@joodles this will be the injection working it’s magic! I had to only take one injection 24hrs post treatment and would get the ache the day after, would last 1 or 2 days but I did take paracetamol on those days to help manage the pain.
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Haha bet they could spot us as newbies from a mile off 
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Hey @herts82 thank you for all of the tips, it’s always good to hear from people ahead of us on this weird journey! I’m doing round 2 of 3 EC on Tuesday. Did you find the effects very cumulative as you went through the cycles?
Did you manage to exercise throughout them all?
Glad to hear you’re doing well! Xx
Morning!! I’ve still got most of my hair as I’m only 1 EC in and cold capping (2nd on Tuesday) but I had an increase in shedding on day 17 of 1st cycle and thought it’s time to bite the bullet and have a look at some wigs!! There’s a lovely group of ladies that run a free wig shop near me, I thought they were going to be abit naff but went along to have a nosey and came away with a really lovely wig! It feels much less scary now the possibility of losing my hair now that I have a back up wig! I love that it can be styled too as I’m more a hair up kinda girl!
Hope you’re all doing OK xx
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As a February starter and only on paclitaxel (no EC which from all the side effects many people list I’m very grateful for!), thought it might be helpful for those moving onto paclitaxel soon to have a bit of my insight. I’ve now had 6 of 12 - I’m weekly so they come thick and fast!
Yes some people can have an allergic reaction to it (20%) but the nurses are all over this and sit and observe you first 2 rounds. I was fine. Steroid, antihistamine and anti sickness are my premeds and I get absolutely nothing to take home apart from anti sickness which I’ve never needed.
Hair loss (all over apart -so far! - from facial) started around week 3. No nausea, loss of appetite or major fatigue. Just the odd more tired afternoon. Have slept well throughout apart from chemo day itself (steroids 
).
Yes to hot cheeks the day after but that passes. Yes I’ve developed a face rash (chemo acne? Though a nurse said yesterday it could be the steroid!) which I’m now taking daily antihistamine for plus Aveeno moisturiser. It’s not painful or itchy just unsightly!
I’ve continued eating normally and doing a reasonable amount of exercise throughout. It’s been much less impactful than I expected and I’d really say if you’re heading into it please don’t worry. It’s known to be better tolerated than many others and I think I can vouch for that.
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Well, as a 6th March ‘starter’, I have to say it’s been the longest two weeks of my life after that appointment was cancelled - and i got my diagnosis 8 months ago - turns out I’d been more anxious about this than any of my 3 ops.
I had to wait a couple of hours but once I got in there my daughter dropped for a chat and the nurse kept dropping by to do things to me. Puzzke book, kindke, ipod and ohone remained un touched. Drank the ginger tea and squash but just had the one energy bar - and then I went home. Started sneezing and coughing for the last of hour of it - which I guess is when the antihistamine wore off. But Mrs Vomit here has not even felt queasy. Early days, I know, but am hugely relieved and getting my mojo back for a while at least. I have succumbed to the word ‘journey’ and that makes me more philisophical - I had previous associated it with open ended adventures in exotic places!
(Still finding the dire infection warnings a bit scary but looking forward to the Cheese Day)
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Thanks Sam! It’s good to hear the symptoms are not as extensive as on EC, and my BCN and oncologist all say the same! My chemo nurse seems to think being on dose dense may make the symptoms more severe, but just got to take one day at a time and eat lots of dark chocolate 
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Well done @twink1 getting through the first one 
. Always the worst and now you know what to expect. Hope your gentle/ no side effects continues! Yes it’s most definitely a journey but with highlights on the way ( like cheese day !).
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Hi @katie91 I actually didn’t find them cumulative in terms of fatigue, I actually felt the best after my 3rd cycle! But this last cycle it did take me a bit longer to get over the fatigue (my pattern was day 2-5 where I had most fatigue, nausea and constipation, but after that felt a lot better). This last cycle I would say took me until day 7 to feel better, was also more emotional this cycle as am feeling a lot of anxiety nausea on treatment days (started after cycle 2) so smells and thinking about the chemo unit were really setting me off.
I have managed to exercise through each cycle properly from day 6 onwards, and walking every day from day 2/3. I’m focussing on strength training mainly and light cardio workouts just at home. I also have 2 kids (9 and 6) so their routine gives me a routine! But when they are at school I make sure I rest as it’s all go when they’re back, which I’m sure is the same for you! Routine during the day has really helped my mental health, doing household chores, admin, lots of sorting out of stuff in the house. I’m lucky enough to be signed off work for the whole thing and have a good sick leave policy, but I do occasionally log on and work a bit when I feel up to it as well.
The wig looks fab by the way!! Our EC cycles are a different frequency but I lost a lot of mine around day 21/22 after the first EC (but had already had my second EC by then)..if you haven’t cut your hair just be prepared for seeing what feels like all your hair coming out every time you brush. Good luck with round two on Tuesday xx
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I couldnt sleep 
and my legs are abit achey and thats without the pegfilgrastim injection yet! 
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I am also starting on Tuesday, with my first EC which I’ll have every 2 weeks. I am having a port fitted on Monday - not looking forward to that! I have also been working and have found it so helpful to have something else to focus on. Otherwise my anxiety really takes over. Hope you have a lovely weekend and let us know how it goes for you on Tuesday.
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Congratulations on getting through the first one!
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@blackcatgirl1 i also have a port and it does make the infusions so much easier. Does take a bit of getting used to every time they pierce the skin to take bloods/do infusion but just a short sharp motion then good to go. Hope the fitting goes well, I found that a bit of a weird experience as it’s X ray led procedure so lots of machinery and screens. I opted to have sedation which helped! (I think a lot just have local anaesthetic)
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I think hair loss is properly starting. More than normal came out in the shower earlier and there’s definite…thinning…down below…
Round 2 of fortnightly paclitaxel here.
Also on antibiotics which has resulted in another issue down below. Off to the pharmacy I go…
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I feel really lucky to be able to come here and read all these shared experiences thank you all 
I wish none of you were going through this but at the same time I’m glad we are in it together
@catlover2 that first chemo night is tough but its done now. Now you have a few days of anitsickness meds and rest. If you do feel up for it though try to get a little walk in the fresh air.
I plan on doing my chemo night differently next time. Instead of taking myself to bed with everyone else I’m going to make myself a nest downstairs on the sofa and just try to chill. I tried to force sleep last time despite knowing this was a bad idea
@2kittens we are going to get very well acquainted with our pharmacies aren’t we
Just a quick note about constipation (just what we all want at breakfast time haha) The oncology nurse told me this is mostly due to the anti sickness meds we take specifically the big 12 hour one we take on chemo day and the day after. Its no secret that I’m taking my diet super seriously and I really thought I could eat enough fibre but I’m starting to realise this is my usual wishful thinking. So ive added the herbal senna tablet to my daily routine. I’ll start taking them a couple of days before chemo and then for a good few days after. Failing that it’s good to hear there are others we can take also
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