My First Trearment

suelanders
suelanders Member Posts: 25
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Well everyone, I made it!! I did very well in the hopital yesterday, no bad reactions to the treatment, so far only a little bloody nose and that is about it. I know it has only been less then 24 hours but I feel great so far. I understand that most people feel bad for a few days AFTER each treatment, I thought it was during the treatment. Any thoughts on this?? I am currently on my FOLFOX drip and it will last for 46 hours. Friday I go and have it remove. Should I expect to feel bad (I have been told Flu like symtem) after the FolFox stops? Anyway I feel good now and this is great.

Sue

Comments

  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #2
    Sue
    Good job. If memory serves George was a bit more fatigued after disconnect, not sleepy, just very tired. He was never sick, etc. during the treatment. George had and still has a little bloody nose, was worse in the winter. Now that the weather is not so cold and dry in Michigan it is better. Many complain of the bloody nose thing.

    Take care Tina
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    #3
    Sue, the crashing fatigue
    Sue, the crashing fatigue comes AFTER DISCONNECT from the fanny pack. It wasn't bad for the first 5 or so tx's tho. Toward the end, I'd just lay on the sofa all day (from a few minutes after disconnect til Monday or Tuesday) and my 15 year old would bring me something to drink or help me get up to go to the bathroom. Hubby teaches and was home during my last 4 treatments.

    I knew you'd do great! Do you have a nice chemo room? Mine had several TV's, a fridge filled with COLD drinks (go figure), coffee, tea, snacks, magazines and books, puzzle books, reclincers, etc. I had chemo in the onc's office next door to the hospital.
  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    #4
    treatment
    often the significant side effects do not manifest until later on in treatment. For some in the first few, for others near the end. Also the severity of the side effects vary greatly from person to person. Also, often the effects are cumulative, the effects are a little stronger after each subsequent round of chemo. Usually people feel crappy from when chemo begins until sometime in the off-week, if they are on FOLFOX, given a two week treatment cycle. They start to recover a bit and feel better. Other people react more strongly and never fully recover between cycles.
    Watch those small symptoms and tell your onc about them. They can help you manage them and keep small problems from becoming big ones.
    That being said, almost everyone reacts differently and some tolerate the ordeal better than others.
    I am so glad you first cycle has been a breeze and you are feeling so well!
  • suelanders
    suelanders Member Posts: 25
    #5
    dianetavegia said:

    Sue, the crashing fatigue
    Sue, the crashing fatigue comes AFTER DISCONNECT from the fanny pack. It wasn't bad for the first 5 or so tx's tho. Toward the end, I'd just lay on the sofa all day (from a few minutes after disconnect til Monday or Tuesday) and my 15 year old would bring me something to drink or help me get up to go to the bathroom. Hubby teaches and was home during my last 4 treatments.

    I knew you'd do great! Do you have a nice chemo room? Mine had several TV's, a fridge filled with COLD drinks (go figure), coffee, tea, snacks, magazines and books, puzzle books, reclincers, etc. I had chemo in the onc's office next door to the hospital.

    Hi Diane
    Thank you for the words of engouragement. I do have a nice Chemo room and the nurses are great, you are right about the cold drinks (that seems a little odd to me). Anyway I live on Maui so everything here is wonderful. I guess if I had to get sick , this is the place to be. Thank you for the info about fatigue. I am having my treatments in the middle of the week, this is good because then my boyfriend will be home to help on the weekends, and I think that is when I will feel my worst. He totally gets it. His mother pasted from stomach cancer which went to lymphoma, this was many years ago, but he said he has been there so he knows what I will be going though. I know treatments are much better these day but it is sure nice to have this kind of support from someone who has been thought it first hand.

    Sue
  • suelanders
    suelanders Member Posts: 25
    #6
    RickMurtagh said:

    treatment
    often the significant side effects do not manifest until later on in treatment. For some in the first few, for others near the end. Also the severity of the side effects vary greatly from person to person. Also, often the effects are cumulative, the effects are a little stronger after each subsequent round of chemo. Usually people feel crappy from when chemo begins until sometime in the off-week, if they are on FOLFOX, given a two week treatment cycle. They start to recover a bit and feel better. Other people react more strongly and never fully recover between cycles.
    Watch those small symptoms and tell your onc about them. They can help you manage them and keep small problems from becoming big ones.
    That being said, almost everyone reacts differently and some tolerate the ordeal better than others.
    I am so glad you first cycle has been a breeze and you are feeling so well!

    Thanks Rick
    Thanks Rick, It is so good the have all this information first hand. When I talk to the Doctors and nurses they tell you all this but can't really relate as most of them have not actullay been thought it. I do have one nurse whose Aunt had colon cancer, so talking to her is very helpful. Well anyway I just got started so I will let you all know how I am doing from week to week.
    I am so glad I found this site, it is so nice to have someome to talk to and ask question. I hope to be a supportive and helpful survivore myself someday.

    Sue
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    #7
    Hi Sue,
    I am glad you have
    Hi Sue,

    I am glad you have finished your first treatment + it went well. May the others go as well! By the way, I already consider you a helpful, contributing survivor! take good care!
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #8
    chemo
    Hi Sue,

    Glad you made it through the 1st treatment w/out any problems. Yes, many of the side effects do happen afterwards. I find that I get side effects from the 5FU pump (I also have for 46 hrs, from Wed.' chemo infusion through Friday morning)- anyhow, it's usually on the weekend, a couple of days later, that I get a bit of an upset stomach and sometimes diahrrea, and also sometimes the "hand foot syndrome". The hand foot syndrome is from the 5FU pump or Xeloda (an oral pill version)- it can consist of getting very sore, red, and sometimes even somewhat blistered soles of the feet and/or hands. It's weird and it does go away after a couple of days of it. Your feet and the cuticles of your fingernails can start peeling. This didn't happen to me until a few times of getting this treatment.

    The oxaliplatin in the Folfox is the nasty one, that causes you to not be able to eat or drink anything cold without weird stabbing feelings in your throat or even your throat tightening up. You will be overly sensitive to the cold weather, so thankfully it's starting to get warmer now. Over time, you may get neuropathy, which is the pins and needles feeling or even some numbness and muscle "locking". Sometimes my face would "freeze" as in a muscle spas & my hands would sometimes curl in like a claw & I'd have to pry them open with the other hand.

    Don't want to scare you, but these are common side effects with this treatment. For the neuropathy, take vitamin B-6, alpha lipoic acid. Also, ask for your oxaliplatin to be infused along with magnesium and calcium. Apparently, that's something that helps prevent the neuropathy. I didn't get that, as it seems to be newer than when I had Folfox (2-1/2 yrs ago). The L-glutamine can help with the mouth sores that the 5FU can cause. The good news is that Folfox is pretty strong and most people have a good reaction of tumor shrinkage while on it.

    You WILL get through this, and definitely not everyone gets the side effects as much as others. Almost everyone on oxaliplatin has the oversensitivity to the cold.
    Best wishes and hugs and prayers to you,

    Lisa
    Hugs to you,
    Lisa
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #9
    One down, WOO HOOOO!
    Glad you are in the process of finishing your first treatment and that it's going relatively well. As the others have said, you will probably have some reactions once you are disconnected from the pump, cause that's when the chemo drugs start exiting the body (you are receiving Leucovorin in your pump, and its sole purpose is to keep the other chemo drugs in your body longer). I only had oxaliplatin for 3 treatments, so can't really help with cumulative side effects on that beyond those 3 treatments, but usually your affects are cumulative, as somebody else said, but they can be totally managed. Take notes of your reactions and mention them the next time you go in; they probably have a pill for that :). Here's to hoping you feel good for the rest of treatment; I'm sure the healing powers of the beaches in Hawaii are a great help!
    mary

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