Starting Chemo February 2015

Day 3 after Taxol on Friday and the biggest problem is the stomach pain / cramps. Anyone else get this? I had it last time too, for about 5 days. Constant pain in spite of meds (Buscopan). At least this time the joint pain hasn't kicked in so far and no numbness either. Am taking 400mg of Ibuprofen each morning and been told to drink LOTS of fluid - maybe this has helped.

I work from home as a translator so as long as I don't take on too much with short deadlines, I'm managing to keep it going. Can't imagine coping with a busy school situation Darumama - that would finish me! I find I have a fairly short wick for any social situations - good for a short time but not with large crowds and not for long!

Cranial sacral sounds like a great idea - think I'll look into it.

I wanna say the hairs I still have seem longer and def brows are almost gone. I'm on TCH tho. MAYbe feel a we bit stubble but still mostly smooth :

congrats on getting thru #5! I go next week, barfing at the thought😞.

Funny I thought I felt stubble. But put shea butter on my scalp now all feels smooth again. Wonder why grey, were u grey before?

here in NYC Shea Butter runs plenty. Do you have an African markets or vendors in your area? I get mine from African markets.

Check it out. If nothing I can mail you a tub. It's only five dollars.

I had some grey strands before. All the stubble looks gray

i had dose dense taxol 2 yesterday . My veins are hardening and they said it was from the red devil. Took four different attempts to get a good one. Said it could take a couple of months to heal and soften again. You can actually feel how hard they are thru the skin. Feels like a chord. I have two more infusions so they just have to work two more times. I must say yesterday was a busy day in the infusion room. One guy who was new had a major reaction and all the nurses flooded him. Not a good way to have your first chemo. felt really bad for him. Then another gal had a bag of chemical pop on her. Squirted on the nurse and the patient. Everyone and thing nearby had to be washed down . Makes me feel lucky I've had no major issues or reactions.

RE: hair coming in white -- i have heard that the initial growth is always white or clear, like the first little bit doesn't have any pigment in it or something. I am 2.5 weeks out and haven't noticed any growth, my eyebrows and eyelashes fell out completely after the last infusion and I was surprisingly irritated about it. Not fair to feel cranky when I actually feel pretty good physically. Strength and patience to all of you with more chemo to go.

I hear you Darumama, on the insults to physical appearance. Feel the same. Never thought of myself as particularly vain but am having to revise that now because this "look" is getting me down! I shaved my head as soon as the hair started to fall, two weeks into AC. Eyebrows and lashes have only gone recently, since Taxol started, still a few left but not many. Two more sessions to go so I guess that will do for them. I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing how I look with grey hair - sick to death of dying it for so many years, so maybe this will be the moment to just wear it like it is.

Day 6 now since last Taxol and still feeling abdominal pains and a bit of joint pain, but i think it's subsiding and am looking forward to an easier day tomorrow and a decent week before the next session. Onwards and upwards girls.

Hello All!

I'm a bit late to this party - I started chemo in February, and completed my last AC three weeks ago. I had my first Taxol yesterday, but unfortunately had an allergic reaction to it. They will try Abraxane next week instead. I'm hoping that works without a reaction. Otherwise, the MO said it's surgery for me and possibly more chemo after that.

I've been reading your posts for a while - so very helpful!

Thanks

Barb

had chemo yesterday, so today is the neulista shot , I have started my Claritin earlier this weed and will continue on for the next 5 days to see if this helps with the bone pain. Or longer if needed. Thanks for the info on the cranial massage group, I am going to check in on that for a location or specialist near me. I am going for a lymphadema evaluation since I have fluid build up again at the surgery site, this drainage has been ongoing since February. The last biopsy was clear of the bad cells, but guess I can ask if there is some exercise I can do to minimal the fluid, my surgeon thinks I am still doing too much. Hydration is the key, so keep that up all the time, recovery is faster with it...

Ok gals have a good day and happy Mother's Day this weekend !

Good morning, all. I've been quite out of it for a few days, but have been reading every day. I know I'm missing some, so please forgive, but a few things have penetrated my fuzzy brain.

Sloth, congratulations!! I am looking forward to being done. Katy, hang in there. Jack is such a treasure. The wonderful thing about dogs is that they just love you. Bekah, I'm glad you seem to be feeling better. Eating can be hard but you just have to do it. I'm doing better on the eating side since my chemo switched to Taxol, but when it was very bad, I actually ate "to the clock". Every hour and a half or so, I ate something. It didn't make me feel better, and everything tasted like rotting chicken, but I kept my weight stable. Pennsygal, I hope that you tolerate the abraxane. It's still the same chemo drug (paclitaxel) but it's delivered in egg albumin instead of the solvent used in Taxol. My understanding is that it is quite common to have an allergic reaction, but it is to the solvent, not the paclitaxel itself. I had my first Taxol last week, and luckily didn't have an allergic reaction. I have an anaphylactic allergy to some drugs, so I know those reactions can be very frightening. My MO required me to have the first Taxol infusion at the "big hospital", rather than my usual satellite centre, in case something happened. Luckily, no reaction, although I have been having trouble with my legs and feet ever since.

I'm going to try today without morphine, so we will see how it goes. Hopefully, I'll be ok, and will be able to function a bit better.

Gentle hugs to all, and I wish minimal SEs to all who have been in the chair this week.

Yes Jerseygirl - I have experienced a bit of leakage. Seems to come and go and not a problem at the moment so I'd forgotten.

I'm curious about you using Claritin. Thought it was for allergy symptoms - how does it help with bone pain? This time I took Ibuprofen - don't think it was much help and I was mainly in or on my bed for 4 days. I seem to be much more fatigued this time or maybe my blood pressure is very low. Finding it really hard to either get moving or to keep concentrated on anything, especially work. I managed a decent walk today but have been wiped out ever since. Was hoping to get back to the Pilates classes during the next few days - before next week's treatment. Seems like the "good" window is just getting shorter though.

I haven't had any problems with the Neulasta - I administer my own at home and it seems to be fine, other than one this week where I hit a vein so came up with a big bruise on my stomach! And also, no sign of the ear popping you talked about earlier - don't know what that's all about. Hope you find a solution though.

wrmbrownie, my onc just told me Friday that due to neuropathy, no more chemo. Was due to have #5 of 6 TCH on Wednesday. I couldn't before thrilled! O was coming from my first acupuncture session to address the neuropathy. She said altho risks, it's maiy reversible. But I was too afraid what 2 more treatments would do to me. She met with breast team and she said the consensus is that it's become too toxic for me. So I'll continue with the hercept til February and start rads sooner than later.

I went to a friend's wedding reception last night. It was very casual. They actually went to the justice of the peace and had a little celebration in their backyard complete with a chicken and waffles food truck! The waffles (and French fries) were awesome even with my altered tastebuds. Fast forward to this morning... WORST diarrhea in the history of my chemo AND first time throwing up in the history of my chemo. OMG!!! It took a while before throwing up, but now that I have, I feel better.

In other news, I was feeling crappy and a bit lonely about this Mother's Day before the above sh*t hit the fan. My mom is out of town with her senior or church group and everyone else is away with their families. It's me and my 4 year old. I look on FB and five years ago today, I posted about returning from a business trip and being thankful to hear my baby's heartbeat. I had a fetal Doppler and had opted not to take it on the extended trip. Well, THAT has brought sunshine to my day! Gonna get up, shower, and make the most of the day spoiling my 4 year old.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, Ladies ❤️