Chemo May 2013

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Pat, I hope the aleve works!



Kate, I'm sorry for the wig issue.... Not enough stress starting a new position, but you have to be aggravated all day with the wig. I didn't go with a wig (thank goodness my profession doesn't warrant the "professional look" on a daily basis. Pats probably right, I'd try a larger size. I wore a wig at Halloween one time and it was too small. I got a raging headache from it.



Well, I'm going to my LAST picc dressing change tomorrow..... It only has to last until Thursday! The picc nurses say that the infusion nurse can remove it after infusion if they have the time, but they usually send us back down to wound care to remove it.... I've seen so many videos, i think I could do it myself if it gets to that point...hahaha

It will be nice to have my little friend gone forever... And shower NORMALLY for a change & not have to cover it with my fancy sleeves I use when I wear a short sleeve shirt (I cut a length of tights 5" or so and slide it up over the picc sight so it doesn't look so medical).



My mood has gotten better with how I'm physically feeling. Thankful to be pain free these last couple days before my last treatment. I'm hoping to be able to cope better with the SEs from this next round knowing that I don't have to give them another shot at killing me! Haha I'll be done with the hardest thing physically & mentally that I've ever had to do....



Regarding the hair.. I lost all but about 5 eyelashes on each eye so far...

All of one eyebrow gone & the other one barely there and really funny looking, but I refuse to tweeze!

Underarm hair gone yay!

Leg hair... Almost gone completely... Have a few hairs, but haven't had to shave for a month.. I just pull one if I see it.

Down there.... Totally smooth except... This is going to sound funny & I'll say it like I told my sister.... "all gone except for a mustache"... LOL just like a thin line of hair left above the woohoo area..... Grows back even after I shave it.... Ah well



I hope everyone is feeling as well as possible today!



Lorrie

Pattysmiles

Lorrie,

You crack me up!

Wishing you all the best this last go around...do you get to take that picc line home to throw In A ceremonial fire?



Aleve 2 tablets, seems to have eased the pain. Just got home from my Girl Scout planning meeting and will be taking the muscle relaxant that was prescribed,



So I walk in the door and hubby tells me "essentially you had a call from a collection agency while you were out". What! He has no specifics except "someone is looking for $200 from bloodwork in February and is asking if I plan to pay it."

So Einstein doesn't take a callback number, doesn't ask WHAT doctor, doesn't ask the date of service....NOTHING. They are resending me the bill. UUUUGGGGGHHHH. You know I rarely ever leave the house in the evenings....the One time I do he can't even get enough details to satisfy all the questions any "reasonable" person Would ask! Geez, and I can't even have a glass of wine because of the muscle relaxer! Calgon take me away.



Pat

Ukkate

Pat - that's so sweet of you to offer me a wig. I don't think I could pull of the blond one. I bought a headband that goes under the wig and I'm wearing that today so I loosened the wig a bit. Now my new shoes are rubbing the skin off my feet. If its not one thing ....

Teresa_G

I have the fuzzy hair thing going on as well.  I never did lose all of it off of my head but all that remained were the extremely blonde ones so you can't see them very well anyway.  I hate that my leg hairs are the first to really come back good, couldn't they have waited until the end of summer?  It sure was nice not having to shave.  As far as the wig goes, I still haven't worn mine.  I just wear the scarves or hats, a lot of the time I go bald now.  I will wear my wig next month, my nephew is getting married and I would like to have hair for that. 

I had body aches so bad last night mostly in my legs that I took half of a pain pill from my surgery last week.  I felt better and got some rest.  My tissue expander is uncomfortable, not sure how I would have made it through months of chemo with it.  Glad I only have to have it in until sometime around the end of September. 

Have a good Tuesday everyone!

lpc

Lost my first nail. Am thinking more will go soon. No hair no nails. What a sight I am! Just another day with cancer.



Lisa

Robyn6463

Hi ladies, I'm just jumping on to see how y'all are doing, I was in the August 2011 group. it's hard to believe that it's been more than two years, it goes by so fast. I just want to reassure you all that pretty soon this will all be in your past. It's not been a fun ride, but it has served to make us all stronger, braver, and less likely to sweat the small stuff in life. My hair is shoulder length now, almost the length it was before chemo, and I trim it every six weeks. Life does return to a sense of normalcy. It's different than it was before, but I've got my routines, and I'm settled. Hugs to you all!

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Lisa...

I'm sorry... Is it painful? Was there any indication before the nail came off? I cant remember if it was you or pat that would Ice during treatments. I never did. my finger tips are tingly and my thumb tip has just started to feel like i burnt it... It doesn't hurt... it just feels as if I steam burned it and every once in a while like I'm running warm water over a burn.... really weird.

lpc

Not painful but all my nailbeds seem to be lifting...sigh. have to worry about infection I suppose. Have kept it covered with neosporin and bandaid. Will look awfully silly with all fingers covered.



Tingling sounds like mild neurapathy. I took b6 b12 and alpha lipoic acid and avoided neurapathy. The alpha lipoic acid is given to diabetics with neurapathy. When my fingers hurt after ac treatments the combo cleared it right up!



Lisa

Annie54

Thanks so much for posting Robyn! It helps to hear from someone that is down the road and doing well. Sometimes I get freaked out reading all the posts from women who have relapsed.....you serve to remind us that many, many women get through this and back to their lives. We need to hear that!

Annie

ItIsWhatItIs2013

So im sitting at my onc waiting to be seen.... im so upset! They had to pull my picc line....

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Well,

Home now. Held back the tears (I'm so proud)..

I only have one more treatment in 2 days and they insisted on pulling the picc today. The rash was eroding the site hole & they were worried about internal infection & they think i may have a small clot (although they didnt do any tests for it. Do they test for it?)UGH!

Part of me is relieved it's out & the other part of me is building anxiety over them finding & damaging another vein. But....

As my screen name says..., it is what it is! I'm still just focusing on the finish line.



Tonight I'm going to take a loooooong shower! Finally!



I hope everyone is doing well today!

Pattysmiles

Lorrie,

I am so sorry to hear that. I know it was mixed on having that picc...it was a good friend as far as infusions but she really turned her back on you when she gave you that rash.

I hope your next and final round is a breeze. I don't think the one should ruin your veins....mine came back after that one time they couldn't use them !



Sending my prayers and hugs for you.

Enjoy that shower!

Pat

Pattysmiles

I found this on Facebook and it just cracked me up, so thought I would share.

Now if the writer were in the midst of chemo she wouldn't have had such problems!

Pat



Okay, so I almost died laughing reading this (seriously, I was taking a drink and started to choke lol)!!! Sounds like something that would happen to me lol!!!



My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, and play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: 'Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.'



So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those 'cold wax' kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.



No mess, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)



So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ('Cold wax,' yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!



OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.



With my next wax strip I move north after checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.



Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip) ..



I inhale deeply and brace myself...RRRRIIIPPP!!!!



I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!



Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted.



I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious. Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.



I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!



There's no hair on it.



Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???



Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch. .. I am touching wax!!



I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.



Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!



I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself 'Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!'

What can I do to melt the wax?



Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???



*WRONG!!!!!!!*



I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.



Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.



So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!



I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter 'So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!'



There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, 'Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?'



She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.



YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions. I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.



My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.



What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and ... OH MY GAWD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. Its sooo painful, but I really don't care.

'IT WORKS!!



It works!!' I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair...?



THE HAIR IS STILL HERE.......ALL OF IT!



So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts.

I could have amputated my own leg at this point.



Next week I'm going to try hair color......

Teresa_G

Lorrie, sorry to hear about your picc line. You're almost done, I'm sure they'll find a vein and it will work fine.



Pat, love that story! I've read I before but I enjoyed it just as much reading it again. Thanks for sharing.

ItIsWhatItIs2013

O....... m...........G.......



Thank you Pat! That's the best laugh I've had in 5 months! For sure!



I can't wait to share.....



LOL...

lpc

Itis



So sorry about the picc line but hooray for the nice long shower. I agree with patty...one treatment should not damage your vein. One more to go and you are done with this phase of treatment.



Patty. Love the story cant wait to share. It was great to start the day with a laugh.



Lisa

lpc

Gully



Haven't heard from you in a while. How is the tamoxifen going? Exchange day is almost here isn't it? Hope all is well.



Lisa

Ukkate

Lorie - sorry about losing your PICC line  But Patty is right - so much can happen to "Beef up" your veins after giving them a rest.  I was kinda upset when the plastic surgeon told me they couldn't use my port when I go for my exchange surgery as they had to stick me 3 times when I had my mastectomy to find a vein.

Pat - thanks for that laugh!  You are like the "team mom" of this message board!  You always know what to say and what we need....

So I had my first herceptin treatment yesterday and post chemo appointment with my Oncologist.  I won't see him for another 9 weeks now.  It felt strange to be back in the chemo lounge but nice to see my old nurses.  Appointment with the plastic surgeon went well too - he said probably the week after next for my surgery - he has to submit it to insurance, wait to hear back and then book and ER.  DH came with me and we were in a smallish room and he took measurements of my foob and then showed me what he would do to lift my regular boob.  And then we talked for a bit but as we were chatting, I couldn't get my arm back in my papergown so my breast was just hanging out (the normal right one) and it felt so wierd to just stand there and chat!  I was so desparately trying to get my arm back in - I think DH realized and helped me out!!

Anyway - I am wearing my danskos to work today as my heels are so torn up by my uncomfortable new shoes from yesterday.  And i"m gonna wear a large shirt and my old cotton sports bra - so the only thing that can hurt me will be my wig!

elkatho

Itiswhatitis...good luck Thursday. I know you think you whine a bit but I think you are so strong. You have gone through so much and had additional obstacles and keep moving forward. So close with this phase....Good luck Thursday.



I had my port removed yesterday. Appt at 1pm, started on time, and I was walking out of the facility at 1:30. Doctor numbed the area and pulled it out. The machine they used to burn the blood vessels smoked a little...it was a little weird to see smoke. A little sore today but no pain.



Start rads next week!!



Have a great day everyone.

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Thanks for all of the words of encouragement! I love you all!



This might sound weird, but tomorrow is almost bittersweet. What will consume my thoughts without the misery of chemo? Haha.....



I'm positive... POSITIVE that the worse will be behind me.... Rads won't be a picnic, but manageable.... I'm so happy .... So why do I feel like crying? LOL



Elk... Glad the port removal went smoothly.... I'll be stalking you on rads updates!



I hope everyone is feeling well....



Lorrie

Pattysmiles

Okay Ladies,

I'm glad you enjoyed the story about waxing.



The below video is one I had seen on the Internet, and the story made me think of it.

I am not one to bust out laughing, but this one does it for me every time.

It is from a TV series, I believe in Ireland. We can't play the DVD's on our American DVD players, BUT, I did google how to hack my own DVD player so I could play the Mrs. browns series....and I ordered my DVD's from Australia. These were for me to play when I was "down" from chemo....thankfully I didn't have too many down days, and when I did I wasn't watching TV. Anyhow, this portion of one episode is a good one.



http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WDYEOJSd0Fg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DWDYEOJSd0Fg



Pat

Pattysmiles

Cut and paste that link above,

If the above link does not work google : mrs. Brown gets a bikini wax.



Pat

LJaeger

Pat - that story was amazing. Reminded me of that code, which I had actually seen a few months ago. So I had quite a few laughs out loud at my last chemo today. Even made my husband read it, and was able to laugh at his cringing and laughter as he made it through each paragraph. Haha.



One more neulasta to deal with tomorrow into the weekend, and then hoping to be home free! My liver levels better behave - the onc wasn't super excited about my post-chemo winery road trip in the beginning of sept. bah!



Keep the laughter coming, everyone. We can't forget to laugh our blues away every once in a while.

LJaeger

I meant video, not code! Oops auto spell-checker!

Pattysmiles

Lorrie,

Wishing you the best tomorrow!

Elkatho,

Glad the port removal went well. Burning smell? I don't know if I would have liked that!

Ukkate,

Sorry about the gown. At this point I don't even know why they give us one. Really,such a stink to give us time to put one on only to come into the room and open it! Maybe the doctors ought to put on the same gown when they examine us!



Hang on ladies, I think the roller coaster is slowing down....or at least going down gentler hills.



Pat

ItIsWhatItIs2013

Pat... I've seen that Mrs. Brown episode before...... Thanks for sharing! I love it when the dude stomps on the strip as he walks out! I'm gonna YouTube more of Mrs. Brown tonight!

I get to stay up late, sleep in, clean house in the am & go to treatment.... Buff wild wings for dinner tomorrow night...... Then fight my way back to "our" normal.... With no more chemo treatments to think about! It's funny to me how celebratory things have been with my friends & fam today.... I just wanted to tell everyone to wait a few weeks, but......

Anyhow.......



Thank you all for letting me cry, whine, complain, celebrate....



I agree that pat is our team leader! Thank you for always being positive for us... When u are going through your own stuff...



Lorrie

Pattysmiles

Team leader?

You guys crack me up!



Patty smiles....that's me!

Just like It Is what it is!



we have all done our best with the crap we have been served. Sometimes it takes another to take us out of our doldrums, sometimes it is you that helps out another.

Thankfully everyone has shared the good, the bad and the ugly because that is what this cancer is all about and if we didn't all have each other to "listen" I think the mental hospitals would be full!

By all of us posting here we have helped those who will be reading boards in the future and they will have learned from REAL people with their REAL experiences.

Keep up the good work!

pat

Pattysmiles

And Lorrie, I LOVE wings! Any time you post about them I want them...only problem is it is 12:30 am and nothing is open...by tomorrow I will forget all about them! Lol

Pat

Annie54

Lorrie,

Good wishes on our last treatment today....woo whoo! Can't wait but am bittersweet also. It will take us a little while to crawl out of this dark tunnel of summer 2013 but we are on our way!

Looking forward to balsting the bell this afternoon!!!!  On to Rads.......

Annie

Ukkate

Lorie - YAY for last chemo today!!!!  We have a Buff Wild Wings near us now too and I love their wings.  I"m kinda thinking "screw the diet"  I ate 1200 calories daily and lost 1 frigging pound!!!

Patty - I'll have to look at that link later...thanks for the daily laughs!

So my doc gave me a script for Gabapentin to help with the hot flashes.  I took it last night and had a great night of sleep but felt so drousy when I woke up.  What would you ladies do?  Would you keep taking i?  I had weened myself off all meds and I"m hesitant to start up another one.....

Oh - and I SWEAR that I"m working for "The Devil Wears Prada"  Yesterday I had to run some errands for her, I had to go to BJ's get a cake, go to The Olive Garden and pick up food, go to the supermarket and get raspberry lemonaide and sprite and then pick up 3 pizzas!  I had ZERO instructions and it started to thunderstorm.  I almost died of exhaustion carrying all that back into the office!!!!  And when I got back it was 5:15 (past my "finish time) and she asked me to "toss the salad at 6pm"  I told her that I wasn't going to be there at 6pm!

Um lady - do you realize that I'm only 3 weeks out of chemo????  People!!!!

Anyway..hoping for a call about my surgery today...