January 2016 Chemo!

Estelal.orca.......This only lasts a few days with me. What works for me is vanilla ice cream (who knows why) and highly spiced foods like chilli, ... anything tomato based like tomato sauce, tomato soup, gazpacho, salsa. I can't taste carbs at all. I buy frozen grape juice bars (Outshine) and eat them constantly. I can tolerate oatmeal with dried cranberries and brown sugar. Good luck. After about a week, everything is back to normal.

Vanilla ice cream also worked for me. Odd because I don't even like ice cream normally. I drank a lot of chocolate milk and milkshakes too.

Zinny hope it goes well, sending hugs. I'm right behind you bmx 5/24. very nervous but ready for this next step.

Mena, the Bolthouse smoothies are in with the refrigerated premise juices by the produce dept. Much better than Boost or Ensure. It's all I'm eating these days...

Has anyone had luck relieving muscle aches? My legs hurt and it's gotten much worse after this 6th round. I know y'all have said your legs hurt when walking upstairs. Has anyone found anything to help? Advil helps a little. I also have caught a cold or something, so my body aches are worse. UGH. I thought I was almost done. Silly me.

Happy Belated Mothers Day to all of the mommies out there. Hope everyone is doing well. I am now 2.5 weeks PFC - Hooray. Caught a cold, though, and I am tired and cranky! Well, for me anyhow…Miss Bee, will take the advice and get my butt outside and moving a bit today.

Those of you struggling with eating - my naturopath friend and her business partners have made a product called Rumble - not sure how wide the distribution is - a meal replacement drink made only with good stuff, that has 20 g of protein per bottle. It comes as chocolate, vanilla maple, and coffee bean flavours. It is a bit "thin" when you drink it - kind of like low fat milk - I like to mix mine with a half of a banana. Doesn't have any of the ice of ensure and the others.

Worth a try. Some whole foods have it, also on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Rumble-Dutch-Cocoa/dp/B00S8LQLY2/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1462896551&sr=8-2&keywords=rumble+drink

Jen and Valstim and Mena, counting down with you….

Oh, the hot flashes--yes, they SUCK. My MO told me I could try Vitamin E, which I finally got around to a few days ago. I do feel they've been fewer and of less intensity, maybe a placebo effect but I'll take it. And I hate the word "flash" here--the ones that wake me up at night don't let me get back to sleep until I cool off some and it's usually at least ten minutes.

My thoughts are with everyone getting closer to the chemo finish line! I have 32 more radiation treatments and then it's on to Tamoxifen and hopefully exchange surgery by the end of the year. Wishing us all good health.

Hey Zinny, yes the countdown is on, and i'll check out the energy drinks.

MissBee, couldn't work out during taxol, muscles seized, did lots of walking on week 2 (i was dose dense) but true working out just could not handle. Went ahead a few times and pushed it wound up seeing my MO and she said just take it easy till done. For me it made my pain worse, not better.

Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not, especially with excruciating muscle pain like I had.

Now that I'm done, it keeps me balanced mentally to work out. Had to start slow.

Paxton29 keep us posted on the radiation, after surgery on the 24th that's my next stop. 33 radiation treatments In the dead heat of summer.

I think some exercise does help. I walk twice a day,and always feel worse if I miss one of those. I have 5 taxol left and it does seem like fatigue is getting worse. I just push through it and rest a bit then push ahead again on those days I'm really tired. I have just a few eyelashes left, hardly any brows and some really soft white peach fuzz all over my head. But wow that fuzz is so look white lol

Oh, MissBee, that's why we have this forum, to express what helps us and what may not help some of us. Plus with BC how we feel changes constantly, depending on what treatment, after treatment etc. What didn't work at one time, may work later That's why we share.

MissBee, For me your original post about exercise was an inspiration even though Taxol is making it hard for me. I seem to have every side effect in the book and then some, and your post was a reminder NOT to let it get the better of me. I find exercise helps too, and my MO encourages it. Today I was able to do 30 mins cycling at the gym without muscles going into meltdown.

Hair is growing back too, currently looks like a newborn baby! Hoping I will have enough by the time it gets really hot to ditch the wigs and the headscarves, assuming the last Taxol doesn't just wipe it all out again.

And the hot flashes...never knew a scalp could sweat so much! Getting tired of sleeping on a wet pillow. Does anyone know, do the hot flashes go away at some point after chemo, or are they permanent?

Cathy, it takes a few weeks after your last infusion to see anything. I wouldn't expect to start seeing growth until maybe 4 weeks after your last infusion. Try not to panic if you don't see anything before then!

Samcpa....I just saw that you were blocked from sending me a private message. I must have clicked the wrong button a while back SORRY‼️ I just unblocked you. How are you doing