CRAZY TOWN WAITING ROOM - TESTS coming up? All Stages Welcome.

with all this nonsense, i am doing old Gatorade so i do not get too dehydrated, have done that

Still a slightly nervous tummy, sort of think the Brussel sprouts in my fridge, may not survive as not gonna do any cabbage stuff yet!

I would need to vent if i had a person do that to me, reminds me i need to work on taxes and call for appt. This year I turn 70 so got some required distributions and definitely need help

mcbaker- after I completed chemo treatment number2 I went to the hair salon with a group of friends and had my hair cut very short. It continued to fall out naturally. I bought several wigs . I would wear one for special occasions which was rare. 99% of the time I just wore beanies. It's too bloody hot in Miami for wigs. I'm donating my wigs to the American Cancer Society. I do have a nice wig that I paid $425 for that was never worn that I would gladly donate to any woman on this thread. It's brownish color shoulder length. Any interest pm me. I can post a picture. I would pay for shipping. My other wigs were very inexpensive.

Iris- glad your tummy is feeling a little better. I would stay away from the brussel sprouts also. Thanks for the reminder about taxes. In the next week or two I have to start working on my taxes. My CPA has already been screaming that I need to drop off paperwork.

mcbaker- there would be no way I would shave my head. I would worry about nicking my scalp and developing an infection. Chemo already plays hell with our white blood count and neutrophils. Scissor cutting it to very short length was okay. I know many people who just let it fall out naturally. I remember clogging my bathtub because I had lost handfuls of hair. Six months post-chemo I have a full head of hair. It grew back nice and thick. I don't like the gray so I do plan on dying it to its "natural" blond color. LOL

MC, is there a branch of the shop Ten Thousand Villages in your part of WI? (If not, there's one in Evanston, an hour south of the WI/IL state line). They specialize in handcrafted items made by women in the Third World, and I could have sworn I'd seen some cute quilted hats (patchwork & plain) and turbans there. Totally onboard with your decision to let your hair decide when it wants to depart your scalp--that hypersensitivity is from hair follicles biting the dust en masse, and you also don't need to risk getting nicked by a razor or clippers while immunocompromised (Neulasta or not).

Bob is a firm believer in letting peristalsis (from both ends) take its course in the case of norovirus (aka "stomach flu") and food poisoning. For the former, antivirals like Tamiflu are overkill, and antibiotics are useless against viruses. For the latter--if you're pretty sure it was food poisoning--an antibiotic is the way to proceed. Vomiting & diarrhea (sorry if anyone's trying to snack while reading this) are nature's way of getting the offenders out of your system ASAP. Once in Paris, the day before we were to fly home, Bob got what he was sure was food poisoning. He sent me to a pharmacy on the Champs Elysees near our hotel to pick up some Cipro, which is his go-to for food poisoning. The registered pharmacien refused to sell it to me even though she was authorized to do so w/o an Rx, insisting he should take Imodium instead. I told her he's a physician and knows his stuff, and she didn't relent until I handed her the cellphone and he convinced her it was better to get the bug out of one's system pronto. He took the Cipro and was fine by bedtime. Whatever drug you choose, hydration is vital--even if at first you can't keep water, much less Gatorade or Pedialyte, down.

morning, i forget if i mentioned i had Botox injections this past thurs for overactiv bladder. It may take up to 2 weeks to be fully effective. But i can see the difference so very pleased so far

MCBaker: I should know this but the thread is moving pretty fast for me: are you already on the chemo? If yes, it might be the steroids that go with it that are waking you up at two am. I had a love/hate relationship with the steroids: they gave me back energy that the chemo sucked out of me, and also help A LOT with nausea, but man, they kept me awake...

I also did not shave my head before chemo: I cut my hair shorter but not really short and let nature take its course. and yes, it all did eventually fall out but it also eventually came back as thick and curly as before. For a while it was curlier than before! One trick that helped me: while I couldn't face shaving my scalp, I bought some of those lint remover rollers you can get at any grocery or hardware store that are designed for removing lint and pet hair from furniture: and rubbed them over my hair and scalp every night before bed: it took out some of the big clumps that might have otherwise clogged the shower drain, and in a weird way it felt good since my scalp was also very tingly. Might be worth a try for you.

Iris, glad the Botox is working!

Gentle hugs to all...Right now I am sitting at my window, watching the snow fall. Very relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon....

Octogirl

queenmomcat- I had theater tickets throughout my chemo. My friends and I always went out for dinner before the theater. Even when I couldn't eat any food due to the metallic taste it was wonderful to act normal. I only allowed my friends 5 minutes to ask questions about chemo. Quite frankly I wanted a normal evening without focusing on cancer. My friends could see I was fine and I didn't want to dwell on it.

I don't know why, but i could barely hold my eyes open at 6:30 last night. I went to bed, and woke up at the usual time, with almost completely solid sleep. I will accept it any way it happens. I hate long winter evenings,anyway.

I tried the lint-roller, and it did the job with minimal pain. Except for the pain of seeing how much hair was coming out.

Most of my friends are fully aware that cancer is a tiresome topic of conversation. I am enjoying some good conversations with friends.

Ladies, I will be wearing clothes with roomy pockets for all of you to come along on early Friday morning. Going for my routine CT Scan.

In your pocket, Mommy!

Mommy ..in your pocket Friday !!!

In your pocket, Mommy.

Jo: while I didn't have to go through the hair loss, losing my eyebrows would probably be up there for me.

Mary ..so glad there is less pain .I didn't have chemo , but I can imagine how awful.it all must be .Hugs

Now my new great-granddaughter, and great-grandson

Me at one of the weddings dancing with my grandson..one of the 18 grands that I i have..LOL...I have to learn to sit down..I could not move the next day.