I’m a bit the same now, Jane68, after two cycles with cold cap. I’m still shedding though so no idea whether there will be anything left by next week. Good to still be able to wear a hat for the moment anyway.
Did they let you continue with cold cap even though you had a bald patch then? I thought there was some issue with frost burn???
mousy
Yeah they’ll let you continue if you want to in my situation anyway.
I have almost enough coverage to do a Bobby Charlton today and they did encourage me to use the cap but frankly thought it was not worth it. I waited a while for treatment today , a couple of complications, so did not bother. I have enough to work with a scarf and still have a bit hanging out, my fringe is being really determined!
Do whatever works for you I say
Cecelia. x
I guess if you’re almost finished it doesn’t matter too much if the rest comes out in a couple of weeks time because it’ll start growing again soon afterwards.
I’ve only had 2 of 8 so I’ve got 3 mths to go.
mousy
I was given Ondosteron, Dexamethasone and Domperidone for sickness. The first time I felt quite poorly on the FEC, but it did get better the 2nd and 3rd time, and have had no nausea whislt on Taxotere, but DREADFUL pain. Hope it gets better for you the next time.
I lost my hair fairly quickly, brought a wig, but hardly ever use it! What a waste of money! I brought some lovely headgear from an american site called ‘Headcovers.com’. Looking forward to my last ever chemo on Wednesday, if that’s the correct term to use! Actually, I’m dreading it, but looking forward to it being the last! Then its 25 sessions of radiotherapy and after that a holiday. Isn’t it amazing the way this breast cancer steals away the time? Can’t believe it was January when I first found the lump and I will finally be finished treatment in October.
Hiya babyboo,
sorry to hear you’ve been feeling a bit yukky. How funny are the posts you’ve received back though re:wigs, me and my boyfriend have just had a right chuckle reading them!
Just to add to the whole nausea/sickness discussion I’ll put my 10 pence worth in. I’m on E-CMF and had my first CMF on weds after previously having 4 Epi. I have IV ondansetron before the chemo, then IV Dex afterwards while the rest of the drip is running through. I can not have metclorpromide (or whatever its called!) as it makes me really ill for some reason. Anyway, I’m then sent home with 4 doses of Ondansetron to take, 8am and 8pm. Also I have 3 days worth of Dex to take, after brekkie and after lunch. As if that wasn’t enough I also have a supply of Domperidone to take, up to 4 a day if needed. They seemed to have nailed my anti-sickness meds right from the start thank god! I have never been sick and usually only have mild nausea. I’ve only had to take the Domperidone on a few occassions and then its only been once a day.
What does help me though is ‘travel bands’, (also called ‘sea bands’). I wear these quite a lot and its ideal as you can wear them at night too. I’m actually wearing them as I write this!! Also, I tend to find ginger biscuits and ginger ale help with any nausea.
Hope this helps!
Take care and let us know how you are doing,
Kelly
-x-
Thanks everyone for your comments. Have to say that today is the first real day I have had since Monday and I was outside playing with my children…My husband had to tell me to take it easy as I was playing a bit too hard…hee hee…
Made some banana muffins for tomorrow, no reason just thought we needed some gooey food.
My brother is sending me some sea bands over from the UK so I shall be giving them a try. I will make a fuss and not plod on not wanting to upset anyone… don’t see why I should feel so bad as most of you have had a nicer time… can you see the jealous rage and the gritted teeth as the mad woman paces the floor sayiny…‘snot fair’. HA HA HA.
My cat is in the cupboard, the children have worn it and we have taken pictures…scared me half to death this morning though when I went to get a t-shirt! REALLY think it will stay in the cupboard then end up in the dressing up box for the small people… make a nice nest for a couple of love birds though…mmmm…
Has anyone else had that flu type feeling in their legs?
Thanks for being there and hope everyone is ok. xxx
Glad your feeling better now. I think it is very scary being so ill on the first one cos then you just dread the following ones more.
I was oversensitive to metoclopramide - it made the walls and ceilings move and I had flshing lights and was oversensitive to light. Apparently, that meant I was allergic to it so i suggest that you ask about stopping that one. In the UK, they use dexamethasone a lot to stop feeling sick so maybe ask about that as well as the domperidone. I’m on my 4th different chemo now and have found that very effective with ondantrason and the dex. Your chemo unit should be able to suggest other anti sickness pills for you so you are not as bad again.
To go back to wigs etc - I wore my wig once and my then 5 yr old said to me - mummy - ‘I want you to look normal’ and when I questioned him what he meant it was that ‘normal’ was me in a headscarf. In 3 weeks he seemed to have forgotten I’d once had hair!! My then 8 yr old daughter did not want anyone to know I was bald but made a paper mache wig holder in art club and 2 years on it still sits on my wardrobe with my wig on it because it just makes me laugh as she painted a very funny face on it!!!
I have lost my hair twice now. Once in summer, when I wore cotton headscarves and the other time in winter when I wore my hoodie indoors and lots of hats outside. Indoors, I just used to go round bald and the kids and their friends just got used to it. I alwys found it was the adults that couldn’t cope. I did cause a crash though as my hair was about 1cm long and it was so hot, I went out with nothing on my head. This man was so busy staring at me, he didn’t notiv=ce that the bus in front had stopped so he crashed into it. Wonder what he wrote on the insurance claim!!
I used to find with FEC that I felt ill for about 5 days and then it was copeable for the next 2 weeks although I was very tired and foggy headed.
really hope you fare better next time round.
Hello Dippykate…
Thank you so much for your reply it sounds very much like you had the same experience as me…I shall REALLY tell them I don’t want the monster drugs next time…Drug addicts must have it bad when everything creeps and crawls all the time…it was bad enough for those five days. Funny thing is, now I say to myself, Oh it wasn’t that bad even though I know it was AWFUL…odd that really. Glad we humans work that way though.
Had to laugh at the crash story…poor man…LOL!
We are meant to be enjoying our summer now but all we have had is horrible medicine and rain, still, at least the garden hasn’t needed to be watered!
My wig is sitting on my desk here…keep thinking it will get up and move to a more comfortable place…mmm…will have to watch that one!
Hi babyboo
I was extremely nauseous after my first FEC despite granisetron, dex and domperidone etc. IMO the domperidone didn’t touch it, and I stopped taking them after day two. Domperidone is the same sort of drug as metaclopramide, so if you haven’t done well with that, I don’t think domperidone will help you. We contacted the chemo unit and my husband fetched some cyclizine and nozinan from them - the latter should definitely help you, although you will feel drowsy. As someone else said stemetil is another option.
Good luck,
Fuschia
xxxx
The sea bands arrived from my brother today along with an article from the paper… I shall be giving them a go and will let you know how they work for me!
Hi Fuschia, babyboo and everyone else
I’m glad I tuned in for a while - I’m having my portacath in tomorrow and my 1st FEC starts on Friday (Dread day!) I have been reading about some of your sickness issues. I am the biggest baby out when it comes to being sick so I am dreading the coming weekend - the only good thing about it is that once it starts there’s one less to do! (The worse thing is there’s no where to run and hide and you can’t say "Thats it I don’t feel like doing that today)! I can’t believe that I feel so well today and by the weekend I’m going to feel total rubbish … I haven’t felt like that for years. I hope you all feel much better and babyboo get your medication changed i’m sure that they will be able to find something more agreeable next time.
JulieG
P.S what did you eat on the day of chemo - do I starve or eat?
Hello Julie,
I had a nice breakfast of cereal and milk with a cup of tea and a sandwich. At lunch time I was hungry so ate with the family and who knows you may be one of the lucky ones who isn’t affected.
I understand your feelings of feeling well now and knowing that it won’t be 100% the same by the weekend.
Just be kind to yourself, drink lots when you can, rest when you want to and remember that there are others who know EXACTLY how you feel!
BIG hugs to you and good luck with the first one. How many are you going to have?
Hi babyboo
6 FEC and I think once every 3 weeks - does that sound about right? I’m worried about the portacath tomorrow but looking forward to the feeling of having a double G & T!!! ( Am having that by local).
How have your kids coped with this? I have a 6 year old and a 9 year old and so far they have been ok. I had a double mastectomy 4 weeks ago and now its like it never happened so i don’t know what they are going to be like after Friday.
JulieG
HI Julie
Eat something light. I think it it would be far worse on an empty stomach. Good luck with the portacath, I hope the GA doesn’t knock you out too much.
Fuschia
xxx
Thanks for the info Fuschia - Someone told me it’s better not to be sick on an empty tummy so I will definately have something light and then see how I feel later on in the day - I’m sure after the 1st treatment it will all become very clear … it’s the not knowing that I find hard to deal with - I like to be in control of my life, and this is the unknown. Hope you are feeling a little better.
JulieG
You know Julie, I think you should explain to the Onc that you have a tendency to sickness and will the anti-emetics they give out as standard be enough for you? They may then prescribe you something else to take home ‘just in case’. Just be prepared, because you had the GA with the portacath that this round of chemo could knock it out of you quite a bit. The portacath can be a bit painful and uncomfortable until it settles down, so be mindful of that.
Sending you positive vibes, and to everyone else on chemo this week !! 
Hello again Julie,
My children are waiting for my hair to fall out because I promised them that they could paint my head with face paints…mmmm…I am sure that will look REALLY nice…ha ha ha.
My three year old was very worried the day after my first FEC and when he woke up he had to go and be sick and then go back to sleep for an hour which is unheard of because he is awake at 6am every morning then full speed ahead until bedtime. He also gave me every single one of his soft toys so that they would make me feel better.
My one year old gives me cuddles, pokes a freckle and says…ow!
The great thing with children is that they can understand more than we give them credit for and everything is black and white…it is only we adults that see all the grey areas etc. They have missed me but this week I have been making it up to them… the housework can wait, they are more important to me than a few dust bunnies!
You are having 6FEC like me… although I don’t have any portacath…mmm…Waiting for the stuff to start is the worst and I have to admit to crying when I realised that this wasn’t a dream and that I actually did have all those drugs in my system but, see it as an insurance policy…for the rest of your life!
BIG hugs to you xxx
Hello JulieG
I found when I had FEC that the best thing was a breakfast of toast and then I had an egg sandwich, peach yoghurt and a cup of camomile tea for lunch (all things which settle the stomach nicely). Then in the evening after the chemo I had nothing to eat but I found Lucozade very good for the nausea. I was usually well enough to eat something light the next day but I needed - and took - all the take home medications.
Good luck on Friday.
Best wishes everyone and take care
Love Anthi
Hi Julie
Hope it goes well for you Friday - I also have my first FEC friday, so will be thinking of you. Mine is pre-op to shrink the b**ger b4 surgery so this is the very start of my battle in my head! Good tips from the ladies re: eating and sickness. Be interesting to see whether the sea bands work for you Babyboo.
Take care all
Ali
x
Good luck to you Bestie also on Friday.
BabyBoo I’ve just seen your query about ‘that flu type of feeling’ in your legs. Do you mean that sort of weak, shaky feeling? Yes I had that and in fact I’m still having it occasionally and I finished chemo on 1st May !
Hope the sea bands work for you.
Best wishes everyone
Anthi x