@hc1973 Just like this? 
Itās so hard to ask for help or adjustments sometimes. Iām just trying to put my head down and push through to the end of chemo. Iāve just been working full time, napping when I can and saving my A&E visits for after work/weekends. My body is kinda cooperating with me in that respect as it seems to save the worst side effects for outside of working hours strangely enough.
@kartoffel all credit to you for continuing to work full time. Take those periods of downtime when you can. Hugs. Laura x
Omg, what a time youāre having, but so glad all is ok - take care xx
Iāve had a rubbish weekend, last EC was on Thursday & my side effects are harder this time round & am not ābouncing back as quickā, Iāve had a check up yesterday as hand, wrist & forearm are sore & I had to get my latest chemo in a vein right beside my knuckle 
which they thought was extravasation & am also breathless when walking but have developed a cough all thanks to my hubbie for sharing with me. Bloods, covid test & chest xray & got given the ok to go home but would be checked out again this week.
Went back into hospital today & they have confirmed itās cording I have, but Iāve now also been assessed for a picc line, which they have agreed to do 
just waiting on a date to go get this done but will be in before next chemo on 13th - Ward 1 at the Western General in Edinburgh are doing a study regarding EC & vein damage & the need for picc lines. They used to give EC every 3 weeks but its been proven that every 2 weeks gives better outcomes but its harder on the veins & they are pushing for people like myself, to be fitted with piccās if having this kinda treatment - hereās hoping it helps someone else coming on this journey xx
That sounds so painful 
Iām glad that theyāre considering PICC line insertion, it doesnāt make sense to be using veins for this longer term treatment. A friend is a radiographer at the Royal Marsden and was surprised when I told her that the local phlebotomy team cannot take bloods from a PICC so suggested I ask the BCN can they do it - which I did - in order to protect my veins. Itās raised other issues but Iām glad I did, after all thatās one of the benefits of having a line. I hope you can get it sorted now @ivegotthis01 and feel better soon
@ivy-cat and @hc1973 I hope that you both have a better few days and feel well soon, what difficult times youāre having, take care x
Thanks @altoan xx annoyingly just woken up with my daughters cold this morning urgh! Temperature s ok just runny nose and sore throat. Iām supposed to go to a big party on Saturday in Stratford upon Avon and have a hotel booked itās been planned for months. Iāve been so determined to go and I have a new dress too so have to go 
@ivegotthis01 thanks for that info! Iām also on 2 weekly ECs (glad thatās the 4th done too) and my wrist and forearm had painful phlebitis after the second then thatās my left arm got a milder case of it too. Iāve had it about 6 weeks and had mentioned it/shown it to a few folk before I got my ultrasound scan on Friday at chemo when it flared up more too. So glad Iāve got the blood thinners now as itās starting to ease off a bit pain wise but feel like EC really wrecked my veins in my right arm, which my oncologist also confirmed is an issue with it. She did say docetaxel isnāt as harsh on the veins but Iām dreading it in case it causes more irritation as Iām not allowed to use right arm the now and I can see and feel my red vein in my left now tooš they never mentioned a PICC line for me but maybe the blood thinners will help enoughā¦. Fingers crossed!!
@ivegotthis01 sounds awful, your veins must be struggling so much 
I had cording following my op, they advised me to get husband to keep massaging it and I did too and eventually they snapped and relief was instant, ( hope this gives you some hope of relieving it) hope you start to feel better soon xx
Itās so strange how it differs so much from hospital to hospital on PICCās. My hospital said they would only ever administer the first EC via peripheral vein (and only if they couldnāt get a PICC or Port inserted in time) but they wouldnāt do any more than 1 or it would destroy veins each time. The ideal was to never deliver any chemo via a vein and they were obsessed about avoiding it. Yet other hospitals seem to just do the entire thing via peripheral veins.
Likewise, all bloods are done via my PICC and someone here mentioned that not being allowed.
Had my bloods rerun yesterday and my liver is in turmoil from the Docetaxel. My readings are 5 times the maximum. It made me do some reading and Docetaxel really does assault the liver beyond belief so itās normal and should recover for next week but the antibiotics probably havenāt helped my poor liver.
Neutrophils now at 40 along with WBC at 42 but low lymphocytes so theyāre just a bloody mess.
Day 9 of diarrhoea but finished antibiotics last night so am hoping things improve sometime soon.
Walked into my normal hospital for my bloods and burst into tears as soon as I saw my usual team. My A&E experience has left me so on guard and scared about trusting anyone and I just want the whole chemo thing to be over and for me to feel safe again.
@swk1981 Itās crazy how high the liver levels can get with docetaxel. Mine were 3x the max when I had my last bloods done last week and thatās with everything else being normal. Hopefully theyāll recover quickly once weāre done with all this nonsense.
Completely understand where you are coming from @swk1981 its so hard to bounce back from a place where you felt so vulnerable, brighter days are surely ahead 
In regards to bloods and pic lines, whilst in a&e the weekend they would not take any bloods from my pic, Iāve got so many bruises as my veins kept collapsing , and once they eventually got a new line in, took bloods and administered antibiotics it could then not be used to take more bloods they needed as one of my tests had clotted so had to find another vein , when the oncology nurse came to see me she used the pic line to take bloods and to be honest Iām glad the nurses on a&e didnt use it as the standard of care and hygiene is on a totally different level from oncology nurse to a&e nurse x
@swk1981 Day 9 of diarrhoea 
- Iām on day 6 and totally had enough. Iām not eating much at all as it triggers awful stomach cramps and then the diarrhoea. Really hoping I turn a corner soon as Iām just so exhausted.
The Picc line thing is weird. I asked for one as my veins are so small and hard to find but Iām definitely the odd one out on the chemo ward - not sure Iāve seen anyone else with one so far. @elle16 i canāt believe the hospital didnāt use it take bloods when you were in A&E. Why risk another infection by doing it via a needle? This has really been an eye opener to me regarding different approaches to care in the NHS.
Totally with you on infection control standards at A&E. The A&E nurse didnāt even wipe the tails on my PICC and I think I mentioned her tapping the syringe on the sharps bin, dropping it on the bed and then reattaching it to my PICC.
They punctured me too and endlessly and inserted a cannula for bloods which blew my mind. My oncology lead replaced all the tails yesterday and flushed it within an inch of its life and put all new dressings on. It felt so nice to be cleansed of the horrible hospital once and for all!
The same nurse who said āOoh, let me see your scar!ā and then lifted my top and proceeded to ogle at my scar making comments about how neat it is. I wanted to curl in a ball I felt so self conscious.
It seems that drinking is everything with Docetaxel since our livers need all the help they can get to metabolise the drug.
It would have really helped if someone could have explained how much it affects mucosa (and therefore our entire digestive tract) and our livers at the beginning so that we had an understanding of WHY the side effects are what they are and what the tipping points are that can leave us in danger.
There seems to be a real reluctance to let us in and for us to be knowledgeable.
When I was leaving hospital after the neutropenia, I asked the nurse to ask the oncologist to see me to explain how my neutrophils had climbed 10 points in 24 hours. She came back and said āThe oncologist says itās the GCSF injections weāve given youā. I replied āYouāve not given me any so can the oncologist please come here to see me?ā A young trainee oncologist came in, very stroppy, and insisted it was the GCSF and I pointed out that she was in the room when her consultant had said that they categorically would not give them to me because they would over-inflate levels. She was visibly annoyed with me for wanting to know why they were so high and couldnāt provide a satisfactory answer for me. Itās like theyād much rather we were just thick and didnāt answer any questions and just went along for the ride.
@hc1973 keeping everything crossed for you, really hope you make the party, that dress needs to be worn 
xx
Please ask before your next chemo, I as going to ask at my oncologist appointment on friday as can only use left arm for chemo - thankfully yesterday has pushed this forward.
Hope things settle with you soon xx
Thanks, Iāve been told to put ibuprofen gel on & gentle stretches, which is easing abit, but its sore to even touch very gently - my veins just do not like EC & as moving onto Paclitaxel which is a 3hrs insertion, a picc will be so much better all round 
xx
Thanks 
hope yours settles soon too. Iāve got the oncologist early next week before chemo but I asked last time I seen them and they told me no and itās a last resort due to the extra infection riskā¦ dunno if itās also to do with my neutrophils always being so low and my infection risk being higher with that too. Who knows 
Iām defo going to bring it up again though just to see what they say
