Oh Bookworm, sorry you’re feeling wobbly. You’ve done it once, you can do it again. I’ll be thinking of you today, good luck x
I’ll be fine Pookie and so will you tomorrow. It’s the anticipation thing isn’t ut and in my case having EC firtnightly just doesn’t give me time to bounce back fully in between but fit me this is the right regime. Only one more EC after today and then weekly taxol so this is progress!! Your hair sounds gorgeous Pookie. I’m still cold capping … Good luck to all having treatment today/tomorrow. Let’s kick cancer’s a*** ? xxxx
I’ll be fine Pookie and so will you tomorrow. It’s the anticipation thing isn’t it and in my case having EC fortnightly just doesn’t give me time to bounce back fully in between but for me this is the right regime. Only one more EC after today and then weekly taxol so this is progress!! Your hair sounds gorgeous Pookie. I’m still cold capping … Good luck to all having treatment today/tomorrow. Let’s kick cancer’s a*** ? xxxx
Thanks Bookworm. I’m having weekly taxol too, after the three rounds of FEC. Can I ask why you’re having fortnightly ec rather than three weekly FEC and taxol instead of three weekly docetaxel? Sorry if you’ve already been through it, I tried to find previous posts but gave up after ten mins fruitlessly searching!
ps I’m absolutely loving having short hair, shame I’ll only have it for a couple of weeks!
Thanks for you kind thoughts Pookie. Good luck today Taran, Suze, Alex and bookworm. I think that’s all of you today. I had my second fec yesterday and all went well. Apart from lack of sleep due to the steroids I’m feeling ok today though hot flushes and a heatwave aren’t the best combination so will be keeping out of the sunshine today. Nellie did you contact the unit re your cold? Are you still on for tomorrow? 2 down four to go so it’s progress we’ll soon be nearing the end xx
Hi there. Thanks for the welcome. I hope everyone’s treatment had gone OK. I found out today that my appointment for chemotherapy will be at end of August. Part of me thought great, I can put it off a bit longer and the other part thought that the sooner it starts at the sooner it will be over. Lots of mixed emotions at the Moment! X
Good luck Nellie. Great that you can still have the treatment. Hope sickness is easier for you. Well I had second EC yesterday. Now wide awake at 4 am feeling v v v nauseous but haven’t actually been sick. The heat, even with 2 fans isn’t really making this any easier! Fingers crossed I drop off soon. Dr said I might be allowed a 3 week gap next time instead of 2 as my liver enzymes were elevated and yesterday was the first day of really feeling human again and now I feel back at square one rather… still another treatment ticked off and tomorrow I am getting a patch to help with the sickness. They were out of stock yesterday. Happy days. Hope everyone else who had treatments yesterday- Taran, Suze, Alex, Bella all doing ok and all the very best for today Pookie and Nellie and any others I’ve missed. Xxxx
Oh and Pookie I’m having 2 weekly EC instead of 3 as my oncologist was involved in a research paper which showed a good response for patients on dose dense regimes so he’s been using this approach for a while. I’ve only got one more and then switch to weekly T. How much of a gap will they give you after your last FEC before starting weekly T? The usual 3 weeks? Xxx
Hi Bookworm, just to say you are not alone in the wide awake club. I’ve been lying here since about 1. Also really suffering with the heat and feeling more nauseous than last time which I’m sure is because of how hot I am. Finally starting to cool down a bit but still wide awake. Looks like day 1 of the school holidays will be done on 3 hours sleep max!! Oh well, at least I can take my next lot of steroids in a few hours and hopefully that will keep me going for a while!! Hope you manage to sleep soon. And hope the patch works and sorts the nausea out for you xx
Nellie, good luck for today. Glad it can go ahead. I feel the same not wanting any delays even though it seems a bit crazy to be wanting chemo!! But seen as we have to have it, we may as well get it over with as quickly as possible! And the leg shaving is annoying me too. My underarms are nicely fuzz free. Hurrah! But still had to shave my legs the other day for my summer dress. Wasn’t impressed!! Lol xx
Good luck today Nellie and Pookie. I hope the new meds help Nellie and you manage to get a rest whilst in there. Taran and Bookworm I was in the wide awake club on Monday night and only managed a few hours sleep however last night despite the heat managed to get a whole 5 hours so feel a bit better today. Taran I’ve still got my underarm hair which is most disappointing as I’ve been unable to shave from where I had my ANC and really need the hair to go soon!! Head completely shaved and that’s helped with the hot sweats. Currently we have rain and thunderstorms which has cooled everything down nicely hope it stays like this for at least a few hours. Hope everyone has a minimal SE day today xx
Bella boo, I started using an electric shaver for my anc arm and it’s been fine. Might be worth a try? I couldn’t stand it for long so didn’t wait too long before shaving it. Need to do it in front of a mirror though because I can’t work out from sensation where I am shaving ?
Good luck today Pookie. Sorry I missed you earlier!xx
Hey ladies,
Anyone been taking Metocloptamide anti sickness and having problems. I’ve had hellish jitters and agitation for days and have finally worked out its not the steroids but these tablets! Really dissapojted my GP
Didnt pick up and just fobbed me off with a sleeping pill that made me worse. So glad to get to the bottom of it. Aj xx
Hi all.
Hope the hot weather is not affecting you all too much. I hope I’m not being stupid by what I say. I can’t seem to get rid of the anxiety and paranoia that it has spread. Every twinge panics me. My stomach hurts my back and shoulders do. I Google things too much. Despite the BCN phoning me earlier to say that the breast mri didn’t detect any new unseen cancer or any in my lymph nodes. I still think that it is everywhere. I know i am lucky. But does these feelings go at all? I know it’s not been three weeks since diagnosis and it might be the chemo. But I can’t stand feeling like this. My head and body feels like it is going to explode.
Also, does ec chemo make you have greasy skin and hair? Mine isn’t dry at all. More like a teenagers.
Sorry for bothering you all on this thread.x
Oh Fluffy, not stupid at all. Probably unfounded but totally understandable as, if I remember correctly, you’re having chemotherapy before surgery so you still have the lump. Psychologically I guess that can make you worry more. Your nodes were clear so that’s a strong indication that it hasn’t gone anywhere, your scans were clear and now you’re zapping it, it’s probably even less likely to travel. And the positive side of having chemotherapy before surgery is that you get to be certain that it’s working. Try not to google!! (That’s the piece of advice I’ve been given the most through this entire thing!) and just believe the chemotherapy is doing its job and killing the little blighters.
pookie x
Well Ladies, I did it! But boy am I going to be in for a tricky few days. Already feeling so sick despite the cocktail of anti nausea drugs administered today…supposed to get me through til tomorrow! I’ve been given 4 different tablets to take. The nurse was surprised and wondered why I was given more than usual and asked had I had trouble with sickness in the past. I told her I was sick for pretty much the whole nine months of each of my pregnancies and she said “Aah, that’s why”!
Thank you for thinking of me Taran and Bellaboo : )
AJ, glad you figured out your jittery feelings, hope you’re feeling much better now!
Bookworm, how cool that you have such a cutting edge oncologist! I wonder if the fortnightly cycles are less hard with the side effects (like the weekly taxol is supposed to be). Interesting. They’re always working on new things which I think is great.
Nellie, hope it went ok for you today, I was thinking of you. I don’t think anyone else had it today, but if you did, I wish you tiny, minescule side effects and send hugs xx
Evening Ladies,
Pookie - Well done on having your first treatment. I hope the nausea isn’t too bad for you. Also, the others who are suffering from nausea, I hope you all feel better soon.
Nellie - Lorazepam! Ha, unfortunately I have been in the psych ward a few times for my depression/anxiety so am familiar with this drug as an anti-anxiety med. My GP and CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) were really surprised when I told them it was used as an anti-sickness med in oncology. It’s great for getting a sleep.
My hair is shedding very quickly today, glad I got it shaved beforehand although it grew in quite a bit so I’m still leaving a mess around the house. Loads came out in the shower this morning. I’ll be furious if I still have to shave my underarms and legs with a bald head! Oh, my “bikine line” is almost gone now as well, so that’s a bonus I suppose.
I’m back to GP tomorrow for another full blood count as I have a cold sore, rash on back of hand and my period started a week early and is still quite heavy. I only had my bloods done at A&E on Sunday. I had a mouth infection and was told to keep an eye on my temperature. It was below 36 around midnight on Saturday night and by Sunday lunchtime it still hadn’t gone up so phoned the chemo helpline and they sent an ambulance to take me to A&E, I was mortified as all the neighbours were in being a Sunday afternoon and I felt fine and told the chemo unit and the paramedics I felt fine. Thankfully bloods were ok and I was allowed home.
Oh, another thing. I’ve had surgery and 3 lymph nodes removed on right side. I think I’m going to struggle with my veins just using my left arm. My chemo nurse said that 3 lymph nodes was ok to use surgery arm but I am reluctant. Any opinions, advice?
Hazel. x
Mad hatter, I just replied to you post, but for some reason it has not appeared 
I’ll try and remember everything I said in it lol
Yes, got first chemo Tuesday past and so far it has been relatively ok. Early days yet, I know. Fuzzy head and nausea, and some retching, but not actually sick. Can’t stand the smell of foods cooking. Just been eating Rice Krispies, (which I haven’t eaten for years - don’t know where that craving came from !) chicken soup and toast. Little and often seems to work. But totally manageable. Throat bit sore this morning and mouth dry, but find sucking sweets helps.
I hope when you see the Oncologust next week you are good to go. The anticipation is awful as I have been there too. I am just glad now to be on the chemo roller coaster. I must say it was surreal letting the Nyrse 'poison" me with the drugs. I just sat there thinking ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this to me’ lol. I went on my own , as I thought I might have been emotional with someone with me, as I think you feel quite vulnerable once you sit on the bug chemo chair! I was fine and the actual process only took 45 mins.
I know it is not easy, but try and put it to the back of your mind, meet friends for coffee, do things you like doing, as I have a strong feeling you will start next week and you may as well have a nice few days under you belt. Also, I did take myself off Forum for a while, as I found that I was focusing on posts regarding anyone having bad side effects and that wasn’t helping me at that time. But I find I’m now trawling though again to get some tips, as it is invaluable. Be thinking of you X
Hi Nellie55,
Just wondering how long it took for your side effects from the anti sickness to stop, im STILL not able to get to sleep and its 32 hours since I had a tablet and i’m like a zombie on speed! ? Just cant seem to tip over in to a deep sleep. Only getting an hour or two of dazed sleep. Going crazy! The doc gave me sleeping pills on tues but they made me freak out too, my husband said i was tripping! ? Ajxx
Suze65 good to hear your first few days have been manageable too. I’ve had a bad morning with retching and nausea, could only manage half slice of toast. However, just got showered and washed my hair (hoping it wouldn’t all fall out!) and I’m sitting out in garden under shade having Rice Krispies! Just have to take each hour as it comes, never mind each day! Take care x