Hi Deb,
Thankfully l never had that feeling!!
Well if you feel poisoned, imagine what those little cancer cells feel!! well and truly dead!
Really windy out today, going to take the dogs for a walk, with the hope my wig stays on!!
Sandra xxx
hi Jo, good luck today. mI should have been having mmy 3rd FEC tomorrow but asked last time if I could defer it as I have an event to go to tomorrow so mI am 2 weeks behind now- my second one was delayed because my WBC was too low. Fortunatly I don’t suffer too much with the sickness-just feel abit sick. I was warned about the prickly feeling but that I would get it in my bum! I don’t get that anyway.
Sandra-keep your hand on that wig!! I have bought a BLONDE wig. the lady who sold it made me look 20 years younger-that makes me 22 then-haha
Carolxx
Carol, is this the Garden Party tomorrow? How brilliant. Hope the sun shines for you and the wig keeps on!
Hope you don’t mind, but can I ask you a question? FEC3 has been delayed for me because of low WBC. I feel daftly tired and achey and keep thinking it’ll improve. Do you remember how you felt in terms of energy levels, and when you felt a bit more lively? Am concerned, as they’re taking bloods again on Monday and feel I should have picked up by now.
Hi Julie
Just wondering if you have had the jabs to increase your WBC. I felt fine before them even though my count was 0.2. But after them I felt awful for a few days. Very achy and tired and had a headache. They did work and in two days my count was up to 4.8. It dipped a bit by chemo daybut was still 3.2. Have had the neulasta jab this time. Debx
Thanks Deb, but no they didn’t suggest them. Not at all sure why, but I suppose every Onc is different! My previous bloods have been fine, so I guess she thinks I’ll recover all by myself. Just phoned the hotline, and they reckon the aches are normal, just to keep an eye on my temperature. Am having bloods done again on Monday, so am guessing if I haven’t picked up by then the jabs might come in at that point, which still gives me time to be okay for next treatment on the Thursday. Hope you’re okay today xj
Hi guys
Verical again after 3rd FEC yesterday and thankfuly out of the couldn’t-be-arsed phase, maybe just pre-chemo blues?
MAJOR pain for the first 10 minutes of the Paxman cold cap yesterday, acttualy made me cry - not even the pain of the surgery did that - chemo nurse great & saw me through it until it went numb then fine for 3 1/2 hours. Took longrr than before to get the chemo through ar the vein was a bit ‘dodgy’ but managed it (hope 4,5 and 6 find a vein!). Had fuzzy cotton-wooly head yesterday afternoon to add to the chemo nausea but got through it & feeling OK today, tired on & off but wenough enrgy to type (sort of!).
Thanks so much for all your word sof support
Jo - sorry to hear you are having agonies baout work - I can relate to that - it is such a personal decision, depending of the nature of your work, streess levels,whether you get full sick pay and support from your boss & colleagues. My deceison was mainly based on the fact that I treat patienst at home as a health care professional and have to be positive and up-to-speed for them, really don;t feel at any point I could have been objerctive or positive if I had a partucularly difficult patient to deal with, so feel good about investing the sick time into me. Hope your chemo goes well today…
Hugs to all
xxx Sal
Hi FELLOW FIGHTERS,
just a quick note to say sorry not been around much lately but have been reading posts to keep up with your news.
FEC no 2 seemed to make me very tired, not sure if some of the tiredness wasn’t due to hot weather and working every morning too.
Had Hickman line put in on Tuesday which was more stressful than I first thought and left me sore and bruised. Toady had FEC no 3…3 more to go I am oficially half way :-))
Had anit sickness meds changed so hopefully the nausea will be less this time but at the moment that is feeling like a pipe dream lol…no sickness but very nauseous…maybe a jog round the block would help…if I only had some energy!!
ok will call bacl soon
take care of yourselves and hope se’s are copeable for the many of us having treatments this week (I remember quite a few of us are today or tomorrow)
Hugs Suze xxxx
Hi Ladies,
Carol, Oh you women that will buy anything once they tell you how young you look!! l thought the short one you had was blonde? so is this one a long blonde one, like a mermaid? wow!! can you sit on it? Hope you have a lovey day tomorrow, and the weather is kind to you blonde locks! look forward to the photot’s! xxx
Deb, l had the 10 day wbc injections, when l told my onc l had bone pains, mainly in the back he said it was the injections. Hope you are feeling a bit better xxx
Julie, hope your wbc soon go up again, a lady l know who is 73 has had 3 FEC and on her 1st TAX tomorrow, and her wbc have been between 7.9 and 9.3 must be the older you get the better you are!!
Sal, Ouch the paxman doesn’t sound very nice, is it doing it’s job?
Not many left now then, only 4 5 6 Lol! Pleased you are coping xxx
Suze, Well done on FEC number 3! soon be over! xxx
Sometimes l have a little laugh to myself, wondering what our OH’s would be like if they had to go through this!
Take care
Sandra xxx
hi everyone,
Deb, i threw up on the evening of chemo for each of my 3 fec cycles, just one time of throwing up, then it masde me feel a lot beter and i didnt throw up again. It was like i needed to be sick and then could move on! I did feel nauseous for days after, thoughwhen the changed my anti sickness for fec three, the nauseau was much less. I didn’t have emend as i would have had to delay my chemo to give my onc time to get it approved by my nhs trust, but i had a longer lasting anti sickness injection with the chemo which helped. Do you have a tablet to help with anticipatory sickness and anxiety on the morning of chemo? I have had one each time ( lorazepam i think? Will check the box later), it really helped. Is horrible to have reactions to the drugs, it breaks down the wall you build up to try and ignore whats happening to you.
Today i am finally feeling more like myself after my 1st tax. This is day 15! Previously with fec i was functioning well after day 10 or so. Its the itredness though, no physical pain or woolliness, just knackered and got no memory!
Suze, hope you arent as sicky this time, sorry your christies trip was stressful, but at least you are now more than half way there ( on the basis of course that chemo number 6 only really counts as half a treatment therefore you have done 3 out of 5.5 cycles, therefore you are nearer the end than the start!)
Hi to everyone else too,
Vickie
Good evening ladies
Julie- after the first FEC I was very tired day 3, couldn’t get out of bed. that wore off gradually by day7 I was feeling pretty much normal. the second one was delayed because my WBC was too low. I asked about the injections but was told no, my dose would be reduced.
I wasn’t quite as tired after the reduced dose
Garden party tomorrow, I’m not holding out much hope for sunshine.
I am envious of everyone who are half way through after 3-I won’t be half way through until No 4!
Sandra, no I can’t sit on it! I dropped it into my hairdresser this mornin on my way to work so she could trim the fringe
when I went back later they had all had a play with it, trying it on
you will see tomorrow!!
Vickie, I’ve been taken off Emend due to bad reaction and they’ve given me Lorazepam for next FEC. Was told not to take it before, but on evening of day of treatment. Might check that with them as it’s different to you! Did you find it helped through the first few days too? My Onc says she’s had good results with Nausea because of it.
Carol, it’s good to hear you were less tired after they reduced the dose. My Onc said it’s like being given an overdose, so it’s not surprising it flattened us. Is good to know the drugs are working, but it’s been a lousy three weeks. Hope garden party’s amazing and that wig doesn’t blow off!!
Wishing you all a great weekend. Off to Sports Day in a minute. Glad I’m not the one who has to run!
Hi there,
Just checking in and hoping that all peachy mothers are ok and not having too bad se’s.
Today I feel…sleepy…nothing new there then…and a bit sicky …one day I will feel fab fab fab :-))))))
Carol…where has the good weather gone? Enjoy the garden party anyway…are you wearing the long hair today??
Vickie…yes I like your calculations! More of those kind and I will have fnished all treatments hahah…which school did you go to where they teach you to calculate like that !!
Hugs to all Suze xx
Hi all
Carol when my WBC was low the chemo nurse suggested they might reduce the dose but when I saw the head onc she said she would rather give me the jab than reduce it. I wonder what makes up their minds.
This chemo is not as jittery as last time. Had a few heart palpitations through the night but nowhere near as bad as last time. I just have to eat every hour to hour and a half or I feel really sick- even through the night. So my bedside table is covered in bananas, Ginger biscuits, crackers and gaviscon.
Vickie I have of those tablets in case of emergency. I will def be taking them before tax. I already feel nervous about that and I haven’t finished fec yet.
Good luck to everyone. Hope you are coping. Dx
Hi everyone
I am new to the forum. I started my chemo on 11th June but have only just discovered the forum this week! I have been trying to read up on everyone’s posts.
I am on TAC x 6, from reading the forums most of you ladies are on 3 FEC and 3 TAX, don’t why we are all on different ones.
Nem - I notice that you are on TAC, started at the same time as me, and wondered how you have been since your 2nd chemo, I had mine on 2nd July. The 2nd chemo was better for me as I didn’t have as much aching bones and joints and was able to sleep due to taking lorezapam for just 3 nights whilst on steroids. I have been more tired this time though and had more stomach pains.
I have been really lucky with sickness, I haven’t had any yet! I take emend and odansetron and it seems to work for me. From the posts many of you have suffered with sickness and a sore mouth. I was given a mouth wash to do 4 times a day which tastes disgusting but does the trick and my mouth has been fine.
I have lost most of my hair, used cold cap, I still have a covering of very fine hair all over and don’t know whether to carry on with the cold cap and some say it may grow back quicker, has anyone any experience of this.
I am looking forward to having a good week now until my next chemo on Friday 23rd July, will have to plan some nice days with the kids I think.
Amanda
hi all im going to see my consultant next week to see when i have to start chemo, not sure whot im haveing but been told it can last a while, i think im ok about maybe loosing my hair, but hate the thought of being sick, could do with some freinds to talk to, any 1 can send message to my inbox, ill try to reply to all, as i have had the nodess removed from under my arm, does any 1 know is it ok to use underarm deodrants???,julieps have found this site very good so far ty all xxxx
Suze, yes I wore the long blonde hair today, and no it didn’t blow off in all the wind and rain. this new one is a monofillament one and has a sticky bit at the front.
Midge, I find if a eat something often I feel bettet but I don’t wake up in the night. I ate cream crackers with hummous after the last one. I’ve gone right off bananas, the monkeys can have them!
Carolxx
Hi Amanda and Julie
Welcome to the June club. Hope you have found our posts useful. Please add your own as it all helps. You are not alone and we all know how your are feeling. As for deodorant I used it after a few days of just washing.
Day 4… Fec 2… Still feeling sicky. Well there’s a surprise.
The kids are away for a couple of nights so I can wallow in my own muck. I will hopefully feel more myself when they get back. Debx
Just flying in on a busy Saturday, but wanted to say hi to Julie and Amanda.
Amanda, you’re helping me already, as I’ve been prescribed Lorazepam for next chemo. Good to hear it helps. They’ve given me mine for anti-nausea, but helping me sleep would be great too! Tina’s good on Cold Cap for re-growth. Am sure she’ll be back soon, but she’s been away. I’m sure I remember her saying she’s continued using it to help with re-growth.
Julie, I’m Julie too, so that could get confusing! Not sure if you know this yet or not, but sounds like you’re a bit in the dark so hope this helps. Most chemo seems to be on 3 week cycles, and we seem to largely be prescribed 6 cycles. So if you’re the same that’s 18 weeks worth to get through. I think most hospitals have a target of starting you no later than 6 weeks after operation. Hope that helps. On deodorants, I was told to only use Simple and to wait a couple of weeks after the operation before using it. Hope you’re feeling okay. It does get a bit easier once you start on chemo. Somehow the waiting for all the results to come in is the hardest part, or at least that’s what I’ve found.
Carol, great your wig held up. Was it fun?? Like your banana comment!
Deb, sorry to hear you’re still sick. Not long to go though if you’re day 4. If you’re like me day 6 and I felt more normal, or at least human! Rest up and indulge if your body will let you.
Waving to all others. xxj
Amanda, I decided against the cold cap-it sounded like torture
I have lost all but a small tuft on top of my head but have wispy new hair-I assume this will go after the 3rd FEC next week
I don’t (well so far) suffer from sickness just a sicky feeling which goes away if I nibble on something. I get 4x odansetron to take home.
Julie, Had a fab time at the garden party, thanks, despite the weather. we were in a huge marquee for lunch, lots of lovely food and wine,not me, I was driving. too many Julies on here, I’m going to get confused -doesn’t take much
Carolxx
Hi guys
Sounds like we’re all having a battle this cycle, between nausea & hair loss.
Sandra - Paxman was HELL but it has done its job, no hair loss (on my head) at all after 3 cycles… it really was worth the 10 minutes of agony for the chance of keeping the hair. Hair elsewhere gone after first cycle (so no need to shave legs or underarms!)
Realy sore arm yesterday and today, tracking up the vein to my upper arm…(FEC 3 ,day 4 )onc nurse says take anti-inflammaroties but not much else will help. Also getting a thumping heart, again onc nurse very reassuring…“all things will pass!”
Julie - I took Lorazepam at night after this cycle, since I had ‘jumpy’ legs with the steroids. The Lorazepam ceratinly helped me to sleep better the night after the chemo - I suppose different people need it at different times.
AManda - welcome to the club! Hope the forum helps you along the road, it ceratinly has helped me
Big cyber hugs to all battlers
xxx Sal
Vickie & Midge - sorry to hear of the pre-chemo nausea, you are getting it from both sides you poor things!