Starting Chemo February 2015

Paddymom

Thanks Mardea15, I will try honey. My daughter fixed some pudding which helped a lot. Day 4 I seem to be alternating between C and D. My body can't decide.

SugarCakes

the second time around for me has been more C than D, for me. First time was pretty much all D.

The other thing that seems to be lingering is this feeling of a mass of food just stuck in chest and I imagine that mass of food sometimes giving off funes into my throat. It doesn't hurt. It's just irritating and sometimes uncomfortable. I guess that's heartburn? But it's not like the heartburn or indigestion I have felt before. Actually, I don't know that I've had heartburn before. I have had gas and bloating. Things like gas X or toms have helped that, but is not helping this current feeling.

revup-65

Hello ladies, following a lot of you on other forums, I started chemo Thursday and got a big surprise. The chemo infusion went well but at 2 in the morning got the most intense intestinal cramps ever. Felt like food poisning, lasted 6 hours. Called nurse she said to take Zolfran, it would relax the bowles, I had no diarehaa. Well I got it again Sat at 10 twice as bad, lasted 4 hours now I am scared it will start tonight again. Anyone have this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

MaryJC

hi sugar cakes, ohhhh 🙊- not sure if imoji will post lol. But I guess didn't occur to me bec I'm always constipated due to high dose prednisone. I have to drink so much water n eat crazy ruffage. Plus I'm not a big carb eater. Mostly good fats n protein. But what you're describing sounds similar to the 'hard to describe' feeling I had. At first I was burping. Then food began to not make me feel well. Did my probiotics n that issue over thank God. Maybe try. It def won't hurt. Lots of studies on probiotics n cancer/chemo. This is the one I take below. Expensive as HAIL!

Biker- re your snoring n bikes, too cute lol.

MaryJC

hi Rev up65, I'm sorry you're not feeling well like me and sugarcakes, those weird gutsy stuff. I've had fp before n it can feel like being in labor! So I feel for you and understand how you've developed a phobia now. I'd still recommend probiotics even if you do it thru yogurt or a multi strand pill like my pic above. I can be extreme and took it with Stoney something yogurt. Lordt! It gave me the immediate shats💩! Too much probiotics lol. So I just take the pill with a spoon of reg yogurt lol. There other options. But also read enhances chemo effectiveness to. These were clinical studies. Tryna find the link. Hugs n feel better soon

PJfive

Hello Ladies.

 Sorry to hear so many having problems this weekend. I feel guilty because I actually haven't had any SE's except for a mild sore throat. Had a small dish of ice cream and haven't had any trouble since. I am however losing my taste buds and cold foods are the only thing I can really taste. Anybody else feel like they are just waiting for the bottom to fall out and they are going to  get hit with every SE in the book?

 Hope the new week has you all feeling better.

PJ

Jerseygirl927

got my neulista on Friday and the joints are starting, they tell me Claritin, but waiting till I can't stand it, in the meantime, had nausea indigestion and horrible headache, semi constipated cause I pass pebbles daily, with the help of prune juice. They want me to do hercepton protocol weekly in between every 3 weeks, so guess that is natural. Appetite down and having trouble getting the 6-8 glasses of water, not much fluid passing, so slightly worried kidneys not working good. In meantime, need to remember to breathe calmly, not short bursts and get short changed. Just not comfortable and if this is cumulative, I am scared. Trying to walk a bit around the house, to keep my body from getting weak. Any thought, I am being short and erratic, but was watching downtown abbey in between. Night all

Jerseygirl927

pj waiting for bottom to drop too, taste buds are going, but having been keeping the food Dow, eating avocados and hard boiled eggs, with garlic salt still a treat.

Beachbum1023

Mardea, have you tried Claritin for the bone pain? It usually works with Neulasta bone pain. I took it one hour before the injection, then the next 3 to 4 days.

Damselfly

So sorry for those of you with awful SE's today! I too was worried that I was going to get every one in the book, especially before I started treatment, but I have been relatively lucky and take every good day when I can. It worries me to hear about you that have different SEs with your second shot. But I guess I will keep working on not worrying.

As for raw foods I avoid most, but have some frozen grapes as so many have sworn by them and they can be a nice treat, especially when my mouth and throat feel yucky. I soaked them for a few minutes in water mixed with apple cider vinegar in an attempt to wash them, then rinsed them and stuck them in the freezer.

My mother in law used to get acid reflux to the point that the bottom of her esophagus got burned by the stomach acid (it is not prepared to take that acidity, which belongs in the stomach). I wonder if that is the source of the more extreme pain for some of you?

Mardea15

Beachbum1023, Thanks for asking. Oh, yes, I take both Claritin & Aleve proactively before my Neulasta shot & then continue every day for a week. It helps a lot! I can't imagine how much worse the bone pain would be without it & definitely would not wait until it gets bad first!. Even with that I usually have to take some additional pain med at least once on the 2nd or 3rd day after the shot. That usually gets me over the bone pain hump with significant improvement after that.

My tastebuds started getting affected again yesterday evening. Happened after 1st chemo but they came back. Also, other senses seemed amplified, like normal noises that don't usually bother me seemed loud & grating, & I could hardly stand the smell of someone else cooking food, & can't stand the smell of peanut butter. Anyone else noticing things like this?

I found some frozen organic yogurt bars at Costco & they are tasting really good right now!

Hope everyone gets relief from SEs today. For me, mornings are always better, so right now it's good! I'll take these good moments whenever they happen!

Mardea15

Revup-65, I, too, get pretty severe abdominal cramping after each chemo. For me, it's directly related to either constipation or diarrhea, whichever happens to be going on at the time, but more often with the big "C". I don't know if you or anyone else has tried this but it works for me: I use the panting / puffing breathing techniques used when in labor, & if continued long enough, it relaxes the bowel enough to get things moving without straining. That generally takes away the cramping & then I'm feeling SO much better. At 2nd chemo I also started using Senna-S (2) proactively on same day as chemo & continued for about 3 days depending on results. That also really helped getting rid of the big "C".

Hope you feel better today!

Darumama

I had my first treatment on Friday which was a bit of a marathon. I had to wait over an hour for the nurse to get copy of the surgeons report from the hospital so they could use my port for the chemo. I am also participating in a clinical trial of a time release anti nausea drug so the research team was there to to give me me that injection which had to be timed with the other meds just right. I felt fine during the infusion but 3-4 hours later it hit me. The nauseau drugs they gave me in the bags must have worn off, and the research drug might have been the placebo.

Sucked on ice chips during chemo drugs as advised by doc and so far no mouth issues. This has been a big worry for me since I have braces on my teeth. Got my Neulasta shot on Sunday since they wanted me to wait at least 24 hours from the end of chemo. Took a Claritin as advised by the doc and so far no bone pain. Don't know if was the Neulasta or the chemo but yesterday I was really out of it. Took lots of little naps. Today I'm feeling a little more aware. My big gripe so far is the queasiness. They did give me Zofran to take as a rescue medication in case the study drug didn't help me. I have been taking it as much as I can. When I see my doc on Wednesday I will ask for something better. I haven't actually been sick, but I sure feel nauseous a lot. The study is only for the first cycle of chemo so I'll be going back to the regular meds next time.

No D, but I can see C sneaking up on me if I don't take action. The problem with feeling queasy all the time is that I just tend to eat bread or crackers.

I'm also having a tough time getting all my fluids. I am a huge tea lover but they said they don't want me drinking the caffeinated stuff so that's been tough. I do have herbal teas but they are not my faves. I've been trying to dress up my water with some lemon slices and I guess that helps a little. I really like plain water but it has been really unappealing to me since chemo.

Next time I have chemo I'm going to bring frozen gummi bears. I read about it on some blog. I think they wouldn't cut up your mouth the way some other hard candies do.

I hope everyone's side effects clear soon!

Beachbum1023

Darumama, try to eat some Jell-O, it counts as a liquid. Also popsicles worked great for me. Chilled my mouth, and the flavors were appealing. Biotene works well, you may want to try that. I never had any mouth problems and I was AC/T also. Really cold water worked for me. I also drank 100% grape juice, small 8 ounce cups at a time. Apples, yogurt, mac and cheese, and toast worked for me. You could try some frozen grapes also. Good Luck!

Cher22

anyone experience a bad acne breakout? I'm one week out from first treatment and now my stomach feels better but i have a mouth sore (dr prescribed me magic mouthwash) and my face broke out over night like I'm 14 !

Beachbum1023

HI cher, I never had that problem but I had Cytoxan with Adriamycin. Would sucking on ice help during the infusion? I chugged water during the push, and kept drinking it all day to flush it out. Take Care

SugarCakes

I went to my Look Good, Feel Better session today. It was fun. I don't know that I needed the makeup tips but trying on and receiving makeup I don't normally wear was great. They really do give you a lot. The best part was a 15 year cancer survivor that demonstrated ideas for hats, scarves, and turbans. She showed us turbans made with an old tshirt and gave awesome ideas for dressing up beanies and hats with broaches and scrunchies. I in all my baldness was her model. It was nice being in a room full of ladies going through the some of the same things, though we did not speak of those things. Check it out if you haven't already.

Lookgoodfeelbetter.org

Jackbirdie

Brava Sugarcakes! Modeling now! Fantastic. I hope the lift you got stays with you for a long while

Beachbum1023

SugarCakes, I went to Look Good Feel Better and I had a great time, lots of fun and laughing. And the make up kit was great! I am glad you had fun. We need to find more fun things to do!

MaryJC

Cher, I had a breakout too! Not sure if bec I ate bunch sugar- which I normally dont eat or what. But after my surgery ( which was on my birthday) I had a bunch of birthday cake and same break out. So not sure if sugar or IV reaction.

Sugar Cakes that sounds awesome! Sounds like you're coping with hair loss well. I'm gonna check out that site. Need some ideas for my recently thinned bottom lashes. And I suppose I'm constipated bec I haven't pooped since I accidently gave myself the shitz with too much probiotics. So what does everyone do for Big C??

Beachbum1023

MaryJC, I took Sennokot-S starting the night after chemo. I drank 4 to 6 bottles of water a day, ate a lot of fruit, and tried to keep walking.

MaryJC

hey beach bum, well I drink a min of 96oz per day. That's 32oz short of a gallon and am a runner. I can't imagine what more I can do. I've used senekot before. It did work. I may buy some more. Thing is I eouldnt have even noticed. I don't 'feel' constipated. I just know I haven't gone. Think I'm gonna try a bunch of ruffage if I can find decent greens in this weather/season. It's nice to have a place we can share all theses ungraceful things lol!

MaryJC

was just in another thread reading about latisse. Anyone try and find success?

Beachbum1023

Hi MaryJC, I did not use it just because I was tired of paying for all of the OTC products etc. And I was pretty broke. LOL But my eyebrows fell out at the end of Taxol and were back pretty quick. Maybe 6 to 8 weeks total. I just used make up, and my wig has bangs. The eyelashes on the bottom are back, the top eyelashes are all back and very full. The bottom lashes came in first. So worth the wait for me.

Shelster

I will go for cycle 2 of TC tomorrow. I suffered with side effects for about eight days after first cycle but then turned the corner. For the last 10 days I have felt great and was able to fully enjoy my daughter's wedding on Saturday. I am grateful. I do have two questions for the group. Has anyone experienced blurry vision? I have tried gel eye drops with no improvement. Any other suggestions? I have also experienced three episodes of sudden onset severe joint/tendon pain. Not knowing what it was, I took Claritin and pain meds and went to bed. In the morning the pain was much improved or gone. The last of these episodes was on day 19 so I don't think it is related to Neulasta.. Has anyone experienced something is similar. How did you deal with it?

Thanks

Beachbum1023

Swbeason, I had AC/T but had blurry vision also. I had just gotten new glasses right before I started chemo. But I finished chemo on 11/25 and my vision is good, no blurry eyes! I did use drops for the dry eye also. I used Systane Ultra approved by my MO. But be patient, it took about 2 months to resolve. I would think if it goes longer than 60 to 90 days you may want to get it checked, but hopefully you won't have to.

I also had crushing pain in my left foot/toes during the AC. I was sent for X-rays since they thought I had stress fractures from the chemo. But the X-ray showed degenerating joints from the chemo. They gave me an ortho boot to wear, and it resolved after 2 to 3 weeks. I had Tylenol 3 with codeine for my feet. Take Care

Damselfly

I haven't experienced dry eyes with chemo but a long time ago I had an issue with dry eyes to the point where I couldn't even keep them open sometimes, and I got some gel to put in them at night. It comes in a little tube and I can't remember the name but there's a few different types. You stick it in your eyes before bed (thereby completely destroying your ability to see) and close your eyes to sleep, and it really does help with the dry eyes, at least it did for me. Nothing weird and chemical, so might be worth a try.

Chloesmom

MO says blurry eyes very common and usually go back to old prescription. I can actually see better without my glasses as I thought I was wearing my husbands since the prescription was so off! Ok close but can't read signs very well

Bikerbabe17

I've noticed some issues with my right eye only.  Since I had read about it on the DB, I was no concerned, but find my self using my readers a lot more.  I just had a student stop in to see me, and she is BC survivor herself, we had a lovely chat. 

Is it to soon for my scalp to start feeling funny/sore?

swbeason--have a pic of the mother and the bride you would like to share?  I'd love to see it

Beachbum1023

Bikerbabe, my scalp felt sore and a little tingly shortly after the first AC. I shaved my head and went to the wig before the second infusion. Good choice for me, I only have to wash and flat iron once a week. Nice when you are tired and feeling like yuck.

My vision was blurry during chemo but resolved in about 60 days. Good thing I had just got new glasses a month before chemo. Take care