Questions - chemo starting

Hi,

I too am sorry to hear you have to go through chemo, my mom went through 6 months of treatments and had very managable side effects, thanks mostly to the info I was able to get from the wonderful people on this board. Her cold sensitivity was almost immediate after her treatments, however it would only last a few days after her treatment, everybody is different and their bodies react different, for her she would keep room temperature drinks available for the first few days, even hot drinks gave her a little trouble, and she drank all of her drinks very slow, little sips until she learned what worked best for her. She also had some problems with the hands, however she took vitamin B-6 daily as I read this could help and it seemed to, she noticed a difference when she would start "feeling good" as she put it and get a little lax in her vitamins. Her oncologist said she would have preferred to have her doing the treatments in the summer, alot less cold sensitivity in the hands and feet in the summer. Mom made sure she told her Dr. everything that happened to her after and between treatments no matter how minor it seemed and this way if it was treatment related her treatment would be adjusted accordingly.

Good luck with your treatments.

Lisa

DK2006 said:

Hi Dale!
I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but welcome to this board. I am a 46 yo female with stage 3a colon cancer. I have had 6 treatments with folfox, with 6 to go. Enjoy your ice cold beverages this weekend. You'll probably have no interest in them for the next 6 months. Side effects have been manageable for me. It's not fun, but it hasn't been too bad. Side effects are cumulative, so after the first treatment I was still able to drink iced berverages, but now I just drink luke warm beverages. I live in Colorado, so I need to wear a scarf on cold days to go outside and the few days following treatment I generally need to cover my face because the cold hurts so much. As for wine, my oncologist said not to drink alcohol the day before treatment and a few days after. I am also doing acupuncture and I feel it makes a huge difference for the side effects. Best of luck with your treatments!! Donna

Dale,

First, I'm sorry to hear that you will be joining the chemo club.

Second, don't ever hesitate to post any information or questions no matter how trivial they may seem.

I too had manageable symptoms and the neuropathy was very mild although I still have mild pins and needles in my toes and feet that has seemed to get better over time. For me, I wasn't to the point that I had to use gloves to reach in the fridge or freezer, although I received a few jolts during that time. Cold drinks were out, though. I learned very quickly after my first treatment and took a huge gulp of an ice cold beverage. It felt like a thousand tiny jolts all down my throat. Luke warm water suddenly felt cold to me to drink and I would also stick to room temp drinks during the first few days after my last treatment.

As far as the red wine goes you will probably get a mixed reaction. The sugar you receive from drinking wine is not necessarily a good thing (sugar is not good period) but having one glass of wine with dinner may not be the end of the world. Maybe you should consult with a nutritionist if there is one available. I have read that sometimes giving up the one glass of wine a night had more adverse side affects than just having the wine. I would say that if you can survive either giving it up entirely or cutting back that would be a better choice but it's a personal call.

DK2006, where in Colorado are you from (if you don't mind my asking)? I have lived in CO my entire life up until a year ago when we moved to Nebraska. In fact, my oncologist is in Denver.

Ahoy, Dale -

I didn't do the FOLFOX treatment so I can't really comment on cold issues. I would say that Barb gave you some excellent advice in that everyone is different so take it slow.

I would add that, according to the Irish, Guiness is to be taken at room temp so that's a relief! My recommendation; drink lots of Guiness (and it's only 125 calories per room temp glass!)

- SpongeBob

Hi Dale,

I am like the rest. The cold drinks hurt. I am stage3 colon and on my second treatment as of today. About the wine. Isn't it called a "hot toddy" if you warm it up. You could be very sophisticated doing that.
Also make sure you drink lots of water to flush the chemo through your system faster. I have to warm my water right now so get flavored water since can't stand warm water. Good luck and tell us how it goes. Sorry to hear you joined our family but glad you found us. We all are willing to help so don't feel funny posting. Good vibes your way!!

Lisa

lfondots63 said:

Hi Dale,

I am like the rest. The cold drinks hurt. I am stage3 colon and on my second treatment as of today. About the wine. Isn't it called a "hot toddy" if you warm it up. You could be very sophisticated doing that.
Also make sure you drink lots of water to flush the chemo through your system faster. I have to warm my water right now so get flavored water since can't stand warm water. Good luck and tell us how it goes. Sorry to hear you joined our family but glad you found us. We all are willing to help so don't feel funny posting. Good vibes your way!!

Lisa

Hi Dale and welcome to the biggest family you will ever have!Just a coupla tips from me;
Tell your clinic nurses/oncologist about ANYTHING that seems not normal about your body...no matter how trivial.
Buy a thermometer and keep track of your body temp.
Mouth.....metallic taste, mouth sores...NEVER use a mouthwash that is real strong like Listerine. It has Ethanol in it and will burn.
Nausea....I found drinking ginger ale helpfull to keep fluids up. Open the bottle and let stand at room temperature to let it go flat(lose all the bubbles) Eating "crystalised ginger", a sweet, also helps with easing nausea.
Meals...throw out the idea of 3 square meals...it won't happen. Eat when you want but in small amounts more often. Drink more than you would have before your dx.
Finally.....this crap they give you is poison..so go easy on yourself. Don't take the attitude that "today you feel fine and can run the quarter mile". Do what you can, when you can. There is one thing important here...YOU...most things are not urgent. What can be left for tomorrow to do...LEAVE.
And never think any question is too trivial for this lot here....every question is important.
Our best from oz, Ross and Jen

I'm with the rest of the posts. After a few days the coldness wasn't as bad as the first few days but for me I had a hard time with the cold even after the first few days. If I even took a sip of cold water it felt like something sharp stuck in my throat. Also Debra was saying about her eyes feeling weird when she held back tears. I also had that I'll never forget walking one day and it started raining and my eyes were getting wet and it was a cold rain my eyes went nuts. I couldn't see it was like they were cramping up and I could not open them. I was laughing my **** off because I wasn't sure if I was going to make it home or not. I'm laughing while I'm just thinking about it. I also had the tingling (nice word) behind the ears with everything on the first bite. It isn't the folfox it is the oxiplantin that gives you the sensitivity to cold. In the middle of my 8th treatment I got a rash on the palms of my hands and it itched like crazy. I told my nurse and they stopped the chemo, called the onc, and the oxiplatin was pulled from my treatment. I continued with the reminder of the chemo which ended in Nov 05.