3rd round of Folfox story :)

victory10
victory10 Member Posts: 75
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My first two treatments went well because I had a great mindset, prayers gone up and I began drinking water the day before and all the way through the treatment week to keep the chemo drug flowing out of my body in a speedy matter. The third treatment came and a little rebellion was getting ready to be exposed...I didn't drink my water as much the day before and after I got home with my 5fu bag i began to drink warm tempurature water from the bottle and my throat felt aweful. I drank some hot decafinated tea but from that point on i had no taste for anything liquid so I barely drank anything. I didn't wanna eat so i while I ate during the first two treatments, I decided that 'I didn't wanna" eat so I didn't eat too much. I noticed that the fatique lasted longer than normal and I at that time I couldn't understand why. By Monday I was still extrememly fatiqued. I felt a pain above the navel right at the top of the incision from the colon resection surgery in Novemember.

I thought it was just my muscles aching in my stomach. By Tuesday morning, that spot would hurt whenever I coughed and the cough was dry. I called the Hope Center and spoke with my nurse. She decided that when I came in on Wednesday for my iron infusion I would see the dr. I agreed and hung up. Around 1230 the cough was faster and the pain was a little more intense. The fatique was still there. I called the office back to speak to the nurse to inform her that my fingers were swollen as well. She put me on the phone to the Oncologist and he thought I should be admitted to the hospital for observation. I didn't want to go but after giving him a bit of a 'rebellious' challange I finally submitted. They called in within the hour and gave me my room number. All I had to to was report to the nurses station and go to my room that looked like a hotel.

The night nurse who was so pretty with flowing shoulder length hair in a nice cut style,had her scheduled changed and I was the change patient that she would be caring for. As soon as she told me that she was a cancer survivor, I knew that it was a devinely orchestrated event for me to be at the hospital that night. She and I conversed as though we had known each other forever. She left and came back with a bag of goodies for me and walked me through drinking water again. (I had refused to drink water).

By the time I left I was menatally and physically refreshed. I was dehydrated so I was given 2 bags of water/salt solution. The surgeon concluded that the pain was coming from the scar tissue since the CAT scan revealed that my organs all looked good (as if I was never taking chemodrugs.) My liver enzymes were up the night before but were dramatically reduced the next day so we concluded that I needed to stop taking the Milk Thistle while on the remaining treatments. My blood work is normal, platelets normal.

So for the 4th treatment on Monday I will begin drinking lots of water on Sunday and warm my drinks in the microwave in order to get them down during the treatment. Prayerfully, it will be as the first and second ones again since I'm all geared up again.

I am so thankful for the overnight hospital stay because it reassured me that my body is fighting the good fight and standing up under the chemo drugs!!!! Jesus is Lord over cancer and Lord over the chemo drug allowing it to fulfil its purpose to kill any living evil invader cell and guiding it to miss our other cells and organs.

Comments

  • lcarper2
    lcarper2 Member Posts: 635 Member
    #2
    victory10
    God works in strange ways some times but he knew you needed to placed the the path of that wonderful nurse. You can eat yogart to take the (metal) chemo taste out of your mouth and the boost shakes are also very helpful I drink 3 aday and eat 3 meals aday. Hope everything goes well for you. Will be praying for you.
  • Fight for my love
    Fight for my love Member Posts: 1,522 Member
    #3
    My husband's 2nd round of
    My husband's 2nd round of chemo hit him badly,but all the others until now was still ok.Chemo cumulates in your body, so once a while it hits you.You are in good shape and I hope the rest of chemo goes very well with you.Good luck with everything.Take care.
  • P_I_T_A
    P_I_T_A Member Posts: 133
    #4
    Possible liquid solution...
    I have had trouble drinking water on chemo days. Before diagnosis, I would awlays drink half frozen bottles of water. Love it really cold, not any more! Actually, probably still do but can't. Anyway, try eating navel oranges or clementines. I keep alot of oranges on hand treatment days. They taste better than warm water and packed with alot of liquid. Not to mention good for you and your immune system. I haven't had a 'shake-n-bake' episode either since adding that and straight up orange juice on my off week. Hope the rest of your treatments go smoothly.

    -DJ
  • HollyID
    HollyID Member Posts: 946 Member
    #5
    P_I_T_A said:

    Possible liquid solution...
    I have had trouble drinking water on chemo days. Before diagnosis, I would awlays drink half frozen bottles of water. Love it really cold, not any more! Actually, probably still do but can't. Anyway, try eating navel oranges or clementines. I keep alot of oranges on hand treatment days. They taste better than warm water and packed with alot of liquid. Not to mention good for you and your immune system. I haven't had a 'shake-n-bake' episode either since adding that and straight up orange juice on my off week. Hope the rest of your treatments go smoothly.

    -DJ

    Thanks...
    I think I'm gonna try this, too. I absolutely abhor water. I mix Crystal Lite in to try to make it palatable, and yet, I choke to get it down. Thanks for the suggestion!
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    #6
    Someone on this board
    Someone on this board mentioned addding "crystal light" crystals to water to make it more palatable. I just tried it this past week & find it excellent. I am on folfiri, not folfox, but I find plain water often doesn't taste right while I am on chemo.
  • Shayenne
    Shayenne Member Posts: 2,342
    #7
    AnneCan said:

    Someone on this board
    Someone on this board mentioned addding "crystal light" crystals to water to make it more palatable. I just tried it this past week & find it excellent. I am on folfiri, not folfox, but I find plain water often doesn't taste right while I am on chemo.

    I
    Also wasn't much of a water drinker, and still don't drink enough of it when I'm on chemo, I try to get down at least 2 bottles, but I really love those cran-grape and cran-apple juices. I also have my daughter make me juices out of apples, carrots, spinach, parsley, romaine lettuce, and anything else I have around the house. Juicing is good for you, I do have a juicer, but sometimes on chemo week, it doesn't taste very good, so I go for the Oceanspray stuff, or Iced tea.

    Try eating also with plastic utensils, so you don't have the metal taste to your mouth when you eat, that helped me alot as well.

    I'm glad to hear your overnight stay was really nice, and they really helped you, and glad you went to the hospital like the doctor said. God works wonders!

    Hugsss!
    ~Donna
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    #8
    Hi Victory! I don't know if
    Hi Victory! I don't know if I've welcomed you yet! Hope so!

    I Love your plan! I Love your attitude! I LOVE your Savior!!!

    Is anything too hard for our Lord? NOPE!
  • victory10
    victory10 Member Posts: 75
    #9
    dianetavegia said:

    Hi Victory! I don't know if
    Hi Victory! I don't know if I've welcomed you yet! Hope so!

    I Love your plan! I Love your attitude! I LOVE your Savior!!!

    Is anything too hard for our Lord? NOPE!

    thanks to u
    your comments are so helpful to me with the drinking. I am just reading because round 4 i just didn't get on the computor until now. Diane!!! I love your smile and posts on the other threads and your faith and prayers! Thats how I am doing this: Through my faith in God and prayers. I so relate to the juicer not being good during treatment. This time I drank lots of warm/hot green tea and decided to treat this as if I had the flu (not chemotherapy)...Since I can only drink warm liquids its really hard to get those liquids down. I also had my hubby get the single Ginger Ale cans and drank that warm.

    THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR YOUR INPUT AND COMMENTS!!!!!!!
  • papajedi
    papajedi Member Posts: 110
    #10
    victory10 said:

    thanks to u
    your comments are so helpful to me with the drinking. I am just reading because round 4 i just didn't get on the computor until now. Diane!!! I love your smile and posts on the other threads and your faith and prayers! Thats how I am doing this: Through my faith in God and prayers. I so relate to the juicer not being good during treatment. This time I drank lots of warm/hot green tea and decided to treat this as if I had the flu (not chemotherapy)...Since I can only drink warm liquids its really hard to get those liquids down. I also had my hubby get the single Ginger Ale cans and drank that warm.

    THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR YOUR INPUT AND COMMENTS!!!!!!!

    Taste
    I use to get a terrible chemical about day 3 of tx. I'm so glad you are posting, another person to share with in his name :)

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