November Rads 2009

I am so itchy!!!

I'm afraid that it's a precursor to peeling. Anyone have any suggestions to get rid of the itch without scratchig? I just put my aloe in the fridge. I think the cold will help. I also remember as a kid with chicken pox, that my mom put wet oatmeal in a sock to help with the itching. I may try that too if I get really desperate.

Thanks Sparrow! I'll try anything! I don't want to peel.

gjlanders, oh no!  You drove yourself with a broken ankle?    I hope it wasn't your driving foot! Feel better!

I just took my own advice and tried the ACV on a washcloth thing (I didn't dilute it).  I'm not itchy yet but I'm starting to tan and the whole area is sore, especially my underarm.   I'm not sure if it was the ACV specifically or just the fact that it was cold from the refrigerator, but it really helped!

Debnyc, I am so itchy too.  My doc said I could use Cortaid or something like that but I don't think I have any in the medicine cabinet.  I'll have to run out tomorrow.

Gjlanders, sorry about your ankle!  That's no fun!  I hope you feel better.

Scans were clear, thank goodness!  Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers.  What a relief!

Niknak0320 - Congratulatoins on finishing your boosts!! I had my second of 7 today.   5 more boosts and I'm done with radiation!

 Did you feel any differently after the boosts?  I don't know if its psychosomatic -- but I haven't felt so good these past two days.

 Good luck mom2acat.

Sparrow -- I haven't felt goofy, but I have definitely been easily distracted.

I'm so tired.  All I want to do is hibernate.  Unfortunately, responsibilities don't allow for that.  I'll be done before I get a chance to just stay in bed and rest! lol

(((Niknak))))  hang in there!!!  How many txs do you have left?  You have been through so much, no wonder your memory is hazy!  

I was on Zoloft for about two years in the 90s.  It made me feel emotionally 'flat' with no sex drive.  My PCP put me on Lexapro this spring and it really helps with day-to-day anxiety and depression.  I really like it, I felt completely 'normal' again until DX when I was also given Klonopin and Xanax to help with panic attacks.  I am doing much better now and haven't needed anything for panic this week.

Antidepressants affect everyone differently.   What doesn't work for me might be good for you and vice versa.  I'm with Amy, a psychiatrist can help find the right meds.  Mine has been a lifesaver!  Good luck!

I spoke with my rad onc yesterday.  As usual she asked me if I was having any problems.  I told her about my tiredness, dizziness and loss of appetite.  As usual she said it couldn't possibly be the rads causing any of this and she asked me if I had been 'on the internet again'.     If it's not a skin problem directly within the rads field she seems to be unable or unwilling to do anything about it.  A simple acknowledgement that I'm having problems might help...  It seems like she thinks I'm making this stuff up.  It's so frustrating!

She said the tiredness might be from the rads...  MIGHT BE?    She didn't give me any suggestions about what to do about it.  She just said, Well, that goes with the territory.'  I guess I'll have to go 'on the internet' for that info.  Hehe, at least I didn't tell her I felt goofy.  That might have sent her over the edge.   

gjlanders, you are tough!    Have a great time in Athens, that sounds so wonderful!

I only have 10 more to go!    However, my last session will fall on 12/24 and the rad center won't be open that day.    I mentioned that to my tech today and she said to ask my doctor and maybe she can do something about it so I won't have to come back 1 more time after Xmas.

What can they do?  Turn up the juice a little so I can skip the last one?  Does anybody know? 

KQuigley - I can't say that I felt any different necessarily with the boost treatments - I have been tired since week 3 (?) but I don't feel any more or less tired.  I went back to the regular treatments yesterday...peeling in more spots - expecting to blister there on the new skin   I have 5 more!

Amy - thank you for your suggestions!  I will look into seeing a psychiatrist   Luckily I have an open access insurance plan so I won't need a referral.  My husband was taking Lexapro last year but he stopped because he said he couldn't get an erection on it!  Although I have sisters and aunts who swear by it and never had a problem with sex drive.

Sparrow - your RO sounds a little nuts LOL!  Fatigue is most definitely a side effect of rads!  And as I've said before, I'm having similar issues to what you are experiencing with the non rads field side effects.  What did your rads office do the week of Thanksgiving?  Mine was open the Sunday before so that we wouldn't miss a treatment...perhaps they plan to do something like this for you.  If not, by the time you reach that point you may really need the break of a 3-4 day weekend to let your skin heal. 

gjlanders - have a GREAT time in Athens!

Lauren - how are you hanging in there this week?  Are you having skin break down (peeling, blistering)?

I still have not found the walmart bag.  I'm convinced now that it must have fallen out of my truck at some point.  Oh well.

Are any of you guys on facebook?  I'd love to keep up with you all even after we're through with rads!  You can find me by searching "Nikki Gallagher Stevenson"

Deb, sorry you're having a bad day.  They have been drawing on me every day with sharpies before my treatments.  I get zapped on both sides and they line up the tattoo (just a tiny dot) between my breasts, then draw dotted lines to "mark the field" or something like that.  It comes off easily with baby oil.  They did warn me not to scrub the skin.  Now I'm finished with the regular treatments and getting the boosts.  For that, they drew an X on each one and put a clear sticker over it to show where to aim.  Took a little longer to set up the first day, but now it's really quick.  Just five to go--I am so ready to be finished!

Becky

Just checking in. I hope all you ladies are doing well and taking care of yourselves!

I''ve got 7 more tx's to go, but have been put on hold for a full week because my skin has broken down so bad (under arm and along mastectomy surgical line). My under arm looks like a badly burned marshmellow. My rad onc prescribed Sulfa Silverdiazine cream with instructions to debride the area with a mixture of 50% hydrogen peroxide and water using a gauze or cotton pad before applying the cream 3 times a day. Dead, black skin just rolls off on the cotton pads and it is gross! My entire left chest is itchy and the "new" underlying skin "stings" when anything touches it. The sulfa cream does nothing to ease the pain and itching and I'm not supposed to use any other remedy like Aloe while on this regeime. Vicodin helps me sleep at night.

I return Monday, but my rad onco will not be in until Tuesday so I have a feeling I won't be able to resume treatments until he checks me out. Another day lost...sigh. I just want to get this over with. I have no idea how my skin will react when tx's start again.  I dread the thoughts of doing 1 or 2 tx's then laying off for 3 or 4 days then doing 1 or 2 more until the process is completed.

I also thought I had done my last "double duty day" (Herceptin in Tampa in the morning and rads back home the same afternoon), but now it looks like I will have to pull the hat trick off one more time because my next Herceptin is scheduled 12/22. I don't know how much this 67 (68 next month) year old body can take.

 Thanks for letting me vent.

Oh Swampy, that's awful!    I hope the days off help.  I know it's frustrating when you just want to get this over with!

All right, Lauren!!!       I'm doing the happy dance for you!   

FB here I come!

Deb - they use sharpies to mark over my tats too...and I can't feel it either but I have seen them doing it.  Hang in there, use this weekend to relax and take a mental break   That's terrible that they have you guys waiting so long!  I hope they get their shit together so things move along faster next week!

Becky - good luck with your boosts!  Mine were much faster than the normal rads.

Swampy - that sounds horrible   I'm so sorry you're having this reaction.  Can they switch to doing your boosts now to give that skin a break like they did for me so that you don't miss any days?

Sparrow - yes, hurry and join us on FB

Granny - Congrats on being done!  I hope your skin makes a fast recovery

I have FOUR more to do next week and then I am d-o-n-e <doing the happy dance>  Who else still has to do recon?  My DIEP is scheduled for July 5th!  I can't wait to have cleavage again!  Oh guess what?  I had a bit of a memory this morning about that bag that I lost...tore my closet apart and FOUND it   I took the valium last night instead of my ambien and I woke up two times in the middle of the night...I wasn't very happy about that...but I'm not happy with the spotty memory I get the morning after ambien either <shrug>  I guess I'll be starting tamoxifen in just over a week also...can't wait for those side effects!  How are you guys doing with your period?  I delivered a baby on June 1st, had 4-5 weeks of post partum bleeding, I thought I was starting my period in the middle of July when I started chemo but it was only one day and I've had absolutely NOTHING since <another shrug>

I've been on tamoxifen a little over 2 months. I didn't have chemo. So far, my periods have gotten lighter and are now 25 days apart. I've had some hot/warm flashes and they seem to appear right before my period comes. Same with night sweats. I've also had vivid dreams since beginning tamoxifen and an eye twtich that comes and goes. These aren't listed as side effects but they appeared when I started popping the pill. So far, the side effects haven't been anything I was expecting and I've actually lost about 5 pounds on it.

Brrrrrrrrr. Another really cold day here. Debating going to the gym or staying on the couch. BTW, I found that it's most comfortable to wear a lightweight, tight cotton shirt under my sports bra so that the seams and straps don't rub and chafe my skin. I also apply aquafor under it all. So I don't look like a total fool, I put a long sleeved shirt or thermal over it all.