Anyone.Starting Chemo in October 2016?

Alla, are you liking that fresh bic'd feeling? I think I'll keep mine pretty clean too. I think I'll try to do it right after my second injection before my WBCs fall. I'm 24 hours out from injection 1 and still feeling pretty normal. Keeping myself distracted, and I think that makes a big difference.I hope you and your sister in law have some good laughs. My sister is coming into town on Dec 1, which should be my 3rd injection day. It'll be nice to have someone around for the laughs!

I haven't yet, just saying I would be ok with it. My hair fallout date should be around Nov 16. I think I'd rather be Mr Clean than weird patchy stubble. Lo

Help! I'm trapped in the hospital! I got a sudden fever yesterday and abdominal pain, and so off to the ER I went. They immediately put me in isolation (DH was with me, but only with mask, gloves and gown). After many tests and scans, they told me that it seems to be an infection of the abdominal wall (?), and put me on intravenous antibiotics.

Fever is gone, I am not neutropenic, I am out of isolation, but they will not discharge me yet. I hope they figure this out soon. Also, after having an iv needle taped into my arm all night, I've come to the decision that I'm going to ask for a port ASAP ... I figure its good to hope for the best, and plan for the worst!

Hope that you're all having a better day than me!

Barb

Hi Nfullblume!

Thanks for your positive thoughts. I just hope that it's a minor thing, and that antibiotics will take care of it. Don't know why it is taking so long for the doctors to decide what to do ... one of the tests they did last night was a CT scan with contrast (they thought that I might have appendicitis at one point), and the emergency doctor said that the oncologist needed to review the CT scan to decide what to do. I'm sure that this is no big deal, but as time goes on I start to worry that maybe this IS a big deal.

Update: it seems that I was experiencing a diffuse inflammation of the bowel which sometimes happens as a result of chemo. Whew, I'll take it over some of the other things my mind was conjuring up! (I hear you, Kate!)

Unfortunately, my neutrophils have been dropping (the numbers are a blur at this point), and so I have to stay and continue with the iv antibiotics and a WBC booster (like Neulasta). They are moving me from ER to a private room in the short stay unit until things stabilize. I'm feeling fine, though, and they are taking good care of me, so I shouldn't complain (ok .... maybe just a little?).

Thanks again for your support!

Barb

Barb:

Hang in there! Glad they figure it all out and you are able to go home soon. Stay strong!!

Julianne

Ohmigosh, Barb! I'm so sorry that you had to be hospitalized. And how scary to be left in limbo wondering if it could be something even scarier than the ultimate diagnosis. I don't recall seeing that inflammatory condition mention as a side effect of chemo before . Now we can be on the alert for it. I hope your next infusion goes great and no more problems!

Jenn, please take care of you! Remember that your body is dealing with a toxic cocktail. I hope you'll be gentle with yourself and lower your expectations for now.

Hkuester, I think I'll be right behind you on the head shaving. What I have left is looking quite sparse . It's still it's cooler here but still warm enough that I would prefer a bare head , but can't rock the mangy look.

I played around a little with my look good feel better make up bag today before I went to vote . There were only eight people in line ahead of me & they had a chair at the both so it went smoothly. After my dramatic sinking-to-the-floor episode at Target recently, I reluctantly used an electric cart. I'm very sore and stiff without my Ibuprofen and find that problem more challenging than my chemo side effects to date. The cart was so slow that it was torture. I got some Amy's organic meals to cancel out the Hagen Daz (that works, right?) and I fear everything was half thawed by the time we crept to the cash register.

Tuesday is Chemo #3. A number of ladies on earlier boards found that session especially difficult so fingers crossed that I...and all of us facing it... will have minimal issues. Other than severe fatigue & the sporadic nausea at some point every day since my first treatment, I feel that I've been lucky with side effects and hope that will continue.

Lyn

Hi Lyn,

Apparently what I may have is called neutropenic enterocolitis ... it only happens 5% of the time, so its not common. But there is still a theory that I may have appendicitis. Either way, I'm stuck here for at least another day or two, back in isolation (so anyone who comes into my room has to don full protective gear on my behalf).

My belly still aches, and I was horrified earlier today when a nurse told me that she had to give me a shot to prevent blood clots in my legs, and that the injection site was my belly! Arghhhhhhh .... that's just sick! Ok, thanks for letting me get that off my chest ... I feel better.

Barb

Barb hope you feel better soon, hang in there

Hugs😊

KLNiss - welcome to the group! That's great that you have 2 down already ... which chemo treatment are you on? How many to go?

I'm on AC+T, with the AC 4x3weeks and the Taxol 12x1week. How did your first 2 sessions go? Hoping to hear about your experiences!

Barb

Good morning my sisters!

Thank you for all of your prayers and good wishes ... I can't tell you how uplifting it was for me to read your messages. I'm still in the hospital, feeling ok but waiting for some decision about what I have and what they plan to do about it.

A funny thing happened yesterday ... the on-call oncologist came to see me ... a lovely young man I had never met before. He came into the room, introduced himself, then surveyed me (pale, no makeup, bald head), and asked me if we had already met, as I looked familiar. I thought to myself "Seriously, Dude? I'll bet I look familiar ... you are an oncologist ... probably half the people you interact with are bald women!"

Anyway, it struck me as funny.

Stayed tuned for more riveting hospital anecdotes .....

Barb

I'm waiting with baited breath for more riveting hospital stories!!! Lmao. I think today will be more like my 20s when I stayed out til 4am on Fridays: a whole lot of flip flopping on the couch! I don't ever allow myself this luxury anymore; I think I'll quite enjoy it!

Hi everyone!

I started Chemo on October 21, so thought I would join the group. My cancer is triple positive. I will follow a TCH protocol every 3 weeks for 18 weeks followed by radiation for 6 weeks.

My hair just started falling out today. Is it a good idea to shave the head right away?

hey Dogwoodpos! You can add your details in the My Profile section.

Hi Abracadabra - love that comment about the on-call onco! that is pretty funny. My week after first chemo was not great - I hadn't finished some procedures -biopsies and chemo don't mix - and had to go to UC for a fever. Very happy to report that second treatment went waaayyyyyy better. I hibernated and got through without much more than the usual nausea and fatigue. Actually started listening to music again! Thinking I can handle it now. So glad I found this group. It's great to have friends and family who are supportive, but there is something about this sisterhood that I can already tell will be essential.

sending strength!!

Kathy