Hi Tracybev
Did you take any painkillers for that bus run over feeling. If you did what did you take.
Love Tbird xxx
Hi Tbird I just took paracetamol, how are you feeling ?
Tracy x
Hi Tracey,
i felt so so rough yesterday and paracetamols wasn’t helping, still a bit rough today but hopefully tomorrow should see an improvement.
I have heard your body has a memory and as This is a new treatment it might be rough but other ones should be fine - fingers crossed.
how are you coping
love Tbird xx
Hi T-girls!
This is honestly the worst i’ve felt through the whole BC saga, I don’t know if it’s the reaction to T or if I have a virus although I have no temperature so i’m Thinking it’s more likely the T, I had mine Tuesday felt great Weds and Thurs and then have felt like absolute ? since Friday, aching, dry and sore throat headache can’t do anything much not even focus on TV or a book but so so bored!! I think it’s easing a tiny bit so hoping tomorrow will see an improvement, wishing you all the best ?
Hi girls
well this T takes the biscuit I can’t remember feeling as rough as I do since all this has started. Today I have taken ibuprofen and my sister sorted out some wheat bags and halleuia I have had some relief, the first since Friday afternoon. I have a sore throat but temps are fine, so fingers crossed I’ve put the worse of it behind me now - hope everyone else is doing ok - how are you Sals
love Tbird xx
Hi Jencat
thank you so much for your response and reassurance, for a few of us this has been our first T and some of us have found it really hard. It’s good to know the 2nd and 3rd won’t be as bad. I thought I had got away with it had my T Tuesday and Wednesday felt fine until Friday afternoon then the proverbial bus ran me down. Starting to feel a bit better now using both ibuprofen and paracetamol and hot wheat bags. Hopefully will sleep tonight and be better tomorrow.
Stay well girls. P.s. I had to cancel my friend who was going to teach me to croquet because I felt so rough, but I can always reschedule.
love Tbird xx
Hi Tbird, still feeling pretty gritty, although a tiny improvement each day, my throat and mouth feel disgusting it’s the first time I really can’t taste anything, the aches are a bit better but still feel like someone has kicked me in the chest and back ? it can only get better and @jencat reassuring to hear hopefully T 2 and 3 might be a bit kinder ?
Are you doing weekly or 3 weeklyT? I’m going to do weekly but won’t be able to cope if feel like that every week??
3 weekly fingers crossed for you it’s jyst the first one that’s like this ?
Ended up in hospital yesterday, had to stay over night having intravenous antibiotics. Came home lunch time today feeling so much better. I had liquid morphine in hospital which really helped with the pain, just feeling a bit sickly from all the medication again.
on the plus side everybody has reassured me I shouldn’t feel like this on T 5 & 6. How’s everyone doing.
Love Tbird xx
Hello ladies, I will be joining the T girls tomorrow :smileysad: Is anyone in this group OK with T?
Meant to come on here a couple of days ago but had appointments all over the place! This must be what a social life feels like, going out all the time and getting invites :smileylol:
Tbird, wow, so sorry you’ve been so ill. Gentle hugs to you and hopefully you will fly through the rest of T.
Pigeon, thank you for your informative reply, I’ve cut my nails short and managed to do the base coat nail hardener stage, and am leaving it at that for now. First T tomorrow morning so may paint my nails when I get home. I am also squeamish about nails (amongst other things!) so hope to avoid any nail sagas or I may be wearing massive plasters all over my finger ends!
I’ve started my 8-a-day steroid diet in readiness for tomorrow, thankfully no bright red face so far, I do feel completely wiped out though, with the occasional racing heart on slight exertion.
Hair talk: Unlike most of you, I chose not to shave my head, I’ve never had my hair cut really short, a just-off-the-shoulder bob was as short as it got. I chose to brush my hair furiously until it mostly came out, and it did between day 14 of first cycle of FEC and by day 7 of 2nd cycle it had gone, bar a few stragglers. I’ve actually not looked at my bald head in a mirror, and don’t intend to, so any hair changes are noted by feel. Tonight I noticed I have a Manchu style ponytail left on the top of my head! Most bizarre!! I also have just one fringe hair at the front which waves at me when I have my wig on, the defiant little blighter! WTF is going on with leg hair though, why does it not go? After losing our tresses the least we should get in compensation should be hair-free calves?! Good news is some tiny moustache hairs have gone, and my one and only chin hair has disappeared too. Not even on T yet and my eyebrows and eyelashes are down about a third, hairless mole rat here I come :smileysad:
Will report back on T tomorrow evening, I’m hoping to be OK for the first few days at least!
Love to you all :heart:
Good luck holeinone for your T tomorrow, today is the first day I feel better - yay!! So I had T last Tuesday felt pretty good until Friday and have tipped the scales back towards feeling human today so 5 rough days - also hoping that T5 and 6 won’t be as bad. Fingers crossed you weather the storm better than the rest of us have. Go girl, agree on the leg hair but in the end by my 2nd chemo I waxed them and I haven’t seen a hair since so basically no re growth it’s the only thing I love about chemo ?
Hi ladies
Just having a catch up
I have my first T due Monday
It’s good to read your posts of those who have started all ready
Bit of a crap time since last cycle , worse by far then a long day at hospital due to swelling on PICC arm now on blood thinning injections too
I heard the bell being rung for the first time yesterday and nearly burst into tears
Funny how things get us
I just keep saying four just four more to go ???
Ladies
Back from first T, only delayed because they spent an hour seeking a vein! I had Herceptin as an injection and it was a little painful but fine, then had to have T intravenously and by the time that was done and the flush I was good to go. We were let out just before 1.30 so less than 4 hours all in, including settling me as my BP was high following massive steroid doses and walking quickly through hospital and car park.
I was up all night with the steroids and felt a bit anxious and weepy, need to focus on just two more chemos to go though. Oh, made a prat of myself in the hospital, thankfully only two witnesses, pulled my woolly hat off and my wig!! Hastily had to whip it back on again and use selfie camera to adjust :smileyembarrassed:
Sals, I will get the epilator out tonight, most of the hairs have snapped off it seems, so I’ll finish the job :smileyhappy:
Thank you pigeon for the best wishes, all good so far and no immediate hit from the drugs, although I do have a huge pale patch on my leg where the herceptin was injected!
Will report back as the days go by but I am prepared for a pain slump by Sunday.
Stay strong
Hi all, just checking in. Still ups and downs here, like us all. Carried on having temperature spikes after being released from hospital last Friday but as my white blood cell count was back up, I was still on the antibiotics and I was seeing the oncologist after the weekend, I didn’t call the hotline again but was feeling rough. When I saw the oncologist, she said the only test that came back positive (out of dozens I did in hospital) was for a cold virus!! All the midnight wake ups for antibiotics drips, no point at all! And I was hardly even blowing my nose. What a palava…
Anyway, moving on, did my EC chemo #4 yesterday (temp was normal), so when I get over the side effects of this one, I’m half way there ???. Just got to get through the next 10 days of grimness but ‘bin there, dun that’ so know what to expect by now. Grin and bear it. Then on to T on 7th Feb so taking notes on what you girls are saying about it ?.
Been also reading back on what you’ve all said about injections. I know it’s old hat for most of you now but I’ve never had to do any yet, probably just the doctors being considerate about my needle phobia. However because of my neutropenic sepsis this last time round, the oncologist has decided I’ve got to do some to boost my immune system mid-cycle so I don’t end up in hospital again. Not looking forward to it but most of you seem to take it in your stride now. I seem to gather it’s better before bed to avoid any aches and pains? Going to have to see if OH lives up to his Dr title (even if Doctor of Astronomy ?) cos I sure as hell ain’t doing it to myself ?.
Hi ladies,
Hope you’re all doing ok. I haven’t posted for a little while as had a rough time after my last EC before new year. Ended up feeling rubbish and really down over new year but picked up in week 2.
Had my first of my weekly T chemo yesterday and went ok but the piriton they gave me beforehand made me feel really wiped out. However today I feel ok again (just usual rosy cheeks) so hoping it will be manageable weekly and I’ll have less fatigue. So I’ll keep you posted Gogga on how I get on with the next week and 2nd T next week.
I’m lucky it works for me as know it’s not practical for everyone. I have lots of offers from family and friends to take me each week as there’s no way I would have been up to driving myself home. I did get the horrid metallic taste in my mouth during the chemo which I’d not noticed before so my mum had to go and buy me some wine gums which helped. Tea tasted yucky which is a shame as a nice cup of tea is usually very welcome at chemo. The tea trolley ladies keep us all entertained.
Liloc, hope you go on ok with the injections. I did them myself which I found ok but reacted badly if I injected too close to mealtimes and swapped to earlier in the day. I needed a hot water bottle and took paracetomol to get through the backache / bone pain but think I reacted worse than most and it was only to the first 2-3 injections the rest were fine,
Take care everyone. xxx
Hello lovely ladies!
Kateday, good luck with your first T today, hope it all goes smoothly for you. I can understand the bell ring making you weepy, I’m just all over the place emotionally at the mo. I don’t think there’s a bell at my chemo ward. Sorry to hear of your swollen PICC line, hope all is sorted now.
Liloc, all that for a miserly little cold virus, how annoying! My OH is also a non medical doctor, and he has been fine with giving me the filgrastim injections, just remember to go in at 45% angle if you pinch less than 2" of flesh (had to find that out through Google!) I am also needle phobic (have passed out having bloods done and in chemo chair :smileyembarrassed: ) I have my injection at night as they advised it when we were discussing times due to OH’s work pattern.
Lou43, hope you are recovered from the last round now, I have read about the accumulative effect of chemo and I appear to be feeling it too.
Found myself a silk headscarf in a charity shop for 50p, a really nice Past Times one, so now I have a swanky turban for reclining in the evenings :smileylol:
T doesn’t really like me, although I’m pleased the smell is different from FEC, cor, what a pong! I could smell it coming out of my skin, vile!
So far, T day was OK, slept for 5 hours that night, despite steroid overload, but downhill after that. Friday was fine, went out for the day with OH, no problems, but got home and started to feel tired. Had no sleep that night or the next, not one jot. Now on vastly reduced steroids for today then no tablets to take so hoping sleep comes tonight.
Bought myself some figs to eat and get things moving, as I can’t take senna tablets (have tablet swallowing issues!) and already have wiped out feeling with bone pain, especially jaw and teeth, bit odd! Having to take paracetamol already for pain, it’s mildly annoying at the mo and I hope it doesn’t get worse. Also noticing lots of heart palps with T, not pleasant especially with little exertion. Strangely, not so much of the craving with T either, and on such high dose of steroids I thought it would be worse, I do wonder if it was just FEC that made me crave food?
Edited to add: Just remembered I have mouth changes, have a mouth that feels on the point of soreness so am being careful with certain foods as I don’t want a breakout. I’m using baking soda toothpaste as an onc mentioned rinsing with bicarb, and also gently brushing my tongue when brushing teeth. Lots of swilling with water, which I have surprised myself by actually liking to drink as well!
Well, that’s enough from me for now, hope you are all doing OK.
Keep going ladies :heart:
Hi first T went ok now awaiting the side effects
Arm still swallon but they said key take some time to resolve
Had a few tears today as my hair had grown back maybe only a cm or two but today the nurse was quite frank I’m telling me it would fall out again I have been so happy that it had started to grow back so really got to me
Some of you ladies well you seem to be going through it In and out of hospital preying it picks up for you along the way xx
Hi Kate day, don’t panic my hair started growing during end of Fec/beginning of T and kept on growing
Hi Ladies
well that’s one week I don’t want back. I spent most of it in hospital on iv antibiotics, so glad I’m home now.
I think I have left my sense of humour in the hospital - I am so fed up of it all, but also aware it’s got to be done. I have a week off now before the cycle starts again ?, I hope my next T won’t be as bad. Keep safe ladies.
love Tbird x