October 2013 Chemotherapy

SpiritBlessing

Evening Ladies,

It looks like all of you are having a good day for the most part.

Lonnie - Glad to hear your #1 went well and praying you will have a good weekend.

So this is the first I have heard about icing the nails. So is this the same concept as the caps to avoid losing the hair? Has anyone done this? I read about it but it was pretty costly.

Wrenn - I hope you do stay on this board because if you don't then I will have to see about moving on as well. This is the first board I have been on that I feel good enough about to participate on. I am sure I will be starting in November too. I had a tour of the facility today and it seems to be a really nice place. They have a great resource room and they offer so much for the patients. Yoga, massage, acupuncture and several classes and support group meeting throughout the month.

SchoolC - So your comment about toxins and the bathrooms...this is the first I have heard of that. We only have one bathroom, should I be doing something special? I now have been putting the lid down every time we flush so got to get used to that.

Flowergirl - does the heartburn happen right at the first tx or is it gradual or is it the type of chemo? Why do you think the tx took less time for you this round?

Specialk - How bad is the pain from the shot?

I had my eco today and the PET scan. The gal who did the eco said everything looked good so that was nice. She was very good at explaining things as she was doing it to us. It was kind of cool to see my heart in action. The PET was a little more not so exciting...not thrilled of having that radiation in my veins but like my husband said can't be worse than the chemo. My poor arm had 4 pokes including my flu shot and the injections and work today.

Have a restful sleep everyone...good nite.

SchoolCounselor

Hi, spirit. The American cancer society book on chemo talks about covering the toilet and flushing twice because our waste is toxic to others. The other alternate was to do the same but keep a separate toilet for 48 hours post chemo.

Wrenn, I hope the doctors are reasonable with you. Delayed chemo is better than none and one of the ladies was kind enough to reference some studies for you. You go in there like the warrior you are.

I think I might need a sleep aid. I slept for two hours and I am now wide awake. Not a great thing. We will see.

Hang in there ladies, we are doing this.

TeamKim

Glad to hear that all the Thursday girls are doing well so far. Add me to that list. Came home from tx and took a short walk, then ate a light dinner. Feeling sleepy -- just dosed off in the recliner for about 45 minutes. Drinking lots of water and using Desitin as prevention for the rash I got last time. So far, so good.....

flowergirl1

I am glad to hear all the Wednesday and Thursday girls are doing well. 

SpiritBlessing....they ran my infusion slowly the first time to make sure I didn't have any reaction.  I didn't so they could speed it up this time and still I did fine.  As far as the heartburn, I think it is the Decadron that causes it.  I seems worse when I am taking it.  It did start with the first treatment but it got better in the 2nd and 3rd week after my treatment.  The instructions I had about the toilet were to flush twice for 48 hours after my treatment and I try to keep the the lid closed.  I am glad your tests went well and of course, you can stay on this board.

SpecialK

Heartburn is also caused by the soft tissue irritation from chemo - the digestive tract is full of rapidly dividing cells as well. As with all SE not everyone gets this, but it is common. I did not have problems with it, but I also had reflux surgery in '95 so that may have helped me.

spirit - I did ice my nails - fingers and toes. This is more critical if you are getting a taxane chemo as it has the SE of nail lifting and loss. I brought 4 bags of frozen peas and put them on toes and fingers starting just prior to Taxotere, and tried to leave them on until about 10 minutes into Carboplatin. I also brought ice chips in a thermal cup to keep in my mouth for mouth sore prevention. I did not do the cold caps - my MO is not a fan. Not everyone has pain from the Neulasta shot. I did take Claritin (regular Claritin, not Claritin D) an hour before the injection, and continued for several days. On the first injection my discomfort did not warrant anything more than a Tylenol and a warm bath. Subsequent injections, not even that. One of the problems with Neulasta is also when it is combined with taxanes as they have bone/joint pain as a SE also.

SchoolCounselor

Thinking of you Wrenn, I hope all goes well!!!

TeamKim

Me too, Wrenn! Hoping that tunnel has filled itself in and they are able to throw all of modern medicine's arsenal t a cute for you! ((Hugs))

wrenn

thanks guys. It has gone from 12 cm to 4 cm but still open and bleeding. I have lots of questions ready and will report back. I hope everyone continues to do well this week. At least it hasn't been abd enough for anyone to have to stop chemo. Strong bunch of women here and very inspiring. Have a good day everyone xoxo

Sunnyca

Hi, my first infusion, TCH was 10/24. I'm still suffering from tiredness, mouth sore and stomach pain( this is under control with medication). Do you think I'm going to recover soon???

VintageGal1111

Hi sunnyca

you will feel bad for a couple days....SEs are cumulative, so after each treatment you may feel worse for a bit longer &/or add a couple more side effects to the list. But you will & we all will recover!!!!!!!!!!!

VintageGal1111

I see some of you are doing well, others not so much. It helps that we can all come here! These are my few good days...this last bout of SEs was a tough one, my next infusion will be Tuesday. (My last A&C then on to many more months of T&H)

I am heading out to see my new PCP. Of all times the nurse practitioner I have seen for years told me when I went to her after finding the lump to get the ultrasound referral that she is retiring from primary care. ...sigh... But I found another women Dr, just 5 miles down the road in a nice new facility who just happens to be my BC dr's wife!

Sunnyca

Hi VintageGal1111, thank you for your comment. SE are cumulative?! I have 5 more treatments! I thought first one was worse.

Pam358

Happy to hear that things are going well for my fellow warriors….Remember, we got this! We are going to get through it even though some days are rougher than others.

SunnyCa - Sorry to hear you are feeling bad. Have you been in touch with your MO (medical oncologist) to discuss your side effects? They can often be helpful in shortening up the duration with some ideas or treatments.

Sunnyca

Pam358, thank you! I'll ask my MO today. Looks like most people are recovering after 1 week from infusion. How are you feeling today, Pam358?

Sunnyca

VintageGal1111, good luck for your last AC! So you finished half way done? We all can get through this.

lgkgde13

Hi all,

Just checking in. Doing good pretty but still get fatigued. Prob related to low blood counts. Other than that I feel good. Mouth sore went away yeah!

Someone asked about heartburn and I did get after both rounds. My MO said that I should take Pepcid everyday. I have been taking that along with colace bc I don't want to have constipation again. That was the worse.

Thanks for the tip on the straw Pam that has worked for me to drink more water!

Everyone stay strong we got this!

Wren - good luck today

lgkgde13

one more thing , anyone have watery itchy eyes?

Tipps04

Afternoon Ladies! So happy it is Friday. Glad to hear everyone is doing well form their treatments yesterday. I decided to have my husband give me abuzz cut last night. Quite a few tears were shed - so not caught up on hair but very emotionally just the same. I have not looked at myself in the mirror yet. Not sure that I will, as cowardly as that sounds. I put a sleep cap on while in the house and can get my wig on pretty well and juts use the mirror for adjustments. Someone put it very well, that is it not about the hair gone,but that it makes you look sick. I don't feel sick and so therefore am not going to see an image of me looking that way. Does that make sense? Wig feels so much better with the buzz and most people think I just got my hair cut. This is especially important as my daughter, who is 10, is very sensitive to all things at the moment. Everyone was telling her what a great hair cut I have - it made her day! Head is very itchy with the buzz so going to have my husband do a full shave this weekend.

Has anyone else heard about the bathroom and toxic waste?!?!?!? No one at MO said anything to me. Going to ask them next week at my treatment. That is freaking me out a little with my family.

lonnie713 - glad you are doing well today. Not everyone has SE's from Neulasta. Hoping and praying you have no or minimal SE's. If you start to feel a little sore, take some claritin right away and whatever pain releiver your MO recommends. Mine said Aleve/Motrin was fine for me.

wrenn - glad to hear things are moving the right direction!

schoolcounselor - So glad all went well with you too! Water is the best! My hair started falling out 2 weeks to the day of my treatment(this past Wed). As you can see above, buzz on Thursday full shave this weekend. I was surprised, but it was a relief last night after it was done.

Tipps04

lgkgde13 - I do have watery itchy eyes sometimes. MO indicated this was another SE. as with everything, some get it worse than others. MO recommended I not wear my contacts during treatment as this will only add to SE.

lgkgde13

tipps- yeah I haven't been wearingy contacts much but glasses.

I asked my MO about flushing twice etc and not having anyone else use same toilet and she said I didn't need to do that.

I do flush with lid down bc I heard that was just best to do all the time regardless of chemo

2timer

I'm over a week past my first infusion of AC and things have been going well as far as the SE's. I had a neulasta shot last Friday and I took claritan beforehand and I've no problems. I am working full time and feeling okay for the most part. However, this morning I started to experience pain in my back and upper legs, pain so bad that I couldn't lay comfortably. I took a couple ibuprofen (Onc said I could take them for pain) and it went away. About 5 hours later the pain came back and went away again after I took the ibuprofen. Is this a chemo SE? The pain is mainly in the joints in my midsection and it's about a 7 out of 10. There is no way I can stand this without meds. I want to add that I recently stopped drinking as much water as I had earlier ( I was drinking over 100 oz a day) so maybe I was diluting the chemo? I'm at a total loss figuring this out since SE's are supposed to be bad the first week and then get better. I had scans (MRI, PET, CT) earlier this month and all were clear. Thanks for any input.

TeamKim

Hi Sunnyca -- welcome to the OctoChemos -- lots of good I for here and tons of support. We are all different, so not sure anyone can answer your question for sure. My experience first treatment was I felt pretty crummy (fatigued and a couple of other SEs) for 10 days or so, then gradually better and week 3 felt pretty much normal. I had the stomach pains day 3 & 4, but controlled them with Motrin. Some of my fatigue was due to low white blood cell count, which improved once that was treated. This time (in fact in a couple hours) I am getting Neulasta shot to help with that. For mouth sores, rinse frequently (every couple hours) with a little salt and a little baking soda dissolved in warm water.

In the short run, don't suffer in silence -- call your MO on call or speak to the nurse at your MO and get their help so you can find relief. My advice is to keep a log of everything -- SEs, what you eat, when you take meds, etc. Take that to to your MO at follow up appointment -- adjustments can be made to help. Hang in there -- you can do it!

VintageGal1111

Ah Sunny we're all different...are you getting the Neulasta shot the day after? I think that is what has got me so bad. Hope tomorrow is a better day!

VintageGal1111

Congrats on the good scans 2timer.

I didn't realize how worried I was about the results of all mine til the MO said ALL CLEAR! Phew! :>)

VintageGal1111

2timer

your pain could very well be from the shot not the infusion. My MO pushed Tylenol til I finally convinced her I never take it because it doesn't agree with me. She said I could do Advil on a very limited basis.

The SEs are so varied for each of us huh?

All the best!

2timer

Talked to the MO's office and the nurse seems to agree that it's the neulasta. I was concerned because I got the shot a week ago and figured I would be past any SE's by now. Oh well, at least I too am allowed to take the ibubropen on a limited basis (it works) but she's pushing aleve.

travlmom

2timer - my bone pain from Neulasta hit on day 6 and was crippling the first time. This time I am being proactive and when dull pain starts I will take my pain meds. My dr. does not recommend any tylenol or advil to mask a possible fever.... He did say though that it can also be a symptom of coming off the steroid.

maltomlin

I'm sorry if I'm intruding but you are such a lovely bunch (supporting each other etc) & it is a comfort.

I'm nearly 6 years out now but remember those days so well. The neulasta shots?????

But I'm here to say that it is hard (really hard) but is so worth it. At the moment you just have the long slog of treatment, but you will soon be over that, recovering, and getting on with your lives.

Just take one day at a time and you'll soon be there.

x

flowergirl1

Lg I do have watery eyes also.  Mostly in the morning....

TeamKim

DebDylan -- what chemo regimen are you on?