June 2018 Chemo Starters

Oh, no, Sally. I hope you get seen soon and they are able to mend it very, very swiftly.

What does reduced signal mean re in response to FEC? Ta.

Reddi pleased you are on your way home. Take care!!

Sally sorry to hear you are having trouble. I have noticed a tightening down my chest below my boob. It feels like a big bruise but if I stretch up I can see cording. I just keep stretching and rubbing. Hope they sort you out.

Been fly fishing again today. Caught 5!!! Let them all go! Xx

Still here. I have cording on my operation side and have had for ages though it’s slowly getting better. Thus time the pain is on my good arm.

@Sally It must be agonizing sitting there, waiting. From my experience on Saturday, the A&Es are overwhelmed with heat-related conditions – to s of people gettin saline bags. I had to wait for over an hour to get my bloods taken, despite showing my chemo patient card and explaining that the chemo hotline told me to come in for possible febrile neutropenia.

Where are you in cycle? Do they have you in a less crowded zone? If not, and it would be prudent to be in one given your day in cycle, ask about getti gng moved.

Good luck tonight.

Well I’m still here, nearly 7 hours so far. Had my bloods taken twice and both times they clotted so couldn’t be tested. Apparently I’m high risk for a clot. Going to let me home tonight but waiting for appointment for tomorrow for a scan. I’ve not eaten for 13 hours and have been awake nearly 22 hours

Had enough now.

Hi Linda
Is that something that one of the doctors has said to you? It sounds like medic speak but is too vague to google, which must be frustrating. Have you tried the helpline at the Beacon. Maybe one of the nurses can tell you or find out. It’s awful to be in the dark about our own treatment. Hope you get an answer today.
Jacq xx

Ugh, Sally – that scan will almost certainly show a clot if your blood is clotting too fast to get a good sample. I bet they didn’t give you an anticoag jab because they want to have a definitive understanding of clot location etc… Though I seem to remember them giving me an anticoagulant jab based on bloods and getting the CTPA to identify the clots in my lungs the next day. (When I had PE last summer.)

So I wish they had given you the jab last night, to start to relieve symptoms. Your arm must be so uncomfortable and painful, and there are downstream effects and other risks. Hopefully today will be relatively straightforward and shorter.

Hugs to you.

Morning all. I hope you made it home Sally and have some pain relief. Hope it goes well and quickly for you today Clare. Me tomorrow. Glad you braved the shave. I love it!!

Thank you to whoever said to put hydrocortisone on my heat rash. It was far less itchy last night and didn’t keep waking me up and is not so bad today.

If you have found my very low key FB page do check out my trout pout pic! Xx

Morning

I got home about three after a clexane injection which I did myself. I’ve an appointment later at 12 to get a scan to see if there’s a clot.

Morning ladies, well its all happening in this thread isn’t.  Sally I hope you are feeling a bit better, what a nightmare for you, such a long day.  

CDC good luck with today’s chemo, another one under the belt and well done for braving the shave… once its done its so much better, no more waiting for it to go.  Weirdly I have still got about 1cm of stubble on my head which seems to be growing?   I expect it will fall out by day 12 of this cycle too…anyone else experienced this?

 

KTK super duper trout catcher!   well done… I’m gonna stalk that facebook page so I can see your magnificent catch.  

 

Reddi - hope you are feeling better now too.

 

Cording - thanks for the advice I am going to speak to BCN to see what I need to do, must remember to do the stretches though, I have got a bit lazy regarding those at the moment.  I think I’ve turned a corner with the SEs for this cycle, feeling better today, only a little nauseaus but nothing much, slept better too thankfully not so hot here today… what a blessing… still need the rain though.

Take care… Kip xxx

 

Morning all. What a nightmare a&e was on Friday night! Sat in a&e majors for hours in isolation room with doors open hearing snotty sneezes and coughing galore! After having bloods taken and waiting there fo hours starving and tired, to be told that there was a technical issue with the testing and they needed more. Sorry but wasn’t waiting any longer as felt it was more dangerous to be there. Had flucloxacillin through canular and got tablets to take at home. Said could not be dvt as got no swelling. Diagnosis is golfers elbow which I’m not sure I believe. Will have to wait for Friday to discuss with oncologist. Antibiotics are helping with insect bites which happened this weekend, whatever bit me will be a bloody glow fly or dead with all the drugs in my system lol. Hair is shedding loads now and hopefully trying to keep it till after step sons birthday party at weekend and keep it as normal as possible for him, it might not happen at this rate. Every one seems to be having similar issues, I have cording on operation arm and having physio for it too. Feeling ok tbh, few niggles and low temperature but think that’s just me, tend to run around 35 but been between 34 and 35 recently. Next steps for me oncologist Friday, hystrocope monday, physiotherapist Tuesday and chemo and zoledex injection Wednesday xx

Sally I hope your arm is ok. I get the T. rex thing, mine was the same and reaching and straightening was a nightmare. It’s still a bit tight and I tend to favour the left atm which is my op side. A&e was a nightmare even when showing my chemo card too, said they didn’t need it and they would sort it. Xx

Oh dear Lisa Marie, another one of us in A&E… seems our “chemo card” doesn’t get us much further in the system sometimes… hopefully I’ll never need A&E but by the looks of it, it seems pretty common practice, just realised haven’t taken my temperature today… oops…  36.8 phew… thought I may have jinxed that! 

Now waiting for BCN to call to discuss cording… oh the joys! Kip xx

facebook.com/profile.php?id=1297990496 That’s my Facebook id if any of you ladies want to put a face to the posts or fancy a chat. Would love to see your brave the shaves as I think I will be joining you very shortly. Just ping me a message so I know you who you are and that your from the forum xx

Back at the hospital waiting again. Found a seat right next to a fan though so that’s good.

My chemo card got me precisely nowhere. I was sat in the main A&E bit all night and there 7 hours. Good job I tend not to catch anything.

I get the temperature thing cos mine is also always low. I ignore it because it’s normal for me. It seems to drop a bit when I have a hot flush too, maybe my bodies way of cooling down.

I forget who asked about hair loss and taxol but there’s a lady I see at chemo who has had 7 I think now and she’s lost no hair. From what I’ve read regrowth can start whilst on it.

My normal temperature is around 35.5.

Maybe I’m a reptile.

And just saw @LisaMarie is cool as a cucumber, too. Efficient!

So after no side effects, blood clot confirmed in arm. Been told it’s easier to treat as I only have canula ls for chemo rather than a picc line. Waiting to collect my clexane injections but there’s an hour wait at the pharmacy.

Between them, filgrastim and insulin my body is going to be a right pin cushion.

Gosh - So Sorry everyone is going through the mill!
Thankfully I had a good experience with 2nd cycle. The drugs were ready and waiting when I arrived! All in all I was at the hospitalfor 3 hours from start to finish. It took 5 hours just for the pharmacy to make up and release the drugs last time! (Even had a bit of excitement when some amazing planes in formation flew over to commemorate the centenary of the RAF. Such a great view from the 7th floor!!) Canula went in fine because my chemo nurse read my notes- stuck my hand in a bucket of warm water first and was able to find a decent vein. He was very experienced so it was only slightly painful. Home now and I do feel sick but sucking on a Queasy Pop whilst waiting for my anti-nausea meds to kick in and will then have a sleep. Catch up with everyone when I’m feeling a bit more with it xxx