January 2013 chemo group

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2013

    shawkins~I see you just had your 1st AC. How are you feeling? I get #4 next Friday. I dread it, but at the same time, I can't wait to be done with it.

    AC 3 was the toughest, but I've read that most people say that.



    By your reply, I see that you're a believer. I can't imagine trying to go through this battle without Jesus as my Rear Guard.



    Be blessed

    Paula

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited February 2013

    shawkins - I hope you're feeling better.  I had my husband pick up some Jello the day I read your post and it proved to be another good food for the post-chemo days line-up.  

    Paula, the people at your church have truly been wonderful.  Thanks for sharing.  

    ---

    The tongue sure takes a beating throughout all this.  I can only imagine what all of it would mean to an acupuncturist (they always have you stick out your tongue prior to a treatment - or at least that's been my experience).  

    "Which tongue are you?"  Link:  http://www.stewarttrotter.com/images/tongue_chart.jpg

    I haven't looked at my tongue this morning but based on how it looked yesterday I'm going with the yin deficiency choice.  I just googled yin deficiency and chemotherapy and found this: 

    The symptoms of qi and yin deficiency are similar to chemotherapy- or radiotherapy-induced side effects.

    PubMed.org (December 3, 2012)  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23206440 

    ---

    I hope everyone is faring well today!  You all are always in my thoughts and prayers.  

    It's supposed to get up to 79F here today but it's kind of overcast right now.  I'm going to try to get back on top of things that fell to the wayside following chemo #2.

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  • Skigirl72
    Skigirl72 Member Posts: 478
    edited February 2013

    just because someone thought of this.... genius.

    http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/1/

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  • carlads
    carlads Member Posts: 241
    edited February 2013

    Yes I wash my bald head everyday!  Just makes me feel better..  Had second treatment Thursday T/C headache started again today..  They reduced my Neulasta from 6mg to 4mg because my white count was still out of the box high! Hoping that helps with the head.  Neulasta works good on me too good..

    Sheryl, hope your SE's arent't too bad.. 

    Everyone have a good weekend,

    Carla

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  • hope49
    hope49 Member Posts: 370
    edited February 2013

    Hi ladies! Today I Got an email saying that I violated some kind of policy For private message or reporting a posting...did anyone else get anything like this I can't imagine what I did??? YIKES!!! I'm on the naughty list and I have no idea why.

    LeeA, how much OJ to yogurt ratio? That sounds yummy. I did see my Chinese MD today and she was not too happy with my tongue...definitely something to that!

    Speaking of yummy, Skigirl, the cookie recipe looks awesome!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2013

    hope~are you using an iPad? I am and that's happened to me twice. I think I just accidentally touch the REPORT THIS POST. I let the Mods know it was an accident.



    iPads are so touchy. I guess it could easily happen on a touch screen phone too.



    Blessings

    Paula

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  • hope49
    hope49 Member Posts: 370
    edited February 2013

    Thanks Paula, that makes sense I do sometimes use my iPad and must've clicked on something I shouldn't have...yeesh!

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  • shawkins64
    shawkins64 Member Posts: 8
    edited February 2013

    Paula, I'm doing better now but of course I have my 2nd AC tomorrow.  The first week was really rough for me just couldn't eat and felt like I had the flu.  Most definately I am a believer I think I would be a blubbering depressed mess if I didn't know that God has the battle already won for me.

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  • shawkins64
    shawkins64 Member Posts: 8
    edited February 2013

    LeeA, I'm feeling good and have been all week but you know they say by the time you start feeling better it's time for your next chemo treatment.  Well that happens to be on Monday.  Glad my mentioning jello helped you Smile

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  • Bryona
    Bryona Member Posts: 214
    edited February 2013

    Skigirl, you know what makes me sad? That cookie recipe doesn't sound good to me at all! Chemo makes me not want sweets, which is a total bummer considering how my friends keep plying me with chocolate. My DH keeps eating it all; I want none of it. So, here I am, with every excuse I could possibly want for indulging, and all I want to eat are sweet potatoes. What's up with that?

    So, I've been awake on and off since 2:00 this morning because of this stupid cold. I'm feeling pretty cranky about that, but on the bright side, I'm coherent enough to know that I feel cranky. I think that means this round is still going a bit better for me... well, minus the cold, of course.

    In honor of my cranky mood, I share with you my hero, Grumpy Cat:

    Had fun once

    Okay. Now I'm determined to feel better, because I'm a very competitive person and no one can pull off grumpy like Grumpy Cat. I'm shooting for most ridiculously cheerful now. We'll see how that goes.

    Have a good day, my lovelies!

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  • Sandra60
    Sandra60 Member Posts: 201
    edited February 2013

    Oliverhog - I am amazed at your efforts in keeping up with the the posts and commenting - your so sweet ! No I did not know about apple seeds containing cyanide - but it's so fun dropping the whole apple into my juicer - darn !



    LeeA - thanks for those links about apple seeds and apricot pits / seeds - had forgotten all about the Laetrile cure - wow did not know it was vitamin b17 and from apricot seeds . Interesting alternative medicine info and yes one could go deep in the rabbit hole on the subject !!



    Thank you again ladies for all the great posts - helps so much to be part of this club none of us want to be members of . Is there an anacronym we can come up with for that ? CLUB NOWBI ?

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  • Bryona
    Bryona Member Posts: 214
    edited February 2013

    Sandra, excellent acronym. (If only it were NEVER-BI for all of us!)

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  • smethot
    smethot Member Posts: 161
    edited February 2013

    LADIES!!!  I come bearing eyebrows!  And spidery eyelashes!  And a $300 Walmart receipt that proves i am loaded for frickin' BEAR insofar as any form of OTC may-need-it-just-in-case of SE medicine you can THINK of.  Even got me a chemo bag and blanket...i feel so girl scout. 

    Gotta tell you, the eyelashes and eyebrow excursion freaked me out...i am SOOOOOOO not a girlie-girl and fake eyebrows & eyelashes are the territory of ladies who pay WAY more attention to crap like that than i do.  So i take my alopecia buddy and her daughter shopping with me...because they are girlie-girls and i need help.  The sales girl is the happiest freaking human being alive and SOOOOOO excited to be slathering crap on my face i honeslty think she's gonna pull a "When Harry Met Sally" on me and lose it right there.  I mean seriously...its makeup.  I wear it.  I get it.  But do we have to try and make the experience orgasmic???  I end up looking like Groucho Marx ('cause Zippy the salesgirl picked the pallette for brunettes instead of blondes) and the eyelashes are about the oddest thing i've ever done..just danmed creepy...how the hell do those Jersey Shore tarts do it???  But i am now ready...in theory.  Got stencils and glue and art supplies and damned it...i will really, really try to create a normal face on mine once all my s*** falls out.  I am so screwed... 

    Just gotta throw out props on the cellular insurgent pic...it is awesome.  We now have both a call to arms (pun intended) with "Death to Cellular Insurgents" and a kick-ass graphic to go with...i love it.  Although we may have to amend the pic to show a bald chick sitting down in a comfie lawn chair, drinking a gatorade, aiming her ray-gun-of-doom at the cellular bastard...

    Thanks muchly to everyone who told me the trans-vag is doable- i googled it and it kinda looks like a pap smear on steroids...not my fav deal-e-o but definitely within the realm of acceptabe.  Hell if my nipples now shoot death rays from all the radioactive crap the've pumped into me, a little condom-covered dildo is no big...

    ...and Grumpy Cat is my new hero...xoxox Shannon

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  • melibt
    melibt Member Posts: 13
    edited February 2013

    Hi all. I've been lurking on the sidelines until now. I've been inspired by all of you and thought it was time to join in. I am heading into my second round of TC this week. Aside from a virus that kicked in on day 3 of my first round that landed me in the ER for the longest night of my life, I've been feeling pretty good. I am wondering when the uglies are really going to kick in...

    I'm another cold-capper. Not sure how that's going. I've been shedding like crazy this week and am wondering if I am perhaps just going bald slowly.

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  • smethot
    smethot Member Posts: 161
    edited February 2013

    New crack pug avatar, too.  Death rays from his eyes...couldn't find a nipple pic.  Tongue Out

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  • Colleenkelly
    Colleenkelly Member Posts: 99
    edited February 2013

    Hello ladies. My stomach has been hurting so bad. Any ideas?

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  • MandyNJ
    MandyNJ Member Posts: 73
    edited February 2013

    Welcome melibt.



    Shannon, I've really come to look forward to your posts. The way you tell your stories cracks me up!

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  • Bryona
    Bryona Member Posts: 214
    edited February 2013

    melibt, ciao bella. Here's hoping you're one of those lucky ladies who never really gets the uglies. Hey, you're due for some good luck, right?

    Colleen, what kind of hurting is it? (And my first answer is always, "Call the doctor." That's what mine's getting paid for, right?)

    Shannon, I have NOT ventured out for lashes and brows, but now you've inspired me. As soon as this stupid cold is a little less obnoxious, I'm heading out. (Somehow, it just seems rude to go out now, coughing and hacking at everyone.) Nice crack pug, too, but how 'bout this for the nipple pic?

    Woooowheeeee, ladies, the hair is going like gangbusters today! I can't say I'm in love with the look of the Buff, but it makes an excellent shedding containment device. So glad I had that buzz done the other day, or this would be a potential natural disaster. Zoiks!

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  • Colleenkelly
    Colleenkelly Member Posts: 99
    edited February 2013

    Hi Bryona, its in my intestines. Think I need a suppository to get cleaned out. Sorry if TMI. Guess I should call on call doc and see if okay to use one. I haven't been eating that much either. I guess losing a few pounds for going thru all this crap wouldn't be such a bad thing. I hope your cold goes away soon. Is the Brian josephs working for anyone?

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  • Yayme
    Yayme Member Posts: 107
    edited February 2013

    Welcome Melibt...

    So sorry you had to go through a rough start...to answer your question everyone is a little different. For me, the chemo was cumulative...I felt a little more weak after each next session. However, I very seldom felt sick to my stomach because I was sure to take my anti-nausea meds around the clock for the first 3 days then I was able to see how I would feel and gauge if I needed to continue. Please don't be afraid of taking those meds...they are a god sent...I started to loose my hair between the second and third week of my first chemo...then I just shaved it off...much easier to handle. Feel feel free to message me anytime if you have any question...take care and good luck on your upcoming treatment.

    Lisa

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited February 2013

    hope49, First off - yikes on the hand slap!  I bet it was something like Paula mentioned.  Secondly, re: yogurt ratios - I'm just eating the second half of a 17.6 ounce container right now (that's about 46+ g of protein) and this time I put in enough to make it more like whipped cream.  Sometimes I put it in a glass and put in enough to make it more like a smoothie.  Since I don't want to overdo it on the orange juice (even though it's fresh squeezed there's a lot of sugar in orange juice) I've been making it more like the whipped cream versus the smoothie.  I buy the 64 ounce Trader Joe's fresh squeezed orange juice and it takes me a while to get through that size because I'm the only one using it and I only use it to mix it with yogurt.  That's about 150 more words than necessary but in short, I think it tastes good every time and I'm sure I'm not accurate in my pouring each time.  

    ==

    Skigirl - I'm glad I clicked on that link.  People are so creative.   IMO,  that's far more creative than all the weird fried stuff they do at county fairs.

    ==

    One of the best sweets I've ever had was at the 30th birthday party of one of my husband's co-workers.  Seemingly, money was no object because everything was over the top, at least to this midwestern who had just moved to California. The theme was hamburgers and it was a cookout on the beach at a private club.  The crowning glory of this entire affair (which marked this woman's coming into her trust fund) was an enormous hamburger-shaped birthday cake.  It was at least as big as a hula hoop in diameter and the best part of it was the frosting.  The part that would have been buns, pickles, etc. was all frosting and the part that would have been the hamburger was chocolate cake.  The ratio on this was about 80% frosting and 20% cake.  This was over 13 years ago and I'm still fantasizing about that cake.  I hope I'm not disgusting anyone with this description because I know how it is soon after chemo.  

    For some reason that Oreo surrounded by a chocolate chip cookie brought back the memory of that cake.  I just asked my husband about the size (of the cake) and mentioned, yet again, how good the frosting was and he said "it was the Lord's frosting."  LOL!  He cracks me up!

    ==

    Welcome, melibt, to CLUB NOWBI!  (excellent acronym Sandra!) 

    ==

    smethot, I did the eyebrow excursion as well but it was a solo trip as I am, for the most part, a non-socializing hermit.  The first color the expert used was way too dark and I looked Mommie Dearest-ish.  I ended up with a lighter color and I've been using the little kit since the great hair fallout.  I've been wearing earrings as well.  And concealer.  And some eye shadow.  And mascara.  The time I used to spend blow drying my hair is now spent putting on stuff I never used to be able to stand to wear. 

    The other day I returned the unopened eye pencil that I bought the same day because it took at least three days (no exaggeration) for the stuff to finally come off (and that was with eye makeup remover).  I've read too many stories about tear duct problems during chemo to purposely load my eyelid pores with stuff that must have been formulated by the Sharpie™ people.  Obviously, death ray pug is above all eye enhancement!   


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  • Bryona
    Bryona Member Posts: 214
    edited February 2013

    Colleen, I had a rough time with constipation after my first tx, even with taking 500 mg of ducosate twice a day. I added Miralax in the morning to sort it out. It took a couple of days, but it got the job done. The other thing that helped was just walking around; it stimulates peristalsis. And there is no such thing as TMI around here. At least, I hope not. :)

    Lee, are you not going to be my friend anymore if I tell you I'm the girl who eats the cake and gives away the frosting? (I'd probably even do it with the Lord's frosting... although I'd give it a chance first!)

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited February 2013

    Colleenkelly - I had a lot of intestinal pain/burning after the first chemo.  Bren58 on the December thread said she did as well and it tapered off after the second treatment.  So far, she was right.  

    I started taking generic Prilosec based on Sandra60's recommendation and I really think it has helped.  

    For what it's worth, the morning of my second treatment I still had remnants of that burning sensation and as I was walking that morning thought to myself "I hope the steroids will knock out this discomfort because it's going to be uncomfortable sitting there for 3-4 hours."  I even went as far as to describe it as a combination of burning (in the lower intestine) along with the sensation of having a tennis ball stuck up my ****.

    This time, I went into it with a few days of the Prilosec under my belt (no pun intended) and also started taking Tums after the chemo.  

    I know it's a miserable feeling Frown

    I hope the same is true for you, i.e. that it's a round one side effect only.  

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited February 2013

    Bryona, we have the potential to be BFF because of the symbiotic relationship of the frosting versus the cake.  You see, I don't like the cake part.  In fact, my dream cake involves no cake.  What was it Morpheus said?  There is no spoon?  (oops, I just looked it up - spoon boy said there is no spoon). 

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited February 2013

    Re: that graphic, Bryona - wow, if our breasts could have done that we might have been able to keep cancer at bay!

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited February 2013

    Re: constipation - 

    TonLee, a chemo veteran on the Triple Positive thread, swears by magnesium oxide.  Here are some links:

    http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/80/topic/764183?page=483#post_3374577

    http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/80/topic/764183?page=389#post_3279538

    http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/80/topic/764183?page=354#post_3237614

    http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topic/764819?page=13#post_2367265

    Note: in the third post she mentions it helps to maintain a flat stomach and helps eliminate bloating - I'm going to buy a bottle tonight - but as she says - we should all check with our doctors/oncologists before we start something new or different. 

    -

    /end crack monkey spree

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  • Skigirl72
    Skigirl72 Member Posts: 478
    edited February 2013

    Colleen- I was VERY constipated the first time around. The colace didn't help much. That was the source of my lower abdominal pain. very intense. Try some MOM and keep drinking water. DO NOT let yourself get dehydrated. Hope this helps and I hope you get some relief soon.

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  • Jubby
    Jubby Member Posts: 85
    edited February 2013

    Colleenkelly, I think suppositories during chemo are a ‘no no’. My onc nurses told me not to use them. You can get a scratch/tear and that can in turn become an infection.  I had similar to the pain you describe - 36 hours of extreme bloating and cramping.  Something about the chemo plays havoc on peristalsis.  I didn’t think I was constipated but it sure as hell felt like it!  I took 2 sachets of Movicol (you guys call it Miralax) at night before bed.  The stuff tastes horrendous but it does the job. By morning you should be feeling fine.  Try to stay away from senna based laxatives as they amplify the cramping. You can increase the sachets of Miralax if there is still no movement at the station.  I am seeing my onc on Wed to talk about how we minimise the cramping next time.  If I have to do that again I will be a basket case.  It was like someone had put a bike pump up my arse, filled my bowels with air and then started adding sharp gastro knife pains into the mix. Joy. Now that is TMI!  I will let you know if she has any pearls of wisdom.  I am someone who suffers very badly from constipation anyway but sheesh, chemo takes it to another level.  I hope you feel better soon and try to take a probiotic if you can.  Rest up ladies…. J xox

     

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  • Jubby
    Jubby Member Posts: 85
    edited February 2013

    PS; Miralax is an osmotic laxative instead of a peristaltic trigger one like senna. It draws water into the bowel naturally to soften things.  Skigirl is on the money - make sure you keep up the water.  My son was hospitalised for constipation last year and had all sorts of problems. We have seen a myriad of continence experts as GI people.  I am a self-taught expert now on constipation! Just want you want to add to your CV - "Poo Authority". LOL

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  • SherylB
    SherylB Member Posts: 450
    edited February 2013

    Hey all,

    Second chemo on Thursday and started with the severe headache again within abot 4 hours. It has been incredibly wicked for more than 36 hours. Barely eased up this afternoon. First time I had the headache too but had narcotics this time only Ibuprofen and tylenol. Spent 5 hours in ED early this am with no treatment so I signed out AMA and went home so I could at least be more comfortable. Been trying to figure out which is causing it and I found that the Aloxi for nausea on chemo day has the main side effect of headache and constipation which I am dealing with too. Anyone else having the headache issue. It is the worst pain I can remember having.

    Thanks, Sheryl

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