Haven’t watched Jermey Kyle for years - think I need to start again! I’m up, showered, dressed and have pottered around tidying up. My thinking is, if I do it when I can I wont care if I dont if/when I crash! I have a flushed face which I think is a side effect of the Dexamethazone, as my temperature and blood pressure are fine. Looked a right state opening the door the the motley crew who are our window cleaners earlier - no make up, red face and short hair with grey roots naturally dried! They’ll have a shock next time they come round and I’m in a headscarf or wig! Haha!
Cassie, if you are having the same as me, which it sounds as if you are, my schedule is as follows:
The first day counts as day one and that is the beginning of the first cycle. I was given a drip straight into a canula that was fitted about level with my wrist (although that will be different for you wont it?) The drip contained a fluid to wash the drugs through. I think some of us have been given anti sickness drug through that first as wel, but I wasnt. Then the nurse injected slowly the 3 different drugs I was having ( FEC ) starting with the red one first because she said it was the nasty one - but it was OK There were 2 injections of each drug. The next one felt weird going in and she said it was because it was very cold, so she got me a heat pad to put over my arm and it felt much better (although it really wasn’t bad at all anyway!) The last drug gave off a menthol aroma again, quite weird! She told me I needed to suck sweets during this one! I had some mints with me, but she told me next time to bring my favourite sweets to suck!! Last of all she put the anti-sickness drug into the drip (I think that’s what she did, don’t think she injected it!) My chemo nurse was very straight forward and direct and opinionated, which was why she gave me orders about sweets I think! But I couldn’t fault her at all and she was also quiet amusing! The whole process took and hour and a half, because they stopped it when I said I felt dizzy to get me checked over. Hopefully it will just take an hour next time.
My next cycle will be on day 22 - and that will be called day 1 again! After those 3 cycles, I’ll be having the T part of FEC-T and they have said that is just the one drug that is put through a drip and takes about an hour too.
I hope this helps and I havent confused you! My advice is start drinking the water on Thursday, 2L if you can and continue another 2L on the day and the next day. Good Luck, I’ll be thinking of you and hope it all goes well Take care xxx
Hello all, glad you’ve had a good first night Kim and Claire, just make sure you keep taking the anti sickness meds regardless of how nauseous you feel. I’m interested to read about the dizziness you all felt. I also had it when the anti sickness was put through my drip, I felt really spaced out all of a sudden as if I was quite drunk, but then it passed when they put some more saline through. I mentioned it to one lot of nurses who seemed quite surprised, but when i mentioned it to the nurse who did the chemo part of the treatment she said that was quite normal.
I’m day nine, feeling better by the day, last injection today which is good. Had trouble waking up this morning, find myself sleeping quite deeply! Went out and about though for the first time, even managed a trip to m&s to collect a mastectomy swimming costume that I’d ordered. Hugs to all xx
Good morning Claire, Cissy, Kim ( and anyone else who I may have forgot ) - hope you all had a reasonable night and not too many problematic symptoms - hopefully none at all. You ticking yours off Tina and hope you ok too. The unknown is a bit scary Cassy, I really didn’t know anything or what to expect prior to meeting the oncologist on the Wed, prior to 1st chemo on the Friday . I’m sure you really won’t find it as bad as your brain builds it up to be and will be fine. We all will be thinking of you and sending best wishes and hugs. Hope everyone has a good day , I’m going to Morrisons this morning for supplies that I fancy !!, keep thinking about jam roly poly and custard ?, not had it in years, probably not the most nutritious of foods but Heh Ho ?Hugs to all Mechele X X
So, officially Day 3! Still just feeling hungover, but I’m thinking I’ve been very lucky so far! My hubby administered the first of my immune boosting injections this morning and that seemed to go well - no aches and pains so far, but I’m guessing as the days go on (I have to have 7 of them) then the build-up might cause the bones aches, I was told to expect them. I find it really strange waiting for side effects to appear - can’t quite relax!!
Hope you are all managing your different stages well - take care xxx
Hi girls,
Good to see you all seem to be managing great and Mechele I hope you stocked up on your jam rocky poly!! I was exactly the same last week, I was just eating everything in sight!!!
I’ve got appointment with my oncologist tomorrow, I am going to demand I have Emend anti sickness for no2 cycle to hopefully avoid being sick!! I am then going to try and find a wig, kind of last minute as my hair is possibly going to start falling out on Friday(day 14!). I have been feeling remarkably good over the last couple of days, I’m just hoping I don’t catch the cold my husband and 3 kids have at the minute, I am the healthiest in the family!!
Hope all SE stay away, big hugs and sleep well.
Debbie x
I wonder if it’s the strength of the injection - maybe mine are milder, so the side effects are less to begin with, and that’s why I have them for 7 days? I shall ask (if I remember!) when I go and see my oncologist on Monday. I also have to have a blood test on Monday to check they are working. I think that’s just for this first cycle though. xxx
Mine are the same as yours Ellieb, my last one was yesterday. Had an awful night with bone aches, had to ring the helpline at one point. It felt as if my bones were throbbing and pulsating within my skin. Have had a day on the sofa today and have had a very small glass of red wine tonight as a treat xx
I’ve woken up to quite a lot of hair on my pillow, I’m day 13!!! Feeling scared to wash my hair or brush it. Good job I’m wig shopping this morning, but more pressure to find one I like!! I always thought I’d be ok loosing my hair, but not quite sure now!
Hope everyone has had an ok night. Debbie xx
Morning everyone. I was on the GCSF injections all the way through my chemo. I found that the aching in the bones started on the 5th evening and was unbearable on day 6. The pain then went. I was prescribed Tramadol to get me through that one day. Hot water bottles and Paracetamol were just as good. I know it is awful but so necessary. I was Neutropeanic on my first 2 chemo cycles and ended up in hospital x 2. The injections really do make the neutrophils improve. I didn’t enjoy the pain but it did remind me that my immune system was getting a huge kick to make it behave. I hope the pain settles soon for you all. Love suzy xx
Claire I had a dreadful headache after FEC 1 (like an axe through the top of my head permanently) for 2 weeks. The following cycle I had no headache at all. I used the cold cap throughout, so I don’t think it was that in my case anyway. Obviously up to you to decide what is right for you, but would it be worth trying one more cap? It would speed your hair growth by a few months at the end at worst & you might keep it. x
Oh Claire, I know it’s really upsetting you re the hair and do feel the same - you’d think we have to go through enough without this. I didn’t even bother with it, partly because previously suffered from migraines, having to be in the unit longer, don’t like being cold ( makes my joints with osteoarthritis hurt more) and not sure how well it works. I’ve had headache on and off anyway, so is yours down to the cold cap? I don’t know . However , trying to be on a positive note ( which I keep trying to tell myself ) is this : whilst I was feeling unwell after the reaction, getting in shower, shampoo on, rinse, conditioner, then blow dry, tong etc , all so much of an effort and still, hair not looking great ( hair does seemed to have changed a bit, texture etc ) - I can shower, dry head, wig on that looks like I’ve just come out of hairdressers and heh Ho - done .whole new meaning to Wash and Go !!! Hope I can still feel like this when the time comes tho. I too, keep thinking about it and just love my hair being played with. Often at night, if Philip and I in bed watching TV ( usually FOOTBALL ?) , I have my head across his knee and he plays with my hair - just sooo relaxing and love it. BUT , keep thinking one evening I going to see clumps in his hand and be mortified ? . Out of my control tho. Wonder if others feel like this, sure they must do. Not really researched the effectiveness of the cold cap - have you ? Do hope you have a good day, as well as everyone else - We will overcome this !!! Love to everyone. Ps OH BOY - my Jam Roly Poly was simply Devine ???
Just looked in the mirror - think I’ve just aged 10 years! And that’s still with hair! Flushed and wrinkly. Slept better but cold. Temperature is OK tho, on the low side of normal. Feeling rough, but managed breakfast and got a hospital appt this morning (renal clinic) so I hope the waiting isn’t too long!!
Have you all got the MacMillan folder that has a colour coded chart in it of how you feel and when to call the helpline? It seems that you should ring at every new symptom!! I’m sure this is panicking me more than it should!
Injection 2 just given - the waiting game begins!
I hope the wig shopping goes well Debbie, I’m really not looking forward to my hair loss although I am happy with my wig and headgear - but it’s still a shock I imagine.
Hope your headaches improve Claire, I do admire you cold cappers!
Cassy - get drinking the water in preparation for tomorrow, I’m sure it helped me and good luck for your port today (think I have this right!)
Take care everyone else - hope you are all OK! Xxx
Claire I started with paracetamol for the headache, but it was that bad, I ended up taking co-codamol sometimes. Weirdly it was worse when I lay down. I found that both the nausea & fuzziness went faster on FEC2. Almost like your body knows what’s coming & deals with it better. Sounds odd I know. Did you take painkillers an hour before doing the cap? Made a big diff to me, as did hot tea when it’s going through the cold patch. xx
Cassy, I definitely think you win the prize for the most injections!! Mark gave me my second this morning and the needle successfully retracted this time (it didn’t yesterday, all was fine tho, he just didn’t push hard enough to here the click!)
I haven’t drank so much water today so feeling a bit dehydrated, going to have to be more strict on myself!
Feeling better than I did this morning, spent most of the day travelling to and from my renal clinic appt at the hospital and had a nap this afternoon (hopefully I’ll sleep tonight tho now!) Still eating stacks which has been easing any feelings of nausea I’ve had.
Loads of good luck tomorrow Cassy xxx
Hope you have a restfull night Cassy and all goes well tomorrow , sure it will do. Will be thinking of you and look forward to hearing how it went and you ok. Keep reading about everyone and their injections - wonder why I don’t have any , not that I particularly want them tho !! Just wonder about my immune system - probably drop through the floor ! My little grand daughters 2 nd bd party on Saturday , been advised to stay away from a group of toddlers, but will miss her dreadfully. On and off have muscle/ joint aches and pains ( ? Due to the T Cyclo ) Have a good evening and restfull night everyone , best wishes Mechele x
All went well with the chemo, I will have the the first injection tomorrow evening, they have given me 10! It’s Nivestim 48 MU/0.5ml. Maybe it’s dosage differences or maybe it is based on an individual’s blood count? Any theories/facts?:smileyfrustrated:
I’ll be asking on Monday when I see my oncologist. So far I’ve had no side effects from the injections, but I’m definitely feeling more spaced out and tired today. The seroma build-up I’ve had since I had my drain out is getting me down now, probably because I’m concerned it will get infected although it looks fine.
Which days does our immune system hit rock bottom?
Pleased it went well for you today Cassy
Hope you continued to feel well Ellie, can’t remember what day you’re on, but when I’ve posted this I’m going to scroll down and see where everyone is! Xxx
Not painful, just uncomfortable and worse since chemo started. When did you have yours drained? I’m worried about having it done and getting an infection I guess. Plus the likelihood of it filling up again! I had a silicon implant as an immediate reconstruction with a mesh ;can’t remember what type! Think I’m just finding stuff to stress over! Xx
I’ll see how it goes over the weekend as I see the oncologist on Monday anyway, and go from there
Thanks for your advice! Hope you have a good weekend xxx
There were 2 injections of each drug. The next one felt weird going in and she said it was because it was very cold, so she got me a heat pad to put over my arm and it felt much better (although it really wasn’t bad at all anyway!) The last drug gave off a menthol aroma again, quite weird! She told me I needed to suck sweets during this one! I had some mints with me, but she told me next time to bring my favourite sweets to suck!! Last of all she put the anti-sickness drug into the drip (I think that’s what she did, don’t think she injected it!) My chemo nurse was very straight forward and direct and opinionated, which was why she gave me orders about sweets I think! But I couldn’t fault her at all and she was also quiet amusing! The whole process took and hour and a half, because they stopped it when I said I felt dizzy to get me checked over. Hopefully it will just take an hour next time.