Starting Chemo February 2013

Nancy how is your energy level? I am 1 week post last Chemo today and boy this last one hit me hard. I am still just BEAT! Nausia is gone, but my heart is still racing and I feel so helpless I cant do squat. Everyone thinks just because Im done with Chemo I should be back to normal! Taste buds shot and tummy still upset. I will just be so glad to have even half my energy back. Hope your hair is growing. I started using Nioxin, I never lost all my hair anyway, but cant hurt to use it! Tired of hats!!

Tangles - after 5 weeks, I finally feel pretty good..since last week tastebuds are back to normal -last weekend I almost walked the whole mall before I ran out of steam..Tiredness is slightly coming back but thats the rads.. but for now I finally am feeling happy and seeing this time as almost coming to an end ...

Nancy, Tangles and Dizzy Mom

I am one week out from chemo and #6 has not been any better than the others. I still have extreme fatigue. I slept for 2 hours this afternoon, still got the nausea, and the numbness in my feet, hands and face has been the worse.

My only momentum is knowing I am finished. But as I am laying around fighting fatigue my brain is on GO, but my body is not moving.
I finally am no longer feeling the neulasta, but my bones were still aching as of yesterday.

Now I want my fingernails to be normal and I wants my hair back. I just want enough so I can ditch these caps.

That's reassuring about the nails, IamNancy. Mine all look like they've been smashed by a hammer at this point.

Hope you are feeling better soon KKmom.

Have a great weekend everybody.

To all of you have have finished chemo, please keep letting us know about hair growth and se's.

I am sick of being bald. I feel like such a weirdo! Especially now that my eyebrows are almost gone. Tonight was the first time I showed my husband my bald head. UGH! He said I still look beautiful. Awwww! Of course I don't feel beautiful............

Now that the weather if changing, wearing a wig is going to be a challenge in the heat. I am not comfortable going out in  public in a scarf or with nothing. In my yard when I work a lil bit I will wear a scarf tho.

I paint my nails about every 4 days. They have been holding up ok do far. Chemo #6 is 3 days away.

Tangles, I know what you mean about feeling like you want/need to clean and then you just can't . I try to load the dishwasher everyday and wipe off the counters.....If I can do that I feel pretty good about my accomplishment. I have an 18 yr old daughter who helps me alot. Thank god for her!

I'm 5 1/2 weeks out of treatment and I've had that soft fuzz on my head for about a week.  My eyebrows continue to thin but are hanging on and my lungs and legs are finally starting to feel better.  8/20 rads down, started tamoxifen last week, holy cow is the end of all this in sight?

Thanks gals for the "hope" I am 10 days since last Chemo and its funny how everyone thinks "oh your done with Chemo now I bet your feeling better" I just want to scream and say are you CRAZY!? You think 18 weeks of Chemo building up in my system and just because Im done I'm all better? UGH. I wonder those gals who are 6 weeks out how are your emotions? I am hoping this roller coaster of emotions I am on will soon end I feel like I cry at the drop of a hat. I was trying to do a simple task in the kitchen the other day and I was too weak so of course the tears start to flow out of frustration. Then I think why am I crying over this?? I am sure my husband & son are VERY sick of it!! I still have eyebrows and lashes. Hoping the hair doesn't grow back at the same time the lashes fall out!!! My biggest complaint is the TE. They are overfilled right now and HURT SO BAD. I never in my wildest dreams thought my chest was going to hurt this bad after 5 months had gone by. I often wonder if the TE my PS put in were not too large for my frame as I dont hear others having this type of problems.To make matters worse I have a sore throat coming on. Geezzzzz I am sure a complainer today! Well enough venting for now. Hope everyone is feeling well........

LW you just decribed my last few trips to the store!!

Tangles: It's frustrating! I'm independent and like to do things on my own. It's hard to give that up and come to the realization that I need help. My hubby helped with laundry today and vacuumed the whole house and I mean really vacuumed. He moved furniture and vacuumed underneath everything. At first I felt a little guilty and inadequate because I couldn't do it but convinced myself it was a good thing and just accept it.



LakeGirl: I have a halo too. The only thing is, I never wore hats before i lost my hair and the bill on them bugs me. I see it above my eyes and it sometimes makes me claustrophobic...weird I know. Just wish I could get used to it. I have several cute hats too. I really miss just having regular old hair. When it comes back, I'll never complain about how it looks ever again!

Even though I feel so much better, I realize I do not go anywhere alone... except work and to rads... but come weekends my husband takes me everywhere.. Funny, I must have lost my independance along the way - I have to get it back!

Every once in a while I see a woman bald and wearing no wig - I wish I could do that - I am sure my wig will drive me nuts this summer, can't stand the heat unless I am on vacation.. I just don't have the nerve to go wigless, scarfless, hatless... but I m going really try and talk myself into trying it..

LW and all - I miss my hair so much. Now that I am done with chemo and feeling mostly better, I am obsessing about my hair. I keep looking every day. Not seeing much going on that I can tell. I never shaved my head so I have this thin veil, and its hard to see any new growth. I know have to give it time and not worry.

Hated my wig. Wore it twice and felt so self conscious in addition to it being hot and itchy even in a NE winter. Liked my headcovers much better. SOOOOOOOO looking forward to having enough hair to go without a cover, but not there yet by a long shot. I think it was Melrose who said she lost more eyelashes and brows after chemo was over. Same with me, I have almost no brows or lower lashes now and very thin upper lashes, but head hair is definitely coming in. I'm so impatient- I want it back NOW. OK, so that's my tantrum for the night

Went to see my surgeon today and have the green light on having chemo tomorrow. She said my incision looks really good, so that means her stitches are holding. Final chemo just around the corner. Woo Hoo!

She had mentioned talking to my ps about doing some fills before rads to assist in getting the skin stretched enough but then they would still have to deflate to start the rads in July.  She said there is a small percent of people who have skin that becomes firmer and interferes with the properly needed stretching afterwards. She doesnt want it to affect how the final implant will turn out.  

Not sure how I feel about all that but I guess they know best. Im a lil worried that they might try to force a bunch of "speed" fills and cause alot of pain. I already cant stand the giant side boob and the te's pressing on my port, (gotta talk to her about getting that out soon). From what you all say about the expanders......we all hate them! Anybody have any thoughts or experience with this?

For now, I'm going to focus on the final chemo and all that goes with that. Will worry about the next steps later! One victory at a time, Right?

Gina I bet you will be so happy the last chemo day. I was elated!! My Ps and my radiation doctor both want my implants in Before radiation.So every Doc does things different. I have voiced my concerns to both of them and said it sounds like most do the exchange afterwards? He said this is the old way of doing it and then I went to the radiation Doctor and she said the same thing. I guess I gotta go with it then. I looked my PS up on google and he went to Harvard and Yale and has a ton of experience and runs the entire plastic surgery department at the University Hospital and also is a professor and teaches it, so gotta trust him. Gina my experience with the TE has NOT been good. I think it is because I have a small rib cage area. My pain with this final fill has been KILLING me. I just need to hang in there 3 more weeks and decide to take the pain pills and deal with the side effects or deal with the pain. I wish someone would deflate me!!!!!!!!

Hi all,

So I finished my chemo regimen of C.T at the end of March.. has anyone had any wierd issues with hair growing back? I have some growing back but the back of my head seems way thinner than the rest. Not sure if this is a permanent thing or my hair is still trying to "decide" to come back...

Andy MC