My husband had his second round of Docetaxol on Monday.
He has been feeling extremely tired since Monday.
We have to be careful not to do too much. On Wednesday evening, his niece Suzanne who is currently over from the states dropped in for a visit and what was supposed to be a short visit turned into a 3-hour long visit. My husband was well during it but felt more tired yesterday.
That tiredness and exhaustion are the only side-effects, though.
Suzanne brought Melatonin for him from the States. He is taking one 3 mg tablet each night about one hour before going to bed and his sleep has improved a lot.
So, all going quite well, I guess.
Mel and Paul.
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MelaniePaul
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Glad Paul is holding up with the chemo treatments. I am also experiencing the tiredness and exhaustion, especially after several cycles. Sleep is so important and you need more of it on chemo. Glad his sleep is improving.
I spend a lot of "chair time" during the first half of each cycle. The main thing is to relax and not push yourself physically. Some exercise is helpful if he can do it along with plenty of rest, healthy food and plenty of water.
Hoping he gets good results from the treatment, makes it worth it for sure. In the meantime hang in there and keep us posted.
Unfortunately, Paul does push himself too hard physically. For example, the day after the second infusion he went for a 30-minute walk. I was on the phone when he left, so I couldn't really say anything and didn't know his plans, but had I known, I would have told him that such a long walk was not a good idea. Then Wednesday the relatives came and stayed for three hours. And Thursday and yesterday he has been very tired and exhausted and got sick a couple of times as well and the weight is going down a bit again as well.
So we have now learned for the next cycles:
1. as much down time as possible for the first five or six days at least
2. only very gentle exercice after that.
3. no visits or only very short visits during first week.
Paul is that type of person who always feels he can do a little more, who wants to live life to the full and I also feel it has something to do with not wanting to appear weak or something like that. But I keep reminding him that this is fighting for his life at the moment and that we should do whatever is necessary to let the therapy work and to have an as good life as possible at the same time. Overdoing it only leads to more stress on both of us.
I'm a very active person in general so it has been very hard for me to slow down. I also push myself too hard. You want to do something, but then your body just can't do it. You have the will, but not the physical endurance. My wife is constantly telling me that my only job right now is to get better. I'm used to doing a lot around the house and just being very active. Accepting that I can't do as much right now is the hardest part about this disease. One thing I'm learning is how to listen to my body. It's often telling me something and I just have to pay attention and stop saying "oh that's nothing". Wishing you the best going forward. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
I say to Paul: "You don't have to do this or that. Your only job is to get better. Rest as much as you can." And, although he is learning more and more to appreciate that, like for you it is difficult for him to accept that he can't do as much as he used to do or would like to do.
Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for your encouraging posts - to all of you!
Those long visits are so taxing on Elgie. We feel bad saying just an hour.... so instead he suffers the next day too. So glad you were able too get the melatonin and it is helping. Hugs for both of you.
Personally, I wouldn't feel bad to say to people after half an hour or one hour "Look, it was lovely to meet up with you, but I think Paul needs a rest now." or something like that. But I wanted to leave it up to him to decide. He seemed to enjoy it at the time. But I think it is better to see the wider picture and, once you know that there is only going to be suffering the next day or couple of days, that should be enough to say "Okay, we have to keep this visit really short".
Yes, David, he is calmer, but this second cycle is really getting to him now with the fatigue and also the sickness. His weight dropped this week from 59 back to 58.
We just have to see how the next couple of days go.
I know it takes time and should be considered as following a country path with ups and downs rather than a straight line to recovery. I am struggling again to lose weight! The pills have taken over but Monday and Tuesday I will be chatting with patients at Charing Cross Hospital plus getting my latest results. Wish me luck. Thursday it's tooth and jaw surgery at Kings College Hospital...need more than luck for that. Life is full of new journeys.
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Docetaxel results so far
My docetaxel experience so far
Successful Recurrent Treatment - So Far
