Starting Chemo, November 2013 Group

wallymama

Thanks to all that replied to the BMX question. I wouldn't possibly be a candidate for the DIEP or any other 'natural' type. An appendectomy, perforated diverticuli, and the 4 ventral hernias just fixed with mesh on Aug 1 would prevent any of that.

inks- warnings about breastfeeding after surgery? Matches the warning my DH got about not being able to father children after his vasectomy. But I'm sure someone, somewhere, didn't know these things might be related.

Paulette- Happy Birthday! Go out, have fun, forget for one night that anything is wrong.

Pat- Glad you're feeling better. Had to re-read that one to be sure I got it right the first time. Gave me a nice chuckle.

Actually had a few hours out with the hubby where I didn't think non stop about the big ugly. Maybe soon it won't be the last thing I think of at night and the first in the morning.

KBeee

Neutrophils can be reported as whole or decimal, so you may see them reported as 1,000 or 1.0.

0.50 is equivalent to 500, 1.5 is equivalent to 1,500 etc.

1141 is 1.141

6300 is 6.3

NorthwindsGS

Hello Ladies,

I am wondering if any of you have run a fever after Chemo treatment? Day after was fine, yesterday was feeling nausea and tired . Today have been in bed all day and running low grade fever. I received the Neulasta shot Thursday after noon and symptoms have gone downhill since......

TY

Pam

inks

Northwinds - I did not get a fever. But I did do AC and Neulasta, my instructions told to call the hospital if fever is higher than 100.5. I did feel relatively fine the first two days, but days 3 and 4 were the hardest but nothing more than a general icky and tired feeling, I did keep laying down a lot. Call the hospital if your temp is higher than 100.5. I hope you will feel better soon!

SpecialK

inks - exactly - it is a roll of the dice in terms of having things go smoothly with no issues, or having things go very wrong!

Gina-B

I had my first TC Thursday and so far so good. The meds seem to be working for me as far as V/N goes. The neulasta shot is causing my hips and lower back to ache I think, or it could just be from laying around so much, my body isn't used to this!

Did anyone else get night sweats? I wake up just drenched in sweat, so gross. My exercise is changing the sheets and washing everything to make sure hubby doesn't touch this crap.

Happy birthday, Paulette, hope you had a good birthday dinner!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that my next treatment goes this way, for those of you who have completed #2, did it mimic #1 or worse/better?

I dread the hair loss, I see where a lot of you lost it 14 days in, looks like I will be there soon. I told my 4 yr old I was going to lose my hair and she burst out laughing then told me she would think I am pretty anyway. We'll see if she is right. My 2 yr old just knows mommies hair will fall out like leaves on the trees so hopefully seeing me bald won't scare them too much!

Melrosemelrose

Gina-B - Night sweats...... just another wonderful side effect of chemo since it is does play havac on your hormones.  Yes, I used to get those which signalled that I was going in to "chemo-pause".  I had one period the weekend after my 1st round of Cytoxan/Taxotere and haven't had any since then.  I do continue to have these "hot flashes" now post chemo but there are tolerable.  In fact, I now call them my " not so hot" hot flashes.   You may want to find some sports t-shirts with some wicking action.  I know that Soma sells pjs with this wicking action but they may be a little pricey. I keep a insulated mug filled with ice and water near my bedside so I can try to cool myself off quickly.  I've also been known to stand in front of an open freezer so i can feel the cold blast.  As for you losing your hair, you will find a way for you to handle this.  It sounds like your young children are ready to accept the temporary change.  I can tell you that there is nothing more comforting than having someone come touch and rub your head when there hair is gone.

Bec65

Happy birthday, Paulette!

GinaB, #2 was the same for me for the most part. The yucky pond scum feeling on my tongue seemed to come on sooner, but it started feeling/tasting back to normal sooner also. I got a killer hangover headache from the Zofran/Decadron the evening of day 6 that lasted a good 12 hours, and that didn't happen with #1. That's probably the only big difference.

NorthwindsGS, I did get a fever day 6 of my first treatment. It got to 100.5 in the evening, and I thought that since at that time of day I was going to have to call the ER, I'd wait and check it in another hour. Thank goodness it went back down to 99.5 within 45 minutes (probably the Neulasta helped?). When I reported this to my nurse practitioner at my next appointment, he said that definitely was not a normal side effect, that I had caught something and thankfully was able to fight it off. He said that if it ever happens again I should call in about any fever in during the day, just so they know what's going on, and definitely call no matter what if it reaches 100.5.

My daughter is coming home from college today for Thanksgiving...woo hoo!

smrlvr

happy birthday, Paulette!

I finally feel more like myself 6 days after first AC, but now imam dreading the next one because I know how I will feel. To make it worse, my next AC is on my wedding anniversary. I am getting really anxious about losing my hair. I know it will happen within the week and my girls will be home from college for thanksgiving which will make this so much more real for them. I love my hair and I want to stay in my house until it grows back! I know that is ridiculous, but is how I feel now. I do have a wig, but it is not me.

NorthwindsGS

Happy Birthday Paulette!

Fever is gone today, felt like I could actually eat something so hubby made me pizza rolls and a orange soda for breakfast when he stopped home from deer hunting. I usually avoid junk food but am thinking there is no excuse like chemo to slack off a bit on the diet.

Plan to get my hair cut into a pixie style tomorrow. Am thinking I should color it pink for the cause,lol. If i can figure out how I will post a picture for you all. Was going to shave it with our horse clippers but now am backing out of that. My son and hubby were all ready to due the honors of shaving it though!

Amazonwarrior

Does anyone here take any supplements / vitamins while on CT?

I am currently taking vitamin D, B6, B12, Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium as well as Acidophilus.

Is anyone on MGN-3?

I hear that it can really help with SE.

I finally got my haircut yesterday (a pixie cut). My son seemed to like it. However, when he was feeling the back of my head he started to giggle. I guess he found the feel of my hair a bit strange.

My husband said that I look 'lovely'. Then he added later that I look like a pigeon. So perhaps, I look now like a 'lovely pigeon'!

ellenkc

I got a good example of why it is important to check with the oncologist about supplements. Just before chemo, my lab work showed that my red blood cells were marginally below the lowest recommended level. So I started taking some Iron complex that was already around the house. It included things I would consider harmless, like Vitamin C. I mentioned the supplement to my oncologist's nurse, and she came back with a warning from the doctor not to take too much Vitamin C while on chemo -- and to watch out for Iron exacerbating the constipation of chemo.

As with all things we put into ourselves, nothing is completely harmless.

Ellen

SpecialK

ellen - Vitamin C is added to many iron supplements because it helps your body absorb the iron, but it is an antioxidant that potentially interferes with the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. Not enough is known about whether it hinders or benefits, so most oncs prefer that you not take it. Iron is also constipating - not bad if, like me, the Big D is a constant during chemo, but for many the Big C is a problem! Your point is excellent - tell your onc about everything you take, whether by prescription or OTC, including Tylenol. Many chemo drugs are filtered through the liver and Tylenol (acetaminophen) is also hard on the liver. Things that seem harmless can accumulate.

lisa137

Starting chemo (DD A/C) tomorrow. Hoping I'll be one of those who "breezes through it," and afraid I'll be one of those who has every possible problem and complication, and then some. So I've decided I'll be content if I wind up somewhere in between those,and asked my husband to remind me that I said that when I'm miserable and bitching about it.

Answering late on the "why I chose a BMX" question, but for me, I didn't even pause to think about it, and my husband didn't pause before agreeing with me. We'd just gone thru that whirlwind (and you all know what I mean) of my ob/gyn sending me for a new mammo and ultrasound, and then to a surgeon, followed by an MRI, a core needle biopsy, another MRI guided biopsy on the other breast, all in the space of about two or three weeks, and when we finally sat down with the surgeon and he said that the right breast was benign but "awfully suspicious for future activity," and that the left breast did, indeed, show cancer, we were already sick of all this. The surgeon said that I had several options--of course we didn't know about my nodes at that point--and that while he would not push me toward any of those options, he certainly would "not recommend against" a BMX. I looked at my husband, he looked at me, and almost in unison, we said "Take them both, and as soon as possible."

I think we both just knew that we didn't want to deal with the cancer in the left breast and THEN have to deal with worrying and biopsying and testing and stressing out about the right breast AGAIN, and who knows how many times, in the future. We chose to just remove THAT source of stress from our lives. The idea that we'd deal with it once, only to maybe have to deal with the whole thing again somewhere down the road was a giant "Nope" for us.

Once the decision was made, the surgeon DID say he thought I was making the right choice, and not one but two oncologists have agreed with that since then. So I'm good with it. Still good with my decision to not have reconstruction, too, really, though I certainly understand why I'm in the minority with that one--but my husband is 100% supportive and in agreement with that decision, as well, so that helps. Says he actually thinks I'm kinda cute this way lol. Silly man.

VirginiaNJ

best wishes to you tomorrow Lisa! Very well said RE the bmx decision!!! I too had a suspicious left breast that would have required further examination had I not decided for mast.... Was a no brainer for me as well.

Wishing you few SE's!!!!

wallymama

Hey Lisa, I'm starting tomorrow too. Just the A C though. Four rounds of it then three of taxotere. Actually looking forward to it since this will be the first thing to be done about the big ugly. Surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy will come after the chemo for me. Mass way too big to go the other way. Still wonder how on earth I could have missed it. I know last year's mammogram missed it. I'm more than ready to get this party started. Been drinking lots of water today, have bag with snacks, a book, cross stitch project, mints, etc. packed up. A water bottle in the freezer. Got a small trash can and bags for it in case I get sick. Extra bathroom wipes, paper hand towels so I don't have to share with hubby. Thanks to everyone for all the info. So much I wouldn't have had a clue about if I hadn't stumbled across this site. I'm ready for the fun to start

ellenkc

Anybody else have stubble on the head that seems to be sticking around? My hair wasn't all that long to start with, got a couple of cuts, then when it was coming out in clumps, got it shaved with an electric razor. That left a layer of stubble that I figured would also fall out but make less of a mess. The stubble is kind of patchy (though hard to tell, as my hair was mostly gray/white) but there is a pretty good amount of it. My hair has always been fine but thick; when I got haircuts, we always joked that the floor looked like a lamb had been shorn.

So here I am almost a week past my second chemo infusion, and still just as much stubble. In fact, I think it may be growing. It is kind of annoying, particularly when a hat moves against the grain.

I guess the alternative is to shave it with a hand razor. But I am curious whether it will all fall out eventually, and also thinking that if this hair wants to stick around, I shouldn't mess with it.

Would love to hear if anyone else is in the same boat. -- Ellen

Melrosemelrose

Ellenkc- I would just leave the stubble alone and see what that chemo does.  In short, a self experiment to see exactly what that chemo regimen may or may not do.  I know some have taken to using duct tape to remove the stubble.  If you are finding the stubble bothersome when you put your head on your pillow, try using a polyster satin pillow case.  For some reason, the hair stubs do not get caught in the fabric weave as they do with a regular cotton pillowcase.  To answer your question about whether the hair can continue to grow, the answer is yes.  I know that first hand since what little hair I had left after the my second round of chemo stayed and grew longer.  If you decide to shave your head, please be careful.  You just don't want to nick your scalp.

inks

wallymama - I'm hoping that you will not need your trashcan to puke in.

My hair is supposed to fall out on Wednesday, so I'm wondering if I will still have dandruff? Actually I think my dandruff got worse with the first chemo.

NorthwindsGS

Best wishes to Lisa and Wallymama tomorrow!

Will be thinking of you!

wrenn

i am wide awake from my pre chemo steroids i have taken two ativan half mg tabs but don't feel sleep coming on. The ativan is working well enough that i don't mind not sleeping and am less anxious about what to expect for the first treatment. I am a bit worried about vein access. The person drawing my pre chemo blood had trouble so i hope i get lucky.

Good luck to everyone else stepping up to the plate tomorrow

Paulette23

hi wrenn!!!! I'm up too!!! here we go! byebye HAIR! At least I got my birthday wish!!! went out ti eat! Did my hair! dressed up! nice nite!!! yesterday felt like junk, tired, enjoying my leftovers. ....now at 2am hair fallinh like leaves!!!! at least it waited till my Bday over!!!

Paulette23

grrrr duplicating again! praying peace and rest for u! AND GREAT access tommarrow!

Paulette23

lisa & wallymomma! In my prayers!!!

Paulette23

anyone having nose bleeds?

Paulette23

I'm gonna take a shower! was one more time for today I prepare to become a Christmas ornament!!! lol!!! At least its a fun time of year where I can play with a blank canvas! hope yall are well!

Paulette23

Goodness since 2am I feel like fall....! unreal....! well..I guess yoday is the day!!!!!'

joanmj58

I start TC treatments in December. Why six treatments as opposed to four? What's the difference? Thanks!

Paulette23

Good Morning LOVELY LADIES!!!!!

Well...so much for having a nite a sleep!

First off thankyou THANKYOU.....THANKYOU>>>>>>>so ooooooo very much for the birthday Happies! I feel LOVED!!!!!!

I had a great birthday! I was a bit concerned because everyone says DONT eat what you LOVE because youll hate it later! Since I have had only queezies....and one barf episode I decieded to take a chance and go to one of my favorite! Carrabbas!.mmmmmmmmmmm......Not only was the food yummy...though like my normal I cant eat much at a time...the left overs have been delightful!!! The mgr ended up giving me a free dinner to boot! My hubby says I used the BC card....but actually we had met the mgr when I first was dx. We had no clue how things were gonna go at that point but believe in Gods touch...as does he! He LOVES helping people...and you can see it when he is running around the restaurant, jumping on chairs to take pictures for people to celebrate their life events!. I true lover of people...lets his SPIRIT SHINE!

PAT~ Happy to see you are home!!!! Hope you are feeling better....it is like prison stuck in those rooms! We need to have an area for those of us who get "locked up" to have a way of getting special "I LOVE YOU'S!! sent to uplift!!!

Lisa & Wallymomma....I'm praying for a fantastice outcome today w/NOOOOOO complications!

INKS....you and I I think started chemo the same day.....well....mine started falling like christmas tree needles at about 2am last night....I cannot believe how fast it is going. My netherland still is standing strong!!!lol...

I was one of those who decieded not to cut my hair ahead of time. I'll just take it as it comes and figures when it starts.....like NOW...I'll just shave it off!. I asked me daughter if the grandkids want to skype and play along! The boys wanted to shave theirs too....so it could be comical!. My hubby said he is gonna too....no THAT will be funny! He has NOOOO chin....he will look like beeker on the muppetts!

Ellen KC Ya...my MO said no supplements except normal vitamins...and ck them all out with them. Sometimes like you said we think its 'ok' but it could hinder our treatments!

Special K....thanks for all your support and inisght!!

Melrose....again thanks for the info!

Northwinds (pam) Im glad your fever went....I pray it stays gone! I laughed at your horse clipper note!.....like I said...my chemo started on 13 nov and now all at once....it's falling like an old christmas tree! I am AMAZED how much comes out at once!

Gina.....sorry for your ouchies! Funny about the night sweats....I was having them HORRIBLE when I was dx w/the BC....was perimenopausal prior to this thing popping up in my boob....then apparently went THRU menopause like....BLAM...I had a hyst in 1995 but still had my ovaries...apparently the tumor fast forwarded things....because since I had the lumpectomy...no more hot flashes or night sweats. I had gotten REALLY BAD....to the point that I was soaking wet at night or couldnt go anywhere without extra deodorant and powder in my bag!!! I felt like I had run a marathon just putting my makeup on!

smrlvr Happy Annv! I hope it goes GREAT! When did you start chemo again? wasnt when I did?

Bec65 Glad you have your daughter home!

Hey Amazon!

Wren...hope you got some sleep..!!

Joan....ya at a point the numbers are just numbers! I was 8 of 9 ll/lll onco 25 2.1cm 1st sur...took .up to 3cm total w/2nd....the size and super growth puts us all in chemo land!

Lissy...hope you enjoyed the LGFG class!

Veronica....I guess you go today! Let us know how you like it!! I go dec 4 I think~!

eatdesssert!...How you are doing well!!....

I hope I got everyone that I read! I havent slept more than 20 min at a time the past 24 hours........started having nose bleeds yesterday..guess its the low platelet count. and then the massive HAIR DEPARTURE!. Just getting ready to decorate for Christmas!hmmm...how should I decorate to begin with!....of course...I GOTTA have BLING!!!!

I still feel like I've been run over by a freight train! Spent most of the day ...nodding off...then WILD dreams because of the antibiotics...then up after 20 minutes...This too shall pass...!

Hoping EVERYONE has a fantastic day!

Again...thanks for all the wonderful birthday wishes! It was good! At least my hair waited a day before it decieded to come out full force!

T're!!!!.

audra67

Paulette23!

Happy Birthday and wow about your hair! I am one day behind you and waiting for the fall...

I actually haven't shaved my legs this whole time as I don't have electric razor yet and they are long and gross. wondering if they will stay and head hair fall..wouldn't that be weird?

You sound VERY energetic...I am up in night but never get up...try to go back to sleep as much as I can...

Have a good day chemo girls ! Praying all will go will Wrenn...