More Tips (and a Shopping List) for Getting Through Chemo

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited March 2015

    Hi All,

    No need to bump, since it is a "sticky" post, and will stay at the top.

    Do you all feel that rock's initial post is complete? We want to add a complete-as-possible list to our next newsletter!

    Let us know (-:

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited March 2015


    Bumping for Martina ~ You will find so much helpful information here from BC Sisters !

     

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  • 208sandy
    208sandy Member Posts: 2,610
    edited March 2015

    Nico - no need to bump anymore the mods have pinned this thread - see their posting from last week.

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited March 2015


    Bumping it up for you, Lisa ~

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  • kyra2007
    kyra2007 Member Posts: 2
    edited April 2015

    I am new to this and will start chemo next week. These tips are helpful and will add to my grocery list. Thank you for everyone's help.

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  • AnewBeginning
    AnewBeginning Member Posts: 536
    edited April 2015

    Kyra

    Starting my chemo next week too! Ughhhh! Hoping not to have so many s/e. Best of luck to you


    Happy Easter

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  • jojo2373
    jojo2373 Member Posts: 662
    edited April 2015

    Hi ladies, what a great support to each other you are! If you haven't visited curediva.com featured on the bco front page I encourage you. Lots of stories, products, and guardians to help as well. Best wishes to all!

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited April 2015

    And same from us too

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited April 2015


    Lisa ~ I hope this is easier for you to find. Best of luck to you in your journey.

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited April 2015


    Best of luck to you jojo2373 and AnewBeginning !

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited April 2015

    I'll add my good wishes and positive thoughts.

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited May 2015

    bumping for Carole ~ best to you on your journey !

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  • dunesleeper
    dunesleeper Member Posts: 2,060
    edited May 2015

    Thanks so much for the information. I just ordered a nice silk scarf from one of the sites you shared. It was expensive, but I bet it will feel good. All the ones from TLC are cotton, and I am well-stocked with them. I had my first treatment (taxol) Monday (5/4) and fully expect the hair to start falling out while I am on vacatioin (the week of 5/23). It's just a Murphy's Law kind of thing. I hope the new scarf gets here before then. That would be really nice.

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited May 2015

    Bumping for Ellie ~

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  • april25
    april25 Member Posts: 772
    edited May 2015

    I went a bit crazy right before chemo and stocked up on a bunch of things like mouthwashes and heating pads and various meds...

    But SEs can be very different for different people. It turned out that I never got any mouth sores! (My MO said that the L-Glutamine he prescribed for me helped with that, but who knows?)

    I also never had any bone pain (bought tylenol and claritin). And have very little nausea (had Rx of compazine and the other thing... I did take some, but it wasn't a big problem). No anxiety. No difficulty sleeping (got xanax, but never too any).

    However, I did have a hard time finding food that I could eat because it all tasted terrible. I bought a ton of different protein drinks, but most of those I couldn't drink either--so I have bottles of that lying around...

    And the eating and drinking was made moot because I had such bad "D" that even if I WAS eating, nothing was staying put! I had to be hospitalized for dehydration and was stuck on an IV drip almost constantly!

    Something that came in handy for me was a good Blood Pressure machine. Dehydration causes BP to drop and heart-rate to be high. It helps to keep an eye out on those things if you are at risk of dehydration! You don't want to have kidney problems occur because of it!

    So... I would say that it's good to be prepared, but sometimes you just can't quite tell what you might end up needing or not needing.

    However--it's great to have this source of information for when things DO come up... and it's nice to be aware of what might happen so you will know what to do if it happens to you...


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  • crs003
    crs003 Member Posts: 73
    edited June 2015

    Hi dunesleeper,  5/4 was my chemo start date too! My hair started coming out week three. My hair is very thick, and I must have filled 2 grocery bags, really. Now my hair is starting to show thinning like alopecia, but if I comb it a certain way, it looks like normal hair, lol. I saw my oncologist today and she commented that my hair is holding up well, lol. I wanted to show her the bags. She wrote a prescription for a wig, just in case my insurance will pay for it. I don't have any headcoverings yet, except for a baseball cap since I thought Taxol was supposed to be easier on hair. Wrong. Where did you find the scarf? There is a site called cure diva that has tons of cute headcoverings, they are kind of expensive, but I think if you buy $125, they will take off $25. They also sent me a coupon for 20%. But I will have to wait until my next paycheck, hope my hair will hold out til then, lol!

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited June 2015


    headcovers.com has a great selection of fashionable and comfortable head covers at reasonable prices ~

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  • Trvler
    Trvler Member Posts: 3,159
    edited June 2015

    I believe if you are taking TAxol alone and not AC, chances are you don't lose all of your hair. In fact, many people have said after AC is done and they are about 5 weeks into Taxol, their hair starts growing back.

    I want to also say that like April, I am having very few SE's (AC+T) and so I recommend waiting to buy needed supplies until you know. With the exception of the Glutamine and B6. I bought a bunch of stuff I haven't even opened.

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  • surprisedat65
    surprisedat65 Member Posts: 73
    edited June 2015

    Can anyone tell me if there's a big difference between surgical scrub caps and do-rags? There sure is a big difference in price. I recall seeing nurses in scrub caps when I had my lumpectomy and thought they were cute, but I don't know that I want to pay $18 for one (from Amazon).

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  • dunesleeper
    dunesleeper Member Posts: 2,060
    edited June 2015

    I got this one and love it. It's partially pre-tied with a matching band to help you tie it in different ways. http://www.4women.com/fabrics/silk/#


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  • dunesleeper
    dunesleeper Member Posts: 2,060
    edited June 2015

    This is my favorite from tlc: https://www.tlcdirect.org/Tie-Dyed-Scarf.html?did=38

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited June 2015


    Bumping for Kaylynn ~

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  • badger
    badger Member Posts: 34,614
    edited June 2015

    Bump for magbrew.  There are many pages of "bumps" (sending this thread to the top of the Active Topics page) but the original post is chock-full of great advice.  ♥ to all

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited July 2015


    bumping for Jessie ~

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  • Want2Bcamping
    Want2Bcamping Member Posts: 62
    edited July 2015

    Wonderful information

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  • Charlotte57
    Charlotte57 Member Posts: 35
    edited July 2015

    For those doing chemo followed by Neulasta, ask your doctor if you can take a product called "T-Relief". These tablets are homeopathic & natural, but I know some natural stuff interfers with treatment. After the first bone pain incident I brought them in and got clearance to use them. A life saver for the muscle & bone pain I've had. One night I got up to go to the bathroom and was in screaming agony. My dh brought me 3 of the tablets I dissolved under the tongue & in minutes I could move! All those years of exercise paid off in a big way as I've used these tablets for years! Available on Amazon and health food stores. (Now I'm disabled & can do little exercise, so memory in this case was a healer!

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited July 2015

    Charlotte57 ~ Thank You for the info on 'T-Relief'. ~ Another of the products many bc sisters use is "Slow Mag' a type of slow release magnesium which many found helpful for muscle cramps and neuropathy ~

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  • Artista928
    Artista928 Member Posts: 2,753
    edited July 2015

    Fantastic thread! Thank you!!

    Just curious for the orange popsicle listed. Being it's hot and I want treats out of the freezer, are there any frozen goodies to watch out for? Not an orange popsicle fan but love ice cream/sandwiches, Trader Joe's chocolate covered frozen bananas. My head is in the freezer more now that it's hot so curious what frozen items are a no.

    Thanks!!

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  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,492
    edited July 2015

    Artista928 ~ Any flavor of popsicle is good, also fudgescicles, frozen yogurt or other ice cream treats. It's the 'cold factor' that's important. :)


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  • Artista928
    Artista928 Member Posts: 2,753
    edited July 2015

    ^ ^ ^ ^

    Thanks. That should be no problem. It's very hot out and have been drinking ice tea all day. About to hit ice cream next! lol

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