April/May 2012 Chemo hang out

Hi ellamilana! 2-3 weeks seems typical for hair loss. Mine started on day #13.

editted: to show time period of icing 

Icing- I asked that very question on an older chemo thread because after all that icing talk, I just needed to practical "how to ice" instructions.  Some use ice or frozen peas as the ice.  You put them in ziploc bags.  For your toes, you can place the bags on top of your toes and put a blanket or towel on top/ wrapped around so the bags of frozen peas don't fall off.  If you have some really large men's hunting socks, you can put the zip loc bags of frozen whatever in the toe and then slide your foot in and reposition the bags so that it touches the tops of your toes.  For your fingers, you want the ice bag to touch the nails.  You can probably again use a pair of extra extra large men's socks and put the ice bag in and then put your hands in each,making sure that your nails are kept cold by the ice bags.

I'm still experimenting with ways to keep the ice bags on.  For my hands, I used these neoprene wine bag holders that I purchased at Target ($6.99)  I put the frozen peas bags in first and then placed my hands there and repositioned the peas so that I had my fingertips in the cold.  I also wore a pair of fingerless gloves so I could keep the rest of my hand warm.  This worked pretty well for me plus I can use the wine bag holders later on.  For my feet, I had some neoprene covers that fit 32 ounce Nalgene bottles.  My feet are fairly small.  I put the ice bags in first and then put my foot in those and repositioned the frozen peas to make sure my toes nails were covered.  I also wore some sports socks so that the ice was not directly on my toes.  I also wore a pair of fleece pants on top of my leggings the day of my infusion so I could keep warm.  The infusion center has warmed blankets that I could have gotten if I needed one.

Whatever way you can think of keeping the ice/peas on the nails is the key.  You can even put your hands directly into bags of peas if you want.  You can also  use towels, socks, insulated lunch bags, even potholders --- something that has enough room for you to fit the ice bag in and your hand/foot in and allows you to position the ice so it is on your nails.  If you use frozen peas, you can use them again and again.  Just refreeze them when you get home and make sure you mark on the outside of the bag "DO NOT EAT".  You need to ice for 15 minutes before, during and 15 minutes after the taxol/taxotere part of the infusion.

How much ice/peas to use?- Once you figured out what you want to use to hold those ice bags in place, you need to try out how much ice/peas to fill your ziploc bag with.  I started with one cup in each bag and made adjustments from there.

Transporting to chemo- You put everything in a cooler.  Some infusion centers have refrigerator/freezers for patient use to keep whatever a patients wants to keep cold (food,drinks,etc.)  At the first infusion, you want to keep those ice bags frozen if possible.  If there isn't a patient fridge, make sure your cooler has enough ice to keep everything as cold as possible.  The first infusion usually takes longer because of paperwork and learning the infusion procedures so you may have to ask the nurse when the taxol/taxotere infusion is so you will know when to get iced.

Hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too much info.  You have any questions, just ask here or private message me.  I will help you anyway I can!!!! 

Ella,

I was told 14 days after first treatment I would start to lose my hair and like clockwork, that's exactly what happened.  Strands and strands.  Day 15, washed my hair and with each stroke of the brush, HUGE amounts came out.  Day 16, I had already had an appt. to get it buzzed, and that's exactly what I did--it was yesterday.  I thought I would be distraught about it, but most of my anxiety occurred on day 15 seeing gobs and gobs of hair.  Glad I got it buzzed off yesterday.  Wore a wig to work and took it off the second I got home.  Actually, the gals I work with said they liked it better than my regular hairstyle, but it was bothering my head like a tight headband. 

Going on Friday to get my wig, thinking to shave it off right there and walk out in the wig... so angry, but want it to be up to me, not big C

Sade, I have had ear ringing since my first TCH.  Pretty sure it is from the Carboplatin, although it's not supposed to be all that common of a side effect.  I had a hearing test done to make sure no actual hearing loss occured.  After 1st TCH, it quieted some in a few weeks.  Worse again now after 2nd TCH.  Will have another audiogram next week.  fun stuff. 

Hi Sade! Sooooo glad you're feeling better, and that you were able to enjoy your daughter's birthday! Yep, the ear ringing - I was diagnosed with tinnitus when I was maybe 25. I'm usually able to ignore it, but the chemo really made it loud. Either I'm getting used to it by now or it is getting better. My MO confirmed that the chemo can cause it.

Thanks ladies. It seems like chemo is full of crazy SE!!!

Sorry to hear about your mom Lynnbea.  Cancer stinks!

Sorry Lynnbea about your mom, was it cancer? I lost my husband to a lung cancer 18 month ago, and now me...

I HATE CANCER!

Lynnbea - I am so sorry to hear of your mother's passing.  My heart is with you during this time.  

I just wanted to stop by and encourage you guys.



When i started this journey I thought the mountain was too high. My DH said just to look at it in small chunks. It was a lot of chunks, but I did it and so can youll.



Try to keep moving, even if its only down to mailboxand back. The constipation seemed to be the worst SE for me:-) and the anxiety etc.



You can do it

I hope this link works.....my boyfriend/partner made this for me....it has helped me realize the positive side to cancer...the love and support has been overwhelming!





http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YXhTvoC2C_E

So tomorrow's D day (1st chemo) for me and I'm looking over the tips list and the first thing it says is Compazine is not going to be enough!  I know I'm scheduled for Aloxi in my infusion but the only other anti nausea drug they've prescribed for me so far is Compazine so now I'm worried!  Can anyone tell me if they were able to get by with just Compazine?

Melrose, thank you so much for the valuable icing info.  Do I really only need to do it 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after, or throughout the whole treatment?  They told me Taxol would take 3 hours, and I think my fingers and toes would fall off if I iced the whole time.

Lynnbea, I'm so sorry about your mom.  Cancer absolutely sucks.  I'm right behind you to see that it's wiped out.  I hope a vaccine is developed that makes cancer go the way of polio.  

I got my hair cut really short a few weeks ago, and got a wig.  The wig was very expensive, but it still feels like Barbie hair, and after awhile it itches. I also have a baseball cap that comes down very low. I'll probably lose my hair in 2 weeks because I start chemo this Wednesday.  

lsharvey, I have my nausea prescriptions ready for Wednesday, and they are:  Emend, Dexamethasone (steroid), Compazine and Zofran.  I take the Emend an hour before chemo, when the nurse tells me, and then in the morning on days 2 and 3.  I take the steroid in the morning on days 2, 3 and 4.  Compazine and Zofran are the back-up nausea medicines.  If the compazine doesn't work, I take zofran.  

mlb1024 - my Taxotere takes an hour, so I ice for 1.5 hours including the 15 mins before and after.  However, you just cannot ice constantly that entire time without a few minutes break here and there.  You'd get frostbite!  (Especially if you are using ice cubes with no barrier between your skin and the ice bag.)  So, I just take my fingers/toes out when I get to the point where I feel like it's too much.  (I use $1 store minicoolers and 2 baggies of crushed ice to layer my nails between.)  Givem' a few minutes rest, then back in when I'm ready to tolerate it again.  Wow, 3 hours is a LONG time to ice.  You will definitely need periodic breaks.  Don't forget to chew on ice throughout, too, and swish the cold in front of your teeth (behind your lips).  I forgot to do that the time before last and almost got a sore behind my front lower lip...oucho.  I find that I alternate taking my hands out to drink crushed ice - gives my hands a break.  My fingers tend to tolerate the ice less well than my toes.   I'll be honest - the icing is miserable.  However, I would much rather go through it than deal with losing my fingernails <shudder>.   I keep reminding myself of that when I'm suffering during the ice, LOL!