Am I a wimp?

ktamp
ktamp Member Posts: 81
in Ovarian Cancer #1
Chemo is kicking my butt. I don't know how you all do it, who have had multiple rounds and cocktails. I starting on dense dose taxol/carbo. We had to give up on taxol after two rounds because of severe neuropathy. What I call the fiery knives. It was horrible. I'm on neurontin which has helped but it's not gone. Switched to taxotere/carbo on the last round wednesday. That put me practically in a chemo induced coma. I was in bed pretty much all of friday, saturday and sunday. I'm still tired today but I am up and about. I can't believe how hard it has been. My joints are creaking and achy. I feel like a 90 year old woman when I go up the stairs. Three more rounds. God forbid I have a reoccurance. I might just give up and die rather than do more chemo. I hate it.

Comments

  • poopergirl14052
    poopergirl14052 Member Posts: 1,183 Member
    #2
    no you are not a wimp
    chemo kicks your butt as it is painful.causes nausea,fatigue,among other things. You are getting dose dense carbo/taxol and this combo will get you to remission . Hang in there and rest all you can. Better days are coming...val
  • kikz
    kikz Member Posts: 1,345 Member
    #3
    poopergirl14052 said:

    no you are not a wimp
    chemo kicks your butt as it is painful.causes nausea,fatigue,among other things. You are getting dose dense carbo/taxol and this combo will get you to remission . Hang in there and rest all you can. Better days are coming...val

    You are definately not a wimp
    This is was the most difficult thing I have ever experienced and I believe my friends and family would attest to that. They think I am so brave but it is sheer will to live. You will get through it, get better and when you do you will feel amazing.

    Best of luck to you.

    Karen
  • mom2greatkids
    mom2greatkids Member Posts: 528
    #4
    kikz said:

    You are definately not a wimp
    This is was the most difficult thing I have ever experienced and I believe my friends and family would attest to that. They think I am so brave but it is sheer will to live. You will get through it, get better and when you do you will feel amazing.

    Best of luck to you.

    Karen

    NO!!
    There are NO wimps who battle this beast! I always thought I was a wimp. You know what? I'm not!! I discovered that my sister, whom I live with is the wimp. She wouldn't take the flu shot (even though dr. wanted her and her husband to) because it might make her feel bad. LOL! And I used to think she's tougher than I was. she's even 7 yrs. younger than I am)

    You will get through it! Just keep telling yourself that (even though I know it's next to impossible to believe!!)

    Carla
  • Cafewoman53
    Cafewoman53 Member Posts: 735 Member
    #5
    No wimps here
    Anyone who does chemo is no way a wimp ! I know you think you couldn't do it again and hopefully you won't have to but some are not as tough as the first. You will get thru this and the you will start to heal, do whatever you have to do to get thru this.
    This may not happen for you but my third round of carbo/taxol was the worst the last three were not as bad.Good luck I hope it gets easier for you.
    Colleen
  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #6
    If you're a wimp...
    ...so am I. Carbo/taxol kicked my butt. Other people who had gone through it told me they only had one bad day a couple of days after their treatment. I didn't start to recover until a couple of days before the next round. It affects everyone differently. I felt the same way you do while going through treatment. I figured if I ever had to do it again, I'd just give up. I don't feel that way anymore, and if I had to do it again, I'd give it my all. Hang in there.
  • lovesanimals
    lovesanimals Member Posts: 1,366 Member
    #7
    Tethys41 said:

    If you're a wimp...
    ...so am I. Carbo/taxol kicked my butt. Other people who had gone through it told me they only had one bad day a couple of days after their treatment. I didn't start to recover until a couple of days before the next round. It affects everyone differently. I felt the same way you do while going through treatment. I figured if I ever had to do it again, I'd just give up. I don't feel that way anymore, and if I had to do it again, I'd give it my all. Hang in there.

    Hang in there!
    Take one day at a time and you will make it through chemo!! We're pulling for you!

    Kelly
  • clamryn
    clamryn Member Posts: 508
    #8
    You can do this
    When I had my first reoccurence, I did the taxol/carbo. And it knocked me for a loop. I was suppose to take the 6 treatments. When I had finished with number 5, I told my daughter that I was done. I couldn't do it anymore. I had a huge meltdown. But, she said, Mom you only have one more... so I did it. I went into remission for one year after that. I have been on a couple of different kinds of chemo since then. Recently I was doing the taxotere/carbo and believe me I was out of commission for 5 days. Couldn't do a thing and slept A LOT. I am on a break right now and have a pet/scan scheduled for the end of February. No chemo for 9 weeks. I am enjoying the break. You can do it. We are here for you.

    ((((hugs))))
  • AnneBehymer
    AnneBehymer Member Posts: 738 Member
    #9
    Welcome to my world
    Every thing I just posted I have been dealing with since I started chemo. I finished chemo in October the heavy stuff Taxol/carbo I am only on Avastin as a maintance chemo. I am still having the problems you are talking about. Don't let me run you off it does get better if you have a good pain doctor. THE ONE THING I HAVE LEARNED is no one fighting this battle is a whimp, I so remember writing almost the same thing you did when I was DX on june of last year. So what you are feeling is very much normal. please read my latest post you may find it helpful.

    Anne
  • TexanByChoice
    TexanByChoice Member Posts: 44
    #10
    AnneBehymer said:

    Welcome to my world
    Every thing I just posted I have been dealing with since I started chemo. I finished chemo in October the heavy stuff Taxol/carbo I am only on Avastin as a maintance chemo. I am still having the problems you are talking about. Don't let me run you off it does get better if you have a good pain doctor. THE ONE THING I HAVE LEARNED is no one fighting this battle is a whimp, I so remember writing almost the same thing you did when I was DX on june of last year. So what you are feeling is very much normal. please read my latest post you may find it helpful.

    Anne

    Before I knew and was dx in Aug 2009, I told loved ones and friends that IF (ha, ha), I ever got cancer I WOULD NOT go through chemo. I saw family & friends struggling through it. Sure enough, I was dx and although scared out of my mind, I did 6 courses of taxol/carbo...yep it was every bit as nasty as I thought...but then I had l3 months NED. Just when I thought, whew..did it hooray, the beast came back and once again, I had to eat the words "I CAN'T GO THROUGH IT AGAIN...famous last words I DID go through it again..and guess what I may need to do it again. But as nasty as it is, I praise God that there is still something out there that I can take to keep me bgoing a little longer so I can make a difference for Him. I posted this book before and received no replies, but it is a good resource for many aspects that we endure while in chemo.
    "The Chemotherapy Survival Guide, 3rd Edition, by Judith McKay, RN, OCN and Tamera Schacher, RN, OCN, MSN. It addresses the emotional, physical and explains terminoloogy and practical applications that we can pursue to help us through the treatments. I am not pushing this for any gains only it so helped me with diet, understanding my blood work, what to "do when" etc. It addresses so many of the questions and issues I see posted here.

    Love and support....you will endure and come out the other side better.

    Shirley

    Shirley
  • Radioactive34
    Radioactive34 Member Posts: 391 Member
    #11
    Absolutely not a wimp.
    Absolutely not a wimp. Chemo is literal poison. It takes strength to walk into the doctor's office and get yourself hooked up to an IV that you know is going to send you home in that shape. There is steel in your spine. Never forget that...I knew what was in that IV, I knew what it was going to do to my body before I ever hooked up.

    It took every ounce of strength I had to hook up to it. The first time I got chemo I cried not because I had cancer, but because I knew what was in those bags. After the first time...it took more strength and more strength... This may make us feel like we have no strength....but that is so so wrong.
  • Robkel7
    Robkel7 Member Posts: 68
    #12
    Ha...def. not....
    I had the same chemo you are presently doing....it ended in October, but it has not really ended! People say: "you have been done for awhile, right?".....and I think they expect me to be "better"...but, I feel like I am 80 when I wake up....it's so hard to go through this, but you can do it. WE are All here. Love and prayers. Robin
  • Sara2011
    Sara2011 Member Posts: 78 Member
    #13
    Glad I'm not the only one!
    I too have wondered sometimes if I was being a wimp sometimes because of how long it was taking me to get back to "normal" after a treatment (taxol/carboplatin). It's encouraging to me to see that no one feels that way on this site! I just completed my 7th round and think I might have one more to go, and it seems they get harder each time. The chemo goes straight to my legs and makes them very weak and unsteady, and then the stomach aches, fatigue, neuropathy....I've had to miss a week of work each time I've had a round of chemo. So, no, we are not wimps! You can do it, hang in there, you are an overcomer!
  • TiggersDoBounce
    TiggersDoBounce Member Posts: 408
    #14
    Sara2011 said:

    Glad I'm not the only one!
    I too have wondered sometimes if I was being a wimp sometimes because of how long it was taking me to get back to "normal" after a treatment (taxol/carboplatin). It's encouraging to me to see that no one feels that way on this site! I just completed my 7th round and think I might have one more to go, and it seems they get harder each time. The chemo goes straight to my legs and makes them very weak and unsteady, and then the stomach aches, fatigue, neuropathy....I've had to miss a week of work each time I've had a round of chemo. So, no, we are not wimps! You can do it, hang in there, you are an overcomer!

    It's so important to remember...
    That everyone's experience with chemo, regardless of the specific drug protocol is an individual experience....Sure they can provide a list of side effects, but we all experience and tolerate them differently.

    Someone else's apparent smoother sailing may result in a completely different experience for the patient sitting next to them.

    We need to focus on our experience, our side effects. The last thing we need from anyone or most commonly ourselves is to judge or be judged.

    Trust me....this journey is not for WIMPS!

    Hang in...that neuropathy in the legs really blows...

    Laurie
  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen Member Posts: 676
    #15
    TiggersDoBounce said:

    It's so important to remember...
    That everyone's experience with chemo, regardless of the specific drug protocol is an individual experience....Sure they can provide a list of side effects, but we all experience and tolerate them differently.

    Someone else's apparent smoother sailing may result in a completely different experience for the patient sitting next to them.

    We need to focus on our experience, our side effects. The last thing we need from anyone or most commonly ourselves is to judge or be judged.

    Trust me....this journey is not for WIMPS!

    Hang in...that neuropathy in the legs really blows...

    Laurie

    Dose dense taxol
    I couldn't do the dose dense taxol or taxol at all! I had four treatments of taxol & had to quit & finish on carbo alone. I am hoping I live long enough to see ovarian cancer treated with something other than chemo.

    A friend of mine keeps telling me not to be so afraid of chemo but it still scares me.

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