As ready as I can be for Monday!

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Comments

  • Trapbear
    Trapbear Member Posts: 108 Member
    Thinking of you today
    Hi Cheryl,
    I will be thinking of you today as you start chemo. I know you will be just fine. My hubby has to go back on irinotecan next Monday for lung mets as well. He did fine the first time on folfiri, make sure you get atropine before infusion and load up on anti-nausea drugs as well.
    Hang in there, you will be fine,
    Bill
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375
    Trapbear said:

    Thinking of you today
    Hi Cheryl,
    I will be thinking of you today as you start chemo. I know you will be just fine. My hubby has to go back on irinotecan next Monday for lung mets as well. He did fine the first time on folfiri, make sure you get atropine before infusion and load up on anti-nausea drugs as well.
    Hang in there, you will be fine,
    Bill

    All your thoughts worked, Gang!
    Hey Everyone.... here I am!! And today was a no-brainer :D Went as smoothly as smooth could go... although, I didn't get the hat I was crocheting finished... but I did get a heck of a good start on it :):) Will show pictures when I get a couple of them done :)

    I arrived at the BC Cancer Agency, 6th floor Chemo Unit at 9:11am, which is a totally uncivilized hour for MOI to be out and about, let alone at a destination. It takes me a few hours in the morning to get the old arthritic joints oiled and mobile, so it meant getting up at 7am :)

    Infusion started right on time... first, took my two Dex steroids (yayayaya), my Ondestane for nausea and, before I left the apartment, I took two immodium just to be on the safe side . I can handle a lot of stuff, but the two things I can't handle are uncontrollable diarrhea and uncontrollable vomiting. Once I had taken my pills, Lisa, my chemo nurse hooked me up and away we went. I was in a 3 chair room, by myself for the first 45 minutes... just Lisa and me. I'm kicking myself because today turned out to be a sunny, clear day and I didn't think to bring my camera... the view from my room was overlooking the city and mountains... tres gorgeous. I'll remember next time.

    About halfway through my infusion, I felt kind of weird. I couldn't tell if it was nausea, gas, or cramping... just weird. So Lisa had me take one of the prescription 50mg Gravol pills. That sort of helped, but then my eyes started feeling a little weird. Not the usual "running" or "overly wet", just weird. Lisa said that if they were watery, that usually is an indication of potential diarrhea problems but since I couldn't say for sure they felt watery, she decided to err on the safe side and gave me a shot of Atropine. Sure enough, within a few minutes the eyes cleared up. Bingo! So, I told her I guess I should ask for an Atropine shot every time if I find my eyes starting to feel weird and she said no to worry about it. Once they give a patient an Atropine shot, then this will be a standard med they give every time as part of my infusion.

    When the Irinotecan had finished after 90 minutes, normally I would be free to go except she said she was going to keep me there for an extra 15-20 minutes to finish off my back of fluids. That will help with any dehydration. She says one of the most common problems with people having diarrhea and nausea is that they do not hydrate before, during and definitely after an infusion. 8-10 cups of fluid/day at a minimum... and coffee doesn't count since coffee will make you pee and you'll end up peeing any hydration that you have been trying to give to yourself ;) Luckily, I'm not a big coffee drinker, so it's not like I drink coffee all day long... I drink it if I go to a restaurant for any meal. So, if one is a coffee drinker, don't count it as your hydration fluid :)

    I've been home since just after 1pm (the Cancer Agency is only a 10 minute drive from my apartment)... and yes, I did have a long nap when I got home but I put this down to two things... 1) I had to get up at 7am after falling asleep around 2:30am and 2) the stronger Gravol made me feel sleepy. So, between the Dex that should speed me up and make me hyper and an insomniac and the Gravol that makes me sleepy, chances are I'll end up being totally normal and sleeping through the night :)

    Oh, and since it's been 3+ years since I was last a regular chemo patient on the 6th floor, there is a new service for chemo patients as they are sitting in the chairs. There are volunteers who come around with complimentary coffee, tea, water, juice, as well, they have snacks if you should be so inclined or having cravings. They have always had this service, but they have added to it now. They have about 12 portable DVD players and a fairly decent selection of DVD Movies. So, if you want, you can watch a movie while being infused :) How kewl is that?? Of course, I had my crocheting with me so I didn't take them up on the offer, but nice to know it's there if you wan to just sit back and watch a movie :)

    Right now, I have a bit of that weird feeling... sort of like a knot in my upper stomach, or perhaps the start of heartburn... but I am going to make some soup and a Grilled Cheese sandwich. I will then take the Dex tablet after I've eaten. Today is my "be lazy, don't do anything, you have the right to be a tv-watching-book-reading slob... but only for today!" Tomorrow, I'm back to harrassing producers and casts, and working on Publicity budgets and ads :)

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU everyone for your thoughts!! I beez a Happy Iri Girl!!! :D

    Cheryl

    PS: BIll, if your hubby is starting the Iri on Monday for the same reason I am... then lets compare notes/reactions since we'll probably be taking it for the same length of time. I'll dust off the pompoms and cheer him on!! :D
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member

    All your thoughts worked, Gang!
    Hey Everyone.... here I am!! And today was a no-brainer :D Went as smoothly as smooth could go... although, I didn't get the hat I was crocheting finished... but I did get a heck of a good start on it :):) Will show pictures when I get a couple of them done :)

    I arrived at the BC Cancer Agency, 6th floor Chemo Unit at 9:11am, which is a totally uncivilized hour for MOI to be out and about, let alone at a destination. It takes me a few hours in the morning to get the old arthritic joints oiled and mobile, so it meant getting up at 7am :)

    Infusion started right on time... first, took my two Dex steroids (yayayaya), my Ondestane for nausea and, before I left the apartment, I took two immodium just to be on the safe side . I can handle a lot of stuff, but the two things I can't handle are uncontrollable diarrhea and uncontrollable vomiting. Once I had taken my pills, Lisa, my chemo nurse hooked me up and away we went. I was in a 3 chair room, by myself for the first 45 minutes... just Lisa and me. I'm kicking myself because today turned out to be a sunny, clear day and I didn't think to bring my camera... the view from my room was overlooking the city and mountains... tres gorgeous. I'll remember next time.

    About halfway through my infusion, I felt kind of weird. I couldn't tell if it was nausea, gas, or cramping... just weird. So Lisa had me take one of the prescription 50mg Gravol pills. That sort of helped, but then my eyes started feeling a little weird. Not the usual "running" or "overly wet", just weird. Lisa said that if they were watery, that usually is an indication of potential diarrhea problems but since I couldn't say for sure they felt watery, she decided to err on the safe side and gave me a shot of Atropine. Sure enough, within a few minutes the eyes cleared up. Bingo! So, I told her I guess I should ask for an Atropine shot every time if I find my eyes starting to feel weird and she said no to worry about it. Once they give a patient an Atropine shot, then this will be a standard med they give every time as part of my infusion.

    When the Irinotecan had finished after 90 minutes, normally I would be free to go except she said she was going to keep me there for an extra 15-20 minutes to finish off my back of fluids. That will help with any dehydration. She says one of the most common problems with people having diarrhea and nausea is that they do not hydrate before, during and definitely after an infusion. 8-10 cups of fluid/day at a minimum... and coffee doesn't count since coffee will make you pee and you'll end up peeing any hydration that you have been trying to give to yourself ;) Luckily, I'm not a big coffee drinker, so it's not like I drink coffee all day long... I drink it if I go to a restaurant for any meal. So, if one is a coffee drinker, don't count it as your hydration fluid :)

    I've been home since just after 1pm (the Cancer Agency is only a 10 minute drive from my apartment)... and yes, I did have a long nap when I got home but I put this down to two things... 1) I had to get up at 7am after falling asleep around 2:30am and 2) the stronger Gravol made me feel sleepy. So, between the Dex that should speed me up and make me hyper and an insomniac and the Gravol that makes me sleepy, chances are I'll end up being totally normal and sleeping through the night :)

    Oh, and since it's been 3+ years since I was last a regular chemo patient on the 6th floor, there is a new service for chemo patients as they are sitting in the chairs. There are volunteers who come around with complimentary coffee, tea, water, juice, as well, they have snacks if you should be so inclined or having cravings. They have always had this service, but they have added to it now. They have about 12 portable DVD players and a fairly decent selection of DVD Movies. So, if you want, you can watch a movie while being infused :) How kewl is that?? Of course, I had my crocheting with me so I didn't take them up on the offer, but nice to know it's there if you wan to just sit back and watch a movie :)

    Right now, I have a bit of that weird feeling... sort of like a knot in my upper stomach, or perhaps the start of heartburn... but I am going to make some soup and a Grilled Cheese sandwich. I will then take the Dex tablet after I've eaten. Today is my "be lazy, don't do anything, you have the right to be a tv-watching-book-reading slob... but only for today!" Tomorrow, I'm back to harrassing producers and casts, and working on Publicity budgets and ads :)

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU everyone for your thoughts!! I beez a Happy Iri Girl!!! :D

    Cheryl

    PS: BIll, if your hubby is starting the Iri on Monday for the same reason I am... then lets compare notes/reactions since we'll probably be taking it for the same length of time. I'll dust off the pompoms and cheer him on!! :D

    Cheryl
    I am glad it went so well! I have the atropine shot too; it really helps with the cramps.

    Keep up the good attitude!
  • Trapbear
    Trapbear Member Posts: 108 Member

    All your thoughts worked, Gang!
    Hey Everyone.... here I am!! And today was a no-brainer :D Went as smoothly as smooth could go... although, I didn't get the hat I was crocheting finished... but I did get a heck of a good start on it :):) Will show pictures when I get a couple of them done :)

    I arrived at the BC Cancer Agency, 6th floor Chemo Unit at 9:11am, which is a totally uncivilized hour for MOI to be out and about, let alone at a destination. It takes me a few hours in the morning to get the old arthritic joints oiled and mobile, so it meant getting up at 7am :)

    Infusion started right on time... first, took my two Dex steroids (yayayaya), my Ondestane for nausea and, before I left the apartment, I took two immodium just to be on the safe side . I can handle a lot of stuff, but the two things I can't handle are uncontrollable diarrhea and uncontrollable vomiting. Once I had taken my pills, Lisa, my chemo nurse hooked me up and away we went. I was in a 3 chair room, by myself for the first 45 minutes... just Lisa and me. I'm kicking myself because today turned out to be a sunny, clear day and I didn't think to bring my camera... the view from my room was overlooking the city and mountains... tres gorgeous. I'll remember next time.

    About halfway through my infusion, I felt kind of weird. I couldn't tell if it was nausea, gas, or cramping... just weird. So Lisa had me take one of the prescription 50mg Gravol pills. That sort of helped, but then my eyes started feeling a little weird. Not the usual "running" or "overly wet", just weird. Lisa said that if they were watery, that usually is an indication of potential diarrhea problems but since I couldn't say for sure they felt watery, she decided to err on the safe side and gave me a shot of Atropine. Sure enough, within a few minutes the eyes cleared up. Bingo! So, I told her I guess I should ask for an Atropine shot every time if I find my eyes starting to feel weird and she said no to worry about it. Once they give a patient an Atropine shot, then this will be a standard med they give every time as part of my infusion.

    When the Irinotecan had finished after 90 minutes, normally I would be free to go except she said she was going to keep me there for an extra 15-20 minutes to finish off my back of fluids. That will help with any dehydration. She says one of the most common problems with people having diarrhea and nausea is that they do not hydrate before, during and definitely after an infusion. 8-10 cups of fluid/day at a minimum... and coffee doesn't count since coffee will make you pee and you'll end up peeing any hydration that you have been trying to give to yourself ;) Luckily, I'm not a big coffee drinker, so it's not like I drink coffee all day long... I drink it if I go to a restaurant for any meal. So, if one is a coffee drinker, don't count it as your hydration fluid :)

    I've been home since just after 1pm (the Cancer Agency is only a 10 minute drive from my apartment)... and yes, I did have a long nap when I got home but I put this down to two things... 1) I had to get up at 7am after falling asleep around 2:30am and 2) the stronger Gravol made me feel sleepy. So, between the Dex that should speed me up and make me hyper and an insomniac and the Gravol that makes me sleepy, chances are I'll end up being totally normal and sleeping through the night :)

    Oh, and since it's been 3+ years since I was last a regular chemo patient on the 6th floor, there is a new service for chemo patients as they are sitting in the chairs. There are volunteers who come around with complimentary coffee, tea, water, juice, as well, they have snacks if you should be so inclined or having cravings. They have always had this service, but they have added to it now. They have about 12 portable DVD players and a fairly decent selection of DVD Movies. So, if you want, you can watch a movie while being infused :) How kewl is that?? Of course, I had my crocheting with me so I didn't take them up on the offer, but nice to know it's there if you wan to just sit back and watch a movie :)

    Right now, I have a bit of that weird feeling... sort of like a knot in my upper stomach, or perhaps the start of heartburn... but I am going to make some soup and a Grilled Cheese sandwich. I will then take the Dex tablet after I've eaten. Today is my "be lazy, don't do anything, you have the right to be a tv-watching-book-reading slob... but only for today!" Tomorrow, I'm back to harrassing producers and casts, and working on Publicity budgets and ads :)

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU everyone for your thoughts!! I beez a Happy Iri Girl!!! :D

    Cheryl

    PS: BIll, if your hubby is starting the Iri on Monday for the same reason I am... then lets compare notes/reactions since we'll probably be taking it for the same length of time. I'll dust off the pompoms and cheer him on!! :D

    Cheryl,
    I am so glad today

    Cheryl,
    I am so glad today went so well! My hubby needs two atropine injections during the irinotecan infusion. I will let you know how things
    go on Monday. Let's hope the Iri puts the brakes on these pesky lung nodules!
    Big hugs from California,
    Bill
  • Trapbear said:

    Cheryl,
    I am so glad today

    Cheryl,
    I am so glad today went so well! My hubby needs two atropine injections during the irinotecan infusion. I will let you know how things
    go on Monday. Let's hope the Iri puts the brakes on these pesky lung nodules!
    Big hugs from California,
    Bill

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • jararno
    jararno Member Posts: 186

    All your thoughts worked, Gang!
    Hey Everyone.... here I am!! And today was a no-brainer :D Went as smoothly as smooth could go... although, I didn't get the hat I was crocheting finished... but I did get a heck of a good start on it :):) Will show pictures when I get a couple of them done :)

    I arrived at the BC Cancer Agency, 6th floor Chemo Unit at 9:11am, which is a totally uncivilized hour for MOI to be out and about, let alone at a destination. It takes me a few hours in the morning to get the old arthritic joints oiled and mobile, so it meant getting up at 7am :)

    Infusion started right on time... first, took my two Dex steroids (yayayaya), my Ondestane for nausea and, before I left the apartment, I took two immodium just to be on the safe side . I can handle a lot of stuff, but the two things I can't handle are uncontrollable diarrhea and uncontrollable vomiting. Once I had taken my pills, Lisa, my chemo nurse hooked me up and away we went. I was in a 3 chair room, by myself for the first 45 minutes... just Lisa and me. I'm kicking myself because today turned out to be a sunny, clear day and I didn't think to bring my camera... the view from my room was overlooking the city and mountains... tres gorgeous. I'll remember next time.

    About halfway through my infusion, I felt kind of weird. I couldn't tell if it was nausea, gas, or cramping... just weird. So Lisa had me take one of the prescription 50mg Gravol pills. That sort of helped, but then my eyes started feeling a little weird. Not the usual "running" or "overly wet", just weird. Lisa said that if they were watery, that usually is an indication of potential diarrhea problems but since I couldn't say for sure they felt watery, she decided to err on the safe side and gave me a shot of Atropine. Sure enough, within a few minutes the eyes cleared up. Bingo! So, I told her I guess I should ask for an Atropine shot every time if I find my eyes starting to feel weird and she said no to worry about it. Once they give a patient an Atropine shot, then this will be a standard med they give every time as part of my infusion.

    When the Irinotecan had finished after 90 minutes, normally I would be free to go except she said she was going to keep me there for an extra 15-20 minutes to finish off my back of fluids. That will help with any dehydration. She says one of the most common problems with people having diarrhea and nausea is that they do not hydrate before, during and definitely after an infusion. 8-10 cups of fluid/day at a minimum... and coffee doesn't count since coffee will make you pee and you'll end up peeing any hydration that you have been trying to give to yourself ;) Luckily, I'm not a big coffee drinker, so it's not like I drink coffee all day long... I drink it if I go to a restaurant for any meal. So, if one is a coffee drinker, don't count it as your hydration fluid :)

    I've been home since just after 1pm (the Cancer Agency is only a 10 minute drive from my apartment)... and yes, I did have a long nap when I got home but I put this down to two things... 1) I had to get up at 7am after falling asleep around 2:30am and 2) the stronger Gravol made me feel sleepy. So, between the Dex that should speed me up and make me hyper and an insomniac and the Gravol that makes me sleepy, chances are I'll end up being totally normal and sleeping through the night :)

    Oh, and since it's been 3+ years since I was last a regular chemo patient on the 6th floor, there is a new service for chemo patients as they are sitting in the chairs. There are volunteers who come around with complimentary coffee, tea, water, juice, as well, they have snacks if you should be so inclined or having cravings. They have always had this service, but they have added to it now. They have about 12 portable DVD players and a fairly decent selection of DVD Movies. So, if you want, you can watch a movie while being infused :) How kewl is that?? Of course, I had my crocheting with me so I didn't take them up on the offer, but nice to know it's there if you wan to just sit back and watch a movie :)

    Right now, I have a bit of that weird feeling... sort of like a knot in my upper stomach, or perhaps the start of heartburn... but I am going to make some soup and a Grilled Cheese sandwich. I will then take the Dex tablet after I've eaten. Today is my "be lazy, don't do anything, you have the right to be a tv-watching-book-reading slob... but only for today!" Tomorrow, I'm back to harrassing producers and casts, and working on Publicity budgets and ads :)

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU everyone for your thoughts!! I beez a Happy Iri Girl!!! :D

    Cheryl

    PS: BIll, if your hubby is starting the Iri on Monday for the same reason I am... then lets compare notes/reactions since we'll probably be taking it for the same length of time. I'll dust off the pompoms and cheer him on!! :D

    Great!
    So happy that you had a great day! It sounds like they are really on top of things there! The place I go is brand new and pretty fancy looking, but infusions are done in two large rooms. One room has at least a dozen patients and their families along with 3 to 4 nurses....very hard to bolt to the restroom with your IV Pole and get around all of those people. The second room is a bit better...maybe 10 patients with smaller ,more private areas. No TVs, no DVDS, just music. No food service although you can go get coffee or tea yourself and if you are lucky your $10,000 treatment will get you some crackers or chips too!

    Canadian treatments sounds so much more pleasant.....At least they listen to you! ( I became
    horribly ill from the nausea and vomiting and they were kind enough to imply that it was my fault...not the poisons! They tried to give me stuff to "relax" me instead of treating the nausea! ) I think the insurance companies influence the medical care to the extent that we are not given the best medications if they are expensive )

    Hope that you slept well and had sweet dreams! Try to take it a bit easy today!

    Take Care,

    Barb
  • jararno
    jararno Member Posts: 186
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Graci
    I think I'll go too! Sounds great except the weather! I'm not very hardy when it comes to freezing to death! I do see many Canadian cars headed south for the winter! I live in Virginia and kind of laugh at the people here who think it is soooooooo cold here. We have quite a few people move here for the "warm" winters. ( The hot, humid summers are not fun! )

    Maybe we need to visit Pete in Australia....seems a bit hot there right now! I prefer Spring and Fall temps. ( My son and his lovely bride live in California.....they may get a visitor soon!)

    Have a great day! ( How does that song go? "Oh Canada.........")

    Take Care

    Barb
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Cheryl
    I hope all went well and that you kick cancer's butt.
    -p
  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    Cheryl, praqying for a good run
    just one step at a time.

    Goodluck Monday.

    Love Pete
  • maglets
    maglets Member Posts: 2,576 Member

    Cheryl, praqying for a good run
    just one step at a time.

    Goodluck Monday.

    Love Pete

    well done
    well done there girl...one down

    I hope you just lie low today and see how you feel.....maybe a little crochet...

    hugs

    mags
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375
    maglets said:

    well done
    well done there girl...one down

    I hope you just lie low today and see how you feel.....maybe a little crochet...

    hugs

    mags

    Day 2... and so far, so good! :D
    Thanks again, everyone! I always find the first treatment (and days following) to be the baseline as to what one can expect for the remaining treatments. Granted, the longer you go, the more accumulated chemo you have in your system, but over all if you are going to have a rough time at the beginning, then chances are it will be rough every time so you have to figure out how to beat that. If you have an easy go of the first time, then chances are you can expect much the same. That has been my theory for the past 4 years and so far it has seemed to work.

    Day 1 (infusion): queasy feeling about 45 minutes into the infusion, followed by a headache before I left. Atropine really did help with the queasiness but the headache was something I forgot the Dex can create. I got home feeling great... well, great because I didn't have any sign of nausea/vomiting or diarrhea. Kewl! But, I have to admit, for Day 1 I did have queasiness and headache which lasted all day and into the evening. Hahaha... I did go to bed early (9:30pm) but alas, I had oodles of television shows that I had PVR'd, so needless to say I didn't actually fall asleep early. Probably fell asleep about midnight...

    Day 2: ... and I guess it was the Dexie but I woke up, wide awake at 5:30am. BUT... no more queasiness... all gone :) Still had the headache and after having some breakfast this morning, had the last of the Dexie for this round. Headache remained so took some pain meds that would normally be for the arthritis... but they are working on the headache. And yes, I'm soooo excited... the arthritis is MUCH better already today!!

    Sooooo, I plan on spending part of the day being lazy and either reading, crocheting or watching some more recorded programs ;) BUT, I also have work to do on the computer and to get some PR tasks done and out of the way. We have a production "Here on the Flight Path" closing this weekend and another one "The Dining Room" opening next weekend, plus the musical "42nd Street" opening for the month of April. So never a dull or quiet moment when doing the publicity for all three :) Lucky for me, 80% of it can be done at home, on the computer and sent out by email.... so I don't actually have to dress up and get out and pound the pavements (so to speak) :)

    Hahahaha Gracie and Barb!! Sure, come on and move up to Canada.... although you may find it easier to marry a Canadian husband to gain entry ;) I know for BC Medical, you have to be a resident in BC for 3 months before you are entitled, but I think you also have to be a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant. But, I think you will find that southern BC is actually very mild when it comes to climate. Not all of Canada is covered in ice/snow in the winter . Our winters here in Vancouver and the surrounding areas are very mild... they can (and usually are) very WET but then Vancouver is a city that is built in the middle of a rainforest (as is all of the Pacific Northwest). So if you aren't afraid of rain.... then the PNW is more mild that probably most of the East Coast of North America :)

    Bill... I'll remember that about the Atropine. If it gets any worse than what I had yesterday, at least I'll know that I can have up to two shots. Lisa, my chemo nurse yesterday said she only gave me a half-dose to see how that went and it did really help. Now, in hindsight, if I had had one complete dose I may not have had that mild queasiness that I had when I got home.

    Ok... I think my break is over .... time to get some Publicity photos organized :) La-di-da-di da!! :D

    Cheryl
  • Trapbear
    Trapbear Member Posts: 108 Member

    Day 2... and so far, so good! :D
    Thanks again, everyone! I always find the first treatment (and days following) to be the baseline as to what one can expect for the remaining treatments. Granted, the longer you go, the more accumulated chemo you have in your system, but over all if you are going to have a rough time at the beginning, then chances are it will be rough every time so you have to figure out how to beat that. If you have an easy go of the first time, then chances are you can expect much the same. That has been my theory for the past 4 years and so far it has seemed to work.

    Day 1 (infusion): queasy feeling about 45 minutes into the infusion, followed by a headache before I left. Atropine really did help with the queasiness but the headache was something I forgot the Dex can create. I got home feeling great... well, great because I didn't have any sign of nausea/vomiting or diarrhea. Kewl! But, I have to admit, for Day 1 I did have queasiness and headache which lasted all day and into the evening. Hahaha... I did go to bed early (9:30pm) but alas, I had oodles of television shows that I had PVR'd, so needless to say I didn't actually fall asleep early. Probably fell asleep about midnight...

    Day 2: ... and I guess it was the Dexie but I woke up, wide awake at 5:30am. BUT... no more queasiness... all gone :) Still had the headache and after having some breakfast this morning, had the last of the Dexie for this round. Headache remained so took some pain meds that would normally be for the arthritis... but they are working on the headache. And yes, I'm soooo excited... the arthritis is MUCH better already today!!

    Sooooo, I plan on spending part of the day being lazy and either reading, crocheting or watching some more recorded programs ;) BUT, I also have work to do on the computer and to get some PR tasks done and out of the way. We have a production "Here on the Flight Path" closing this weekend and another one "The Dining Room" opening next weekend, plus the musical "42nd Street" opening for the month of April. So never a dull or quiet moment when doing the publicity for all three :) Lucky for me, 80% of it can be done at home, on the computer and sent out by email.... so I don't actually have to dress up and get out and pound the pavements (so to speak) :)

    Hahahaha Gracie and Barb!! Sure, come on and move up to Canada.... although you may find it easier to marry a Canadian husband to gain entry ;) I know for BC Medical, you have to be a resident in BC for 3 months before you are entitled, but I think you also have to be a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant. But, I think you will find that southern BC is actually very mild when it comes to climate. Not all of Canada is covered in ice/snow in the winter . Our winters here in Vancouver and the surrounding areas are very mild... they can (and usually are) very WET but then Vancouver is a city that is built in the middle of a rainforest (as is all of the Pacific Northwest). So if you aren't afraid of rain.... then the PNW is more mild that probably most of the East Coast of North America :)

    Bill... I'll remember that about the Atropine. If it gets any worse than what I had yesterday, at least I'll know that I can have up to two shots. Lisa, my chemo nurse yesterday said she only gave me a half-dose to see how that went and it did really help. Now, in hindsight, if I had had one complete dose I may not have had that mild queasiness that I had when I got home.

    Ok... I think my break is over .... time to get some Publicity photos organized :) La-di-da-di da!! :D

    Cheryl

    Great News
    Cheryl,
    Great news! Glad it your first treatment is going so well. Christopher always gets the first atropine before they start the infusion, then another if he starts to have the sweating, queasiness, etc.
    I forget why they are not giving you 5FU and Avastin with the irinotecan?
    We live in the SF Bay Area and have been having very mild/warm weather the lasts couple weeks. We need the rain, though, so send the jet stream South!
    Big hugs,
    Bill
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375
    Trapbear said:

    Great News
    Cheryl,
    Great news! Glad it your first treatment is going so well. Christopher always gets the first atropine before they start the infusion, then another if he starts to have the sweating, queasiness, etc.
    I forget why they are not giving you 5FU and Avastin with the irinotecan?
    We live in the SF Bay Area and have been having very mild/warm weather the lasts couple weeks. We need the rain, though, so send the jet stream South!
    Big hugs,
    Bill

    Irinotecan only :)
    Hey Bill,

    I did the 8 months of 5FU, and then the 6 months of Xeloda. The Xeloda (which is really just the pill form of 5FU) stopped working for me. We aren't sure if it was just the cancer has become immune to the med or if it was because we had to cut back on the dosage (got way too toxic for me and really does a number on my feet and heels, to the point I am in excruciating pain and can't walk) so the dosage was not high enough... but 5FU seems to be not a good one for me anymore. And definitely can't go back on the Oxi in any form because it is what did permanent damage to my nerve-endings from the knees down, including both feet.

    Soooo, my onc is starting me on just Irinotecan. If that works well, then great! If not, we will have to start adding to it, be it Avastin and/or Erbitux (which I'm going to be tested for the K-RAS gene in case we have to go that route). But for now, starting off on Irinotecan and, of course, I am hoping it will do good work all by itself, saving some of these other options for down the road if I need them :)

    Hey, I'll be more than happy to send the rain down your way! I have nothing against rain, but it would be nice to have a few longer stretches of dry weather just so everything can dry up a bit :D:D

    Cheryl
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Graci + Barb
    You would both be great additions to Canada! Now you have to decide if you are a "snow" person; where Mags, Tina + I live there is a lot of snow right now. Mags get much more than I do as she is further north. Where Cheryl lives, there is seldom snow, but often rain. And you can always drive into the mountains if you want snow. I am not sure how much snow Kathi gets; I have not been in that area in the Wintertime.

    Graci, I love your stories!

    Barb, a lot of Canadians, especially from Ontario + Quebec, go south to places like Florida or North Carolina during the winter.
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375
    AnneCan said:

    Graci + Barb
    You would both be great additions to Canada! Now you have to decide if you are a "snow" person; where Mags, Tina + I live there is a lot of snow right now. Mags get much more than I do as she is further north. Where Cheryl lives, there is seldom snow, but often rain. And you can always drive into the mountains if you want snow. I am not sure how much snow Kathi gets; I have not been in that area in the Wintertime.

    Graci, I love your stories!

    Barb, a lot of Canadians, especially from Ontario + Quebec, go south to places like Florida or North Carolina during the winter.

    Kathi
    I believe Kathi is out my way, as is RobInVan (who is currently in the hospital, but he lives in the same neck of the woods as I do. Kathi is not that far away, as far as the crow flies , so all three of us would get the rain in the city and surrounding areas (keeps the roads and sidewalks clean ) but if you miss the snow, it's just a hop skip and jump up the local mountains. Whereas the Ontario/Quebec neighbours go south to places like Florida/Texas, etc.... the BC'ers head south to Arizona, or fly over the pond to Hawaii. Hawaii is only a 5-6 hour flight from Vancouver... whereas Arizona is about a 4 hour flight (or you can drive to Arizona) ;D

    Cheryl
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    Cheryl
    Cheryl,
    Glad it is going OK. I have been thinking about you a lot. I know it was hard to get back in this but you do it with grace and a wonderful sense of humor. Hope the closing and opening at the theater go well.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • Cheryl
    Cheryl,
    Glad it is going OK. I have been thinking about you a lot. I know it was hard to get back in this but you do it with grace and a wonderful sense of humor. Hope the closing and opening at the theater go well.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member

    Day 2... and so far, so good! :D
    Thanks again, everyone! I always find the first treatment (and days following) to be the baseline as to what one can expect for the remaining treatments. Granted, the longer you go, the more accumulated chemo you have in your system, but over all if you are going to have a rough time at the beginning, then chances are it will be rough every time so you have to figure out how to beat that. If you have an easy go of the first time, then chances are you can expect much the same. That has been my theory for the past 4 years and so far it has seemed to work.

    Day 1 (infusion): queasy feeling about 45 minutes into the infusion, followed by a headache before I left. Atropine really did help with the queasiness but the headache was something I forgot the Dex can create. I got home feeling great... well, great because I didn't have any sign of nausea/vomiting or diarrhea. Kewl! But, I have to admit, for Day 1 I did have queasiness and headache which lasted all day and into the evening. Hahaha... I did go to bed early (9:30pm) but alas, I had oodles of television shows that I had PVR'd, so needless to say I didn't actually fall asleep early. Probably fell asleep about midnight...

    Day 2: ... and I guess it was the Dexie but I woke up, wide awake at 5:30am. BUT... no more queasiness... all gone :) Still had the headache and after having some breakfast this morning, had the last of the Dexie for this round. Headache remained so took some pain meds that would normally be for the arthritis... but they are working on the headache. And yes, I'm soooo excited... the arthritis is MUCH better already today!!

    Sooooo, I plan on spending part of the day being lazy and either reading, crocheting or watching some more recorded programs ;) BUT, I also have work to do on the computer and to get some PR tasks done and out of the way. We have a production "Here on the Flight Path" closing this weekend and another one "The Dining Room" opening next weekend, plus the musical "42nd Street" opening for the month of April. So never a dull or quiet moment when doing the publicity for all three :) Lucky for me, 80% of it can be done at home, on the computer and sent out by email.... so I don't actually have to dress up and get out and pound the pavements (so to speak) :)

    Hahahaha Gracie and Barb!! Sure, come on and move up to Canada.... although you may find it easier to marry a Canadian husband to gain entry ;) I know for BC Medical, you have to be a resident in BC for 3 months before you are entitled, but I think you also have to be a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant. But, I think you will find that southern BC is actually very mild when it comes to climate. Not all of Canada is covered in ice/snow in the winter . Our winters here in Vancouver and the surrounding areas are very mild... they can (and usually are) very WET but then Vancouver is a city that is built in the middle of a rainforest (as is all of the Pacific Northwest). So if you aren't afraid of rain.... then the PNW is more mild that probably most of the East Coast of North America :)

    Bill... I'll remember that about the Atropine. If it gets any worse than what I had yesterday, at least I'll know that I can have up to two shots. Lisa, my chemo nurse yesterday said she only gave me a half-dose to see how that went and it did really help. Now, in hindsight, if I had had one complete dose I may not have had that mild queasiness that I had when I got home.

    Ok... I think my break is over .... time to get some Publicity photos organized :) La-di-da-di da!! :D

    Cheryl

    just watch the dex
    Hi cheryl,

    Some of my ideas were getting a bit extreme and now I just take 1/2 a dex tablet.
    So I am half as extreme. Some people have somewhat predictable runs and most I think have variable side effects. My motto in life with chemo is to EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED while still being positive.

    We are doing strange things to our bodies to survive, no wonder they protest on occaision.

    Its my 7th treatment and I am just getting this nuropathy in my feet.

    I enjoyed reading about your treatments, its so entertaining.

    goodluck,
    Pete