Ohio Chemo Sisters

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited March 2012

    munnybunni - I drank alot the day before, day of and day after tx and tried to continue after that.  I know what you mean about the water.  We have a company that brings water to our office and it is mineral water.  I can't stand to drink it as I can taste every mineral in it!  I am allergic to Nutrasweet (aspartame) and have always been a Pepper.  After tx I can't even drink that....it feels like battery acid going down.  So most of the time I end up drinking bottled spring water...not my favorite either.  I found lemonade is pretty good also and adding a little lemon to your water helps with the taste.  Hang in there!

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  • GirlPowerDebbie
    GirlPowerDebbie Member Posts: 213
    edited March 2012

    I could not drink anything carbonated during chemo and about 6 weeks after ... it was water, milk or gatorade. 

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  • kdking
    kdking Member Posts: 73
    edited March 2012

    I was unable to drink anything hot during my AC tx. Grape Crystal lite tasted sooo good. Had to have at least one diet Pepsi each day to kill the caffeine headache. I love coffee!

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited March 2012

    kdking - I love coffee too and it tastes like toxic waste for about 10 days after tx!  Pop tastes like acid going down.  I am not much of a juice drinker but I'm acquiring a taste for it since it's the only thing other than water that I can stand!

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  • ihatemyboobs
    ihatemyboobs Member Posts: 83
    edited March 2012

    Thanks everyone for your input. It makes me feel so good to not be alone.



    Leslie, yes that is the trial but I declined to participate, i can't afford it nor accept the idea of that year. The guilt of not participating hit me worse than I thought it would.



    Honestly terrified of chemo.

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  • ihatemyboobs
    ihatemyboobs Member Posts: 83
    edited March 2012

    Oh, and I chose to have the port, it's going in Monday. :)

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  • kdking
    kdking Member Posts: 73
    edited March 2012

    You will be happy with your decision Sarah! It makes things so much easier. Chemo is bad..no other way to put it...but you will get through it. I had very few problems. I'm on day four of radiation and actually fear that more than the chemo!

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  • ihatemyboobs
    ihatemyboobs Member Posts: 83
    edited March 2012

    I hear about 2 weeks after your first dose you lose your hair or start to at least? True for you Kerrie? Just wondering, sort of excited to shave my head, it's a pain to style right now due to all of the "fun" I've had with it lately.

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited March 2012

    Sarah - My hair started to fall out at day 14 after my first tx.  But it hung on for a while, I had thick hair.  I finally shaved it the night before my 2nd treatment.  Your hair does look fun....wish I'd have had the guts before this, might have made losing it easier.  I agree about the port.....soooooo glad I got one.  Have a good weekend!

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  • GirlPowerDebbie
    GirlPowerDebbie Member Posts: 213
    edited March 2012

    My hair started falling out 2 weeks after first treatment.  A few strands at first, then with gusto.  When it became a nuisance (hair everywhere) I took the Wahl clippers to it and gave myself the Annie Lennox look.  DH loved it.  A couple days later I got tired of picking up 1 inch hairs too, and I sat by the sink and let him shave it.  By that time I really did not give a shit about the hair.  It was all I could do to stand in the shower for 5 minutes, I do not know how I would have been able to care for my hair too. 

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  • kdking
    kdking Member Posts: 73
    edited March 2012

    Two weeks did it for me too. My work friends had a benefit for me on Nov. 18 th and my hair started coming out in clumps the next day! I let my girls use the clippers on it at first..they gave me a beautiful Mohawk! I let my DH shave it on thanksgiving. I am now three weeks past my last Taxol and I have a nice Fuzz growing. It is very thick in most places(it was before) and seems to be thin in the bang area. Still wear my scarves everywhere. I never did wear a wig. Losing my hair didn't really bother me like I thought it would....losing my eyebrows and lashes sucked!



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  • ihatemyboobs
    ihatemyboobs Member Posts: 83
    edited March 2012

    Yeah, I've been having fun with it while it's here. Knowing it will fall out soon makes it easier to fry and color every few days. Right now it's lavender, baby blue and pale pink and i constantly get compliments on it... (if only they knew.). :)

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  • GirlPowerDebbie
    GirlPowerDebbie Member Posts: 213
    edited March 2012

    I was really surprised at how fast my eyelashes and eyebrows grew back.  My eyelashes are coming in SO THICK, it is awesome.  My hair is growing back, SO MUCH GRAY around my front hairline, boo hiss!  Once it gets warm enough, i am going topless, my DH loves the buzz look.  And now that I am having hot flashes with the Arimidex, plus it being warmer, I am so ready to lose the artificial  head covers.  Wig, scarf - whatever.  Come summer, I am going au naturel! 

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  • ihatemyboobs
    ihatemyboobs Member Posts: 83
    edited April 2012

    Get my port tomorrow, gotta be there at 5:30am. Funny how the more crap you go through the less you give a crap, lol.

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  • munnybunni
    munnybunni Member Posts: 156
    edited April 2012

    went to mo this am...having a cat scan with contrast  tomorrow due to a pain in middle of back and under right shoulder

    white bc low so she is going to give me neulasta shot after my second tx on april 12...that is also day i get port put in

    she gave me rx's for yeast infection...yikes....i have never had anything like that before

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited April 2012

    How did the port sx go Sarah?  Hope it went without a hitch...I know you'll be glad you have it!

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  • Eileenohio
    Eileenohio Member Posts: 460
    edited April 2012

    Hi Kelly,  Thinking of you. Hope all the nasty se's from your last treatment are gone. Wondering if you have started to see any hair growth yet ?  It is cool today but we do have a lot of sunshine. Enjoy the cool but sunny day.     Hugs  Eileen 

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited April 2012

    Hi Eileen!  I am currently on day 12 from my last treatment and am finally starting to feel good.  I felt pretty good over the weekend and the DH and I mulched.  I think I overdid it and my legs hurt alot yesterday.  Other than the fatigue and some lingering leg pain I am much better.  My hair had actually been growing a little bit before I finished, but it was sporadic.....long strands in some places.  It was coming in pretty grey too.  So....I took the advice of the nurses at the cancer center and shaved it again yesterday so it will all grow back at the same rate.  They said that initial hair growth can be very fine and that alot of women found it came back thicker and more evenly if they shaved again.  I cried again, seems like the emotional aspect never gets any easier.  Now I am looking forward to some real hair growth.  I'll keep you posted.   How are you feeling?

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  • ihatemyboobs
    ihatemyboobs Member Posts: 83
    edited April 2012

    Kelly, yes it was pretty simple. I was sedated but awake and responsive if that makes sense.



    I'm actually sitting, receiving my first round of chemo right now! They left access to the port so I didn't have to get poked today, so that's good. My husband's here with me, hogging the t.v. :)

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited April 2012

    Sarah - I hope everything went well with your first chemo.  Usually it's a pretty boring day.  I'm glad your port surgery was simple.  Maybe I am a big baby, I had mine put in under general anesthesia while my BS did my re-excision lumpectomy to get clear margins.  The surgery was fine but OMG the pain afterward!  I swear it felt like he had been digging all over in my chest wall!  It hurt for like 2 weeks solid.  He did say he had a hard time locating the vein.  There is no way I would have been in any shape to get chemo right after.  What cocktail are you on?

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  • ihatemyboobs
    ihatemyboobs Member Posts: 83
    edited April 2012

    A, C then T. So 4 of the first 2 and then 4 of T, I guess. Dense dose, every other week. Been pretty nauseous and tired and now I have to drive back to get a neulasta shot or whatever it's called. I never even knew about that shot, weird.

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  • TonLee
    TonLee Member Posts: 2,626
    edited April 2012

    Hater.

    Ask to see if they can give you the shot to take home.  I took mine home the day of chemo in an ice pack, put it in fridge, the next night, half an hour before injection time I pulled it out to warm it up (less sting) and then just gave it to myself in the stomach.  Pinch some fat near the belly button, BAM, done.  It saves you a trip!

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  • 7of9
    7of9 Member Posts: 833
    edited April 2012

    Ihatemyboobs: first off I love that name! So true! Also your statement about how the more crap you go through the less you give a crap. We are doing the same treatment I think (AC + T is neoadjunct for me). I have stage 2b as well. I should have dyed my hair before it fell out..never had the courage to before. Damn.

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited April 2012

    Sarah - sorry you are feeling crappy.  If the MO didn't give you meds for nausea, ask for them!  If they did and they aren't working, ask for different ones!  By the way, take regular 24 hr Claritin today and for the next 3-4 days.  The Neulasta shot will cause your bone marrow to expand (worse the first time) as it produces white blood cells and can cause some significant bone pain.  The Claritin has antihistamine and it helps reduce the symptoms from the shot.  I hope you feel better!  HUGS

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  • Lumpynme
    Lumpynme Member Posts: 747
    edited April 2012

    i second the info on the claritin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • sewingnut
    sewingnut Member Posts: 1,129
    edited April 2012

    Me too on the clariton. I didnt know about it the first round and had jaw dropping pulsating pain. Didnt have it once I started the clariton.

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  • munnybunni
    munnybunni Member Posts: 156
    edited April 2012

    need some info....is there anyway to up your white blood count on your own...like protein powder...b12...vit c...really hate to think of getting neulasta shot

    even though my husband is very supportive, i just want to crawl into bed and wait until next treatment...just so frustrated...gotta get over that...

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  • munnybunni
    munnybunni Member Posts: 156
    edited April 2012

    welllll today my hair roots hurt...sounds odd  but they do...laying down on sitting in chair uncomfortable to my head  today is day 13 from first a/c treatment

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  • sewingnut
    sewingnut Member Posts: 1,129
    edited April 2012

    munnybunni,

    Sounds like the great follicular fallout will shortly ensue. That is how my head felt before the shed began.

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  • 7of9
    7of9 Member Posts: 833
    edited April 2012

    munnybunni: have you had the Neulasta shot? I don't get any side effects from it at all. It only stings going in for like 3 - 4 seconds and my nurse laughs as I shout out "Miracle shot! White counts ups and only X more to go..." and it's done. Not true for all but only way to find out...  :)

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