Anyone due to start chemo April 14??

Morning everyone, well and truly fed up now! Same as you Wildpurl, awful back pain, hips, chest, boobs, everywhere!! No energy and have to go to sleep every afternoon?.pilates might help energise you and help with aches- good luck!!
Rosie, hope everything goes smoothly for you today, and everyone I hope your aches and pains are going a little now, I sat in bed last night just could not get comfortable and ached too much to read and even watch mindless crap on t.v, so sat and cried with frustration instead!! 2 more Tax to go. X

Oh Rosie, what a scare , I was also warned about reaction to first Tax and if not then second one!! It must be frightening when it happens, at least it went ahead, hope side effects are kind to you after all you have had to put up with recently.
I finally seem to ache a little less as the day has gone on, even mowed the lawn when it had cooled down a bit!! Hope to be Improving now, it’s been a long week and have felt awful, hopefully you are all improving too??

Rosie, you have really been through the mill. Glad you managed to carry on with your chemo though, so that’s another one ticked off.
I’m day 3 post first Tax and day 2 post herceptin. So far things have not been too bad. No nausea, yay! Mentally feeling a bit knocked off so wouldn’t want to drive at the moment, my reactions would be too slow. I’ve got a slight ache in my pelvis but nothing much. Hope I’m not jinxing myself and the train doesn’t hit me tomorrow.
Hope you all manage a decent nights sleep

Morning Rosie and everyone!! Sounds good Rosie- I was like superwoman too whilst on steroids and cleaned house top to bottom, but done buggar all since!! You have packed in a lot this morning!! Hope you stay well in next few days. I do feel a lit better finally today and plan to go to my nearest little town to buy a Father’s Day gift for my elderly , frail dad!! Although I think even he had more energy than me this week! I know I am on the “up” as looking at debenhams sale on line and lusting after handbags, which I couldn’t even be bothered with earlier in week.
Jos, it must be very hard being a single parent, even at full health it’s difficult let alone dealing with all of this! Good on you and Wildpurl in sorting out divorces( I married very young and it lasted 2 years, then met my lovely husband in my late twenties and had 2 lovely boys who are now 23 and 25 and have been married to him for 26 years) so I was a young divorcee the first time at 22 !! You live and learn!!
Tij, hope you continue to stay well, Joan, Booksandwine, Jackie, rolicarpit hope you are seeing some good days ?
Wildpurl hope you manage work ok today?
Eam, how are you feeling? Not heard from you, I assume you are feeling like I have been too this week, hope you are ok?
Kirstie and Louise thinking of you.
Think it’s going to be a lovely day again, so enjoy it whatever you do! I have started reading one of richard and judys summer book club reads called " eeny meeny" and it’s hooked me from the start- a really good thriller, so might sit in the shade and try and read this afternoon! All that will be missing is a cold gin and tonic! Will maybe have a tonic with lemon( oh the excitement!!!) x

Hi butterfly, thanks for the info, I booked yesterday for look good, feel better course on 22nd July which will be just after my last chemo yay!!! Am very much looking forward to putting some colour and definition on my wax dummy face!!
Rolicarpit, just a thought- have you done course? Or would like to! If so you could book in at leicester royal for 22nd and we could meet?

Jackie, it’s awful to be a hospital worrier- I feel sick just looking at the sign, always have even as a small child!! My hubby tells me off for worrying about s/e , he says you prob won’t get them, but always think i will, like Wildpurl I got very worried before first Tax, but nothing to worry about!!
Rolicarpit, I live in South Leicestershire, not far from market harborough, I can drive so am more than happy to meet you somewhere convenient , would love to meet up.
Thanks also Jackie for the book recommendations, I do enjoy a good crime thriller, last year I enjoyed " gone girl" and have read “apple tree yard” which was ok, but not brilliant,
Have a lovely weekend ladies , Wildpurl a barbecue sounds lovely, enjoy it!
Rosie, stay well! X

Great to hear most of you are feeling energetic and chipper. I thought I was starting to get more energy but still having trouble sleeping had thought broke the back but it’s the dry sticky mouth and just inability to sleep.

I confess I preferred fec as by now would feel better and look to go to work next week but I can’t see that happening as quite frankly I feel well let’s just say knackered

Jos. Wildpurl. Congrats on your divorce

Re rashes sorry read today yesterday posts can’t recall who had one. I also have one was pretty bad Monday scaley like snake both sides if my neck and itchy doc have me antihistermune tablets. Slighly better now. BCN wanted to suggest a heat rash

Re mouth and food I’m finding mine very dry and food has no tastes so really struggling to work out meal options. Anyone else like this Gonna be in diet based on butter mayo used and whatch cholesterol based on salt.

Saw surgeon yesterday I will be delayed recon so next year I will be complete.

Good to hear overall most of you are faring well

Evening ladies. Spent the last 24 hours in hospital with infection and neutropenia. Having thought I was getting over the TAX by Thursday morning I Suddenly started running a temperature and feeling awful. The doc described my white cell count as rubbish. No doubt a technical term I was told I would need to stay in for at least 48 hours on a drip but luckily I responded very quickly, temp down and bloods more respectable so sent home this afternoon with a bucketload of antibiotics. Really knocked out though, just lying in bed doing nothing. This is the most energetic thing I have done for two days. Hospital not the most restful place. Just falling off to sleep last night when at 11.30 a nurse came in to start the next drip. Then this morning every time I thought I was dropping off someone came in to do some thing or ask me something. Then there was a bloody fire alarm, set off by someone burning toast. So for 20 minutes we had this repeat robotic message ’ there has been an incident in the. Hospital, please await further instructions’ . On the plus side, the staff were wonderful and I had a single room helpfully decorated in pale turquoise, which exactly matched my new toilet bag. How did they know that?

Sorry there are too many posts to respond to individually. Good to know that some of you have not found TAX too bad . One of the doctors said that the second one should be easier. I bloody well hope so. Rosie, I’m sorry you had a scary exoerience but good that it didn’t mean the treatment had to be terminated.

Hope you all have a good weekend. I should have been going up to London to stay with my daughter but obviously had to cancel. So will just be taking it easy. Have a nice week ahead planned though and fortunately the docs haven’t said I need to avoid people. On Monday going to a cancer care centre to see what support they offer. I booked it as a precautionary measure because although so far I have felt emotionally OK I thought it would be good to know w hat help was available. But this week has knocked me back, I now feel really fed up and dreading the next round of TAX.

Sorry this has been pretty much all about me moaning (my autocorrect turned that into profaning; didn’t realise it was a mind reader). Hopefully will start to feel less self obsessed by tomorrow.

Hi all, Joan, how are you this morning? Hope you are feeling better and manage to potter about the garden maybe as Rosie said you could visit your daughter next weekend? It is really disappointing when our plans are cancelled- I never dare plan anything at the moment other than a walk,or sit in pub garden!!
I really hate Tax, on Fec I would have felt a bit sicky for one day and the back to almost normal, I have felt bloody awful all week and no sign of regaining any energy!!
Rosie, maybe you will take to the wig more if it’s thinned out- mine was very bouffant! My hairdresser cut it into layers and I can put up with it, although since it’s been quite hot I just wear it for work and whip it off as soon as I come home as it’s very sweaty on the head!!
I have finally found a drink that I take too- tonic water with lime /lemon slices - it’s sharp on taste buds although not so good on my mouth ulcers.
Booksandwine, totally relate to the knackered feeling, I sat in a stupor on my sofa yesterday and watched as hungry jackdaws knocked off my carefully planted wall basket filled with flowers, they crashed all over my patio with soil everywhere and I couldn’t even get up to pick up my poor plants etc- other half at work til 10.00 p.m so just lay there looking at it!!! Have picked it up this morning though as mornings I seem to have a little more energy. Am just gearing up to walk my dogs and that will probably finish me off for the day!
Take care everyone. X

Evening everyone, I have finally I hope turned a corner and feel more normal today! Didn’t have to sleep this afternoon, even went with o/h to nearest town and bought some summer wedge shoes and a Black-eyed Susan plant from home base- rounded off nicely by a nice glass of wine in local pub garden and i still have energy left!!
Rosie and Wildpurl, you both sound like you have active days too, I love farmers markets and the cider sounds delicious, sounds like you have a very productive garden Wildpurl- how nice to be so productive and know where your food comes from! And good luck with finding anything worth watching after the footy. I can only find something I have recorded earlier in week or rosemary and thyme- which hubby will scream if that theme tune is heard!! Happy viewing!
Rosie, your drinks sound nice, hope you enjoy them, and am sure your wig will be better when thinned out, but agree it’s far too hot to wear it! Have a nice evening and hopefully a good nights sleep!

Hi ladies I am back from the dead. Spoke to the nice ladies on the help line basically all the side effects I have are common and you have to live with it. Hate Fec last session was actually sick whilst they administered it fan bloody tastic NOT !!! Good day today bought some new clothes need higher neckline now after masectomy. Is anyone else on Fec only ?

New clothes sound good Louise and nice to hear from you, awful you feel so rubbish on Fec , a friend of mine had 6 Fec and she wasn’t too bad on it, she’s 2 years finished with it now, but most of us are on Tax too.
Rosie not sure I would be able to be awake at 1.00 a.m . Hope you get some sleep at some point!!
Jj, have heard about piriton, but haven’t tried it, will next time as my aches and pains have been awful this time- thanks for the tip.

Morning ladies and thanks for all your best wishes. Yesterday started off quite well, had my nails repainted deep plum and before that ironed some clothes to wear. But that was pretty much it for the rest if the day, which I spent in bed. But this morning after a reasonable nights sleep-ie 3 plus 2 hours, which I would have been moaning about pre cancer- I feel I might be capable of a bit more. Last night thought I might be in for another trip to hospital when my left hand became all red and swollen and two fingers went white. Having spoken to the hospital helpline (I think I have become a frequent flyer) it seems it is a combination of the TAX ( my right hand is also red but not swollen) and having the blood clot in my left arm. Keeping my hand in the air as much as possible and not using it seems to help and I have to ring if the fingers go numb. So that’s my symptom of the day. What will today bring I wonder.

Lovewine, like you I hateTAX, but pleased that you are turning the corner. My drink of choice at the moment is lemon barley diluted with sparkling water. It’s sharp but doesn’t sting the mouth. Even better with ice.

Booksandwine, hope you are recovering some energy. Knackering is just the word.

Rosie, congratulations on the problem now being constipation. Who knows, you may even get to try the go-cake. I hope you get your wig trimmed to your satisfaction; you will want to look your best at the two events at school you have coming up. I like your oncologists explanation about your reaction to the second TAX, if my body has any sense it will do the same but hopefully it won’t.

Wildpurl, it is great that you are feeling so well on TAX; it is a helpful reminder, especially for those coming onto the site, that experiences are very varied. Your garden sounds lovely, very productive. I managed a good blitz on ours the day after chemo so it’s not looking too bad from a distance, and I’m just having to ignore the weeds. My husbands idea of what is a weed and what a carefully nurtured flower is a bit suspect. He has never lived down taking off all the flowers on my tomato plants in an attempt to be helpful. I hope. I achieve at least some of your energy this week. We are meant to be looking after my daughters garden while they are in holiday (that’s the one who lives 40 minutes away, not the London one) and he has also offered to refelt the roof and paint a Wendy house for the garden they bought cheap off a neighbour. Now he tells me that he will need my help with the felting!

Louise, welcome back from the dead. I hope you are beginning to feel better. Although it is reassuring to know that the side effects are normal there is often something that can be done to make them more bearable. Enjoy your new clothes.

jj 1981 thanks for the suggestion about Piriton for leg twitchiness. I do normally take Piriton for asthma but I might ask my oncologist about increasing the dose.

I have been wondering whether it would be useful if there was ready access to information on tips for dealing with side-effects. I know there is a thread 10 top tips for dealing with chemo, which I must look at again, but presumably not all chemo patients get to that. The info I got from the hospital was pretty basic.

Good news Rosie!! Bet you feel more comfortable now too!! Sounds like you will have an exciting week, hope your dresses look good, it’s like having a new wardrobe isn’t it, I have dug out clothes that haven’t fitted me for years which I decided I now love.
Joan sounds painful and inconvenient with your hand, let’s hope it improves today, it seems strange some of us have been really knocked out by Tax and other ladies not too bad? I think myself, Booksandwine and you have felt really knackered this time and yes I repeat previous post " I HATE TAX!!" Am dreading the other two already.

I’m glad everyone seems to be chugging along ok. The aches hit me yesterday and felt very tired having not slept well the night before. Resorted to a nap in bed in the afternoon and still fell asleep on the sofa at 8pm last night! I have found taking one ibuprofen and one paracetamol at the same time seemed to help with the aching.
Not feeling so achy today but functioning at about 50% of my normal speed. Feeling rather bored but my brain us not functioning well enough to read a book.
Despite eating loads of fibre, constipation has hit me this time. Have taken two senna to see if I can get things moving. We are going to a friends for a BBQ this afternoon so I hope things get moving before then or there could be some interesting consequences! Might have to consider making ‘go cake’ tomorrow if nothing happens.
Hope everybody has a tolerable Sunday

Good luck jos!! Sounds like you had a lovely weekend. X

Morning Rosie and Wildpurl, just catching up before I go to work- a cruise sounds so exciting Rosie and so nice to have something lovely to look forward to after this year, sounds like you are having a wardrobe overhaul good on you, makes you feel much better to have some nice dresses!
Wildpurl sounds like you are having a good productive day too, glad you got boiler sorted, can be a nightmare without it!
Hello to all other ladies, hope you are ok.

Welcome Nellie, you will find this group of ladies a great source of help and support, I know I certainly do!! Regarding tooth loss, I can remember reading posts of a lady in december thread she lost several teeth and you can’t have dental treatment whilst having chemo, when I read your post I could have written it myself, I had Tax 12 days ago after 3 Fec, I fared ok on Fec and bounced back to normal after a couple of days, Tax hit me about 3 days after, I have never had such overwhelming fatigue and bad bone aches, even this week the tiredness is awful, I do agree though that a gentle walk and keeping active helps- good luck ??
Jos, great you didn’t have any reaction and all went well, fingers crossed your s/E’s are minimal, and it must be disappointing to cancel trip to N.Z, but next year will come around very quickly and you will be back to full strength by then too!
Jackie, Tax maybe won’t affect you too badly, as ladies say everyone’s s/e are different, good luck and it’s another ticked off!
Booksandwine glad you are picking up, Rosie, yes the end is in sight! My last chemo is July 16th yay!!, am not sure if mine is a mastectomy yet, but if so I agree with you and rather have both lopped off at same time as I can’t bear to go through this again either!!
Wildpurl, good for you booking some time off, days out are essential for our well being!!
Thinking of all you other ladies and hope you are ok x

Hi Lisa, yes sounds good! I can meet up Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, can drive to Lutterworth which is only about 25 mins from me if that suits you? Or market harborough! Wendy

Hi Lisa, do you know " the square" in the centre? There is a New look and a small Tesco, could meet you outside New look, there is a large car park at the rear called The commons car park which is convenient and always able to get a space! Wendy