the nausousness. Guess I better not argue with him anymore....lol

GoWithTheFlow

Teresa, I shampooed and conditioned my stubs everyday.  My hairdresser told me this past week to use Johnson's baby shampoo because it's gentle on the stubbs.

Pattysmiles

Teresa, I had the same scalp problems...after round 2. I thought it was the head coverings i was wearing along with working out at the gym.,,,but i dont know. Don't know what caused it. It seems to have gone away. Lasted about 2 weeks?



Carla, welcome home. Don't overdo!



Lorrie, I agree with Ukkate, net the best reflux med you can. Prescription or not, you need it, why not feel better faster!



Michele thank you for the info on the esophagitis. One more thing to keep an eye out for,now when we think we are done!



Pat

ItIsWhatItIs2013

It's the weekend now... I'll call Monday for an Rx... Thanks for the advise.



I told my sweetie last night that i think the chemo is going to kill me......This is the worst Ive felt since starting chemo. I can barely swallow, my neck looks swollen from my throat being swollen.... slept for 12 hrs and still feel like it's bed time.... Bone pain kicking in... I just pray that it's better by next weekend... I'm hosting my daughters baby shower here at the house... A big one... Expecting 50+ (family flying in for it). I have so much to do. It's a luau... And should be fun... I guess I'm gonna have to enlist help this time. I'm such a control freak when it comes to party planning, I usually do most of it myself, but I just can't.

Okay... Done complaining for now...

I hope SEs are better for the rest of you!

GoWithTheFlow

itis, NOW is the time to accept help from everyone who offers.  You are doing them a favor too!  People want to help but never know what to do.  I found during this adventure, that I wasn't as much of a control freak.  I found myself often telling my husband "whatever you want to do" when he would tell me something he was planning to do around the house.  He spent a lot of time at home working on the yard and doing maintenance projects (painting decks, planting, etc.)

I hope you are feeling better soon.  

Pattysmiles

Lorrie,

DO NOT WAIT....weekend or 2 am...there is always someone on call to help you!

GET THAT PRESCRIPTION...tell them all of your symptoms! DO IT GIRL!

(Can you tell I am cyber yelling!)



Honestly though, if it were someone else complaining you would probably tell them to call now.



PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, (me, begging)



Wish I lived close enough to help you out for the party. Perhaps if you get some meds today (hint hint) you might feel well enough to take control of that party without killing yourself.



Love and hugs (and hopefully a prescription!)

Pat

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Pat... Stop yelling at me! Hahaha....my throat has felt better throughout the day now, whew!



NOW, as if things couldnt get worse, my itchy rash is all over my body! I've been doing the benodryl religiously! Keeping me dopey all day! I just doubled up on it and if it doesn't go, I'll call in... I DON'T want to go to ER or Hospital! This sucks! Onc said on Thursday that if it didnt get better, he'd send me to a derm doc.... Hello! I'm not an oncologist, but even I can tell it's a reaction to my chemo! Duh! Oh bother! Or maybe a reaction to my picc? That's about when it started..... IDK!



In the good news dept.... I had a couple of good hours to get the bulk of my shopping

done for the shower & made it down to the rental place to reserve some equipment... Came home and made the sweetie dinner & now gonna head up to my office and see how much work I can get done before my body crashes!



I hope everyone is having a decent weekend & thanks for letting me moan & groan!

Pattysmiles

Lorrie,

I took some of your pains for you, so you could have a good day. Ive felt awful all day, actually took my second nausea med (compazine), in between the zofran that i was popping. This was day 6, SUPPOSED to be my good day! Lol.

Glad you were able to do some shopping. Hopefully you will wake up rash free?!



So glad hubby and I cancelled the reunion we were supposed to go to in Florida...we have waited 5 years to go...due to children onligations with scouts, maybe next year?



Pat

Teresa_G

Yesterday and today I washed my stubble with my sensitive skin Dove body wash.  I also washed all of my head coverings in gentle detergent, even the ones that said spot clean.  My head is feeling much better, still spots on it but the itching is now minimal.  

Yes, now is the time to get some help from others.  They will be happy to help you I am sure!  Here is to a good nights sleep and a great Sunday to everyone.

GoWithTheFlow

Glad your head is feeling better Teresa