What to expect

My sister started AC on Thursday and had a neulasta shot on Friday. She felt pretty good Thursday and Friday, not quite as good yesterday and today was having more nausea and just not feeling great in general, but not terribly sick. She also mentioned a headache yesterday and today but she tends to get them anyway.

She had her port put in December 14 but her chemo was delayed as she had an open area on her breast from surgery and then a bad cold

My hair started coming out after 10 days, made a mess everywhere so I got out the clippers. It felt much better without the weight of the hair pulling on my scalp as well. I never got sick or felt unwell on my first chemo course, well not quite true. I felt ill once because I got a bit cocky and decided I didnt need to take the anti nausea meds. Much easier to keep it at bay than try and get rid of it.

Most of my friends found days 5 - 7 was when the fatigue hit. I was very lucky, in some weird way chemo agreed with me. I kept well hydrated, ate small, frequent, light meals and exercised every day, usually just walking for a couple of hours. The chemo regime I was on was FEC - D.

The last three chemo's I have tried have been a failure due to allergic side effects though, so it can be a bit of a lottery. Best wishes.

One thing to expect is that everyone is different, and that side effects don't all tend to hit at once (thank heavens) so you'll have this one for a day or two, and then another one for a few days, and so on.

I had my first chemo just a couple of days after the port placement. It was still swollen--the port area--like a goose egg, but pain from being stuck there with the needle was really minimal and no worse than being stuck with a needle any other time.

I always took my anti-nausea drugs, or at least one of them, on the way home from chemo, and stuck with them for a couple of days, on schedule. I did not have issues with nausea, probably because I did do that. I *did* have big problems with heartburn starting on the night after my first chemo and continuing now and again until I was done with chemo, five months later. After trying pretty much *everything* to combat it, I finally came up with what I always refer to as my "magic trifecta," which was a Zantac, a Tums (or several,) and a good heaping dose of Maalox, all taken at the same time. Worked for me. May not work for others.

Biggest issues otherwise were mouth sores, which I got rid of by religiously using a rinse of salt/baking soda/water LOTS of times per day, and brushing my teeth with pure baking soda, and constipation, which hit me because of pain killers to combat pain from taxotere (which was wicked,) and was fixed after following the advice of one of the oncologists in my own oncologist's practice, which was, "Never mind the instructions; every time you take a pain killer, take a dose of Miralax.

Hair falls out EVERYWHERE. Buy tissues. Your nose will probably run.

The Claritin worked for me--no pain from Neulasta. Bonus: Helped a lot with the runny nose (duh,) so I just went ahead and took the stuff full time.

Fatigue sucks, so sleep if your life allows you to.

Chemo brain is real. Don't be surprised if you feel like you're losing IQ points, because you probably are. Don't worry. They come back. Well, most of them do.

You might be hot and then cold and then hot and then cold. Plan ahead for it with both light covers and heavy covers on your bed, and warm hats for your naked head, and PJs you can layer and get easily in and out of.

My first chemo was the day before Thanksgiving, in 2013. Not wanting to wind up throwing up on the turkey, I went ahead and took all three of my anti-nausea meds before going. Result: I nearly fell asleep in the turkey. Lesson learned: anti-nausea meds can make you really drowsy. Plan accordingly.

None of it is really all that horrible, honestly. It's like having the flu, and not even a really bad case of flu. For five months. There will be moments that seem really awful at the time, but in retrospect, the worst moments of your life will most likely not be because of chemo, and you actually *might* get a few truly cherished memories out of the whole experience. So, best advice, prepare for the worst, but expect the best.

Below is a link for chemo tips & tricks that has been complied by many women here. Hopefully you all will find it helpful.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics...

GoingCrazy - Probably the first pill you're talking about is a steroid - like dexamethazine. That is usually given: the day before chemo, the day of chemo, the day after chemo. My doc ordered 2 pills each of those days - am & pm. The first chemo infusion started with benadryl in case there were any allergies. Then a Kytril infusion - that is an anti nausea drug. I had several other prescriptions in my bag in case I got nausea, but it was never a problem for me. It is important to keep on top of nausea just like pain, but I never took anything else. I got the Big D from the other end instead.

Hair usually starts to go 10 to 14 days post chemo.  Your head will have a weird hurting sensation that eventually goes away.

Drink  ALOT of water the day before, the day of, and day after chemo.  One thing I had to do that I never had to do before -wear a Depends or bladder control pad!  My sister and I who both went through chemo had the same problem.  With all the fluids going into you, we couldn't get to the bathroom quickly enough at the chemo area!