So glad you’re feeling ok Suze, you’re a third of the way there now : ) Looking forward to getting there myself. And you’re lucky to be able to wear slouchy beanies. I have tried hats, but I seriously look awful in them, my head’s too small. The only thing I can just about get away with is a long scarf tied back in a pony tail, that’s fun. If you do fancy trying another wig, check out the ones by Jon Renau, not real hair but super realistic (if you get the lace front and mono top) and hopefully you won’t end up looking like a grenadier!
The hair or lack of musings are familiar to me. I am sporting a very odd look at the moment the saga of which goes like this:-
At my last pre-chemo hairdressing trip I decided to forgo my midbrown colour and instead go for a vibrant red - thought why not, as it was soon all going to fall out. Exactly 2weeks after EC1 I started shedding loads so hubby bravely clipped it to 1cm all over. Lots more fell out but I was left with a threadbare look. This has grown a lot and, even though 2.3 weeks after EC2, no more has fallen out. The end result is that I have a hairdo that a baby orangutang would be very proud of. Not a good look on me but I can’t bring myself to shave it off.
I have a clutch of swag beanies and a couple of easy tie headscarfs (which are foolproof and stay on) which I live in. ‘Blessed’ with a large head I have had to look hard for headwear that doesn’t squish my head, including a wig. The latter looked great when I tried it on but now it looks and feels very wiggy - wonder if it is because I am now used to having no hair? Too hot and too tickly and just not me. Can’t imagine wearing it but maybe in winter I might appreciate it more… no doubt more hair challenges to come but for now just need to keep remembering to don something before going out of the door and frightening the neighbours!
Bookworm it seems we are both in a bad hair place - we could set new hairstyle trends - the orangutang and the Friar Tuck!
I have full respect you for managing fortnightly ECs. I am on 3ECs then go onto weekly Taxol for 9 weeks, plus i will start Herceptin. I have been told that SEs are less on Taxol so I am banking on this and hope for us all that this will be the case. Maybe weekly doses are smaller therefore more tolerable? Will be very pleased to stop EC as am dreading no. 3 already. Still feels like a long haul ahead but on a very positive note so good to be off work in the summer rather than the winter. Also good to be about more for the children, not that my independent teens need much from me, and have their company.
Hey Ladies, it’s been very quiet on here lately! Hope it’s because you’re all out doing fun things and not because you’re feeling rubbish.
I finally managed to have my second FEC yesterday, hurrah (although they had to reduce the E by 20% - a little worried that it won’t therefore be as effective, but I guess it’s a toss up between efficacy and long term liver damage!). I’m now 1/3 of the way through though, so not complaining. Feeling ok today, a little nauseous and a bit fuzzy but generally ok. But I know as soon as the steroids run out I’ll have that hit by a truck feeling : (
Pookie, I had my 2nd FEC yesterday too. Had my fingers crossed I wouldn’t be delayed again. I’m sure you were the same. I haven’t been so good, really nauseous from about 7 last night, no sleep until about 5 this morning. Sick this morning and feeling sick all day. Onc Dr did regig my anti sickness meds, so fingers crossed. And did I mention, been to the loo 4 times! Not good ? That’s a new side effect for me.
That’s me 1/3 of the way too, well once all these side effects done and dusted.
In an early posts you were talking about hair/eyebrows. My eyebrows and lashes still pretty good for now, although I did get semipermanent eye liner and brows before treatment, so hopefully that will help. My hair was cropped to about an inch and a half on day 13 post first chemo as was coming out in handfuls, then on day 19 I had another shedding. Would probably look better shaved, but I’ll wait and see what I loss after this chemo. I wear scarves in house and wig outside. The odd time, if I’m not going far, I’ll put scarf on with fringe and go out like that. I got a Jon Renau synthetic curly blond wig. Similar to my own hair only nicer. Looks really good and the girls at chemo unit were raving about it yesterday, so that gave me confidence. Anything that makes you feel good is a bonus. X
Oh Alex, so sorry to hear about your horrible side effects. Hopefully the nausea will wear off soon and you get a good night tonigh. I’ve just started to feel grotty, so have taken myself off to bed with a Domperidone and a instructions to hubby to bring me soup in half an hour!
on the hair front, my eyebrows and lashes are still all there but I gave myself a grade one head shave yesterday…it helped minimise the friar tuck look I had going on, so now I’m happy to go around the house bald (husband said I looked like a cute alien - I can work with that!), but wear my wig when out. I’m actually just about to buy another one, Jon renau Julianne, (maybe the same as yours?) even though I’m naturally dark, I’m going to get it in blonde, just for a change!
Really hope you feel better soon, lots of hugs, xxx
Pookie, yes, mines the Julianne! What a coincidence. I don’t know what colour I got as the girl in the shop chose for me. The roots of it are quite dark and then blond. At first I thought this was a bit strange, but I love it and everyone else says so too. I nearly bought at human hair wig, but it was straight and then I would have had to curl it with GHDs. My son felt the synthetic one had more body to it and was more like my own hair. Yes, I’m sure your cute alien look is better than Friar Tuck. Lol. I’m sort of with Oncewild on the Orangutang look, only blond ? It’s as well we can see the funny side. x
Haha! That is a coincidence. Glad you like it though, it makes feel more confident that I’ve made the right choice as my natural hair is curly too and I had to get my real hair wig (which is long and brown) permed! Feeling slightly worried that I’m going to prefer the synthetic one and will have wasted a considerable amount of money on the real one : (( Never mind, live and learn! And I can always donate it at the end : )
Loving the idea of you two in matching wigs! Mine is firmly nestled in it’s little box and quite probably will stay there for the duration- though I do try it on every now and then just to see if by some magic I can bear it.
My clever planning has been scuppered. I asked the scheduler a while ago if I could move from having treatment on a Friday (thereby ruining my weekend) to a Monday. He checked with the team and said that was fine so my EC3 is now on Monday instead of tomorrow. At my request he also made my appointments late afternoon as it is so quiet there is hardly any waiting about and my hubby can join me after work. So I thought all was set for this new pattern. But no. I wanted additional anti sickness meds and spoke to the breast care nurse last week. Mentioned that I hadn’t had any confirmation of appts and she said she would follow this up. She phoned yesterday clearly having worked very hard to get all my appts for the rest of my plan sorted. I just wrote down the dates then checked the calendar - yes all are on a Friday and all are in the morning. So from when I start weekly Taxol at beginning of September to early Nov every weekend will be ruined. I am gutted.
On on top of this she said the doc was keen that I persevere with anti sickness meds already prescribed or she said I could ask my GP. Am deciding on whether to just brace myself or to give into panic and build an arsenal of meds for the impending dark days post EC3. Oh for a simple life!
Just to give some hope but if you are going on weekly paclitaxel you may not feel sick I had 12 and wasnt poorly at all through any of them infact I felt quite normal so fingers crossed you will too
Oh, Once Wild, so sorry to hear that. How disappointing. Hold on to what JenJen said though, as I’ve heard the same thing from others too. I’m scheduled for weekly paclitaxel too after my last FEC and so have been doing lots of research. The side effects definitely seem to be far less for most people. Let’s hope we’re in the majority! Xx
Hazel, good luck for today. Hope your bloods are ok and veins hold out too. You don’t want to be having to speak to that Head Chemo Nurse. She sounds a right charmer …not. Seriously, you wonder how some people are in their jobs! And you so do not need confrontation with what we are going through. Let us know how you get on. X
Chemo went ahead today. Took a bit longer as the the usually busy unit was extra busy today. Guess who popped in, yes, the Head Nurse! She’s everywhere, I bump into her all over the unit! Last nightI developed sore feet, very red soles, dry skin and painful burning feeling, made worse when I walked, it had eased by bit by this morning but was showing the nurses my feet when “she” popped in. Had a look, “not chemo related” she says, What??? Of course it is, you just have to do a quick google search to see that it is a common side effect of the two drugs I am on, Doxetaxel and Cyclophosphomide. No point in arguing with her, I made a comment when she left the room and the two chemo nurses both burst out laughing, adding “I’m saying nothing!” which said it all really. Anyway, was sent away with a small tube of Diprobase and told to keep an eye on it. Just waiting to see what lovely side effects this cycle will bring. Oh the joys! Oh and got cannula in on second attempt despite me forgetting to take the miso soup I had bought and the hospital not having any heat pads available.
Rosieflower and Pookie, I asked what my liver enzymes were but they wouldn’t/couldn’t tell me, so when the nurse was out of the room I sneaked a look at my blood test print out, full of medical terms that I don’t understand but wrote down the readings and am off to “google” to see which one, if any, is liver enzymes :smileyhappy:
I am resurfacing again after a rotten couple of weeks. It was wonderful not to feel sick thanks to the Emend tablets following my second FEC but I then became so fatigued that I missed my grandson’s second birthday. I was so washed out that I was convinced I must be anaemic. My blood test showed otherwise and while I was there I had another dizzy episode. The doctors wanted to rule out a clot on the lungs so I had to have a scan. The dye that needed to be injected had to be delivered quickly and the PICC line is too narrow so I had to have a green cannula ( big needle!) . Trouble was, my veins wouldn’t co-operate and it took 5 attempts…ouch!
Scan turned out to be fine. While all this was going on my elderly mother was in A&E with a fractured collar bone after a fall at home.
I was too ill to drive so had to rely on lifts to visit mum, who is still in hospital.
Thankfully I feel a lot better now and am able to drive Yay! I’ve been staying with my dad to keep him company. Hopefully I will get one good week before the next onslaught .
Diana, what a roller coaster : ( I can’t say much as I’m day five (the BAD day!) post FEC number 2 but I just wanted to say I hope your mum is ok and so glad your scan turned out to be ok xxx
I was all braced for EC3 at 5pm yesterday, even braving Miso soup to plump up my veins (as recommended by those on the June thread). Had my bloods done then went to pick up my Emend from the chemo unit so I could take it an hour before. Was gutted to find out that, although a chair was booked for me, my treatment hadn’t been prescribed. Too late in the day to sort it too. So today it is.
Oncewild, really feel for you. Getting yourself all organised for chemo and then not getting it, especially all the hassle you had even trying to get dates changed to days and times that suited you.
Is this your first time using Amend? I have heard good results regarding it on this forum. I’ve had really tough time my 2nd FEC with nauseau and retching, even though meds were changed after 1st FEC. Dreading the thought of 3rd FEC already. I’d love to know how you go with Amend.
Good luck for later. Hope all goes smooth X
I have had Emend each time, plus Ondansetron and Metoclopramide. The first two do bring relief from the worst sickness- I get a few hours after taking each when I feel grim but not nauseous or retching. I certainly notice when they wear off. You only get enough for two days so after that it is just the Metoclopramide, which I didn’t find much use. On day 1 now and hoping for an easier time. If only!
Hope everyone else if feeling ok and enjoying the sun x
This thread has gone very quiet. I hope all of you are coping well and not feeling too bad.
I had my 3rd FEC on Tuesday and didn’t feel so sick this time - taking Domperidone instead of Metoclopramide - although I still feel lightheaded and useless for doing much. I’m looking forward to a better night’s sleep when the Dexamethasone has fully worn off and stomach settles down. I’ve just noticed that I have to take double the dose of Dexamethasone with the Docetaxel so no hope of sleep then!
Has anyone started Docetaxel and Herceptin yet? I’d be interested to hear how you’re doing.
Hi Taran-just read your update and just back from my chemo but for secondary BC.I was really wanting to know what your wig is like and if you love it ? I have one but need ain’t another)) Also my hats are not brill so have z found any nice ones to wear out? Wishing you the best xx deb
I had 12 and wasnt poorly at all through any of them infact I felt quite normal so fingers crossed you will too