Starting Chemo March 2015

Jackbirdie

Allison- glad to see/hear you. Was beginning to worry. Nice you got out, and got taken to dinner. Important thing is you were able to take advantage of the few good days. Before the next. Which is....Tuesday?

WPMoon, I know you are in the chair tomorrow. Here's an early delivery of mojo. Enjoy your day today if you can and know your sisters are with you tomorrow.

Trvler

lol. Glad he is not normally a total dick.

My husband does a lot around the house because he is naturally high energy (lucky) and he thinks if he does that, he doesn't have to do anything else, which is my gripe. I could hire a maid to do that stuff…I like that he his helpful but sometimes I need some emotional stuff which is VERY hard for him. He just pretends negative stuff is nonexistent. And I agree. I KNOW stuff is going on with him. We need to be there for each other.

Italychick

Carrie, just a suggestion. Smart water has electrolytes, and those are important when dealing with diarrhea. I think they sell it at Costco and at SAMs club by the case, way cheaper. Electrolyte replacement is important during diarrhea.

SueH58

OK, gardeners. So is it OK to be outside, digging in the dirty dirt and in the sun??????

Jackbirdie

Sue- gardener here.

You must be very very careful about handling dirt, I've been told.

Please wear gloves at all times while weeding, digging, and planting.

As soon as you come in from the garden, use antibacterial hand washing to clear all, including particular attention under your nails.

I "up" my tea tree oil treatments to my nail beds and under my fingernails every time I come in from the garden. Then, coconut oil.

I now have blisters (they don't really hurt) on almost all of my fingertips and thumbs where skin is peeling so I'm trying to be extra careful. But it's so beautiful here I can't make myself stay out of the garden!

PS- make sure to cover your head and wear sun block!

greenae

Katy

As always, thank you for listening and understanding. I wish you were closer. I think you could be my shrink! !

To all, i am hoping SEs are settling down and everyone can enjoy the weekend. My number 3 is later this week, i am almost at my halfway mark. I hope all of our nasty cells are dropping like flies.

Hugs

Arlene

slothabouttown

I just came in from gardening here in Oregon. I hate wearing gloves but i made myself wear then for most of my weeding today. I could tell I was much slower in general than this time last year. The "new me" seems to like to wake up at the butt crack of dawn and is pretty strong out of the gate but by about 3 pm I'm dragging. I've never been a morning person so I'm considering this another side effect. I think Katy's right, we should get out in the fresh air if we can, we just have to cover up and slather up with all kinds of protectants. Now, since I'm back on the fatigue wagon, it's time to treat myself to my new favorite-San Pellegrino limonata. It tastes better on chemo than it ever did before- and I like to pretend it's a faux mimosa.

Happy Sunday everyone! Oh and did we celebrate turning another calendar page and moving through April and on to May??! The March group marches on....booya!!

Jackbirdie

Arlene- I wish we were closer too. Haha about the shrink thing. I've had lots of time on the couch over the years. It's nice to know some of it is paying off now as I do have some tools in my tool belt for dealing with some, not all, aspects of the shit sandwich.

I'm having the eye twitching thing like crazy last couple of days and ridiculous back spasms. No idea if it's chemo, Neulasta, or otherwise unrelated. It hurts like H and had to come in from my gardening and get on the ice pack and .....more meds....ugh.

Sloth- so thrilled for you that you got out in the garden today! It is a lovely Oregon day everywhere it seems. Here are two pics of my very first clematis blooms. Not open all the way yet and don't mind the chicken wire. We won't see it once everything fills in. But it keeps some critters out and gives the many climbers something to grab onto when they're small. My garden is very small, so I'm all about height.

SueH58

Katy, I know you have a BEAUTIFUL garden (and dog)! Thanks for your advice. I'm afraid to do anything for fear of ramifications (sun, antioxidants, swimming). By the time I'm comfortable I'll be done (I hope ).

eheinrich

I picked cherry tomatoes, cukes and zucchini from my garden today! I was away for a few days and couldn't wait to see what was ready! We had a very nice weekend in Napa. It was with Alan's work so they arranged wine seminars and other fun things. I'm glad it was this weekend - I'm feeling pretty good but am back in the chair on Tuesday. I wore scarves over the weekend but want to get some do rags. I got one for free from a group on some site where they give you free stuff for having cancer (it was something like breastcancerfreebies.com) but it's far too big. I'm checking Amazon in a second.

Hang in there ladies!

wpmoon

Katy - thank you for thinking of me and sending mojo! I went out for a nice a hike with a friend after my blood draw this morning, and we went to lunch and vegged out after. Now it's time for a nap before I pack my chemo bag and make sure I'm all set for the morning.

Ugh. Do I have to go?

Carrie37

Does anyone else have weird stuff happening with their eyes? My eyes seem to constantly water. When I wake in the morning my eyes are "crusty." Not like pink eye but more like too much "sleep" in my eyes. Does that even make sense? The watering of the eyes is annoying. Just wondering if anyone has something similar?

Jackbirdie

Eileen! Tomatoes already? So jealous! Glad you enjoyed and are now home safe. Rest up and enjoy what you can the next couple of days. I'm scheduled for the spa on Thursday, #4 of 6. Will be 2/3 done. As Sloth said:Boo-Ya!

WP- I know you don't wanna. But you gotta. Lean on us. I'll be listening. Trolling in fact. Just for you, if you want to check in.

Jackbirdie

Carrie- one of my most annoying, though not terribly serious SEs is very dry eyes. I keep drops by my bed (which aren't even cutting it so I just switched to a gel I can use at night which is supposed to work better) and have a lot of crust too. So although not the same thing, it's not at all surprising that we are dry, watery, twitchy, double vision-y, and don't forget you had a big cry driving home last night and I always get a bit crusty after that. Sorry to bring up a sore subject though. I think it's better to use drops when you are trying to clean it all up, so you're eyes are lubricated while you are rubbing. You shouldn't rub them but I always do. It can cause corneal abrasions when you're dry. It's the one place I DON'T put the coconut oil.,

I'm really going to miss it when I don't have the personal freedom I've given myself to buy whatever the fuck I want or need to make chemo more tolerable. You all know me. I've pushed that program to the limit! Hah

SueH58

Carrie, I think I read in my literature that a side effect of Cytoxin is sensitivity to light and watery eyes.

Sue

SueH58

Has anyone heard anything from Sharon? She's been MIA for so long. I hope she's not (back) in the hospital with her migraines.

Jackbirdie

About Sharon- took the worry right out of my head. It's been over a week since we've heard anything. So worried. Poor thing. I miss her

eheinrich

I have very watery eyes - esp in the AM. Also a twitch in my left eye.

avmom

Hello, all. I'm just checking in after my first dose dense Taxol on Thursday. Had my Neulasta shot on Friday and overall, my nausea level is WAY down. I'm very relieved at that, and my mouth doesn't seem quite as funky. On the negative side, my legs and feet are really painful. I have a couple of loose toenails that aren't very comfortable, and wheneverI stand or walk it feels like I'm balancing on two very badly sprained ankles. I accidentally stubbed my big toe on Friday, and it is still sore, and every joint in my feet and lower legs is on fire. It has increased all day, and now my knees are affected as well. I've had some bone pain before after the Neulasta shot, but nothing even remotely like this. I don't even know what to take, or ask for.

I do have an appointment with my PCP tomorrow. My temp spiked yesterday just above the cutoff temperature (I do body temp in Celsius, and the cutoff is 38 degrees. I don't remember what that is in Fahrenheit, but it is likely 100 point something.). I had been sitting on my trusty heating pad, so I waited half an hour and took my temp again, and it was back down to just above normal, so I skipped a trip to the hospital.

Any suggestions for such painful toes, feet, ankles and knees? All I have at home right now is OTCs.

Theresa, you and I have what sounds like identical hair loss. However, today, my eyebrows have started to fall out quite dramatically. My left eyebrow was a bit itchy, and when I scratched it, about a dozen eyebrow hairs came out at once. Good thing my wig has bangs!

Jackbirdie

Avmom- so sorry that sounds like awful pain.

I think if it gets too bad you should call your MO on call. Or in the morning if you can get through the night.

I would try some ibuprofen (Advil) or something like that which would act on inflammation and pain, and try to hydrate the heck out of the chemo and get it flushed out if your system. I would avoid Tylenol because it doesn't work as an anti-inflammatory.,however, you could alternate between them if you feel Tylenol works better for you. I don't like it so I stick with Advil, or Aleve.,I'm not sure what you have in Canada that's comparable.

I know it's not much of a suggestion but it's all I got at the moment.

Hugs and mojo coming your way. Please keep us posted.

Beachbum1023

Hi avmom, I finished DD Taxol on 11/25 and the bone pain was extremely harsh. I tried Claritin as suggested by the MO but no help at all for the pain. I switched to Tylenol #3 with codeine and it was somewhat better. By the last and 8th injection of Neulasta I refused it, and only took 1/2 the dose and no issues. By then I didn't care! I hope it gets better for you ASAP.

On a good note, I got my first haircut on Wednesday!! It actually looks like a planned haircut and style. And my eyebrows and eye lashes are all back for about 10 weeks now. So it will happen, it's just slow. The only nail issues I have left are my two big toe nails. They are about half grown in. Slow but growing. I take Biotin to help the process and get it growing again. Your day will come too! Cheryl

wpmoon

Carrie, I haven't had watery eyes (just crying .. A LOT) but I have noticed the crusties you mention. Like triple the normal eye sleepiness. I just wipe it out, then I'm fine. No dryness either.

As we've said before, chemo: the gift that keeps on giving!

As for the bone pain, I've tried Advil and Tylenol. Not much has helped. Finally resorted to my norco which isn't necessarily helping with the pain, just makes me not care about it much.

avmom

Thanks, Katy. I generally have a high pain threshold - comes from years of psoriasis on my hands, which can be quite excruciating. This is pretty bad, though. Even with my legs raised, I'm basically sitting here whimpering. I do have Aleve, and will take some and try to get through the night. My appointment with my regular doc is at nine, and I'm confident that she will either suggest something, or else we can contact the SE triage number, and they will come up with something. If that fails, the MO at the satellite clinic where I get infusions after the first one in each cycle (I have to go to the "main" cancer clinic for the first infusion, just to make sure that they can take care of me if I ave a bad reaction, but for sessions 2, 3 and four I go to a small satellite centre that is much closer, and is very small. There is one nurse, and one MO, who always comes by to see me, prescription pad in hand. She has kept me sane by making sure I have enough anti nausea meds. I'm not going to get anything tonightthat I don't already have at home. It's a 2 hour drive to the hospital in the city, and 45 minutes to the rural hospital.

Thanks for being here.

Italychick

Avmom, eek on the eyebrows! Mine appear to be a little thinner, but supposedly they will really be impacted for me at round 5. I have been trying not to rub, or pull mascara off my eyelashes. I have one eyelash area where a couple of lashes came out, and I don't think they are growing back in. Eyelashes I guess can be camouflaged a bit with eyeliner, but eyebrows are another thing. Somebody posted about a product using some kind of wax where you build a layer and it looks like eyebrows, so if I get to that point, I will be at the makeup counter seeing what I can do. I may try false eyelashes, but I seem to react to glue, so not sure if that will work. Still have my concentration camp hair on my head, and it seems to be longer, but I don't notice anything coming back in.

For joint pain, did you try taking the Claritin? Just a thought

avmom

Thanks, Cheryl and wpmoon.

avmom

Hi Theresa. I did try Claritin after Neulasta, but it had zero effect. I, too have concentration camp hair, and my eyebrows have been thinning a bit, until today. My eyebrows are quite fair anyway, and I have been using an eyebrow pencil for years. If they go completely, I'm thinking of trying temporary tattoos. Think kid semipermanent tattoos, but for your eyebrows. I haven't tried any yet, but I think they are called beauti-full-brows. I haven't looked for a while, cuz my brows have been hanging on, but if I lose much more, I'll be googling again to find something. I quit using mascara a while ago - I still have some eyelashes, but not many, so I just use eyeliner. I had chemo #5 on Thursday.

If I would just lose the fuzz on my head, I'd be tempted to do an elaborate henna pattern on my head, but I think the thin haze of fuzz would ruin the effect

molly1976

My hairdresser has naturally very sparse eyebrows and she uses henna on hers - she has very dark hair and her henna eyebrows are also dark and look totally natural! I had no idea. She told me to come see her when/if mine finally go and she will help me apply it. Supposedly it lasts for weeks.

wpmoon

I'm exhausted. A combination of the steroids and being anxious about today's infusion left me with a lack of sleep, despite taking a norco before bed. Hoping I can get a little more shut eye before the doctors. And grateful it's an early appt so I can come home and sleep after. At least, that's the plan. The exhaustion and fatigue seem to just keep building with every infusion.

IndyGal35

Sending love, Whitney! I totally get the fatigue, restlessness, and utter dread. Hang in there. You'll be 2/3 done after today! I'm right behind you next Tuesday...

Italychick

me too, 2/3rds done after Wednesday. Pretty nervous about this infusion, but then again, I get nervous before every infusion. Good luck wpmoon in the chair today