December 2012 chemo group

That damn shot I tell ya!  I got it and the next morning my back, pelvis and neck were in so much pain.  I had done the trick of Claritin and am doing it again in hopes maybe this time it will work. 

The only thing that helped me was percoet and a heating pad.  I carried that heating pad around like a kids lovie. 

Thanks for the kind welcome, Soteria205, Bren58, and Nicole503.  Paula, my parents are in Pickerington, right around the corner from you.  I was thankful to be able to visit and enjoy the snow for a few days after Christmas.

Nicole, it has been a lot; the last six weeks have included diagnosis (11/16), Thanksgiving, testst,tests,tests, Christmas, and 3 rounds of chemo.  Besides that, I'm only 39, and there is very little cancer in my family and no breast or uterine cancer.  Completely blindsided.  YOU'VE had a whirlwind of a couple of months, too!  Looks like you've just started chemo - I hope you're off to a smooth start.  I LOVE hearing about your post-workday dismantling - I wonder if we'll miss being able to pull off the hair hat when all of this is behind us...

Jenjenl, I hope the Claritin works for you.  That ache is horrible; Zyrtec starting the day of the shot has done OK for me (Benadryl gave me a horrible drug hangover/haze) with Tylenol/Motrin addressing any leftover ache pretty well.  Neulasta will be a thing of the past with Taxol for me.  You too?

LOL - I have always hated wearing a bra so I can relate. Off to round 2 of chemo - a 1/4 of the way done.

Tracy - I have TAC all in one day, my T is taxatore.  If you are have Taxol seprate, I think that is AC + T.  I will have the nuleasta shot each time.

Have a good trip Runnergirl.  Glad your counts are high! 

Be well.

Hi Everyone - been a bit absent lately recoporating - but am much better now after 5 days on antibotics.  Boy - I will never be that careless again to eat popcorn and get a gum infection during chemo!

I also went and got my hair chopped and bleached just for fun.  The stylist said my hair still going strong - I am at day 12 think - but I know my days are numbered.   Posted new pic sitting  by my piano

Gwen I could not agree more about the " overdoing it" on the pink ribbon stuff.  They all mean well - but some of it is just " marketing"  do get donors aware and to collect more money - all for a good cause I know but nonetheless - the patients like us do get wearing of being reminded all the time ....   I work in marketing and sales and coodinate many mailing for non profits so I know the value of what the " logo"  can do but it is somewhat irritating.  I recently removed a pink ribbon pin from my coat lapel beceause I was tired of looking at it and being reminded !!

Well I am off to the office this afternoon hopefully and then looking forward to a facial and lunch with a friend on Thursday. 

Welcome to the new ladies on this thread  - I also post on the Janurary Chemo Thread  - lots of great ladies there too !! 

Hope you all have a good day

Sandy

How weird - my avatar is normal on my laptop ( a PC ) but on my Ipad it appears sideways - anyone know why ?

Peggy~Are you having pain or just peeing constantly? If its just the peeing, it's the steroids leaving your system. On about day 7-8 I feel like I pee 400 times. The first treatment I thought I was getting an uti. It lasts about 24 hours give or take. If I had known to expect it, I wouldn't have worried so much. This time I recognized it for what it was and just worked hard at getting my fluids.



Sandra~Your avatar is sideways on my iPad. I had that problem last week. Took the pic with my iPad. Everyone who had iPads saw it right side up, but if they were on a laptop or pc, it appeared upside down.



Blessings

Paula

Runnergirl - Maybe they thought that you had your head covered for religious reasons? In an aeroport we get all kinds of people, and some infortunately are a bit... ignorant

FriendGwen - I'm considering wearing a t-shirt that says: "Stop telling me stories about BC" or "STFU PLZ". Even the ones with a happy ending annoy me because some people who have never been through this, tell these stories in such an arrogant way like "you should listen to me, I know a lot about this subject". And the unsolicited advice? Just shoot me in the head. "You should go to this doctor", "you should buzz your hair before it starts falling, it will be much easier" (from someone who never had cancer), "you should apply NOW for adoption, it takes years", "you should take beetroot".

Sophia - Agreed!!! I stupidly mentioned my concerns about whether I should do radiation at a family dinner the other week and my pack-a-day smoker brother-in-law announced he "doesn't believe in radiation". Umm, excused me based on what? Your 12th grade science class from the 1970s? Or your talk radio shows? STFU! I told him radiation saves lives and just quickly changed the subject. And please... agreed... no more gifts of herbs or articles about lemons or broccoli curing cancer. Let me just quietly, strongly get through treatment... Thank you very much.

Back from round 2.  I was dehydrated to start so got fluids today - then again the rest of the week.  My BP was low so he wants a full week of BP results to determine if we need to reduce the dose...I hope not I want to hit this shit head cancer as hard as I can.

The freaking pink ribbon - my dh came hope with a hot pink winter cap with the breast cancer sign on it.  He was so happy to give it to me....I said thanks and walked away saying I will never wear that.  He started to wear it to infusion today and I said no way in hell your wearing that there.  I just hate the ribbon, I can deal with some pink but lordy.  My MIL doesn't believe in medicine at all, she's huge into conspiracies and told me if I eat marigolds it will help.  STFU you wack job.  I took her to an appointment and she was acting like I was contaminating her by being in the hospital.  I was so freaking happy when she left.

Runner - glad are able to fly! Not sure why peole would be staring in the airport though. How would they even know you were doing chemo? 

- Yes I am sick of the whole pink ribbon thing and the marketing madness that goes with it. I recieved my share of ribbon pins and angels from well meaning friends. Of course I will never wear any of them. There a thread on these boards called "pinktober revolution". And if you want a laugh about all the wacko "cancer cures", I mean tears streaming down your face, wet your pants laugh, look up the thread entitled "they found the cure for stupid". My sides ached from laughing after reading the first few pages.

Sandra - your picture is adorable, and right side up!

jenjen - glad your tx 2 went well. I hope the extra fluids will help you have a better time of it this go round.

I had the constant urination yesterday (thanks for the explanation about that Soteria) but today I have some pain just as I finish urinating. I've also been excessively tired (much much moreso than before) this whole week after the third AC treatment a week ago Monday and am now wondering/being paranoid that that too was a sign of UTI.



My husband is picking up UTI detection strips on way home so I can relax or call the MO office in the am to see what can be done so as not to delay the last AC treatment scheduled for Monday, if at all possible.



Has anyone been on antibiotics and continued their regularly scheduled chemo?



Peggy

Kiwikid - That's right, we should just be honest and tell them to stop tormenting us. But I partially blame myself because I'm always hiding how hard this is and trying to make jokes, some people actually forget what I'm going through. My sister is definitely one of them. She came to my house and spent an hour telling me about this friend of her that lost her boyfriend before New Year's Eve and called her crying. She kept saying "poor girl, can you imagine THAT?" I'm single, unemployed and had cancer. Get over it.

You were saying that you're going to have surgery to avoid radiation, do you mean the ALND? I think I freeked up most people here when I said I had lymphedema from the ALND, but my arm is getting better and my PT says it can still go away and be normal.  

sophiafred, are you saying your sister's friend lost her boyfriend as in they broke up or did he die?   

My husband and I found ourselves comforting a male nurse whose girlfriend had broken up with him two days prior.  I felt bad for him but at the same time I was thinking "you're young, you're handsome, you'll get through this..." 

I post on a completely different kind of message board and I've not even mentioned the C word (chemo word) due to the backlash I'm sure would ensue.   

Peggy I hope you get it cleared up, ASAP!



leeA you're a dark horse, what is this other message board? I have a conspiracy theory aunt who sends me links to big pharma videos and long things to read about chem trails, I believe she has valid points but I have told her that I do no have a choice about chemo. If I was in my 70s that might be a different story, but I'm not, and going down the rabbit hole will not help me!



Sophia perhaps your aunt could bake carrots into those beetroot cookies?!



MOUTH ULCERS cure here... I have always had ulcers pop up until about a year ago I found that taking lysine can prevent them. I found this while trawling the Internet for a cure that must be better than salt! Now to get lysine you have to buy a big ugly bottle of pills that says to everyone in the store "I have cold sores", because lysine is the amino acid which works against the herpes virus. It also works against mouth ulcers, which seem to be of elusive origin in the medical community. I take losing everyday and have had one small ulcer in the last year, and it only lasted a few days. I have always had the worst ulcers that have stopped me eating and knocked me around, probably for one week a month, so I can vouch for lysine, and it's cheap. I am taking 3grams a day at the moment and I haven't had a mouth ulcer yet, and if anyone will get one, its me! I told the onc when I listed my medication and he didn't blink, so it won't interfere with chemo as far as ai know. It's also natural and only found in food, so can't really do much harm.



I really hope that helps someone.



Xx kk