Starting Chemo March 2016

does anyone get red flushed the day after chemo? I look like I have a sunburn. I thought it was from cold capping but it's in my whole face and ches

Hi Phaila, I finished chemo in March but found that I had a red face and chest the day after every chemo treatment. It usually subsided by the 3rd or 4th day. And, like 786tex, the red face was followed by chemo-acne - back to being like a teenager again.

I already have awesome rosacea so this is such a bonus😜

Stopped at my Drs to see what to do about it. The nurse said she thought to take benedry

I do get benedryl. I can feel it getting redder.... I think it'll be a benedryl day for m

I didn't have any allergic reaction to the Taxotere until I was finishing up my 2nd round. I noticed that I was getting red in the face (nose & cheeks) and a achy feeling in the chest. I told the nurse, and of course everyone started scrambling. Even though the IV was basically finished, they started a saline flush, and the pharmacist recommended a bit of Benadryl. It stopped the redness in about 15 minutes, so they went on to the rest of the chemo from there, but I did get a bit sleepy. Just said they'd add Benadryl to the pre-meds from now on, and to make sure I always had a ride home.

Just want to bitch a bit about hair for a minute. I don't understand why 15 days after chemo #1, most of the hair on my head let go, but the hair 'down there' is still hanging on tight well past chemo #2? Why does they hair we don't want keep hanging around, but the hair we'd prefer to keep goes bye-by?? Can't catch a break here!!

786tex did they check your potassium. My grandma fainted due to low BP and.they in the end figured out her potassium was supernlo

i have wore my wig to work everyday this week and now have red itchy bumps on my head. Anyone else have this? If so, what did you do to relieve the itch? I have an idea it is a heat rash cause the wig is hot. I have tried to wear a wig liner a few days to see if that would help. Not much difference. I dont know if I am ready to just wear caps at work.

786tex, No, I get the shot at night at home for white blood count boost so that when I am sleeping I don't feel much of the effects. I finish my 4th round of A/C on April 12th then go on to 4 rounds of Taxol every two weeks. Not 4 out of 12 rounds of A/C! That would be awful!! I don't think they prescribe that anyway.LOL! I'm sorry they give you the shot after chemo. Doesn't sound right to me. But, some doctors do things differently.

Phaila, Haha! I look at everyone with nice hair and just drool. I was low maintenance with my hair before all this and never did anything to it but after all this I'm definitely going diva with my new hair!!

Jonsey22, you feel dizzy after TC? I wonder if that happens from the taxol? Ohhh I don't like to hear about the allergic reaction thing.

And wildkrice, we are happy you found us here . Thanks for sharing!

oh Nina, I'm so sorry you are having a tough day. Are you cold-capping at all? I didn't, and once I had more shedding I chose to buzz it short. I wanted to be in control and I felt better about that.

It's more than fair to be upset. Allow yourself to grieve your hair. I certainly did!I think it is important to say that for some of us, the hair loss will be temporary. And that in a year, you will look back and see all that you've come through.

Hugs.

Jonsey22 - The potassium and magnesium may be something to look at. I started taking both not long after I started on the high blood pressure meds but have not been taking them since I stopped the meds. My blood pressure is normal right now without them which makes me worried that it might drop super low with the my next chemo on Thursday. So I am going to restart them today and hope that does the trick! Thank you! I also was reading up and found that I am not the only one who has had this happen which also makes me feel better.

The Facebook link isn't working. Is there another link or the name of the group?

I found you. My name is Susan Riechman.

mysunshine48, Got through my 1 1/2 round of TC today, getting T in 1/2 doses 2 weeks in a row which calculating seems to go into July.  My hair began to fall last week, but was so thick, not terrible, however this week's been brutal with it, though I still have a layer and will know when it's time for the cut.
Just trying to cope with the treatments and side effects, mostly dizziness, with other odd ball things cropping up.  Yes, I'm sure the hair loss is secondary to our health but sure is a real kick when it does happen.  I got a synthetic wig yesterday from the local A.C.S. and it's beautiful but tight, also a bit too dark.  Now I'm wondering if I can get it to fit, lighten it etc. or else I will return it and buy another.  My emotions are all over the place and surely not feeling well about any of this, not sure how the next few days will be. I'm glad you are doing well and thanks for giving us hope in this situation!

First post. Ever.

Oh how I wish I would have began here well before starting treatment. But I was still in the "pay no attention to the woman in that gown" phase of denial. I'm just done with my AC treatment (4 infusions - March 4, 18, April 1, April 15) and am supposed to start Taxol on April 29. I'm doing 12 weekly doses to hopefully minimize the possibility of neuropathy and may or may not be taking part in a study on cryotherapy on that as well. I found this site after vigorously googling AC chemotherapy and hand foot syndrome.

I'll be having a talk with my doctor about updating the "what to look for" and "ways to cope" information they give before chemotherapy because hand foot syndrome is NO WHERE on it. The idea that you should minimize friction especially in the days immediately after the infusion of the red drug ... is NO WHERE on it. I have always felt pretty good the day immediately after my infusion so I'd get lots of chores done. This past Saturday, I ended up with over 18,000 steps on my fitbit. Think there was any friction? *sarcasm* The bottoms of my feet seem sunburned and I feel like I'm getting multiple blisters. Everything sounds dead on for Hand Foot Syndrome and one of the posts on this site mirrored my experience eerily - right down to it developing after the 4th AC infusion. I'll be calling the Dr. on Monday to let her know about it but - wow- I'm not seeing any info on what can be done medically about it. It is all information on how to cope with it because it won't go away until I'm done with chemo? So .... mid JULY?

I just extremely frustrated right now. Between the GAINING weight on chemo (seriously? I can't at least lose something other than my hair?), losing my hair, and getting increasingly tired and decreasingly focused at work, I was not prepared for an unknown to me side effect popping up this week. I've ordered a couple products from Amazon that should be here Monday - CV SkinLab's relief spray and lotion - and I'm hoping for some relief. I'm using organic coconut oil a lot for moisturizing everywhere really. My surgeon's nurses were happy to hear it and I've been using it on my surgery scars as well as my noggin. I've tried to do well moisturizing throughout but ... didn't know about the friction and how hand foot syndrome works.

See, I'm heading to see one of my favorite bands in the world - The Struts - this coming Wednesday and am hoping I'm not hobbling up to the meet and greet. [I'm planning on having them sign my head - because I'm totally an adult.]

Anyway, I'm happy to see this thread - I wish I would have been here before the start - and I'd be interesting in hearing any suggestions or experiences dealing with hand foot syndrome. Or really anything else. I'm triple negative but don't have any of the known gene mutations.

I hope things are going well for others.

~Kim (The Wonka Tonka is my car)