Yankee, I mentioned that more mature ladies will perhaps feel more tired on treatment. Feel I needed to explain that better! Age tiredness is one thing which we have to deal with - which you can add to the fatigue that everyone feels on chemotherapy. Lola, I had Ondansetron and metoclopramide on FEC which did ok job at controlling nausea. The SE that’s the biggest one is fatigue, which is cumulative. More steroids (Dexamethasone)given on this TCH treatment, and metoclopramide - you get less nausea with TCH.
Evening ladies,
I imagine it is only a super-human person that isn’t stressed, nervous, worried, and producing an abundance of adrenalin, yet some sail through the journey far better than others. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. All we can do is listen to our own bodies, resist over-doing things, rest, and call for extra meds. until we feel better.
Tuppence - so sorry to hear about the gauntlet. There is a lot of information on Lymphodema with guidance on what to avoid and what to do to help it. Were you given the booklet? One of the things it said made me howl with laughter - when you are sitting or resting, you should hold your arm so your wrist is above your elbow, and your elbow above your shoulder. How the hell do you rest in that position??? 
There is a group on this forum for Lymphodema people. You may pick up some tips from there.
Lots of you starting tomorrow. Best of luck to you all xxx
Linda xxx
Dear wonderful Ladies, is it the steroids that are making me crave carbs, feel fidgety, restless and spaced out?
Funki x
Hi Tuppence,
Here’s the link to BCC’s publication on lymphoedema, I hope you find it helpful.
Take care,
Jo, Faciltator
Happy Valentines all.Will someone tell my husband!!!We did go out with brother in law who came down from Suffolk,bird watching by Thames then pub lunch and picked grandaughter up from school,she’s 14yrs,such a sweetie.
Jackie,what a shame hospital not organised like mine.My chemo is Southend but previous treatment was Basildon,contrary to newspapers,I found them both excellent.Don’t let it stress you,it will all be ok,just let them worry about sorting it.
Yes Karen Valentines for me was hysterectomy 15thfeb 2000,chemo 15th feb2013!!
Mandy hugs to you worrying about nodes.<3
Gill hope you are ok today.
Poor Tuppence another thing to bug you,some people get some really annoying se’s,but at least there are ways to help it.
Chin up Kath,or should that be chins,as you are always on about having the munchies.Ha Ha
Jo I picture you tugging your hair just to se if it comes out,makes me laugh.
Hi Ciccia,welcome,you are with Linda at the back of the field waiting for the off in march.Still you can both draw on the experiences of those already on the track and over the first hurdles.
Thanks everyone for good wishes for us starting tomorrow,will let you know about cold cap,those that are contemplating it.Hope I am still smiling tomorrow evening.
Love and cyber hugs to all,we will win this race xxxxxxxxxChris
I’ll be thinking of you Chris xxxxxxxxxxx
My granddaughter is 14, too.
Thanks Jo for info. And thank you valentines for kind support. Sending hugs to all on this journey. Tup
Good news Left Lymphs NED!!! Clear margins!!! 
So sorry to hear about your hand Tup. Hope the gauntlet does at least help. Have they given you an ‘elegant’ black or boring beige? You’ve got ahead of me in the chemo race. Went to see Oncologist today. He confiremed 3xFEC and 3xTAX followed by Rads. BUT…He can’t start me until Feb 28th Now 'cos they’re ‘just to busy’ 
. Spent some time this afternoon on the Sobbing Hysterical Lady bench but have got my sensible head on again now. It’s still anyones race and I’m still a FAB FEB - just.
Am going to visit chemo suite tomorrow for bloods and vein check - might end up with a Hickman line due to SNB L/arm ANC R/arm and iffy veins.
Can I include a hangover in my list of SE’s ? Wonderful romantic evening last night, music not tv , child free zone , candles, beautiful meal ( cooked by M&S warmed up by me ! ) I got dressed up , make up on ( even the lady garden looked great thanks to the hair loss ! ) however the romance was cut short thanks to a very nice , very strong bottle of Red , we were both asleep by 9.30 ! !
Funki I’m with you on the carbs ! Feeling sick one minute then wolfing down pasta or chunks of bread , not sure if it’s the steroids , my craving for carbs lasted about 10 days as did that spaced out feeling , altho my oh would argue I still have it !
MM , so pleased you got good results its about time you had some good news , the 28th will soon come around x
Angie, good on you for fundraising , I looked into the pink bucket but it wasn’t in my area , you can always donate your bucket to me or Kath afterwards lol , my hair is coming out thick & fast but I still have a ’ do’ so becoming reluctant to shaving it off
good luck Chris for today & anyone else I’ve missed
Karen x
Hi Karen! Glad you had a bit of romance last night but sorry to hear about your hangover.
Thanks for the reply re carbs. I’m glad it’s not just me. I spoke to my 2 “Breast Friends” that are doing chemo with me at the same hospital and they both cant eat and are feeling very sick. It will be interesting to see if my carb binges stop after I stop the steroids tomorrow. What is also interesting is all the things I am eating I dont normally eat. Bread, pasta, crumpets…
Funki x
Mandy - great news - what a relief!!! Just have to get going now. Best to keep busy and the time will fly by.
Karen - I laughed out loud re: lady garden. I have been thinking I should take up swimming as I will have the best bikini line in town!! Shame not to show it off!!!
Funki - I didn’t really think about the food wolfing till you mentioned it - but I just realised I have stopped!!! It lasted about the same time as I was feeling under the weather. But it did diminish over the days - so it may well have been the steroids. I have found chocolate spread on toast almost irresistable!! Re-living my childhood.
I started to feel myself more yesterday and would say I was fully back today (one week). I haven’t been anywhere near as bad as I had thought and much better off than most here. But I have been feeling well below par mainly due to fatigue. I am hoping next time round I will be better (and the weather too). I am also hoping the periods will stop as this was by far the worst I have been in a long time - with dreadful cramps and really heavy.Not what you really want to add to the mix.
My puppy has till Tuesday being indoors and then the great outdoors is available to him. As he can only do 15 minutes walks at the moment which will be good for him and my faituge too. Short burst of gentle exercise through the day.
This weekend I plan to spend some time in the garden - the weather is looking sunny and dry and I have some tidying up to get on with. I have ordered all my veg seed and plan on sorting out what needs to be planted. Happy Days!!
I hope you all have a good weekend and are feeling well
Alison xx
Hi Valentines
Able to sleep at last so been sleeping, sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating, crying, sleeping, sleeping, eating, eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping, sleeping…so no time to post!! Having lost appitie to nausea it is now back with a vengance so I’m guessing this isn’t going to be the weight loss programme I’d hoped for!
Louise, you are not alone feeling tired and I’m in my forties so not age as an excuse for me! Hope you are on top of the nausea problem now xx
Karen so glad to read you got your meds changed, I have an onc appointment on the 26th before my next cycle and have been tolld will probably change anti sickness tabs and may offer some form of sedative which may help with sleeping.I have just removed the bucket from the side of the bed as I’m sure looking at it was reminding me to feel nauseous!
Whoop! Whoop! Great results Mandy 
So pleased for you xx
My OH came to the chemo unit with me today and cleaned my PICC line in front of the nurses to prove he could do it at home and passed with flying colours! (he did have a struggle to get the sterile gloves on though which gave everyone a giggle!)
Good luck for today Jackie (and anyone else with appointments today!) xx
Booked in to get wig on Monday, thougt I’d better get to it as though no sign of hair loss yet… quick tug!..I have noticeed tidier lady garden (as it’s been mentioned here already!!!). Hoping the eyebrows are going to sort themselves out soon or I’m going to have to pluck!
Off for a nap!
Hugs to all
Elaine
Just a quick message until later. Had the most awful night last night,. All the nerves in my spine were on red alert, shooting up my spine to my neck and head and spreading across my hips. Sat on edge of bed rocking back and forth for a couple of hours. Sometimes the pain took my breath away. OH thought I’d twisted my spine and trapped a nerve. Today, it’s completely gone!!! Is this one of the SEs? Will mention it to onco as I don’t want that again. Be back later.
Hi all, hubby been away so I had my sister to stay so have had some lovely girls time together. After my disastrous day Tuesday when the world was at its end I’ve had 3 good days. On day 11 now and no signs of hair loss but I guess day 13 is nearing so will keep up the gentle tugs!
i think I must be the only one not eating madly, weighed myself this morning and I’ve lost half a stone! Some diet regime…
is anyone have runny nose syndrome, mine just won’t stop, Kleenex are making a fortune out of me.
hoping to have a slightly more normal weekend and sending you all warm hugs
jan xxx
Hello Valentines. Mandy - so happy for you after everything you’ve been through. Poems - so sorry about your dreadful night but happy it’s gone today. I also laughed out loud about Karen’s lady garden!
I wish I could stop eating. I daren’t step on the scales.
Went to a very local hairdressers today (never been before) planning on a buzz cut. I called before I went and explained my situation. The young woman who answered was really friendly and understanding and made a same day appointment. Anyway, she convinced me to go for a pixie before anything drastic and she was very knowledgeable about chemo as her aunt had had breast cancer. But she refused any payment for the cut and I tried really hard!
Angie xx
Evening Valentines.
Tuppence, sorry you have to wear those sleeves. Don’t know if you like the look of tattoos, but here’s a website where you can buy very pretty tattoo effect compression sleeves for about £15. Here’s the link: mytattoosleeves.co.uk.
Louise, glad your new pills are working for you.
Jen, I’m going on to Tax for cycles 4, 5 and 6, so glad to hear you get less sickness - not that I had any, but was worried I might have after the changeover.
Funki, don’t know about the craving for carbs, but they will make you feel restless, do you take them before 2pm, or later?
Chris, I already had 3 chins before I got the munchies, I’ll need to strap them all up by the time I’ve finished…lol BTW, Haven’t had steroids since day 3 and it’s now day 11 for me, so can’t blame my munchies on THAT!! It’s chocolate for me at the moment.
Loving everyone’s new photos, you all look fab - puts me to shame so might put a picture of my bucket up there, which isn’t red at all, it’s blue!!! Chemo brain already???
Have a good weekend if you can, big hugs all round.
Kath xx
Poor, poor Kath can’t imagine anything worse at the moment. I had something similar after I slept in a bad position after my last knee opeeration – torture!
Jan , I’m definitely with you in the can’t bear to eat camp. I’ve had to put stickers all over the house reminding me, as not eating was making the nausea worse (had a pretty good day today, 60% normal feeling, just tired)
In the “someone is always worse off” department – talked with my sister-in-law last night. She is on the Board of Governor’s of her local school, and one of the poor Masters has buttock cancer. It has exactly the same tumour profile of a breast cancer (don’t quite see how, is it ductal or lobular?) but the poor man is going through the same route of surgery, chemo and radio that we are enduring. Plus its on his bum! I just hope the poor guy doesn’t have an alliterative name, as at a boy’s school that should assure his life isn’t worth living!!!
Chins up girls, no matter how many you have or haven’t. Love Louise
Hello All & welcome Ciccia! My new avatar pic. taken this evening - me in my new WIG. I really like it. Went to the NHS approved hairdresser in Usk (South Wales). Had head shaved and he put the wig on and I thought I’d returned to the 1970’s!!
I’ve got a little hat which I’m attaching my fake fringe and neck pieces to, so I have something I can put on quickly.
So glad you got good results Mandy and hope you are ok after 1st Chemo Jackie.
Hope back is better today poems.
Hello Valentines,
Glad to hear you are all managing to keep your spirits up, one way or another - although at times it must be incredibly difficult for us all. Pleased for Mandy and hope all others waiting for results get good news soon. I found the waiting the worst.
And having finally got to C-Day yesterday, just thought I’d drop a line. Nausea well controlled so far, but had wretched palpitations in the night accompanied by severe oedema (mainly hands and face) - looked like a puffer fish this morning. Have been advised to get an ECG at the GP surgery - just in case. I’m sure it’s all due to the chemical overload yesterday as things have calmed down today. A decent night’s sleep would be good though!
First hair cut tomorrow. It’s long enough to be of use to charity - so it’ll go to The Little Princess Trust (http://www.littleprincesses.org.uk/) who have wigs made for children undergoing chemo. I haven’t been to a hairdresser in 15 years (my husband used to trim it for me) so this will be a DIY job. They are very clear on how they want it cut to get an even length etc. and I think I can cope with that. Whether I ask someone to “tidy up” afterwards (second cut) depends on the resulting mess! If it falls out quickly it shouldn’t really matter. But maybe I should find a sympathetic local cutter as Angie did?
Wishing all a calm and care-fee weekend,
Gill
Hi everyone
Feeling lousy today - like flu - horrible taste in my mouth. Had first Chemo Tuesday so It’s only to be expected I suppose. Can you take paracetymol does anyone know. Nausea not so bad. Just feel as if I’ve been hit by a bus!
Jennifer