Starting chemo August 2017 - would love some moral support!

After I read the news about papaya we better stay away from this fruit now. Too big a chance to take.

willow - double check that ibuprofen is ok. I was under the impression that it has asprin in it which is a blood thinner. I was told to stay away from that.

VL22 - Hang in there. Waiting is the hardest part! I am still waiting to start chemo and I found my lump over two months ago. I am getting frustrated, but I should start the week of the 14th too! We will be almost at the same time.

Paulette, bit by bit we will get through this and then it will hopefully be behind us. Hang in there. I hope this infusion isnt as bad for you as the first was.

Rebeka

what news? Can you share? I was looking into boiling the papayaleaves.

Les123: Thanks for the advice about taking Claritin 3 days before the shot. I had really terrible bone pain after my first infusion and my MO told me to take Claritin an hour prior. I checked my notes and that's what I did and still suffered. So I'll try your advice and start Claritin a few days prior. Round 2 will be this Thursday.

Willow: I had some really bad bone pain (days 5-7) after my first infusion.I had a fever of 100.4 one night but took Tylenol and it went down right away. I know exercise has helped some people. Since it was hard to move too much, I used a foam roller to massage my legs and lower back. That seemed to relieve some of the pain.

Right now, My current side effect is the hair loss. It started falling out towards the end of last week and is continuing to fall in handfuls. I wear a sleeping cap during the might to help.minimize it on my pillow and also to minimize the scalp pain. Still haven't shaved it all because I have read that the scalp pain feels worse if you're bald. At the rate it's falling out i guess I'll be shaving it soon.

Let's talk diaharrea... I know I've seen a post where someone had it, but can't remember... when did that happen? I was woken up last night at 2am with stomach cramps and have had 2 more bouts this morning - 3 so far in 6 hours. I'm day 8 of my first TC and thought I was on the upswing.

Willow - that sucks! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better.

Welcome Angie, rdeesides and vl22. Sorry you're here but glad to have you!

Paulette - hope you're feeling better

Hi ladies and welcome new members to our group. Today is day 7 for me and not feeling bad fortunately. Two questions: my TE feels very tight (I assume that is normal)? And when should hair start falling out ( I am ready with wigs, hats, etc.)

Hi thanks Willow22 - TE is "tissue expander"

On my first chemo I deal with stomach cramps and gas from day 5 to 10 finally it calmed down. On my second round of chemo I'm on day 5 I don't have any gas yet but I have constipation. I am not sure which is better and I ate fruits and Veges now I will try stools softerner plus prune and juice. I wouldn't try senna as I did last it was a little too strong for my stomach.

Kritti: I had an episode of diarrhea on day 9. Not sure if it was something I ate because I was fine until the late afternoon. I had 2 back-to-back episodes. I took Imodium, and was fine for the rest of the night. Prior to this, I had the occasional tummy rumbling but my appetite was almost normal. Hope yours has settled down now.

Clearpath: I always have weird feelings with my TE (I only have one - left side). I always feel tightness after an expansion, and this is the weird part -- whenever I experience a cool temperature change, like when I go from warm temperatures to an air-conditioned room. Or sometimes, when I go for a walk and there's a cool breeze, it gets tight. I think it's just my muscles around it contracting when it's cold... i don't know. My PS had never heard that happening before, but she cracked me up saying my chest was like a barometer. Once in a while I notice it gets pink and warm, usually after wearing a bra all day. My MO checked it out during my pre-chemo appt today, and he said it was healing fine. My PS didn't want to give me antibiotics, so we are monitoring it. It comes and goes, so she's not too concerned. If there is any redness (aka red breast syndrome), check with your PS in case there may be an infection.

sunnyjay - now that you mention it, i know EXACTLY what you're talking about with it tightening when cold. I almost feel like it does that during times when my nipple would tighten up with cold. And since I no longer have nipples, it's quite a strange sensation. Like the skin and tissue around the expanderd are contracting with goosebumps.

Clearpath - how long has it been since your last pump? It looks like I had my surgery about a week before you and have only had 2 fills and my last was 2 weeks ago - I think I've got about 300cc in each expander. He started them off with about 100, then I think 80-100 additionally each pump. My PS likes to wait several weeks between what he calls a "poke & pump" (I love him 😂 ). I feel tighter than presurgery, but it's also a completely different setup. He also said that my breasts are now "animated" due to the fact that it's the pectoral muscle directly under the skin. Essentially now you can flex your pecs like a guy and your boob moves, whereas before if you flexed the pocket of breast tissue absorbed the movement and you couldn't see it. My PS also told me I'd get extra points if I learned how to get the tassels to rotate in the opposite directions at the same time . Have I said I love him, yet? Seriously my favorite doc in all this mess.

If you don't think you can handle another pump right now postpone it a couple weeks. Let you muscles relax a little more. It sounds like you've got a ways to go in the whole reconstruction process - what a pain in the ass your results didn't get back sooner - so don't rush it.