Starting Chemo May 2017

BJI- hope you have a great weekend with your family! DH and I are celebrating anniversary by grilling hot dogs (my fav food on the grill) as long as it isn't too hot to grill

Being awake at 2 am would be way more productive if DH was awake, too. Now I have to be quiet so as not to wake him up.

BJI. - ha ha ha. My family teases me because grilled hot dogs have to have char, that's the great flavor!! Toasted buns and ketchup

I fell asleep around 6 am and slept til 10 am

Day 9 from my 4th and last AC treatment. Ugh is my best description of how I feel. All four treatments have been this way, with days 6-10 feeling a lot like having the flu. No appetite, mouth tastes awful, gnawing stomach, no energy, and just plain blah. I keep telling myself it will be past soon, but it seems to drag on interminably. They didn't check my WBC at its nadir, but we just assume it has crashed and act accordingly. I don't feel well enough to be out and about anyway, so it's fine. You'd think this whole "avoid fresh fruits and vegetables during your nadir" would be difficult, but my appetite is so weak that I don't care to eat them anyway. There is one exception. I have not been able to resist the harvest of our fresh garden cucumbers. For something to taste that good to me is a miracle. I scrub it clean, peel, then eat the whole thing as is!

Ah, MsRobin, my AC/Neulasta neutropenia sister! I am so sorry for your AC misery. But there's a light at the end of the tunnel now that AC is complete AND that crispy fresh picked cucumber sounds wonderful - especially to someone who's lost her sense of taste and now depends solely on texture!

My week after Taxol 1 (Thurs, 7/13) didn't go as well as I had hoped and it had nothing to do with neutropenia. The premed steroid had me feeling great on Days 1-3. But late on the night of Day 3 my chronic sinusitis made a sudden appearance, complete with postnasal drip and a convulsive phlegmy cough! (Ugh!). By the afternoon of Day 4 I was feeling a little achy and didn't know if it was from the coughing or an SE. Still don't. The minor body aches lasted 3 days and for the most part were managed with Aleve, but the sinusitis and cough have lingered.

Went back for labs yesterday (Thurs, 7/20) and clearance for Taxol 2. Luckily, my blood counts were ok and I was able to have chemo. But I need to keep the sinusitis from turning into a sinus infection because if I have to go on antibiotics they will delay treatment.

Day 2 of Taxol 2 I'm feeling good. Still have some post nasal drip but coughing has not been a problem so far. We'll see what happens as the pre meds wear off. Will the sinusitis and cough return with a vengeance? Will the flu-ish body aches come back? Are they SEs? Or related to my existing sinus problems? Or one of each? I feel like a lab rat!

Have a good weekend, Everyone! We're in this together and I wish you all well.

I had bad bone aches on days 3-4, and mild ones ever since (5-9). They are almost gone today though, and I haven't taken anything for them in a few days. My nose started dripping after AC #2, and is still dripping.

My problem is neuropathy in my hands and feet. It actually started a day or two before I started Taxol. My thumbs just kind of felt funny, and I didn't realize it was neuropathy until early this week. Thumbs feel like they are sensitive and numb all at the same time (not sure if that makes sense to anyone other than me), and I have some discoloration under my nails. I had a little numbness in my feet a few days ago, but I think that is better now.

Since I've been feeling so awful today, I finally thought to check my temperature. 100.2 That explains a lot. I often run a little fever during my neutropenia, and it always makes me feel like this. I've barely eaten today, OJ and half a WW English muffin, chicken soup for lunch and dinner, with half a piece of multigrain toast. That's all I can manage. I'll continue to keep tabs on my temp, but for now I've taken Tylenol.

MamaEnki-You understand just how I'm feeling, like the flu. If I can avoid that sick feeling on Taxol, I'll be pleased. I actually like wearing dark nail polish, so that's my plan for dealing with those dark spots. Are they simply cosmetic or does it mean you may lose your nails? Funny thing is, on AC my nails have been better than ever! But I think it's just because I haven't been doing much gardening or housework.

notanisland-I'm sure you are glad to have the AC neutropenia behind you, because you sure know what I'm going through. Sorry to hear that Taxol is aggravating your sinus condition. We've been on similar journeys, so let's hope it doesn't happen to me. Claritin is also something that I've been taking for my allergies, so maybe it will help me with SE.

BJI-I'm curious if the achy bones will get me when I start Taxol. I haven't had that issue from my Neulasta shots. But because I have problems with lower back pain, my doctor already has me on Gabapentin/Neurontin, and I understand that can help this issue.

LovePugs, my drippy nose has been making me crazy through most of my AC treatments. A nurse told me it's the Cytoxan part that does it, and here I thought it was my lack of nose hair! On my good days, I've tried to garden, which was nearly impossible with my crazy nose dripping. A friend advised me to stick tampons in my nose, and that comical image gave me such a chuckle.

notanisland-I did continue to run that low grade fever for a couple more days. We know that this is the norm for me during neutropenia. I'm starting to climb out of that yucky period, but it has sure been slow. Here I am at day 13, and I'm still battling. We've decided that when they say the effects are cumulative, believe them. Each one was worse than the one before, and took longer to recover from. But I'm grateful to notice daily improvement. I still need to gain stamina. It feels a lot like the recovery from major surgery. You don't feel well in many ways, while also feeling weak as a lamb. That part is very frustrating to me. I guess this is why even my oncologist says "You don't handle this (AC) very well.

Taxol #2 is done! I am officially 75% done with chemo. Only 2 more doses of taxol to go!

msrobin58- ref mouth sores question... I think it just depends on the person. I did eat ice chips during AC and didn't get any mouth sores. I have had 9 Taxol's so far. Icing hands and feet but not eating ice chips and have had 2 mouth sores....and hoping for no more

Okay, sounds like I'd better continue with the Biotene toothpaste and soft bristle brush. I've always had issues with liquid medicines, so I wasn't able to stomach the slimy texture of Biotene mouthwash, Magic Mouthwash, Mylanta, or even that homemade concoction. I can't even take NyQuil when my stomach isn't queasy from chemo, so I knew it would be a no-go. It was very frustrating to have those mouth sores and not be able to do much except drink water. I did chew ice during the AC treatments but it didn't help. They usually hit about the two week mark. Maybe Taxol will give me a break in that respect.

Obviously I am very curious about this next part, and I appreciate you ladies answering my questions.

msrobin58- my theory on when I get mouth sores is they are are more likely to appear when my mouth is dry. (Especially breathing thru my mouth because Taxol has really dried out my sinuses and left them feeling swollen). My MO nurse said having a dry mouth isn't a contributing factor but it seems like it to me 😋

I don't like the slimy feel of Biotene mouth spray either. I found ACT spray had a better mouth feel to me and use it when I wake up at night to help keep my mouth moist. During the day, when my mouth is really dry and water isn't helping, I suck on Act Mouth Moisturizing lozenges. And I continue to rinse my mouth with water/salt/baking soda after eating. And I apply Blistex Kank-A on the mouth sore to numb and heal.

So far both mouth sores healed and right now, knocking on wood, I don't have any!

Three more Taxols. Hoping mouth sores are a SE in my past

Well I had my first Taxol treatment on Thursday. I was fearful of an infusion reaction, but sailed through. The Benadryl knocked me for a loop though! First it made me very floaty, then I fell asleep. I even made sure to have hubby escort me to the restroom with my IV box so I didn't stagger. My infusion nurse wants them to reduce my dosage next time. I slept on the way home, then more on the couch after lunch. Between that and the steroids, it was a sleepless night, but I had my iPad to entertain me.

I'm otherwise doing well, did a little gardening this morning, made some homemade salsa from the garden, but now I'm done in. Tired and sore. We'll see how the rest of the week goes. I'm disappointed that my tongue has already gone a little flat, but nothing like on AC. Appetite okay, I'd say about 75% of normal. So far it's quite doable.

notanisland I've only had the one Taxol, but your description matched mine very closely. Once I got through the groggy Benadryl buzz on treaThursday, I got a little steroid burst. But it barely lasted though one day and I spent the rest of the weekend just dragging. The fatigue was frustrating, but I was still grateful not to feel ill.

By Monday I started to perk up a bit, and Tuesday I even went to a chair yoga class at the cancer center. I was the youngest one in the class at 59, and the only one currently going through treatment. But I'm feeling so weak after AC that I thought I should start slowly like that. It really did feel good to move again. I also returned to my chiropractor for the first time in months, so I really got all my kinks out! I even shopped a little and went to choir practice, but that was a lot for one day and wore myself out.

Taxol #2 in the morning. In some ways I'm going to miss that third week honeymoon where I felt fairly normal. Not much turn around with this. If this first time is indicative, fatigue is going to be the enemy. I'm achy too, but usually stretching and moving helps.

BJI- Here's to hoping you get sleep tonigh

BJI-Number 11, you're almost through this part! Enjoy your steroid boost, then rest after. I'm awaiting my MUGA scan, then I'll have Taxol #2 today.