Starting Chemo February 2009?

i took 2 rounded teaspoons of Glutamine 2 X a day.

 when i didn't take it, i noticed quite a bit more neuropathy.. i am pianist and am particularly concerned about hand function.

i had a pain script - tylenol and codeine (hydrocodone) it's very low dose and helped extremely. ... still stronger in a way than tylenol.. not sure how to explain it, but it seemed to work differently, masking all types of unpleasant sensations.  i also used my hands constantly.. 'saving' them seemed to make it hurt more. 

moisterizer worked well too.  during periods of greater neuropathy it felt like my hands and feet were hot and swollen..my skin would peel.   massage and aquaphor seemed to help.. (socks over aquaphor at nite)

i noticed the neuropapathy mostly on days 1 to 4  - lots and lots of water and liquidsalso seemed to help... my hands would feel all tingly when i needed a drink.

good luck

Lisa810 ~ No, my onc says there won't be any scans unless bloodwork looks wonky and/or I have symptoms.  It makes me feel wierd to not have scans, but he says bloodwork is just as reliable as scans.  Sounds odd and not very reasurring to me, but oh well.  Hey, the nail on my left big toe is just now lifting, too!  Wierd!

xpectmiracles ~ It seems that your body doesn't want you to work so much just now.  Can you do as Michele suggests and work shorter shifts? 

Kerry ~ maybe it is a male vs female thing.  I told my husband that even though I'm happy to be dancing with NED, I think I'll always be waiting for the big C to jump out and grab me again.  He said he wouldn't feel that way, that if they said he was clear he'd take their word and not worry about it anymore.  I'm glad you like my sig, lol. 

Denali ~ The CO meetup and the quilting class sound wonderful.  Have a great time at both events!

Hugs to all,
Artemis

Behind a couple of pages again!!  Webby - so nice to hear from you.

Denali - wished I lived in CO, I would meet up with you.  I am going to the TaTa get together in Vegas at the end of September.  I saw the thread in the Breast Reconstruction forum but they said that it was ok for me to go even though I only had a lumpectomy   If any of you are interested, check out the thread - it should be a blast and it is always cheap to fly into Vegas.

I tried to go to church today, lasted most of the meeting but had to leave.  My eyes hurt so bad in fluorescent lighting that I get a major headache.  Just one of those nasty SE's of chemo that we have to deal with.  I swear you put poison in your body to get rid of cancer and yet.....it messes up all other areas of your body at the same time.

I totally agree with Chemo Brain being a lifetime problem!  Ok.....so my short term memory has improved but I use it for anything that I might forget and nobody gets mad at me.

Artemis - I am with you on the scans!  I want a total body scan every 6 months to make sure that the cancer hasn't returned but they won't do that.  Blood work is great for checking out the liver though along with the kidney's, etc.  I never got a full body scan, just a bone scan and a breast mri but I did ask about my liver and they said it was functioning without any problem and they would be able to tell if something was wrong by the blood work.

I don't know why but my hubby asked me to not dye my hair until he got back.  Huh????  He doesn't have to worry, I am going to let it get longer before I put a semi-permanent dye in it.  He has been trying to talk me into just letting it go - even though it is gray.

I did get some colored mousse from Sally's - Roux FanciFull and it works!!!  I got the Hidden Honey color.  You can sweat in it, sleep with it in your hair and no worries!!  I was concerned that I might end up with colored sweat on the back of my neck.

I will check back in later! 

jancie ~ thanks for mentioning Fanciful mousse!  I used that years ago, but had forgotten about it!  Oooo, maybe I can get to the Sally store tomorrow.  I want to get my gray covered so that I can see just how much hair I actually have!

Hi Furies,

Michele  Thank you again for the info on the meningioma.  My appointment with the neurosurgeon is tomorrow at 10 am.  I have written down your suggestions for questions and my best friend is going with me--I'm a bit nervous and don't want to miss anything, so she'll be a real help.  Tomorrow is also my LAST chemo, and just in time.  My neuropathy really kicked up this week and has spread into my hands, so I'm counting down the hours until my port is accessed (7 months ago I would not have believed that comment).

Judy, The cookie dough was great...I took what I managed to bake into cookies to work and they disappeared  instantly!

Oh--this is part I  of this post.  Will finish in a bit. 

I want to see Webby's new hairdo!  You must post a picture!

Kerry~ I think you are right that I am starting to feel a little better each day and it is a place and time that I do not want to go back to   My surgery is Wednesday at 12:30 and I know my DH will tell me that my laptop has to stay at home so no one will steal it.  I am going to be bored out of my mind if I am not sleeping.  TV has less and less of an appeal these days.  I am supposed to be in for 2 days but my Dr. said I might be able to get out in one.  I just hope I do not get a roomate who snores. 

Webbie~ You can't talk about your hair do without pictures.  We want to see it  

Gramof3~ I think it's wonderful that your friend is going with you today. 

Jancie~ My DH asked me not to dye my hair either to let it be.  I dyed it well I tried but it didn't work...lol....twice..loll  I am impatient.  BTW, this is from the same man who was giving my noogies last night. 

Okay off to take my daughter to vacation bible school...I thought I was going to be taking 2 of them and I was going to get 3 hours to myself but my son is running a fever and has a tuffy nose according to him. 

Hi all! We are on the road to MI. Judy, we'll be in Bloomfield Hills by tonight and will be staying there 'til Thurs or Fri. Hope we can hitch up! PM me with your phone number if you want to try to get together!



I called my boss today and cut back to 8 hour days. Thanks for all your feedback. I think this is the right decision.

Hi all! We are on the road to MI. Judy, we'll be in Bloomfield Hills by tonight and will be staying there 'til Thurs or Fri. Hope we can hitch up! PM me with your phone number if you want to try to get together!



I called my boss today and cut back to 8 hour days. Thanks for all your feedback. I think this is the right decision.

Okay + note from me today I did it!!!   I went without any head covering to drop my daughter off at vacation bible school.  I got to see a ton of people that I know from school that haven't seen me without a hat, or hair piece and I felt fine.  The only odd look I got was from my daughters sweet best friend and she looked up at me with a very puzzled look on her face.  She never said a word but I think she was trying to figure out who I was .  I meet my goal, I told myself that I would be hatless by next Monday so 11 weeks PFC and I went topless.

Oh I forgot to also mention besides going topless I got hit on today while sporting my crew cut.  It maybe a sympathy thing but it still made me laugh.

i've felt so good today.. so energetic.

then i figured out i forgot to take my pill ..

oops.

hope everyone is fine.

that doesn't sound all that bad Gramof3. not bad at all. 90% is great!



my surrogate Grandma we called Gram.. I never had a real Grandmother. I loved her to pieces.

Helen - tried to "friend" you on facebook, but there are about 10 Helen Barnetts! Am guessing you are the one with the headscarf and 3 kids, but wanted to check first....! Glad all went well yesterday, Brain Dr sounds as though he knows his stuff. Yah!!!! for being all done chemo.

 Jaimie - well done for going topless. Really, the first time is the hardest. AND you got hit on, so you must look hot! I don't really even think about it now, only when I catch sight of myself!! Hope you get relaxed today, I know you will be stressed and nervous.

Hope everyone is doing well. I am having major anxiety over two appointments I have next week - Breast Surgeon and Onc.  Just worried they are going to find something. Guess that is our life now. Anyhow, have a great day. We are off to a Childrens Theatre, a production of Little Red Riding hood. Should be fun!

Hi guys!  Finally have a minute to check in here.  Had a stressful day yesterday.....we're dog-sitting my DD's large, insane, needs-doggie-valium dog.....he jumped the fence, I jumped the fence.....he's really fast it turns out... All I could think was how upset she'd be if I lost her dog....(last time I dog-sat for my sister's shitzu, he got out and was hit by a car....that kept running through my mind).  We did catch him, thank god.  But now have to keep him on a leash, it's a shame, he was so enjoying the freedom of my backyard.

Apple:  that story was awesome, I like your writing style....I took a course in Expository writing a few years ago, we focused on Personal narrative....my teacher would have loved your writing and your story!  I hope you have more stories to share....

Cheryl:  I didn't forget about you, it's just been a crazy week for me.  You're probably here in MI now, so I will send you a PM.  I was thinking about you yesterday, I was out in West Bloomfield with my DD for her doctor appt....I think you said your in-laws are in Bloomfield, right?

Helen:  glad you liked the cookies, and that some of them actually made it into your oven, lol!!!  The news from your doc sounds good, I'm very happy to hear that he/she thinks it is B9, that's awesome!  CONGRATS on finishing your chemo, YAY!!!!

Webbie:  I was just thinking this morning about scans/bloodwork after tx....I knew my doc isn't going to do scans, but just realized that my first follow up appt is tomorrow and there are no blood tests scheduled (they always do bloodwork prior to appts).  I will have to ask about that.

Jaimie:  wow, you guys going topless....are awesome....I haven't done it yet, just around the house.  My family keeps telling me I could do it now, I have lots of hair, but I just want a bit more length first.  That's funny that you mention that you were 'hit on'....I went to the bar Sat. night, DH's band was playing in a Battle of the 3 Piece Bands show....anyway, a group of youngens came in, it was a Bachelor party, they barely looked 21....I was getting 'hit on' by one of them, and was thinking in my head that if I took off my wig, that would scare him off!!! 

Kerry:  It does seem like the hair grows in, and then just stops or slows down on growing any sort of length, doesn't it?

Well, I'm off to do laundry, clean, all that fun stuff. 

Judy