Taxotere/Cytoxan starting February 2012.

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  • AEM47
    AEM47 Member Posts: 297
    edited March 2012

    Can you guys tell me how to put my treatment dates in so they show up?

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  • Ca7tko
    Ca7tko Member Posts: 2
    edited March 2012

    Hi ladies :) well I'm about to hit day 6 post treatment and I feel great. It's crazy. I was a little tired yesterday so I skipped the gym but otherwise I feel great-about at 95%. I had slight aching in my pelvis from the Neulasta shot but I took Claritin and it was fine. The only things I've noticed are the yucky metallic taste in my mouth and a MAJOR break out-like woke up with 5 zits!!!! Ive had some hives too but that's it. All in all I'm so thankful this is all I'm dealing with. But I wonder I'd this will have a cumulative affect and I'll feel crappier each time. Well 1 down 3 to go & my hair (for now haha) take care ladies!!!!!! I hope you are all feeling ok!!!

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  • NikkEliz
    NikkEliz Member Posts: 38
    edited March 2012

    Hi everyone!

    I'm current on day 8 after treatment number 2,  and had a great day today. Tiny bit of pain still lingering from the Neulasta shot (I'm going to try the Claritin next time as I hadn't heard of it before, and the pain got so bad I'm on Tylenol with Codine which I do not like, but luckily, today I didn't have to take any!). And now no more needles for 2 weeks! Yay! People keep saying 'you must be used to needles by now' but oh how they are wrong. I HATE them! haha

    On the hair loss front, on day 11 I noticed my hair starting to fall out quite a bit, and I had already decided that for me, it would be much more emotional to watch it fall out than to not have it at all. I decided that instead of letting the chemo take my hair, I'd get rid of it myself! So on day 12 (my 27th bday) I had people over, we all took shots cutting my hair, made a big photoshoot out of it. Had tons of fun! Then went to a hair dreser to get it buzzed as short as they could buzz it, but ended up with a funky mohawk for the night, and then got it buzzed to a 0 the next day. Not only did it feel great and was it fun, I actually kinda like the way I look with no hair! Since then the little buzzed bits have been falling out and last night my head got so itchy with all the little bits that I shaved it right off so now I'm REALLY bald. It feels sooooo much better and still looks cool. I find wearing funky earing (big dangly ones especially) detracts from the 'alieness' of the bald head and makes it seem like a fashion statement. hehe. I also have never been much of a make-up person before this, but after going to a look good feel better (which I HIGHLY reccomend) I decided that with no hair especially I'd take time to put it on everyday (at least if I'm leaving the house) and it too helps raise my self esteem a lot. I have never really thought of myself as all that pretty, but I must say, stripping away the hair really allows you to look at and amire your own beauty (I kinda feel a bit vain saying that but honestly, it's not something I've ever felt before and everything that makes me feel good right now is something worth sharing).  And now that I don't have to take time to wash/dry/style my hair, I have time for the full make-up!

    I have also found it fun to accesorize the bald head with just headbands with big flowers or interesting details on them too. I can post pics of what I mean if anyone wants to see.

    Hope everyone had a good SE free night and has a good sleep! 

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  • firstcall
    firstcall Member Posts: 499
    edited March 2012

    so....my hair is scheduled to go any day now.   Ear rings and make up.....hm...  I think I'll pass on that one.  

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  • kat2nich
    kat2nich Member Posts: 11
    edited March 2012

    Hello everybody.  Well, my 1 tx went well, slept thru most of it.  Worst reaction is hives in my hands.  I think I will ice my hands during my next treatment.  Dr said he will probably increase the steroids, yuck!

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  • shera
    shera Member Posts: 184
    edited March 2012
    first call lmao! a bald head on a guy might not turn heads, but maybe with earrings and make-up....

    NikkiEliz ... you are taking this in such stride! At age 27!! Thankyou for sharing. I read there are semi-permanant eyebrow tattoos that look really good. Im planning on checking it out since its much harder to hide a bald face. Keep sharing your great spirit... its uplifting!

    Ulightup Happy Birthday! We are the same age. Wishing you lots of good laughter-medicine!

    Thanks everyone for your well-wishes regarding my 1st infusion yesterday. Happy to say it was uneventful. Some burning sensations at port site at first... which lessened.

    SE now are mostly persistant headache, dry eyes, sore neck muscles.

    kat2nich -- good news about your light se's. I dont like all the steroids either... but am feeling like they are my friend right now.

    Neli You're in my thoughts! Hoping for your quick recovery from these bad se's!!! Hopefully face and tooth infection are related and fixing one will take care of the other. May you be back home soon
    (((hugsss)))

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  • lmlola59
    lmlola59 Member Posts: 146
    edited March 2012

    Morning,

    Nell hope you are feeling better and hope you get to be home soon.Also note on the Rozerem there is also a OTC called Nighttime that is a Melatonin that I used last night that worked well for me.Not sure if the dosage is the same but this is 1.5G.

    NikkEliz loved your post and fantastic how you are dealing with this at such a young age.I also went to the Look good Feel better and found it a good experience meeting the woman who have already lost their hair and how they were doing.Also walked out with a bag of very nice makeup.I am not a fan of my profile and am wondering if I can live with never turning sideways Ha Ha

    Kim48 thanks for the tip I was lucky to not have any heartburn last night but I will keep this in mind if I do.

    Kat2nich great to see you first TC went well and SE's so far are light.

    first call some times we forget being women that bald is bald and if it is not the natural you it is hard , but one advantage you have is it will grow long enough to look natural again in a shorter amount of time after treatment. But if you do decide to try the earrings and make please post I know we could always use a good chuckle.

    U-fighter love the new picture and inspiring to hear that your  experience with the public was better than you probably thought it would be. You and your 2 friends really rock.

    AME47 go to the top and click on your name ,click edit and post at the bottom on your signature line.Make sure you save and it should show up from then on.

    Great day to all

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  • ColdenMom
    ColdenMom Member Posts: 114
    edited March 2012

    Neli - my hope is that you are getting better at the hospital hour by hour. I feel so bad that you ended up with so many SE! Keep your chin up... We'll be here for you to scream, vent or just say Hi! Thinking of you!



    Shera, I am glad your treatment went well yesterday with no allergic reaction! I felt slight burning too my last infusion but like yours it dissipated.



    Bonnie - so happy to hear that you are continuing forward! Your strength is inspiring!



    Welcome Nikkeliz, c7tko, and Aem47! I'm glad you found us!



    Aem47 - to add your treatment schedule go to your profile and place the information in your signature area and press save.



    Today I am 7 days out of my first tx and overall feel good. I did have two days of feeling very very weak, but no nausea. I have had little SE from the Neulasta shot other than achy knees and hips - but manageable. I am taking Claritan to relieve the symptoms. So far so good with my mouth, it was sore on day 3-4 but I continued with the aloe and brushing regularly and it's doing ok. However, the flavor of food is lacking. The only other two SE I have had is a headache that comes and goes and two nights of literally NO sleep - I wasn't even able to nap during the day. That was frustrating but last night I did take an Ativan as recommended by my RN and I seemed to get decent rest.



    Lastly, I laughed when the big earrings were mentioned because I never wear them but did go out and buy a few just the other day. My hair is short anyway so I tucked it up in a pageboy hat and put the earrings on and it did look really cute. My hair is thinning, if I run my fingers through it I'll have several strands attached to my fingers - I'll give it a few more days before I clip it. My 11 year old wants to help and asked if I would do a Mohawk for fun... I say sure why not! (but just for the moment lol)



    Hope everyone has a good day!!!

    Kelly

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  • Gayle56
    Gayle56 Member Posts: 277
    edited March 2012

    Neli - sorry to hear you were hospitalized.  Hope you are getting better and will be out quickly.

    Gayle

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  • Bern51
    Bern51 Member Posts: 13
    edited March 2012

    Neil, I'm so sorry that you're in the hospital but at least it sounds nice...my MD just told me this morning that he didn't want to wait on the Nuelasta because he didn't want me to end up in the hospital, then I saw your post! I asked him about the Claritin, he said he'd never heard of that but said to go ahead and try it, said to let him know if it's effective so he can share it w others if it is. I love my doctor and the nurses at chemo, one of the best things about this has been meeting them all!

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  • ColdenMom
    ColdenMom Member Posts: 114
    edited March 2012

    Thinking about you tonight Neli!

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  • firstcall
    firstcall Member Posts: 499
    edited March 2012

    Neli,  Hope your doing ok, and bounce back quickly 

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  • lisak7290
    lisak7290 Member Posts: 146
    edited March 2012

    Ladies I do have a question for you all..I am having the  taxotere and cytoxan cocktail and I was wondering about menopause..I am 39 and was wondering if any of you ladies have had this cocktail

    have started having symptoms  yet?  About how soon after you started chemo did the symptoms start?

    I was told this cocktail could cause me to go into it but just wanted to ask all of you.

    Thanks,Lisa

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  • ColdenMom
    ColdenMom Member Posts: 114
    edited March 2012

    Lisa7290 - I am 34 and was told the same thing.... So good question.

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  • NikkEliz
    NikkEliz Member Posts: 38
    edited March 2012

    Lisak7290 and ColdenMom: I found that some of the menopaus symptons kicked in pretty quickly after my first treatment (maybe 3-4 days?) The main thing for me is just the crazy hot flashes. Not fun. I am taking an ovarian suppressant injection that is supposed to help make the chemo hopefully be less likely to have an effect on my fertility, I got my first shot a week before my first chemo session. I had a little bit of spotting about 4 days before I would have been expecting my next period but not a real period. I had the second shot (it's once a month) was the same days as my sectond treatment. This month, not even spotting. I don't know if it's just because of the ovarian suppressant or if it's because of the chemo. 

    Thanks everyone for all the welcomes.

    Here's a couple fun pics of accessorized baldness! and Hair/Wig Styles (let's see if this works)


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  • WaveWhisperer
    WaveWhisperer Member Posts: 898
    edited March 2012
    NikkEliz, that is one of the coolest things I've seen on BCo!!!! Thanks for doing that. It made me smile. You've got the right spirit and attitude!!!
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  • Bern51
    Bern51 Member Posts: 13
    edited March 2012

    NikkEliz, very cool! glad you are having some fun with the wigs, hats, scarves! You are truly making the best our of  bad situation, thanks for the smile toay

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  • AEM47
    AEM47 Member Posts: 297
    edited March 2012

    Lisa - nothing yet...just normal bitchiness over here :-)  No hot flashes and no problem sleeping...altho, I look like I aged 5 years but that might be stress.  I was told too that the ovaries would shut down during chemo.  My first treatment was the 16th and I got my period 4 days later on time.  It was very normal.  Since then some cramping right smack dab mid cycle (normal) so I'm wondering what will end up happening.  Due again March 15th..should be interesting.

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  • lmlola59
    lmlola59 Member Posts: 146
    edited March 2012

    NikkEliz Great photos I think you look fantastic with just the fansy headband  and you wear baldness well.Brings out your eyes and smile.

    As for me I am 52 and expexting to go into automatic menapause which I of course am already for.But I started my period last week and after the treatment it is still somewhat lingering not much but not going away either.I am wondering if this is actually been caused by my 1TX on Tuesday.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    NikkEliz - in my opinion you look stunning in those pictures and I really enjoyed seeing them.  You definetely "ROCK" the look.  Honestly every shot is lovely.  

    As for the other question, I am 47 and I can't say it has put me into instant menopause.  I hav been getting the night sweats since the first treatment on 2/16 but other then that can't see or feel any other changes.  

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  • Myleftboob
    Myleftboob Member Posts: 1,469
    edited March 2012

    NikkEliz

    Your are stunning.  Love the first pic and what a  beautiful headband and the rest are so fun. 

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  • ColdenMom
    ColdenMom Member Posts: 114
    edited March 2012

    NikkEliz - you look stunning! Thanks for sharing!



    I actually got my period he day before my first treatment : / so.... We will see what 28 days brings. My MO did tell me if ABVD did not place me into menopause TC will. No real symptoms yet.



    Feeling myself day -- I'm going to take advantage of our decent weather to take a walk!



    Have a good day everyone!



    Kelly

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  • A_FIGHTER
    A_FIGHTER Member Posts: 109
    edited March 2012

    Hi Wonderful Women,

    Ca7tko: Glad to hear your feeling GREAT!

    NikkEliz: Fabulous pictures! Thank you for sharing. You look amazing! Kiss

    kat2nich: Do you still have hives?

    Ulightup: Have a FUN weekend! Happy Birthday! Laughing

    lmlola59: Thank you!

    lisak7290: No symptoms. I actually got my period during the three weeks following first infusion. It lasted longer, but I did have less cramping. I've been dealing with VERY heavy periods since post-surgery and still had same issue this time.

    I am feeling pretty great and NOT looking forward to next infusion, but I have to stay postive and know that I will then be half-way done! I am wondering if I will have new SE's and/or just the same. Also, will I have more than just two down days this time. For those of you who have done more than one infusion what have you found has happened?

    I'm still continuing with Boot Camp 5 days a week plus some running. However, I went to run today and my knees were REALLY hurting. Now, it could be from Boot Camp (squats, lunges, burpees, squat thrusts, etc..) and/or the Chemo cocktail. I'm HAPPY I at least was able to do Boot Camp today! 

    I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend

    Keep your HEADS up Ladies!

    Quote I read today & LOVE it!! "NORMAL" is what the majority does, which is why "DIFFERENT" is so much more interesting!  

    Hugs,

    Bonnie 

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  • NikkEliz
    NikkEliz Member Posts: 38
    edited March 2012

    Good Morning Everyone!

    Thanks so much for the compliments on the pictures! Made my day.

    I just bought some funky scarves yesterday to play with. Found a couple cool ways online to tie and wear them so that they look more fun.  

    A_FIGHTER: I found that it was a little bit worse after the second infusion for SE but not terribly so. I didn't have much neasua the first time around, the second time I had a couple days on which I felt it a bit but still not too bad. The only thing I noticed that got significantly worse was the bone pain. I didn't know about the Claritan thing though, so I'm gonna try that for next time and hopefully that'll help.

     Woke up this morning feeling pretty close to normal. Going out with my sister and some friends for her birthday tonight toa  90's Dance Party. haha Managed to go most of the day yesterday with no pain, so here's hoping that today is even better and I can party like it's 1999!

    Wishing everyone a fantastic Friday!

    *hugs!*

    Nikki 

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  • shera
    shera Member Posts: 184
    edited March 2012
    Nikki -- I can feel your youthful upbeat energy reaching out from the forums. Thank you for spreading cheer. I agree, you can rock any look you choose.  A fashion-smart friend told me something about layering scarfs under hats... ? I am relying on her for fashion SOS when time comes. 
     
    My head is itchy already. I'm really hoping I have a few weeks before dealing with the bald.  

    LisaK - I'm also curious about this. Age 44, no signs of 'the pause' yet. I've always been very regular... so we'll see what happens next week.  

    No one warned me about the heinous chemo-farts. I almost killed my boyfriend in the car yesterday. 
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  • kat2nich
    kat2nich Member Posts: 11
    edited March 2012

    Hello everyone, Hives are getting better, taking benedryl really helped.  But food is un-interesting, since my mouth is dry.

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  • firstcall
    firstcall Member Posts: 499
    edited March 2012

    Sometimes when people ask me if I'm having any side effects from my treatments, I tell them that I've read that it might put me into menopause.....but so far so good....

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  • Kim48
    Kim48 Member Posts: 73
    edited March 2012

    Nikki, you are adorable! Love the pics!



    Lisa, I am 48 and was on the pill. When they did blood work, they said I showed up postmenopausal. I didn't know this, but haven't had a period since I went off the pill in early November. Very weird. I've had few side effects, but apparently I went through menopause without knowing.



    Kat2nich, Glad hives are improving. Are you using Biotine for dry mouth? I bought something made by Waterpick called a water flosser. It's about $45. I like it. I put Biotine Oral Rinse in it mixed with water. It is supposed to be better than dental floss and it is gentle.



    Bonnie, I had a few less side effects the second time. I think this was due to staying ahead of things with meds from the first time. However, I felt pretty normal for a good two weeks the first tx. This time I'm still really tired and I go back on Wed,



    Shera. Most people lose hair between 14-20 days. :(. I dreaded it so much, but I have adjusted! So glad to have my friends here to share this with. It helps so much!



    Everybody, hope you will have a lovely weekend! We are in Destin, Fla staying with my sister-in-law for a long weekend away. We drove down this morning. I have to say that it feels good to get away before my next chemo. I kind of feel like I leave the cancer at home and get a break!



    Love to all.



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  • Myleftboob
    Myleftboob Member Posts: 1,469
    edited March 2012

    Good one Firstcall!

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  • lmlola59
    lmlola59 Member Posts: 146
    edited March 2012

    Hi,

    Firstcall that  is really pretty funny thanks for the chuckle.

    Nikki hope you have a great time tonight with your friends sounds like a lot of fun

    Just wondering does any one know for sure that if you handle the first TC pretty well they continue to up your dosage on the next one.

    I first thought it was by weight but have been seeing on some post that after  they evaluate your physical and emotion health then they may make it stronger.

    I think I also remember the social worker saying that since I am in great physical condition other than the BC that they would use a stronger dose on me.

    So far I am feeling really good with really no Se,s to speak of I know it is only day 4 and do expect the crash tomorrow with no longer taking any steroids or anti nausea meds but I dread the fact that they may try to up the poison me till I yell uncle. Makes me want to complain about something maybe? 

    Just asking if this has happened to any iof you between your treatments 

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