April/May 2012 Chemo hang out

My insurance will only cover Neupogen if I have it in the hospital, otherwise I pay $4000.  Silly, huh? And Emend is NOT covered.  $465 for three pills.

 Will I need Emend with Taxol?

Vballmom: you most likely will not need Emend on Taxol. I has my first Taxol a week ago today and only took the Emend the morning of day 2 cause my MO said it wouldn't hurt. In the end I totally didn't need it. Didn't take anything for nausea at all after that.



Nofear: I hope your first taxol goes smoothly today with no reaction and minimal SE. The worst for me has been muscle and joint pain at night. The GI situation is unfortunately not any better. I'm blaming it on the pre-med drugs they gave me. Senokot is slowly making it easier however.



Good luck to those in the chair this week!! We're all one step closer to being done with chemo!

Marcia1111 - thinking of you and hoping you find the port placement to be as easy as most of the rest of us. Hope DH is standing by with some yummy food for you as soon as they cut you loose after the procedure!  I was starving too and mine had a burrito all ready in the car.  

To those of you who have struggled with constipation and heartburn:  I as a rule don't ever have trouble with constipation outside of surgery, chemo, painkillers and stuff like that - so I am keeping this in mind, BUT:  I have done so much better with both heartburn and constipation since I started taking Prilosec.  I know that some of you, like Dancetrancer, need the "big guns" for heartburn and so Prilosec wouldn't be enough, but if it does work for you - I believe that it also has a "softening" effect.  I am not reading the warnings - there probably is one about diarrhea, so another word of caution.

Still, for the first two tx cycles I had on A/C, I had some issues with constipation - not major, but not normal.  I have been upping the fiber and water (those Thomas high fiber english muffins and Eggo high fiber waffles are good), and for the first week or so after tx, taking one to two stool softeners at bedtime with a spoonful or two of Phillips, until I am sure I'm "out of the woods."  I didn't switch from Zantac to Prilosec until around three weeks ago, so this is the first cycle on the Prilosec from day 1.   This time around, I have really had no problems at all (I never went a whole day without - but it just got difficult, so to speak).  

Hoping it does the trick for at least some of you, too.  Plus - my heartburn, which was constant no matter what I ate or didn't eat, and was requiring multiple doses of both Zantac and Maalox during the day - is gone.  

Nofear: no nausea on taxol for me. There was one time I thought for a second that I was starting to not feel well but it passed and I figured if I had to think about it, it wasn't nausea. Did you have your first tx today?



I also feel more like myself on taxol. I was pretty down and low days 2 to 4 but after that I feel like I'm not in that whole chemo fog as much.



I have just been taking extra strength Advil for the pain at night. It hasn't been bad enough to do anything more. It somewhat helps but my MO said if it worsens they can prescribe me something stronger. However, I really hate taking stuff as it is... It feels like one drug after another to treat side effects on top of side effects... And I just don't like putting more into my body. Can't wait until this is done!

Yay Melrose - 1/2 way there!!!!!  Wishing you minimal SE for Round 3!!! 

vballmom - so glad round 2 is going better than round 1!!!  Hope it stays that way!   

IsHarvey...I totally felt the same way after tx#2 which I had on May 24th...it took me 10 days to start to feel like myself this time.  Also, make sure you aren't getting Thrush...that's how mine started...a white coating on my tongue, burning throat and eventually almost completely lost my voice.  Thrush can be nasty if you haven't already had it so contact your Dr. right away cause it is tough to get rid of.

Nofear...Good luck tomorrow...you're gonna do great.  Its gonna be great to finally get this first one behind you.  As far as the Steroids...my onc has me on them the day before and day after my tx...day of tx they give them to my in the IV.  As far as nausea...I was soooo freaked out about it but got lucky and haven't had any.  The worst SE's for me really were the muscle pain...for me only really bad after the first tx and Thrush which I had after both.

 Melrose...congrats on getting halfway there!!!  I will be there next week and feel like it is an incredible milestone.

Looks like a lot of you ladies were/are in the big girl chair this week.  Wishing you all minimal SE's.  I'm going for my 3rd next Thursday so I'm trying to enjoy my days with more energy until then.

Did anyone else notice more body pain from the first Neulasta shot than the ones that followed?

 Cindy

I know lsharvey...it gets real old going to docs by this point, doesn't it?  Uggh!  Fighting Like A Girl makes a good point - check your tongue.  You can get thrush of the throat/esophagus, too...or, the sore throat/hoarse voice could actually be reflux (yep, it can come that far up), OR it could be a cold, etc.  Take care and make sure to monitor yourself for a fever!  

nofear - didn't realize this is your first one...best wishes for tomorrow!!!!  After tomorrow you will be one step closer to being DONE.  Oh and I take steroids day before and after, they give me steroids in my IV the day of.  

Thanks Fighting!  Dance - you're past the half way point, right!  yay!  you won't have to do anymore rads after will you?  I know you had them already.

Bug hugs to all who have treatment this week. Wherever you are on the path, it is one more down. May the SEs be light and the sleep good.

Lisa:  Thank you!

Hi Fighting!  Glad to hear from you. 

Took witch's hat off (better today).  I still started crying for no real reason when I was walking this morning; go figure, but I felt good enough to take a break from work and walk again in the afternoon to meet a friend.  I never get enough girl time (live with three guys), so that helped!  I should be at least feeling more guilty about not using some of this bit of energy to clean, but I'm quietly annoyed that there are two other people living here who could also do it - and don't unless they are told.... argh.  Oh, well.

And Lisa2012, wishing you good sleep too!  It sure does make all the difference.  

Purple energy to everyone!