Starting Chemo in April 2014

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  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    ha ha Linda!!!!

  • mmtagirl
    mmtagirl Member Posts: 509
    edited May 2014

    Wow, girls, busy couple of days!  Go warrior women!

    Jamieh, love, love, love the picture of you and DH:-)

    Today has been the best day since round 2...yippee!!....at day 10

    PS. I am secretly hiding in my office at work with a cut off pantyhose on my head and my hair on my desk in between meetings. tee hee

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    mmtagirl. Too funny!!

  • SharonDe
    SharonDe Member Posts: 222
    edited May 2014

    that one made me laugh, mmtagirl.  

    Great pic, Jamieh!

  • Longislandl8y
    Longislandl8y Member Posts: 145
    edited May 2014

    Football, we love Peyton as much as Eli! Sorry to hear you're a Yankees fan though, lol.  Our Mets are giving them quite a fight so far during this subway series! Loopy

    Yes, my SEs were somewhat worse & definitely lasted longer with round 2.  I go for round 3 on Tuesday.  Please anyone who has been through round 3, let me know if it's cumulative on top of round two... I'm dreading it already.  Although I do have a new weapon to combat the nausea. My doctor prescribed me decadron to take days 1-5, coupled with the Zofran.  Not thrilled about taking a steroid, but hopefully only 5 days won't mess with me too much.  Anyone with insight or experience with decadron please share. 


     

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    longisland good to hear that you like PEYTON!!  Lol. He didn't do so well in the Super Bowl and were in NYC at ghost time!  Met a lot of Seahawks fans. Good times!!

    As for the METS - My Entire Team Sucks right?  Gotta love sports!!!  Lol. Yup love the Yankees!  Hard to see Derek jeter retire!  Time flies !

    Today I'm starting to feel congested and my tummy is a bit sore. Can you get SEs towards the end of an infusion?  It's day 15 for me. Not sure if this is my allergies acting up. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow

    I am starting to lose hair "down there" as my mom says. Can't believe it!!

    Oh well!!

    Back to sports!!  Lol

  • linda505
    linda505 Member Posts: 847
    edited May 2014

    Hey all - I am Buzzed and found a 2nd head under my hair LOL

    image

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014
  • SharonDe
    SharonDe Member Posts: 222
    edited May 2014

    Cute, Linda - love the smile.

    Footballnut - from my limited experience, SEs can continue to pop up in the last week.  I had some tummy issues, more fatigue, and minor rash on my hands.

    Longisland  - try to take the decadron early in the evening, since it can keep you awake.  I find it gives me heartburn, but OTC Prilosec takes care of it.  It also makes my achy ( and admittedly older) joints feel better.  I had minimal nausea.  Obviously, people can react differently to any of these meds.

  • jhodro
    jhodro Member Posts: 240
    edited May 2014

    Longisland: I started Decadron, one day before, day of and day after, plus as a med just before the infusion. I didn't sleep at all. So my MO cut out all but the meds right before the infusion. I still don't sleep the night after my infusion, even with ambien. I'm going to call tomorrow and see about a stronger sleep med or stopping the steroid. But, I seem to be very sensitive to steroids and have taken them for a sinus infection in the past and had a bad reaction. It's also causing raging acne that I really don't know what to do about either. The MO suggestion of cortisone has not helped at all. The acne is crazy on my head as well, which makes wearing anything on my head, especially a wig, very uncomfortable. Hopefully after sleep tonight I will be in a much better space about this. :)

  • chknfeet
    chknfeet Member Posts: 29
    edited May 2014

    Hi Ladies! I went to the LGFB at my hospital today.  It was 2 hours and IMO totally worth the time. I met some lovely ladies going through the same thing at various stages of treatment and as a bonus got some pretty good makeup. My bag included an IT cosmetics eyebrow pencil (my fav of the bag), Clarins sunscreen, 2 OPI nail polishes, an Estee Lauder foundation, EL lipstick, EL eyeliner, Elizabeth Arden powder, EA lipliner, facial lotion, makeup remover, and other stuff that I'm too lazy to dig out. Everyone had something different but every bag had mostly mid to high end makeup. Some bags had Kiehl products, Lancome, Chanel lip gloss, ..... Not too shabby, especially since its free! Anyway, hope this is helpful for anyone on the fence about going.

  • mmtagirl
    mmtagirl Member Posts: 509
    edited May 2014

    way to go, Linda!

    Longisland, we will battle round 3 together on Tuesday.  I have been on the decadron, zofran, emend and added Tigran for nauseau.  Worked well for round 2. 

    Good luck!

  • EverForward
    EverForward Member Posts: 242
    edited May 2014

    Mmtagirl, I envy your office with a door. I work in a teeny tiny cubicle farm and would love to be able to take off my wig for a few minutes every day. Got a break yesterday for my second infusion when I wore a cute chemo beanie. It's not widely known at work that I have cancer so I'm wearing a wig there, especially since I will be bidding on my next overseas assignment this summer and I'd rather not be thought of as Cancer Girl while I'm interviewing.

    I'm sorry to hear many of you are experiencing new or worse SEs for your second or third rounds. That's not what my MO told me would happen. I had a pretty manageable first round and will try to get ahead of the digestive issues this round. Fingers crossed for everyone!

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    good morning!

    Hope all are well!  Quick question as I need help making a decision

    Hubby and I were going to take a trip to Ottawa for a short getaway before my next infusion. It's not too far. 4 hour trip. Yesterday  I felt chilled all day and tired. This morning I woke up slightly tired. 

    This isn't necessarily SEs - it could very likely be allergies or weather related. It's been damp and blah here the past few days

    So I've been back and forth on if we should go because I told my DH that I would hate to go and end up in bed all day

    Thoughts?  Usually when I waffle with decisions - which is rare. - I do what makes sense rather than what I would like to do

    What makes sense is to stay home and save the $ until after treatment. 

    It's a long weekend in Ontario and DH was going to take tomorrow off to make it a bit longer

    Arrrrgh

    Have a great no SE day everyone!!!!!!

  • mmtagirl
    mmtagirl Member Posts: 509
    edited May 2014

    Footballnut, you have had amazing stamina and energy the past few weeks with all your exercise and walking.  Trust your intuition on this decision.  It will be correct.  My MO keeps telling me to live my life.  Play outside, go watch my daughters soccer games, work, be around people.  He wants us to agree on any trips that take me on an airplane, out of the country, etc.  

    if you don't think you will have fun, stay home. Otherwise, I have no doubt you can manage those SEs and have a great get away.  I hear ya on allergies or whatever, I have been taking Claritin all week and not for the Nuelesta shot.  I think pollens are high for the northern half of the northern hemisphere right now.

    Good luck and hang in there!

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    tx mmtagirl!  Part of me really wants to go!  Feel okay so far. I notice that this week I have been waking up closer to my " normal" time which is 6 am. 

    After infusion I was getting up anywhere between 8-9

    Seems that I am slowly returning to "normal" - must be time for another infusion!!

    Lol

  • merg
    merg Member Posts: 61
    edited May 2014

    Footballnut, Maybe you could go with the idea that if it's too bad then come home? Or cut the trip in half?

    Linda, Beautiful!

    mmtagirl & Longisland, I'm going for round 2 on Tuesday also. Thinking of you while I'm there.

    Bad night . I woke up with horrible awful reflux. Yuck.

    Quick question, Does your hair or head hurt in certain spots? Thanx Ya'll.

    Have an easy day today.

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    merg

    My scalp doesn't exactly hurt but itches at times like now. Lol. I still have a buzzed scalp and if I rub the hair in the opposite direction that it's growing in it can feel uncomfortable but not hurt. I have Aldo continues to develop pimples around my scalp - this is where it itches most. If I make the mistake if scratching the pimples swell and eventually start to become painful

    I have found that a cold compress really helps

    Before I buzzed my hair the sensations were much worse

  • Tinkerbells
    Tinkerbells Member Posts: 211
    edited May 2014

    miki- having same experience- 3rd round hit me after 2 good rounds. Dreading 4th AC. We just have to get through it. Will ask MO to tweak Meds. Hang in there. Sandra

  • Timbuktu
    Timbuktu Member Posts: 1,906
    edited May 2014

    My scalp is painful.  Hair is slowly falling out on this, the l7th day after the first TC infusion.

  • Sunshine36
    Sunshine36 Member Posts: 88
    edited May 2014

    Linda - I will definitely ask about that!! I do have a script for something called magic mouthwash - its lidocaine and I can swish it around every 4 hrs. It numb and is great, but lasts for about 20 mins. bummer!

    The other thing they suggested was a mix of children's benadryl (tsp) and maylox (1tsp)  as a rinse too. I didn't find much relief with that one though.

  • Jaimieh
    Jaimieh Member Posts: 2,373
    edited May 2014

    So I am feeling like crud today....yay...NOT but I figured at least putting this picture up will at least bring a smile to my face.  I may have enjoyed shaving his hair off a bit too much.  lol

    image

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    Jamieh - LOVE THE PICTURE!!  You both rock!!

  • SharonDe
    SharonDe Member Posts: 222
    edited May 2014

    LOL - great pic, J.  My husband said I could shave his head - I said I will photoshop him bald.

    In the chair, waiting to start TC # 2.  Did not sleep a wink last night.  Thx Dex. 

  • Longislandl8y
    Longislandl8y Member Posts: 145
    edited May 2014

    SharonDe and Jhodro - thanks so much for the Decadron feedback.  I'll give it a whirl on Tuesday and see what happens... oh joy.

    Speaking of joy - I just got my period.  WTH? Thank god for these boards or we'd all be messed up if we depended solely on what doctors tell us! I've seen more than a few of us getting their periods - I think we need to set our MOs straight and tell them to stop telling women it will cease... geez.  The positive side is that might be what I was feeling the other day with mild nausea and fatigue as opposed to a second bout of SEs.  So I'm going to go with that... That's my story and I'm stickin' to it, lol Winking

    Jamieh - sorry you're feeling crappy, but your picture is definitely lifting spirits on this board.  Thank you.  You and hubby are beautiful! SillyHeart

    Football - I say go for it with the trip.  Even if you have mild SEs (which I don't think you will), the trip will distract you! You can always come home early, right?

    Mmtagirl - yes, you and me together Tuesday! I'll keep you in my thoughts and we will get through.


     

  • jhodro
    jhodro Member Posts: 240
    edited May 2014

    Longisland & mmtagirl: me too on Tuesday - that'll mark my half way point! Yay!! And, good luck with the Decadron, although it doesn't like me, I don't think that is very common! And I agree with you Longisland, the cycle thing has got to be better discussed, I too was told my non-stop thing has nothing to do with Taxol. I have never had this issue before. It kind of comes and goes weekly. Another thing to add to the list to discuss at next week's visit. :)

    Footballnut: I hope you get to go on your trip. I think the distraction would be worth it. Hopefully you'll feel up to it!

    Jaimieh: fantastic picture!!

    Merg: my head doesn't hurt, more itchy really. But way better since I buzzed the hair. 

    Hope you all get a SE free couple of days into the weekend!!

  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited May 2014

    sharonDe I'm with u in the chair!!!

    Longisland when I got my period it spotted off and on for a few days then stopped. I hope that we have parted the best of friends !!  Lol

    I think that DH and I will go. Who knows how I will be after  round 2 and it will be too hot to walk around

    Just finished 40 min on the treadmill. Approx 3 miles. Too crappy to walk outside

    Going to breast cancer support group this aft. Mtg # 2 at wellspring. 

    Go rangers!!!!!

    :-)

  • SharonDe
    SharonDe Member Posts: 222
    edited May 2014

    Forgot to include my pic - as I am waiting to get stuck for the IV. Yay they got it first try this time.

    image

  • Jaimieh
    Jaimieh Member Posts: 2,373
    edited May 2014

    Sharon Yay for first try getting the IV in.  

    I think the taste in my mouth is making today so horrible :(.  I am trying everything to get it out but nothing is working.  I can still eat but it comes right back once I am finished food.  

    So I shaved my head and I still have hair....I wonder how long it's gonna take until it's all gone ??

  • Timbuktu
    Timbuktu Member Posts: 1,906
    edited May 2014

    Sharon, hope this infusion surprises you with how easy it is.  Sending good vibes your way!

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