Irina will be thinking of you tomorrow when you start you 1st chemo…Think I know how you might be feeling as I have just found out that mine will start 3rd Friday also FEC.
Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences, it has been informative and I will now be prepared for what ever lays ahead. I am still in a two minds whether I should go back to work while having this treatment coming from the stiff upper lip bridage - which isn’t always helpful!.
Cat and Irina…good luck for tomorrow!! Remember to drink plenty to flush it through as quickly as possible. And take those anti-sickness tabs at the slightest hint of nausea…they are better at preventing the symptoms than curing them.
Sally…good luck for Friday!! As for working, I have been. I work for my local council and they’re happy for me to come in when I feel like it…which so far has been 4 weeks out of the last 6 since starting FEC. But I also have the choice of working from home if there are too many people bringing their coughs and colds in to work. Though some of them have taken to joking that they’ll phone up when they’ve got colds to say they can’t come in in case they infect me!!
I have FEC number 3 tomorrow and have had my bloods done today by a barbaric phlebotomist who spent several minutes digging in my arm before finding a vein…ouch!!
I’ll be thinking of you ladies tomorrow/Friday,
Love 'n hugs from Sarahxx
Hi, I am too starting FEC on Friday 3rd. I wish Cat and Irina luck for tomorrow, and Sally, it will be us on Friday. It has been good reading this thread and hearing that maybe the anticipation is worse than the actual experience.
I’m also not sure how to manage work. I’ve been off during my 2 surgeries because I had an infection affter the first and then neuropathic pain after the second which made it impossible to do almost anything but is now under some degree of control. My work have said they will make similar arrangements as Sarah talks about. But I think I’m just going to see how it goes first.
I am back from the hospital, the first nurse didn’t get the cannula into my vein properly and my wrist swelled up painfully when she statrted to inject the epirubicin … they rushed to get the oncologist and he said we could try again next week! However I sid could they try a different vein, and after an ice pack followed by a heat pad, an older nurse injected the 3 successfully. I now have red pee and am awaiting further developments!
Sorry to hear you had a bad time today!!! I don’t blame you for getting them to try another vien, fancy having to wait another week!!! Red pee that sounds nice, lol.
What a horrid experience for you. I’m glad that they sorted it in the end and got it over with. Waiting to go through that again would have been horrible.
I had my first FEC this arvo, the first attempt at finding a vein failed miserably, seems I have narrow ones. Got it sorted after nearly scalding the skin off my hand by sticking it in hot water for five minutes. I have red pee, too. Good job they told me or I’d be thinking I was tripping or something.
Hope you go well this evening with all the drugs and stuff they’ve given you. I feel like I could go into a new profession, I have so many different bottles and packets in my goody bag.
Well done girls! Im on no 5 FEC next wed - I always wear a glove and keep my hand in my pocket until I go in chemo room and then have a heat pad straight away as my veins aren’t too good - make sure you keep drinking loads of water - I find it easiest with warm water. The red pee soon passes - haha!
They had trouble finding my vein, and before they even attempted to insert a needle they put my hand in hot water. That was successful and there were no further problems. I’m a week down the line from my first FEC now and the only thing I’m getting is the tiredness. I am still at work but I work for The Open University in the finance division, they are being really good in letting me come and go as I please. They are even holding an ‘In The Pink Day’ on 24th.
I have found that when I feel tired I have a snack like a banana or yoghurt and I have renewed energy again. My antisickness drug is Ondansetron by the way.
Thanks all, it’s a good job we are informed about the best way to find a vein, as the oncologist and chemo nurse wanted me to have a central venous line inserted - before we’d even tried the applying heat method. I’m on my own tonight - my daughter is at her Dad’s - so am going to go to bed soon with some nice books and the newspaper. If I’m sick later so be it. Good luck everyone xx
Awwww. Well done Irina girl. I have mine in two weeks time and am sh@~?ing bricks!
This is so informative…I will deffo start on the water and knock the wine on the head a couple of days before. I work for the NHS and they have been so supportive - telling me I can work as and when I want. I am getting in as many hours as I can prior to my treatment, just while I am feeling well. I am open to the public (and their ailments) so I will do a back office job once chemo starts, b ut at least it gets my mind of all this crap x
Irina - the nurse at pre assessment wanted to stick a central line into me before she’d even looked at my veins. Just been sick so the wonderful anti-sickness drugs aren’t yet working for me. Hope you’re OK on your own this evening.
Pheebster - don’t be scared of the chemo, you’ll cope with it, and everyone here supports each other.
Hi ladies, I’m relatively new here and seems I’m starting like everybody else - had my first FEC oct 1st. First two days were bearable but couldnt not sleep at all tonight because of very fast heartbeat, still waiting to hear from my hospital what to do. Has anybody had it and how you dealt with it? I know valerian is a great calming herb but saw a post somewhere here that it;s best to be avoided.
How everybody else doing? Good luck to all of you and can’t wait to hear some good news from everybody
Hi guys I have had 3 lots of FEC and now I am on Taxotare. With me, my symptoms lasted 7 days and after that I felt like my old self. I was very sick but found drinking, water, lemonade and gingerale really helped (not all at the same time ha). I also invested in a juicer and juiced all sorts of fruit which made me less nausea and refreshed my mouth. I have lost all of my hair which happened after about week 2. But I have bought an amazing wig and not a sole could tell that it was one and people who havent seen in a while keep giving me wonderful complements. Just do what your body tells you to do.
I’m doing much better today. I found after I was sick last night things were easier. Felt a bit sorry for myself this morning but gave myself a virtual boot up the bum and took my son out to his messy play group - so life goes on as normal.
Well done Cat and Irina…first one ticked off the list.
Sorry to hear you were sick tho’ Cat…maybe they can change your drugs for next time…make sure you mention it. Like you I found it easiest to get one with ‘normal’ life as far as possible, if only to help take my mind off things when I was feeling rubbish!!
And Irina, my arm’s wrapped up in an electric blanket as soon as I get there so that my veins are nicely fattened up…they managed to use the same vein as last time yesterday and that was fine. I also keep the electric blanket on whilst they’re giving me chemo as I found my arm starts to ache when they inject the fluorouracil after the epirubicin.
RehheadTato…could that be anything to do with steroids? I hope you’ve been on the phone to check up your symptoms with them. I had an ECG before my chemo yesterday as I’ve been getting dizzy spells lately. They did standing and lying blood pressure (no difference) so checked my heart (nothing wrong). The doc was a bit mystified by the dizzy spells and didn’t really give me any new advice…so it’s still a mystery.
Hope everything has gone ok today for Sally and Maggie…thinking of you!!
RedheadTato, I was awake in the night with rapidly beating heart too - I think it was the steroids. I had heartburn and have felt quesay today but have been taking my “backup” metoclopramide as well as the steroids and other sickness pills (ondansestron I think) so have managed to eat. Isn’t it FREEZING?!