Any advice after the 1st chemo session?

Hello Everyone,
I’ve just had my 1st chemo session yesterday . iwas fine , but in the evening Istarted feeling sick. I’m still feeing the nausea, but trying to cope with natural products, Noni juice cinamon, pepermint, etc. Iwonder how long the nausea last.
. Any special tips after the 1st session?

Hope all of you are fine.
Hopes

Hi Hopes

I have just added discussion at the same time as you my first chemo was yesterday also. I felt sick yesterday evening but went to bed and luckily nothing more happened except as you say a nausea’s feeling, which seems to come and go.
I have been nibbling on dry Jacobs crackers and drinking lots of water, this seems to help.
I also took myself for a walk this morning.

Good Luck

kime1

Hi kime1,

Well , Ithink we just have to stay positive and active . I’ll go for a walk as well (if I can get dressed. ). Have you already had a surgery ? How was that?. I 've just started chemo before the surgery to shrink the tumor , so hopefully Iwon’t have a radical operation. (that really scares me),

Take care

Hopes

Hi folks

I went through chemo 3 years ago and I found that as the treatment went on the nausea subsided. Don’t know if its because your body gets used to it or not? The nausea lasted about 3 days after receiving chemo. Good luck and try and keep your chin up!!

Best Wishes

Lynne

Hi Lynne,

How did you manage abot your diet while on chemo? I was trying to eat healthy before the chemo , but know Idon’t feel like anything anything. Idon’t think it’s a good idea to starve my body especially while on chemo , but Iam finding it hard.

Take care
Hopes

top tips for nausea :

ginger biscuits and flat ginger beer (put little bit of sugar in it) - just sip it.

Vezza. xx

Hi Hopes

I had my surgery back in June, lumpectomy, and a week later WLE. I was lucky enough to have a couple of weeks holiday between surgery and commencing chemo. It is all very scary, but as you say staying positive is good.
Good luck and positive thoughts.

kime1 xx

Hi Kime1.
,

I’m sorry but I’m quite new with the terms and abrevv. yet What is WLE?
It’s good that you had a couple of weeks holiday before chemo.
Take care
Hopes

Hi Hopes

It is a wide local excision. The cancer started in a cyst beneath my nipple. It had grown through the cyst and attached to the nipple area. The surgeon removed the whole nipple area. I also had 10 lymph nodes removed. Surprisingly enough it wasn’t until on holiday when running out of the sea in a wet swimsuit, I worried about how It looked! I was assured by hubby and 17 year old it looked fine. Just one breast slightly larger than other (and of course no nipple). In that respect I feel very lucky. Although reconstruction is always an option.

kime1 xxx

Hi

My advice is drink plenty of water before chemo, so you are ready equipped to flush the chemo through your system asap. I was silly, on my first chemo I was very sick but didn’t ring up - just thought it was normal. When I went for my second one I told them how sick I’d been and they gave me extra, different anti nausea pills which worked superbly in conjunction with the normal ones. If it gets really bad - and mine did, I couldn’t even think about a glass of water without retching! - try hot water with fresh mint leaves and sip it.

I now have one chemo to go. Good luck to you all - you’ll manage!

Sharon

Hi there

You don’t say if you have been given anti sickness drugs or steroids to take for a few days.I f you have take them as prescribed and if the anti sickness tablets don’t work ask to try some different ones next time.

I found that eating things with ginger in and drinking ginger tea helped while I was on epirubicin, and as my taste buds disappeared I found eating highly spiced foods like curries was helpful. If you can’t taste you sometimes don’t feel like eating. The steroids make me really hungry and I’m now a few pounds heavier than I was at the start. Keep up the gentle walking if you can but don’t beat yourself up about it if you can’t. You will find your energy levels drop as the treatment goes on but I am assured they will come back. Just remember it doesn’t last forever, for me the last 5 months have gone really fast.

Look after yourself

Ollie

Hi

I was given steroid anti sickness drugs for 2 days after first chemo and then 2 other types, one to take as and when felt sick which had to be put between lips and gum, and the other could take for 3 days as preventative antisickness - which is what I did, or could take when felt sick. Obviously went with the preventative option and not felt sick at all. If you feel sick tell the chemo nurse and they will try different ones, although not expert, as only had one session so far!!!

Hope you feel ok, and my OH says to me, remember if you feel ill, its not the cancer making you ill, but all the drugs to get you better making you ill … which is good! I think!!

Take care
Love
Dawn
x

Hi Hopes

I started with FEC chemo before I had my operation, it did shrink the tumor and so my 1 boob only looks a bit smaller. i’ve had taxotaire chemo after the op (ended last thursday) and i can say there is light at the end of the tunnel. i think they are right to say that we have to drink loads of water as when i forgot to drink it or got confused about how much i’d had, i felt worse. my doctor told me if i didn’t feel like eating to get one of the food supplements, i got complan, but this time (the last one) i have been able to eat ok so thats a bit of a waste, never mind i’d rather eat real food.

hope you feel better soon
sue

Hi Everyone,
I feel so thankful to this site that gives us the chance to share our experiences . I really appreciate all your replies. My nurse gave 3 kinds of antisickness tablets. I’m still taking them. Ifeel fine today, still a bit dizzy. But. it’s much better now. I’m trying to eat healthy , even if Idon’t feel like eating because Ithink that my body has to be strong to help the drugs work without problems.
A big hug
Hopes

Hi Hopes,

I feel exactly the same way about the healthy eating evn though I dont feel like it.

I had my first chemo yesterday(EC) and felt quite sick last night but feel better this morning after anti sickness pills. I have started eating alot of organic stuff so I know I am not getting anymore chemicals in my system than needed right now. Like I say my first one was yesterday so its kind of suck it and see how things progress.

Good Luck to you all.

Lynne.x

Ladies,

apart from the obvious of drinking loads and loads, get yourself some ‘Travel bands’. I started chemo (E-CMF) in may and I swear by them!!! They cost around £7 and you get can them from places like Boots. You can wear them all night too (as I did post chemo last night) and they’re a great alternative to pill popping which I hate!

Take care,

Kelly
-x-

Hi Hopes

I’m afraid I didn’t manage very well with my diet whilst going through chemo - as you say you don’t feel like it. I ate when I could and what I fancied. Since diagnosis I have tried to include more organic food and changed to organic milk (have now converted the whole family). Another tip I would give is that sometimes the anti sickness drugs have side effects. With consultation with my BC nurse I reduced / playes around with these drugs - kept a diary of how I was feeling and what drugs I had eliminated. It was trial and error but I felt it made a difference.

Good Luck

Lynne
X

I also heard that the travel bands helped i am about to have my 3rd chemo tomorrow and will be calling into a chemist for travel bands on the way back. I take anti sickness pills for first 3 days of each cycle but still have that morning sickness queezy feeling most of the time so hope that they help, will let you know.

Gaynor x