Starting Chemo March 2015

eheinrich

Awww - thanks Katy!

SueH58

Eileen - that sounds AWESOME? What's your PhD in again?

Theresa - my doctors don't believe in extensive scans. I'll be getting mammograms and most likely MRIs, but no PET/Bone scans unless symptoms suggest. Also, no blood markers due to so many variables for false positives.

Such extremes in protocol!!!

eheinrich

My PhD is in Molecular & Cellular Pathology. All of my work has been in cancer.

IndyGal35

I'm feeling like a bit of a wimp here. I'm 6 days post-bmx with a SNLB on the right, and I'm still awfully sore. I'm trying to wean off of the Tramadol, but my sternum and armpit areas are giving me a lot of discomfort. I'm still draining about 40 mL on each side daily. Is that about average?

I know everyone is different, but is there a timeline when most of you were able to manage pain with Tylenol instead of the heavy hitters? I'm tapering an hour at a time for a few doses then slowly tapering another hour. No fun

Carrie37

Lee, I haven't had surgery yet but a friend told me that she weaned off narcotics after two weeks post op. Your not a wimp! When I do have surgery I will stay on the drugs until I am comfortable without. Are you having side effects that are bothering you? Go easy on yourself. Gentle hugs your way!

Jackbirdie

Lee- sorry you are still in pain. Everybody is different ( this is a recording...) but you've been through a MAJOR MAJOR surgery. Two weeks is nothing. You must listen to your body and not fight with it. It's not up to your brain or your will when it will stop hurting.

It has been said to me many times that your body cannot heal and fight pain at the same time. Further, if you allow pain "to get ahead of you" it takes more meds to control the situation than if you'd just stayed on a schedule.

This goes against the grain of many who are not accustomed to taking meds on an everyday basis in their life, so it's hard to adjust mentally to this temporary need.

Try to be kind to yourself. Try to tell yourself what you would tell a friend or loved one who you saw was in great pain. You'd tell them "take the meds", right?

Your drainage sounds about normal. I had a great difference from surgery on between the one side and the other. One drain came out first, at a little over two weeks, then a week after that, the other.

I think you are doing great. Please just be patient with yourself and realize you can't "WILL" it away. It takes however long it takes.

Hugs coming your way. And pharmaceutical grade mojo.

Katy

Jackbirdie

lee- another thing. Keep in mind Tylenol can be very hard on the liver. And it has no anti- inflammatory properties. You can supplement with Advil, which does, and I assume you are @inflamed@, rather than taking Tylenol on top of the Vicodin, which already has Tylenol in it.

Edit: Lee I just realized you are not taking Vicodin, you are on Tramadol. Sorry. But my advisory comments re: Tylenol stand.I'll never let that stuff cross my lips again.

IndyGal35

Well, that makes me feel better. I have a long history of pain pill addiction in my family, so I'm always asking, "OK, how bad is it really?" I try to avoid that stuff like the plague.


I had a reaction to the narcotic, so they switched me to Tramadol and extra strength Tylenol. I'm also taking Valium for spasms, but I don't think the relief is as good as I had on the Percocet. My On-Q pump also came out over the weekend, so I think that allowed some extra pain to hit me.

I'm probably too tough on myself. It makes me feel better knowing that 6 days isn't supposed to give me a full recovery. I'll have to swallow my pride, I think - literally!
❤️

Jackbirdie

Lee- I think you are very wise to take the family history into account....and awareness and self-examination will go a long way towards self- preservation. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of progress over the next week. We are all pulling for you.

eheinrich

Lee cut yourself some slack. This surgery is a big deal. Healing takes time. Give yourself that time.

ksusan

Lee, if it's still decreasing pain and not making you feel extra good (like a recreational drug), your body is still using it for pain control.

SueH58

Yes, to Ksusan's point, I was told that if you take narcotics for pain, you will not become addicted. Somehow, your body must know the difference.

Eileen - how do I say this without sounding patronizing....you're so smart! What a fascinating field. And your unfortunate personal experience must add to your credentials and personal interest.

Bekah - my dad now has pink eye in his other eye. I read that it is most contagious before symptoms show, so now I'm concerned that he may have passed it along to my brother. I'm thinking not smart to be exposed to them at this time even though it's confined to the eye and not systemic. What are your thoughts, oh wise one?

shaz101

Eileen, my fingers are crossed for you on both the job and surgery fronts. Nothing seems to just flow easily sometimes. I hope the calendar gods align.

rads 2 complete. All good so far. I know its very early but I'm planning on getting through this phase smoothly.

Katy as always, you are such generous and beautifu person. Thank you for your support and understanding . It really is the turning point for me. Just knowing that you understand and have such empathy has helped to lift me out of my hole. Hopefully I'm back for good, I've never suffered from depression before. Ive only witnessed it, and i just didnt know what to do. Now i know, i just needed a friend to hold my hand.

slothabouttown

Lee, I took my pain meds exactly on time every time for about 10 days post each surgery. I had a right side mastectomy and then when they decided to do lymph node dissection I went ahead and had a left side mastectomy ten days after my first surgery (I had a lumpectomy on that side during the first surgery.) Anyway, that's all confusing but between the two surgeries I was on oxycodone for about 21 days straight. I had to taper off of it and I felt it a little bit, mostly I would get emotional and had a couple of teary outbursts but over the course of a week of tapering I was good to go. In hindsight I would do it the same way again. It was great to have the pain meds, they helped me sleep and just be comfortable during recovery. I have a family history of addiction too but i agree with Susan, it's much different if you need it.

ksusan

Pain is much easier to prevent than to manage once substance P is active in the body. This is why the recommendation is to take pain medications as scheduled rather than waiting until pain starts.

shaz101

nope...still no hair. Lol at least it's easy to maintain

ninjamary

Eileen - Hope you get the job. Need more survivors out there working in the field!

Trvler

I have had a few surgeries in the past and I have found that sometimes there is a point where the pain diminishes a lot. When I had my tonsillectomy (as an adult), I took painkillers every time I could for 2 solid weeks and then no longer needed them all of a sudden. Don't suffer, Lee.

Trvler

Sharon: I hope it goes smoothly for you. You deserve some easy time.

Trvler

I have Taxol #8 today. Woohoo. 4 more to go seems so light at the end of the chemo tunnel. Daughter up all night throwing up so I have to find someone to come and stay with her while I go.

KBeee

Allison, Aloxi and decadron infusing as I type for # 8..... yahoo!!!!!!!! I had some port issues for the first time ever today. That needs to not become a regular occurance.

Lee, I hope you rest and let yourself recover... hoping the pain eases.

Eileen, Hoping you get that job!!!!!

Carrie37

I just want to show someone my nails. What do you think? Will they fall off? Otherwise feeling pretty good. Last Taxol infusion on Thursday! Best wishes to those in the chair, doing rads, recovering, etc.

Leighrh

Allison and Karen... YEAH for # 8!!!! I am jealous ... I have 8 more to go..... # 5 on Thursday! Do ya'll find that the SE's get a little worse as you go? Last time my worst day was Saturday and it had been on Sunday... and also last weekend I just felt really emotional, down in the dumps kinda feeling that I got a lot on AC. That feeling where you can't stop looking at the internet and blogs if people who didn't survive BC.... yeah, it was kinda a bad weekend... LOL. I thought that Taxol was going pretty good until this last one now I am dreading getting up in the higher #'s.

ksusan

Good luck, KBeee!

Carrie, maybe or maybe not. Keep the nails short and moisturized, and try not to snag them on anything. Some of my toenails are bruised like that, but have hung on.

BBwithBC45

Carrie, my fingernails survived fine, but one of my big toenails turned dark and bruised. I'm keeping it short and I usually have a band-aid around that toe. So far it's hanging in there.

Jackbirdie

Allison and Karen- thinking of you in the chair today- thinking of you both today. Hoping for minimal SEs and Allison, hope your daughter feels better soon.


Leigh- so sorry about the downer this weekend. I know we all go there from time to time, even though we know we shouldn't. I hope you feel better today and you have some sun and see something special that makes you smile. Hug coming your way.

Trvler

So far, the SE's haven't changed much on Taxol for me at all. I have noticed some lightheadedness, had some minor bone pain in the beginning but that seems to be gone. Had some tingling on #6. That's mostly gone, but still get it a bit.

Yeah, Kbee!! 8 down, 4 to go!! I was thinking about you today.

Kid still sick. My sister and her husband have the same thing. In fact, they all 3 started throwing up around 3 am. I will call it the 3 am Bug. Hope she feels better so I can give her something to drink. I worry she will get dehydrated.

Jackbirdie

My brother and SIL are coming from Philly end of week. So excited! Meantime her mother sent me a garden hat. I really needed it!

ninjamary

Allison and Kbee - congrats on getting #8 done. You're 3/4 of the way there!

Leigh - I've found that it takes me longer to recover after each Taxol. In the beginning I thought this shit is great and easy. Now the SE are lasting until Monday (I infuse on Thursdays) The SE aren't nearly as bad as AC, so I shouldn't complain too much but it takes me awhile to feel normal (whatever that is).

I've noticed that my blood counts are slowly hitting bottom. No need for blood transfusions or being kicked out of the infusion room...yet. I'm staying away from the gym for the time being so I'm not exposed to public germs. Trust me ...some people never wipe down the equipment. I can't walk outside because the heat and humidity on the East Coast is brutal right now and it zaps what little energy I have.

IndyGal35

Thanks again for cheering me on. The doc is putting me in a steroid for the rash, and she's also putting me back on Percocet for pain. The PS inflated each TE with over 200mL of fluid during surgery, so she said my muscles are extra extended. They can remove fluid on Thursday if I'm still not getting relief.

Also, I got my path back today. My original tumor was 5 cm with two satellite rumors that were 2-3 cm each. The total size was around 8cm X 8cm. The pathology report says that there was no residual cancer in my right breast, no cancer in my 3 lymph node samples, and no evidence of cancer in the left breast. As big as that thing was and after missing my last chemo, I still achieved a PCR! That's nothing short of miraculous in my opinion. I'm hurting much less now, and I'm a very happy girl this afternoon!

Hugs to all for every kind thought and prayer. I truly need and appreciate each of you more than I can express.