Hi all! Hope you are having a good day & week so far! Day 1 of Chemo was last Wednesday, so I'm on Day 7 now. Days 3, 4, 5 were dreadful. I felt like I could NOT function, very achy all over, nausea something fierce and just felt the worst I could ever remember feeling. Day 5 was a little better but not much. Yesterday was ok, I worked but took at nap during lunch & that helped but still very tired. Metallic taste in my mouth and food doesn't taste right. Although fruit tastes good to me. Today I'm still very tired but I am much better. For those that are going through treatment or have been through all your treatments, does it get easier each time or is it the same? They did give me Zofran and Phenegran for nausea to rotate because the Zofran by itself was not working. I just don't feel good, and I know it's par for the course, but I'm just hoping each day until the next treatment will get better. Still looking online for scarves that I can use when I lose my hair. I'm leaning more toward scarves & hats rather than a wig. Just personal preference I think. I also need to get on the website & search for classes I can attend for help and support in making it through. My next treatment is May 25th. Also any input from you that have tried massages and/or acupuncture while going through treatment. Did it help you? I would love to hear about your experiences! Thanks in advance! You ladies are a wonderful inspiration and encouragement to me! Blessings to all! xxxx
Andrea
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alnovca
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I am sorry you are having such a rough time. I am perhaps not the best person to answer your post I did not want to leave you hanging!
In my experience what improves with each chemo session is your ability to manage your symptoms and your medics ability to treat them. It seems that peoples reactions to chemo are individual. Therefore the first session is a bit of an unknown. Have you been in touch with your chemo unit to discuss your symptoms? They will be able to help you with what is happening now and tweak your treatments to improve things for next time.
The pattern you describe after chemo sounds similar to mine. I learnt not to plan anything until day 10 post chemo and allowed myself to just flop around during the rubbish days. I then enjoyed and rewarded myself on the days when I slowly recovered until my next chemo.
Sorry to hear that you've had it bad; that does sound like my reactions too. My sickness meds were changed for chemo 2 and whilst I only had one bout of sickness this time , I was nauseous for longer which was awful. I've found that so far, the two sessions followed the same pattern although I didn't have as much bone pain - that may be due to the 20% reduction in Taxol that I had this time due to neuropathy. I'm not working at all whilst having treatment so can't believe you've managed to work. I also suffer with an off/slimy taste fr about a week and also go off food, although fresh pineapple does still taste good. I go off drinks too, can't bear tea and even water or squash us difficult to drink at that time.
Although I do have a wig I tend to go au natural in the house and maybe wrap a scarf or put on a little combat cap when I go out. Wig is really for my nieces wedding in Sept and also when I go back to work later in the year. If you're on Instagram then you can find me under clarehoski and look at my photos !
My 3rd treatment, blood tests permitting, is next Wed (18th) can't believe it's number 3 already! I suggest you speak with your Oncologist and see if they can alter your meds again, I'm definitely going to do the same.
There is a Macmillan support group bear me which provides free treatment, reiki, massage etc on a weekly basis although I've not managed to get there yet, there may be something like that near you?
I hope you continue to feel better, the good thing is we suddenly find ourselves feeling better and we can put our awful sickness away again until next time!
Quick question about the site, if I reply to others replies to my post, can everyone that has already replied see my follow up reply? UGH!! I'm just not sure if I need to reply individually or just to the original post? Ok, I'll stop!
Thank you both for your input. I'm supposed to see the doctor before my next treatment. I did call my unit on Sunday and they just said the extreme fatigue is normal. The day before that I called for something stronger for nausea & they gave me Phenegran. I'm really hoping for a decrease in my chemo but I'm not going to get my hopes up. The nausea is the absolute worst feeling! BLAH!!
I am working but I work in a small office with 5 or 6 people & they are extremely supportive and only want me to work when I can. I do take a nap during lunch on a couch in my bosses office & he encourages me to do that.
I am going to a "Look Good Feel Better" session next Monday and I'm looking forward to that. Thank you all again!
I'm sorry you've had such an awful time, I found each chemo was a little different, but tell your oncologist and he/she will change your anti sickness, they did with me, I took EMEND which really helped me, I had lots of hot water bottle and hot baths for my aches and pains, I stayed in the bath for ages as it relieved the aches for a bit. I also ate little and often just to try and keep the nausea at bay, anything I fancied on my not so good days. I also ate pineapple to try and get rid of the horrible taste in my mouth.
Drink lots of water (easier said than done sometimes) and rest when you can. Take care
Sorry to hear that you are not feeling too well after your first chemo,
I have had 4 chemo now and each time the tiredness/fatigue has just lasted a few days longer each time.
The first week for me is the worst, then a half n half week, then the 3rd week is the best but I still have to pace myself as I get tired quite quickly. I'm amazed you have managed to go into work, so by the sounds of it u are doing better than u think.
Neuropathy in my feet came on after my second treatment and pain in my knees. I also get a white furry tongue for about a week and food doesn't have the same taste so I find I don't have much of an appetite. I find it difficult to drink too so have suffered with constipation.
I don't think the side effects have got any worse they just seam to last longer each time.
I slept for day 2 and 3 of my 4th chemo then couldn't sleep at night for the rest of the week.
I'm not working as I'm not upto it most of the time, but during my third week I do try and work from home. Don't beat yourself up if you find yourself doing less at work or not even going back until the chemo has finished. Do what's right for you.
Every day u will feel a bit better until your next chemo, so make the most of that time.
As others have said chemo reactions do vary but generally speaking first couple of days bouncing off the walls with the steroids,then a dip,by week 2 feeling better then week 3 hopefully feeling well enough for the next round! I was on Emend and had no nausea at all. I did find my final chemos after surgery worse in that although I had no new side effects they were more pronounced somehow. I too found eating small meals easier on my tummy,drank fizzy water-I poured it and allowed it to stand for a minute or two to let the worse of the fizz go out of it,I also took a short walk most days as the oncologist said exercise was important but somethings had to take a stick with me just for confidence really ( I'm normally very active and pretty fit) I also kept a diary as advised by a friend,just notes really how I was feeling,what I ate, my temperature etc. you think you will remember but once 'chemo' brain kicks in I'm afraid I didn't and found it useful when seeing the consultant and his team. You will find you own way through it, and through it you will get ,do treat yourself and let others spoil you. My local cancer charity provided massages for both my husband and myself. I had 6 sessions of reflexology at the end of treatment which was lovely. I'm paying for acupuncture at the moment which,although I don't fully understand it I find is really helping to keep me in 'a good place'. Wishing you all the best xx
Hi Alnovca, While on treatment, I got light foot massage from a Cancer Support Centre and I feel this did help with Chemo side effects. Yes it is tiring and draining no doubt about this. See if there is a Maggie Centre near you on in your hospital and see if light reflexology is available and avail of it.
Hi Andrea, your experience sounds like mine. Unfortunately it doesn't get better if you remain on the same dose. My white blood cell count dropped after my second cycle first time around resulting in a big gap with treatment starting again 8 weeks later. At that point they reduced NY doise by 20%. This helped a bit. I got another 2 cycles into me and it went again so had a further reduction. The last 2 cycles were the easiest.
I'm on second line treatment at present and have just had cycle 3 on Monday following an 8 week gap! From my experience I imagine the pains will kick in during the night. Pain relief just doesn't touch it and I have to grin and bare it, sometimes unable to get out of bed other that pop to the bathroom .
However, you need to report your symptoms to your team so that they can try to make them better for you.
With regard to scarves, I wear long rectangular scarves. You can puck some nice onbes up in Saintsbury or Tesco. Don't go for silky ones. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube on different ways to tie them. I can't cope with a wig, felt like it was getting tighter when I took a hot flush lol.
Thank you all so much! Each day has definitely been better & I am very thankful. I still have some nausea & pain in my stomach but nothing like it was. Feeling like I may lose my hair soon but will be glad to just lose it & try to deal with it as best as I can. Leading up to it happening is scary. Hope you all are doing well!! Xxx
The effects of chemo are cumulative, which has its up and down sides. Try to manage the pain and sickness - everyone is different and what works for one might not have the same effect for others. For example I loathe codeine but it works for many ladies..
Pineapple helps with the yucky taste - a tip I picked up from the lovely warriors on this site. I can also recommend Pukka, Three Ginger Tea with a slice of lemon for nausea.
Keep plenty of boiled sweets to hand too - sherbet lemons help me as do chocolate limes and pear drops. Frozen Yogurt is also soothing on the mouth.
There are some really good websites that specialise in headwear for chemo patients. Anna Bandana is a good one and Headcovers which is Canadian and sell through Amazon are pretty reliable as well.
You could maybe get yourself a soft cotton sleep cap as even during the warmer months it can get quite chilly in the evenings.
I had my chin length, thick bob cut into a pixie style at the very start - similar to yours in fact which I loved but it started to shed quite rapidly after week 3, so I had a buzz cut which was really quite liberating.
Never be afraid to ask for help and have a good read through the threads. It's amazing what useful information is in there.
Thank you so much for your reply. I am feeling much better but seem to have bad heartburn which I've never really had. That is one thing that concerns me is the cumulative effect with each treatment. Thanks for the tips for frozen treats & also Anna Bandana. That's one I haven't checked out yet. I do love this site. It is so helpful!! My head hasn't felt strange at all yet but I haven't had to shave my legs in 3 days. Someone told me about bringing ice packs to treatment & ice my hands & feet to prevent neuropathy. Have any of you ladies done that? She said you should ice your hands & feed during the Taxol infusion. Blessings to you all! xxx
Tell your GP about the. Heartburn. They may prescribe you Omeprazole or something similar. I hadn't realised that there were cumulative effects of chemo, but have consoled myself that it is still zapping the blighters and have thus far responded well to it. I'm due number five a week on Wednesday and preparing myself by resting as much as I can after the op.
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