Sept 2012 chemo

Good morning Cindy74...thank you for all the support ...i been so tired from chemo that i havent event had time to be here ...i miss you my sisters...i had my neulasta shot and my bone have been hurting not as much but i can complain cause had just small side effects!!!

Good morning Cindy74...thank you for all the support ...i been so tired from chemo that i havent event had time to be here ...i miss you my sisters...i had my neulasta shot and my bone have been hurting not as much but i can complain cause had just small side effects!!!

Good morning Cindy74...thank you for all the support ...i been so tired from chemo that i havent event had time to be here ...i miss you my sisters...i had my neulasta shot and my bone have been hurting not as much but i can complain cause had just small side effects!!!

Good morning Cindy74...thank you for all the support ...i been so tired from chemo that i havent event had time to be here ...i miss you my sisters...i had my neulasta shot and my bone have been hurting not as much but i can complain cause had just small side effects!!!

Good morning Cindy74...thank you for all the support ...i been so tired from chemo that i havent event had time to be here ...i miss you my sisters...i had my neulasta shot and my bone have been hurting not as much but i can complain cause had just small side effects!!!

Amy does your onco prescribe melotonie for pain?

Hi everyone,

  Spent most of the night in the Emergency Room.  Lots of pokes, blood tests, and a chest x-ray.  I was there for four hours before they let me go home  My blood counts were okay.  They did give me a full bag of IV fluids, which helped a ton with my constipation (now I am on the opposite side of the spectrum!)  

Mostly today I am feeling weak, tired, and depressed.  It is my six year old's birthday and I want her to have such a special day- but I have no energy and feel like a science experiment that has gone terribly wrong.  I have promised her a small party in a couple of weeks, but she is little and doesn't quite understand.  

  Cancer sucks.

The website is not working correctly.  When you push the submit button, nothing happens, so you think the message has not gone through.  If you keep pushing, it will print multiple times.  Just push once and go back to beginng and your message has gone through.  If it is a long message, copy and paste into an e-mail to save it so you don't lose it.  This pbm is why the multiple messages.  If someone will flag this message I am sending, maybe the moderators will pick up and get tech people to fix it. Seems to me there was some message about a time they would be working on the system.  Sometimes, in trying to fix something, they mess up something elso. 

Hey friends

Tuesday is coming fast and it is the day of my first chemo. I wish I could say I wasn't apprehensive.  I know this question will prob. cause an avalanche but here goes...what do you guys do to pass the time?  Will it be three hours? four?  Won't know if I don't ask I guess.  As always appreciate all of you.

Thanks allurbaddayswillend!

  I was taking a pro-biotic, but my doctor asked me to stop. I will talk to him again.  I also will try the prunes and the gatorade.  The constipation cramps were unbelievable!!!  That mixed with the vomiting made for a very unpleasant evening.  Feeling much better today.  I just ate a blueberry bagel- which is the first thing I have eaten in over a day.  My stomach just felt empty.  I usually eat tons of veggies, but lately have felt so ill I haven't eaten anything.  I will try to have a huge dinner of broccoli tonight!

Waiting for the next step:  I know it can be so anxiety provoking before you begin!  I try to stay connected to friends, draw, play with my kids, imagine what I want for my world- I also started a blog. I am a board certified art therapist/licensed marriage family therapist- so I am kind of using my blog as a way of being my own therapist. 

http://breastcancerartandme.blogspot.com/

I am also organizing cabinets when I am at home.  When I am there, I read, write, talk to my husband, play sudoko, and just do nothing.   And just try to give myself a break as much as possible.  Of course we are anxious!  But we will get through this.  It is only temporary.. and we will be back to our regular life only stronger and with more insight.

Waiting- your first treatment will probably be the longest because they watch for any reactions. Are you on the TCH combo? I am doing that plus a study drug, and I was there about 7 hours total the first time :-( it gets shorter the next time though! Bring a laptop and a book and some snacks.

FYI- The system has being going through some maintenance work and I'm guessing they aren't quite finished.   The system seems slow to posting. 

Glad to hear you are back home, Mariposa!!  Easy does it on your tummy.  You may want to stick to a bland diet until things have settled down again.  Maybe some chicken broth, rice, chicken, plain noodles, mashed/baked potatoes.  I know you've been through a lot the last 24-48 hours. Rest, keep drinking the fluids, eat a little and keep taking your meds. 

Waitingforthenextstep- What chemo regimen are you having?  The first round of chemo lasts longer than others because the infusion staff wants to be very careful and watchful of any immediate allergic reactions.  The chemo may be run a little slower but it is out of precaution to you.  While I was having chemo, I watched mindless TV, talked to my husband and the clinical trial research coordinator, flipped through magazines, napped and ate lunch.    I drank a lot of water/ate ice and sometimes asked the nurse to unplug my IV pole from the electrical plug so i could walk around.  I had Ativan (anti-anxiety med) plus benedryl in the pre-chemo IV so I was pretty chill and couldn't focus on much.   If you are anxious the day of the chemo and don't have any meds for anxiety, ask your onco for some.  It's okay; it isn't unusual to get a med to help keep you calm.   I always tried to just go with the flow of things in the infusion center and didn't get upset when I had to wait for the chemo to arrive from the oncology pharmacy or how long each infusion took.  I just always knew I'd be there for a while and made sure I didn't have anything scheduled the same day. 

Wishing a wonderful weekend for all with minimal side effects!!!!

I had my first round yesterday. I was there for 5.5 hours. It went fast really....I brought magazines and read a book. The anticipation is way worse than doing! I had a long night of steroid crazies. I took an ambien and still only slept 2 hours. I'm a little out of it and can feel the chemo lurking around the edges. Has anyone stopped taking the steroids? I hate not sleeping! My kids understand sick mom, but not tired.



On a side note, when I got home yesterday my 5 year old said I need to go back....the meds didn't work. I still have hair. He had my wig out at the door ready for me. He calls it the "thing". I totally understand the feeling of missing out on the kids lives. I hauled myself to soccer this morning....I only made one of 2 games. But it was worth it, she scored her first goal!



I hope everyone has a blessed weekend with smiles and some laughter.

Day two in bed no appetite, the nausea is awful . I have thrown up three times and praying I am done . I can't wait to feel better

I've had really bad problems with sleep for the first few days with all three of my treatments so far and have just resigned myself to the fact that nights one and two after chemo will not be good.  After the third night I find it gets much better.  I've tried taking prescription sleep meds and also tried taking some of the codeine that I had left from surgery which usually makes me pass out within 15 minutes but neither make any difference at all.  I don't think that skipping the steroids is an option unfortunately.

Cute story about your son, Jodi.  I hope you get some better sleep soon!

Cheerioo, sorry you feel so awful