Starting Chemo March 2016

Melgirl

I had my second AC on Thursday, day 14 so this is day 17 for me. My shedding started gradually a few days ago. In the shower this morning it looked like a small animal was curled up in the corner with me! It was kinda gross because the hair was stuck all over me and hard to get off. I have some bald spots in the back where my hair has been buzzed shorter. On top where it is long it is very thin. I just wish it would be over with already! Ugh

ksusan

BKGameGirl, my MO gave a Neulasta shot the morning after every TC treatment. My white counts never got bad (though they're low now, which we're monitoring).

PhillipsTL

Hey guys! My name is Tracie, I'm 34 years old and was diagnosed on Feb 17, 2016 with IDC Stage 2 grade 2, no lymph node involvement. Triple Positive. BRACA negative. I will be receiving THCP every 3 weeks, with Herceptin given every week in between for 6 cycles. I started chemo on March 17, 2016. I have a wonderful and supportive husband, 2 girls 12 and 8 and our little boy is 6. My first infusion went well. No real SE's as of yet other than insomnia and heartburn and I do have a somewhat sore throat which could be allergies, who knows? I've been reading through for a while and just decided to get on board of posting. We are an Army family and the hubs is getting ready for medical retirement at the end of the year. We are originally from GA but bought a house here in OK in October as we really like it here. I don't really know anyone here, however we are fortunate enough that my brother in law and sister in law have come to live with us and so we have that help. I would post more but it's hard doing it on my phone. Nice to meet all you lovely ladies

HRwinter16

I get neulasta automatically the next day too.

Hair falling out readily now. Day 14 on the dot!!

Planning to shave it Tuesday, if I can wait that long.

Nancy - thinking of you and hope you are feeling good

Hugs to everyone and good luck to anyone startingtomorrow

Welcome PhillipsTL!

Heidi

Xo

Phillipians4

PhillipsTL welcome. We are sorry you have to be here but please know we are here to support you. Ask anything. I also started my 1st treatment on the 17th.

I have a question for those who have already gotten thru their first couple weeks. What kind of medicine were you prescribed for pain? I have been having bone pain and was prescribed Hydrocodone with Acetaminophen. It seems to work the 1st couple of hours and then is back. Also the side effects from the medicine almost dont seem worth it if Ibuprofen and tylenol work just as well. I will check with my dr Monday but was curious what others are doing.

Thanks,

Annette

HRwinter16

I wasn't given anything for the pain and was kind of bummed. I had a few Percocet left from the surgery which have helped me sleep sometimes but no more left. So I'll just use Advil or Tylenol. They said anything except aspirin.

Italychick

Tracie, take something like Pepcid ac and probiotics like kefir, yogurt or probiotic drops.

Philippians, are you doing Claritin? I really think it helped me, I never got bone pain and I did Neulasta. Sometimes the pain is an inflammatory reaction, and Claritin is an anti inflammatory. And I think it can be taken in addition tomadvil or Tylenol or Aleve

Also, if you have a good relationship with your primary care physician, go and get additional pain meds and/or some Valium. My oncologist would not prescribe stuff, said for sleeping issues take melatonin, but my primary care doctor was much more sympathetic.

Hugs to all!

Loretta_J

UNM Cancer Center does not automatically give the Neulasta shot. I had blood work drawn 6 days out and my counts were low enough that they had me come in for one. The MO that I had seen when I was first diagnosed just gave it the day after treatment.

Loretta_J

UNM Cancer Center does not automatically give the Neulasta shot. I had blood work drawn 6 days out and my counts were low enough that they had me come in for one. The MO that I had seen when I was first diagnosed just gave it the day after treatment.

NancyHB

One SE of both Neulasta and the taxanes (Taxol, but more likely Taxotere) can be bone and joint pain. If Tylenol isn't helping and the pain is intense, don't hesitate to ask your MO for a prescription for pain meds. I had intense pain on dose-dense Taxol (part of a clinical trial in which one of the findings was that DD Taxol caused intense pain) and ended up on pain meds for a few days after each treatment. It's not ideal, but there's no reason we should be incapacitated by pain because of our treatment. We often feel we need to "push through" the pain when, in fact, we might need a little help.

My center gives Neulasta automatically, but my MO did say if my blood levels looked good after a couple of treatments we would discuss discontinuing it.

Finally shaved my head today:

Suchick

I'm finally getting back on here after my first round of TC 3/16. It's been a rough few days, but I am finally feeling better today. Should I expect the same SE's each time, or are they cumulative? I have a business trip on day 6 of my 2nd round, and now I'm wondering if I should postpone for a few days?? Any suggestions are welcome! I hope everyone is doing all right with their regimens

HolaSandy

welcome PhillipsTL, I spent about a year in GA several years ago. Specifically, Alpharetta. And I miss it dearly. I loved everything about it down there! I'm so sorry that you have to be here, but hopefully you find it helpful.

As for pain meds, I was not prescribed anything but I haven't had need for any as of yet. The FEC isn't too harsh but I was told to take Tylenol for basic aches and pains. I have found many doctors around here don't recommend Advil in general because of the risk for GI issues. Especially during chemo when you might be at risk for stomach upset already and increased risk for infection. If your pain is not well managed, as a couple others said just request something else from your PCP and they should be able to help!

Suchick

I'm finally getting back on here after my first round of TC 3/16. It's been a rough few days, but I am finally feeling better today. Should I expect the same SE's each time, or are they cumulative? I have a business trip on day 6 of my 2nd round, and now I'm wondering if I should postpone for a few days?? Any suggestions are welcome! I hope everyone is doing all right with their regimens

PhillipsTL

I have been taking Activia about a week pre diagnosis due to some gastric issues. I have not had any D or C, just seem to be normal at the moment. My MO does not want me taking any kind of pain reliever due to they can cause masking in a fever for infection. I receive the Neulasta shot the day after chemo and been taking Claritin, so far so good. I have not had to take any antinausea meds yet. What day post chemo was your worst days for those of you with a few treatments in? All 3 kids have softball and Tball practice this week. I have my Herceptin only treatments the next two Thursdays. How are the SE with just that infusion? Do you get premeds or anything for those? I will also have blood drawn Thursdsy as well to check my levels

ksusan

I asked for and received permission to keep taking Claritin for a few extra days--in part because of allergies, in part because of pain. It did the job.

Jonsey22

Nancy! You look awesome! It is nice to put the face with the name. Your skin is so nice too! I have turned back into a teenager. Ugh!

HolaSandy

yes, Nancy! You look great! I am getting pimples too, Candy! Including a nice painful one on the back of my head. Good thing I still have hair to hide it with. For now

Logang

My MO automatically gives the neulasta they day after every AC treatment. I will also get it after all 4 of my dose dense Taxol treatments. It makes me feel better to know my white count is getting a boost. Still working as a nurse is a little less worrisome this way. I took Claritan for 5 days after the neulasta and had no bone pain. My MO did not prescribe pain meds.

I am on day 10 of round one. So far, no hair loss. I am anxiously awaiting it. I don't want to buzz my hair until it starts. Seems like quite a few say day 14 is the day. Guess I'll find out. Round 2 is on Friday and I hope it goes smoothly with it being Easter weekend. Hoping to go to a large family Easter dinner on Saturday.

I have had issues with getting to sleep most of the week and have noticed a faster resting heart rate. I think it's a result of the AC. It always ran in the upper 50s to low 60s because I walk a lot. It now runs in the upper 70s. Anyone else notice this?

Teaner16

Hi sisters! I first posted a couple of weeks ago, but I've been so dang busy at work (I am a more-than-full time kitchen and bath designer and busy is a very good thing for my checkbook) that I've only had time to read and not write. But finally....here I am. I'm one of the few HER2+ chickies here -- glad to know there are others to learn from.

My name is Jean, I'm newly 65 (very thankful for Medicare and supplemental insurance which started right after I was diagnosed), married, 2 incredible adult kids, and I live in the Sacramento area but my heart belongs to Denver.

Tomorrow is Chemo#4 of 12 weekly Taxol and Herceptin treatments. SE's have been fairly minimal. NO nausea!!!! For three weeks (!) Big C made up for that big time, but I finally got it under control when my nurse at chemo last week said, "let's throw the book at it". So now in the mornings I do 2 Senekot-S, 1 Colace, and a refreshing Miralax. At night I do 1 Colace. Human again. Maybe too human.

My biggest concern is neuropathy. I had a bit of it in the toes of both feet before starting all this with no diagnosis of why I have it -- no diabetes (yay!), maybe sciatica, maybe neuromas, maybe sitting in front of a computer too much. With chemo the neuropathy is getting worse. I will definitely discuss this with my MO tomorrow but am hoping I can get some help here. My feet have more pins and needles. Sometimes it feels like there are spider webs on my lower legs. The bases of my toes and balls of my feet sometimes feel "numbish" like they are stuffed with cotton, but I can feel them when I touch them. My feet get cold easily. For the last few days, I've had areas of skin, particularly on my arms but also other areas, that sort of feel like they are sunburned. Sometimes even soft cotton clothes feel irritating. Hands are good but feel like they need more lotion. Any advise? Any success with Vitamin B6? L-glutamine? Vitamin E? Other? I have noticed that if I keep up my 3 mile speedwalking, the neuropathy seems to improve a little. HELP!

My hair started falling out last Monday -- day 14. On Wednesday I picked up my lovely wig (so I don't scare my clients). On Thursday I got my hair shaved down to 3/4" because I couldn't stand the mess -- talk about feeling like being covered in spider webs LOL, to say nothing of the bathroom floor! On Saturday I wore my lovely new wig...to rave reviews! Should have gotten one YEARS ago! Thank you Racquel Welch. On Saturday I bought a sticky lint roller -- wow, awesome. And that brings me to today. I went to REI and got a head cover that I think you need to know about -- it's a Buff Multifunctional Headwear, www.buffusa.com. It's basically a tube (there are different lengths) made out of CoolMax with 95% ultraviolet protection. Soft as can be, cool prints, no sense of having a hat on, breathable, and thin. Perfect for wearing outside but you still need to slather on the sunscreen on your ears and neck and everywhere else. I bought two of them on sale. Check it out.

OK. Off to the Decadron bottle to get ready for tomorrow's 3 1/2 hour chemo session. At least I'm getting used to it.

I hope everyone has a great week with big progress and few SE's.

ksusan

Buffs are great!

I was allowed B6 and glutamine, but not E. That did the trick (I do have diabetes, so I was grateful).

AndreaC

Hi all -

I just discovered this group...I am in the April 2015 chemo group. You all have been dealt a crummy hand but trust me, you will get through this.

I had a BMX March 26 of last year, then chemo (TCx4) and then 28 radiation treatments. It was a crappy year but I am on the other side now and my hair is coming back nicely, I am feeling great and life actually looks pretty good now.

Jonsey, I read in an early post that you're in Brandon - my mom was born there.

Good luck to you all!

Andrea

Phillipians4

So I have been taking Claritin each day and it does ease some of the pain but not all. I wonder how often one could take it? I know someone said above that the dose dense taxol can have the intense bone pain and that is exactly part of my regimen. My MO prescribed Hydrocodone with Acetaminphen every 6 hours and one Claritin a day. In addition, I can take ibuprofen alternately. If I take two of the Hydrodone I get REALLY tired and a bit woozy so won't be doing that again. I would rather deal with pain than any woozy feelings.any suggestions on talking to my MO or PCPfor something else?

phaila

last night it was miserable leg pain. I popped 2 Adviland got in the tub and soaked my legs in a magnesium bath (at 4:30 am) it worked and helped me to sleep for an extra hour 1/2...

Melgirl

No sleep at all last night. Everything hurts. Bones, muscles ,head. I had Neulasta as well and I take Claritin daily. I'm allergic to NSAID's so no ibuprofen.

Nancy you look great!

Hi Tracie. Sorry you have to be here but it is great support.

Jonsey22

Andrea- small world!

Teaner- thanks for the info o. buffs. I am a survivor fan and I spent most of last night trying to decide on a color!

Teaner16

Andrea -- thanks so much for your update! Very encouraging -- which we all need.

HolaSandy

Philippians,

I think Claritin is just a once daily dose so I'm not sure you would be able to increase that. As for Vicodin, we don't see that a lot in Canada where I work but I did look it up and from what I understand, you might be able to ask your dr to decrease the amount of time between doses. You might be able to take it every 4 hours rather than 6. Just talk to your MO or PCP and hopefully they can help you get your pain under control! There is no need to suffer with pain through all of this!!

Thank you for the update Andrea, it's so good to read positive outcomes!!!

Candy, I am also a survivor fan and finally caught up on the last few episodes! I might have to check out these buffs..

mmn1975

Melgirl, I think we're pretty much on the same schedule, and I'm feeling just about the same! I did forget Claritin on the way to work today (hurried out too fast, we've got a snowstorm). It's making for a long day so far!

I found that this 2nd AC round was harder- feeling the nausea more, taking Zofran and Compazine where before just the Dexamethasone worked. Still plagued by a chest cold, but fortunately did not delay my round, I just want this part DONE. I've been able to do the Neulasta patch, which is cool to avoid another trip after chemo to get a shot...

Hair started coming out in clumps day 15. My husband and I shaved it last night, and he loves the short hair. Today is day 1 with the wig. My coworkers are really good about it, and positive.

Looking forward to the end of the week to taste (and want to eat) food again

Melgirl

mmn, I'm so glad to know it's not just me. I was starting to think I may be getting sick. I had severe nausea with the first round, but adding Decadron this time really helped make it more tolerable. And the nausea seems to be getting better faster. But I did not have the aching and headache. And not really enough steroid to keep me awake usually.(I've been on more)

jbdayton

I had pretty severe bone pain round 1. My oncologist had me start the Claritin 2 days before the infusion and continue for 7 after. This did reduce the pain to a tolerable level with out additional pain meds. By round 4 of 6 it was quite manageable.