Starting Chemo in April 2014

Big hugs to all!  Mommy guilt is so hard!  

 Round 3 of AC this Wednesday.  Freaking out a little because I am not back to myself yet from the last one.   Still so tired.   Guess we'll see what my numbers look like tomorrow.  Part of me hopes I can't have it this week but I need to so I'm somewhat healthy for May long weekend.   My whole family is coming from 14 hours away so I really want to at least be over the nausea by then. 

"I think I can, I think I can. ..."

I just checked in on the last three days of this thread, and am soooo glad I did. I woke up this morning just SICK of being in cancer treatment! I have been keeping up a game attitude, but every now and then I REALLY feel the burden of coping with the damned thing and its treatments. I am wobbling along the path to increased acceptance, but balking mightily at times. Its almost time for tx #5 on Wed., and I am still feeling the effects of the last four. I re-read the stuff they gave me at the onc. clinic, about side effects and such, and I guess feeling sick is part of the game. It is SO HARD not to think its cancer causing the malaise. But I was in good shape going into this a month ago, so probably will feel better again sooner or later. Enough whining, thanks for everyone's candid reports, you are a huge support. My husband took a photo of me at my first chemo, I will try and upload that on my desktop computer. Big hugs to all of you, you are so inspiring, funny, and honest.

You are not a big baby..  You are along for the ride and that is a bummer.  This group will give you so much support and you will always find someone who has been through a similar experience.  You can laugh, cry, scream, question, ask.  It is all here. 

Sorry you have to be here but welcome.

Hi mommyq. 

 I have one implant and one TE, and YES my TE side is always sore during chemo, especially if I had my fill the same week.  I think it is bc we just get stretched and then the chemo doesn't let us heal properly.  And everything is exacerbated I find with chemo.  My plastic surgeon wasn't concerned, but said no need to fill them quickly and just to go slow.  And if you get dexamethasone it makes you retain fluid so the TE feels tighter too.  That's what I chalk it up to anyway.  Hope that helps!

Hi bridegroom, I have only had one infusion of AC.  I became dizzy and cloudy almost immediately after they began to push the A, but I did not become nauseous until the evening of day two.  It came on all at once and was extreme.  I began taking zofran then. I never threw up, but I could have at any moment for the next two days.  Next time I will start taking zofran the evening of day one and continue every six hours until day three or four.  My MO also gave me promethazine which fights nausea and makes me sleepy, so I will use that at night.  My husband plans to wake me to keep me on the med schedule because I was so very sick last time.  I lost six pounds in just a few days.

Welcome mommyq.  You are not alone, nor are you a baby.  My TEs became pinchy after my infusion and there was some fluid build up.  It went away about five days later.  My temp floated up to about 99.6 and then back down.  I was put on antibiotics during nadir since my WBC was so low.  I was also dizzy and foggy, but not my vision, it was my thinking. I called it cotton head and could not sequence things correctly and kept starting things and walking away from them. Also, I couldn't stay on one subject when talking. I just rambled around.  My husband and kids found it cute.

I'm off to buzz my head this evening. Please wish me strength and courage.

spunky sorry you had to join us but happy to have you. How are you doing ??

Blueberry I had the dizziness also with treatment  . I hate the foggy feeling. 

the little train that could.  That is who you are.  You can do it

sorry to hear longisland - can't help you out with meds but hope that I feel better soon!!

chknfeet hope that ure home soon and better!!

Hello Ladies!

Blueberry: Seriously, the whole auto-correct thing CRACKED ME UP. Thanks for the laugh today! My kids and I kind of collect auto-correct bloopers. Like one time, I was typing "I ate a little for dinner", and it corrected to "I ate a KITTEN for dinner". Good thing I caught that before I sent it. HA! Oh, and FYI, the auto-correct fail of "amazingly" is "camacho fly". True story.

Regarding veggies: I second what MakeLemonade said. Be careful on your low WBC days. During that time, I eat only fruits and veggies that can be cooked or peeled. Which is annoying, but at least I know I'm safe from infection that way. I sure do miss a green leafy salad though. Although, I keep reminding myself that this is NOT the time to worry too much about diet or weight gain. Obviously I'm not going to run out and order myself some KFC (because EW, that would definitely make me puke), but if I have to avoid fruits and veggies during my queasy days and live on crackers and pasta, then so be it. Do what you need to do to GET THROUGH IT.

Aw Sunshine, the MOMMY GUILT is overwhelming, isn't it? I can't even think of anything wise or uplifting to say, except that I'm right there with you. Hugs to all the wonderful mommies out there who are fighting and missing time now so we can give so much more of it later. And as for seeing yourself bald, I PROMISE, you do get used to it. The first couple of weeks after The Big Shave, I kept jumping whenever I passed by a mirror. I kept thinking I was seeing a stranger in the house. Now, it's no big deal. Just what I look like. Pretty darn cute bald woman coming through.

MakeLemonade: Regarding hair loss? Mine started falling out on a Thursday evening, I woke up the next morning with bald patches (EEEEK!), shaved it that afternoon, and by Monday a good portion of the stubble was gone too. It didn't take very long. Sorry.

MommyQ: Welcome. I find that I have a temperature that hovers between 99 and 99.5 starting about Day 5 through Day 10 post infusion, especially in the evenings or if I've done a little too much during the day. It completely freaks my husband out (I ended up in the hospital with a fever after Round 1), so I get relegated to Couch Potato Status during those days. Also, I've found that my vision is a little off, particularly in the left eye. I'm told these are normal things, but ask your MO about ANYTHING that concerns you. 

brigadoon: I have chemo on Friday, and my nausea usually starts to settle in Saturday evening. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday it's full-blown and I feel like I could vomit every time I open my mouth. Wednesday it lifts. We are going to tweak my nausea meds AGAIN for the next round. Here's hoping the third combination is the winner.

chknfeet: Well, SHOOT. I hope they find the source of infection and send you home soon. Hospital stays in isolation are boring and crumby and absolutely no fun at all.  

Welcome Spunky!

Hey, footballnut, thanks so much of the lovely picture of Spring you posted! I thought I'd share my own picture of our weather here in Calgary on the morning of Saturday, May 3. 

In conclusion, it makes me very, VERY happy to hear that Spring has come to other parts of the world. It gives the rest of us hope.

round 2 starts today!  Really hoping not to have a hospital repeat at day 7 like the first time.  

Anyone having the opposite of chemo pause?  I thought menstrual periods were supposed to go away with chemo.  I am having the opposite.  I started 2.5 weeks early...part of what landed me in the hospital, finished up last week and woke up at 4 am this morning (thank you Decadron) starting all over again.

If any of you beautiful ladies have access to a Look Good, Feel Better class in your area I nightly recommend taking it.  I had mine yesterday and left with over 300$ in free makeup and a really cute, brand new wig from their wig bank.  They said Pantene purchased the wigs for them. So, now I have two wig options to chose from.  They also showed me options on scarf tying which was helpful

Here's the most creative tip they gave me.  Take a large soft T shirt, cut it off under the arms. Discard the arm half. Fold down one edge and put it over your head.  Take the ends in the back and twirl them outwardly until the band around your head is tight.  Take each of the twirled ponytails and bring them around to form a band on your head. Tuck in the edges.  Super cute and very comfortable. Great for this summer on the beach--cool and chic!

Wishing us all a tolerable SE week!

Hi Krish - I would never tell someone not to get a 2nd opinion if they felt they wanted one - I did get one for my chemo regime and it changed based on that opinion.  I am not a doctor but what she has been prescribed sounds pretty much in line with what I have seen here from others with similar diagnosis and it is GREAT news for her not to have to do chemo.  That Ki 67 5%, i believe means that they perdict she has a very low chance of reoccurence and realize that chemo is always an option if that does happen.  If you will find comfort and she will find comfort in a 2nd - then just do it.  I am very happy for her.

Hey Ya'll, I kind of made it through the first week of treatment. One day of vomiting only. So yesterday I felt almost normal again. It was a beautiful day too. By last night my hips & back were hurting baaaaad. My ribs were hurting, I thought from vomiting.I got the neulasta shot on wed. I have been taking the claritan like I'm supposed to. Last night I took 2 percs. It still hurts. Today I go back for lab work. I'm going to really complain to the doc. Thanx for the vent.

Sending positive vibes to those getting the magic potions today.

Saw the dermatologist today - she confirmed the reaction between the chemo chemicals and the precancerous areas on my skin - she seemed a little too happy about it . Zapped 3 areas with liquid nitrogen, and sent me off with a prescription for a steroid cream in case itching gets worse.  Also recommended keeping well moisturized with something like Aveeno.

So far I seem to be avoiding issues from being in the neutropenic zone - which reminds me of hydroponic - which reminds me of bodies floating in suspension like in the movie Coma.  Maybe I haven't avoided issues after all ...

(Still laughing about the neulasta nudists)

Thanks for all the responses! It's so nice having a place like this for us to talk and share our experiences and share helpful advice!

brigadoonbenson: Thanks for the welcome! You're so lucky to have little SEs! Good luck to you on Wednesday!

linda505: Sounds like we both (and several others on this board) have similar discomfort with our TEs & slightly cloudy vision. I guess those SEs must be normal. On Sunday, I called my MO because I read 100.6 degrees when I woke from a nap. Turns out I was just overheated from blankets because it dropped to 99.8 by the time my MO called me back a few minutes later.  She asked if I had any signs of infection (redness/heat/swelling around TEs, pain urinating) and I told her no.  She told me that it was unusual to have a fever from infection until midcycle because that's when the blood counts are down, but to just keep monitoring my temperature and to NOT take any Advil or Tylenol, which would mask any fever I might have. Oh, and I DID have the Neulasta shot on Thursday, May 1, the day after my chemo.

clarrn: I think you're right that chemo makes everything exacerbated! And yes, I did take the Dexamethasone on chemo day and the 2 days flanking it.

Blueberry4: I've also been dizzy and feeling generally off balance since the infusion. I hope the dizziness and TE pains lessen before the next fill and chemo!  I hope your hair appointment went well.

Spunky825: Welcome! I am also on TC (started 4/30), so we can share and compare war stories.

ColdInCanada: I find that I also raise my temp if I do too much, but I've been laying around a lot! I increased my fluid intake yesterday to about 2.5 quarts of water and felt better. Maybe I was dehydrated too because I wasn't drinking enough. Hope that snow goes away soon for you! 

chknfeet: Glad you didn't end up having to stay at the hospital and they got your temps back to normal. I tried drinking a lot of water yesterday and DID feel better, so hydration must be the trick! My TEs also poke my ribs and my armpits! I can't get comfortable for long in any position so sleeping has been in spurts of about 3 hours at a time. So, are the TEs feeling better since you skipped a fill? My PS wants to do a lot of fills early on because she said that it's easier to stretch everything within the first 6 weeks after the insertion. However, since I can't swap the TEs out for my gummy bear implants until after chemo and radiation are both done plus a 6 months wait (so we're looking at April 2015), I probably could slow it down a bit on fills.