October 2017 Chemo Starters

Sue W. I’m not in Brum. Born and bred but living in Newbury in the south.

Ignore my message then lol xxx
But I am sure there will be similar shops where you are xx

I just ordered medical wig tape from Amazon ?
I have wore my wig but still have shaved head and it did move a little bit when hugged but sort of stayed put too
Sorry that sounds contradictory but it only moved to a certain point then stopped x

Hello everyone not posted in a while as have had other family crises ie 86 yr old diagnosed with stomach cancer / son finishing with long term girlfriend that have preoccupied me having to think about me … and I’ve enjoyed the bit of normality .

day 1 of chemo today and now over hooray . Cold cap was fine nowhere near as bad as expected just similar to being out in a cold welsh winter when you’ve forgotten a hat … in fact better than a cold welsh winter as no one was chucking cold wet rain in your direction ,

Did have really bad headache achy legs etc with first set of drugs but believe that may have been to 4 glasses of red wine I guzzled on a hedonist meal with hubby and kids I did night before … wasn’t told not to drink ? so presumed ok . Now know it’s not , didn’t confess just consumed galleons of water and irritated everyone by constanty asking to be unplugged to go to the loo . It worked though headache and aches went and managed to keep my guilt secret intact … going to behave from now on .

on the question of wigs have been for a try out . Got presented with 2 that look like a mole that digs up our garden , the third one was a long thing that when I was holding it couldn’t resist stroking it as it felt just like a cat sitting on my lap , 

Going in ne t Saturday to decide between the mole or cat versions , going to add a hat if they all seem awful . When I asked “how to look after them .” Was told to stand it on a bottle and spray it a bit with free breeze ?..maybe it’s a welsh thing .

 

anyway hope everyone else is feeling ok and good luck to those not yet stated the day itself is not that bad , the nurses are lovely and … it’s the waiting that,s the worse bit of all . 

Onwards and upwards x

Lol I am glad I don’t have a cat to fight over my wig with! Have my fitting booked for two weeks time - will remember to ask all these questions now! Thanks again ladies.

Evening marg sorry to hear of your troubles hope things are now easing up for you as much as they can
I had a headache but paracetamol sorted that
Glad your chemo experience was okay
Can they not get better wigs for you to try it sounds like you have Hobsons choice
Ps just noticed my wig post says polyester stands of course it’s not it is polystyrene x??

Hi marg, sorry to hear you’ve had so much to deal with. Well done for today, now just rest and take your meds and drink plenty!

SueW, ha ha I noticed that but knew what you meant. Just had a google for wig stands and they do one that folds up for £6 plus p&p so might get that.

 

marg, ha ha moles and cats what a choice! 

Polystyrene heads are cheap on ebay x

 

Evening Ladies

 

My ears have been a burning a bit today!! No, not a new and unusual side effect but from a couple of your posts hoping you’ll be on the ?end of the side effects spectrum. Whilst my Viking genes are secretly slightly proud, there is obviously always the sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that if my body seems to be shaking off the chemo pretty quickly and with seemingly minimal impact, is it hanging around long enough to do its job properly on my lump?? Apparently it has started shrinking according to my oncologist but only time will tell, I suppose… I know there’s meant to be no correlation between the efficacy of our treatment and side effects or lack of them though . 

 

I think I might just be a bit weird as I’ve never had a hangover either. Not for want of trying over the years though!!! ???Ha. I can only deduce that my liver is either ultra efficient or ultra inefficient.

 

Anyway, enough of my waffle - very very well done to all of you who’ve had your first sesh now and all the very best to those of you with it just round the corner. I’d normally name check you all but I’m a bit tired from some late night post-chemo shopping and would hate to forget anyone. For the cold cappers a little update on my rats’ tails - nearly day 4 of cycle two and it still seems to be hanging on in there. Only the tufty club seems to have been affected so far ? I know this second cycle is meant to be hardest on our poor follicles so I may be posting less positive news in a week or so. Hoping I’ve got my dad’s hair gene - he died a few weeks off 91 with a full head of hair. Although I’ve never forgiven him for the curls… ?

 

Wishing you all a blissful night’s sleep and a chilled weekend.

 

Cherry Bakewell xxx 

? and Jen you were night ? owls
Hope you both managed to sleep
Well it’s the morning after and I had a good but disturbed night ( loads of wees from all the water)
As I got to take steroids I will start them early in a hope they out my system by bed time tonight
Feel mildly optimistic and got crossed fingers as it’s early but have woke feeling ok x my tongue feels a little strange and can’t face my usual coffee but water going down nicely
I have bought some herbal teas but as I am a tea hater haven’t tried one yet but may brave one in a little while with some toast
Just having a slice of toast for breakfast to take my tablets it’s the first time in years my overweight self hasn’t woken feeling like I could eat my whole body weight in food (maybe a plus if I lose a bit of weight as I actually have about 7 stone to lose to be in healthy weight range)
Hope everyone has a great day and will check in later xx love to all ?

Morning everyone,

I woke in the night having hot flushes. Anyone else had these? Only a handful over a couple of hours. Very strange.

Feeling ok this morning if not a little shaky but hoping a little breakfast and my tablets will sort that out.

Jencat, I was bricking it yesterday for my first round but it was absolutely fine. Even the icecap wasn’t a problem. It was a bit like a walk on the beach on a cold winter morning without a hat. Certainly blew the cobwebs away. Hope it all goes well for you.

SueW, I’d managed to lose 2.5 if my 5 stone prior to diagnosis. It has been piling back on. I’m hoping to be able to get back to my running as that helped but who knows. Maybe every cloud…

Rach x

Morning everyone, glad you new starters are doing ok, I definitely believe reading all the advice on here helps each and everyone of us, obviously no two people are the same and all our reactions are gonna be different but I think we give each other so many good tips and support! 

 

My biggest struggle last nite was having to be surrounded by quite alcohol fuelled people while being totally sober!  I felt really well yesterday and glad I went out for a couple of hours in the evening but then had to return back home to a very noisy pub so it was almost impossible to hide away upstairs but downstairs was full of happy people singing and drinking away, felt a bit like a party pooper ? and got totally fed up with people asking how I was…the joys of being a pub landlady with cancer I suppose!!  

 

On a plus side it’s a lovely bright autumnal morning…

 

xx

Rach
Me too was 3 stone lighter in June before diadnodis but out 2 back on ages to lose but months to gain x
Just tried a peppermint tea had s but if s mouth wash quality but was okay
Hot flushes I am 50 and been getting them since I had my hormonal cold rrmoved in July did have a couple last night but as I been having them s while I wasn’t concerned x how old are you rach I am 50 so sure mine are menopausal symptoms x

Omg what nonsense did I type
Hormonal coil
And clearly kept catching the s instead of a xxx

 

Morning Ladies!!!

 

Hi Jencat, re. still having some hair, given that I started off with more than my fair portion of hair I’ve still got what appears to friends and colleagues as a full head of hair. So I’m not wearing a sleeping cap and at the moment my selected Raquel Welch wig is still sitting forlornly on the shelf in a shop on Penny Lane, like a discarded Beatles lyric, until it doesn’t just perch on my head like a pea on a drum. I am sleeping princess-like on over 50 quids worth of silk pillow case though. Not sure how much difference it makes but I haven’t yet woken to any strands or clumps lying there. 

 

Hi Sue, sounds a very positive start there!!! I’ve had only one coffee since my first chemo and found it didn’t really taste too great. Just listen to what your body seems to be craving. I ate fairly lightly in the first couple of days of my first cycle - let our bodies focus on processing the drugs and not digesting food. 

 

Morning Rach, well done you!!! You sound a lot braver than I was with my first cold cap. 

 

Hope everyone’s got some nice treats planned for this weekend - think we’ve earned them!!!

 

? xx

Hi Sue…I’ve not had any flushes yet!  They made me have my hormonal coil removed the week before I started treatment, so not sure how that’s gonna affect me, I did say to them thanks not only did they want to poison me but make me have periods again too ? I’m 48 by the way, and a bit on the chubby side to say the least!! Xx

Sue,

I’m 45 and had a hormone implant up until August. Had a couple of periods since so hot flushes are a new thing. The joys of things to come I guess.

Rach

Definitely  ? !!!  Being able to moan about it here saves me from moaning to my hubby, who I hasten to add was one of the drunk ones last nite and will probably be in bed for most of this morning!!!

 

Feel quite lucky to have only had a few days of feeling poorly!!  

 

Xxx

Morning ladies, hope everyone had a restful night and has nice things planned for the weekend. I booked myself onto the look good feel better course at Clatterbridge yesterday. Can’t get in till November but it’s something to look forward to. Has anybody done this yet? Seems to be very popular xx