Finished Chemo Day #1

pitt
pitt Member Posts: 387
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hello all! Well, I finished my day one chemo treatment yesterday and just got back from my shot. All went well without a hitch. My girlfriend and I trashed up the place with Will Ferrell and Taladega Nights. Everyone kept asking if they could hang out in our cube. Then she ran out to Macaroni Grill and picked up a yummy lunch while I watched Weeds - hilarious!!! It really went fine. I went home after 7 hours of this and took a nice nap before helping the babies with their homework.

Hubby stayed home from work today to babysit me. I only had a little nausea (which promptly went away with my anti-nausea pill) and a slight headache (which went away with my anti-headache pill). For someone who never takes pills, this is a new process for me.

So now we are all waiting for when my hair will start to fall out. I hope I don't offend anyone with this, but I have to find a way to make this fun for my village, so we started a "football poll" where squares cost more along those "high profile" days. Someone in my village will win some money and then a % will go to Susan G Komen. I'm not allowed to see who signs up for what day though...they're afraid I'll skew the results!

So, that's all for now. I'm really tired and about to settle in for my mid-afternoon nap. A friend of mine is bringing brisket. Since I don't have family here and my hubby travels, I'm very happy to get whatever help I can. My village people are AWESOME!!!

Have a great weekend. I can't wait to read the post about everything you all have planned.

Thanks and I'll catch you again later!

Comments

  • Sam726
    Sam726 Member Posts: 233
    #2
    Congratulations!
    Glad to hear you are doing well! Just rest and enjoy being pampered. Please take my advice and drink lots of water..lots and lots!! And you prolly dont want to hear this but if you dont have a bowel movement in a few days, start taking a stool softener right away and continue to stay regular. I made mistake of not doing this and ended up in ER, lol...not fun. Lesson learned. Also gargle with baking soda and water several times a day, and I know that tea tree oil and water work great also. This will prevent mouth sores. What meds did you get yesterday? Good luck and listen to the ladies on here...they know alot and are life savers!
  • Sam726
    Sam726 Member Posts: 233
    #3
    Sam726 said:

    Congratulations!
    Glad to hear you are doing well! Just rest and enjoy being pampered. Please take my advice and drink lots of water..lots and lots!! And you prolly dont want to hear this but if you dont have a bowel movement in a few days, start taking a stool softener right away and continue to stay regular. I made mistake of not doing this and ended up in ER, lol...not fun. Lesson learned. Also gargle with baking soda and water several times a day, and I know that tea tree oil and water work great also. This will prevent mouth sores. What meds did you get yesterday? Good luck and listen to the ladies on here...they know alot and are life savers!

    PS
    No one will be offended about your "pool" lol.....good you are making this as light hearted as possible. I think its great...you can probably bet hair will start falling out around two week mark. Mine did and I shaved it. I couldnt watch my long hair fall out! I didnt regret it.
  • Wolfi
    Wolfi Member Posts: 425
    #4
    Congrats!
    Good to hear things went well. Please keep posting info about how you feel with your treatments. I don't have to have chemo (only radiation) but find it interesting to read what people have to say about their experiences.

    I hope you will be comfortable when you lose your hair - you are beautiful! Great idea for he football poll. That will benefit a lot of people and get everyone involved in your treatment.

    Take care!
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #5
    Wolfi said:

    Congrats!
    Good to hear things went well. Please keep posting info about how you feel with your treatments. I don't have to have chemo (only radiation) but find it interesting to read what people have to say about their experiences.

    I hope you will be comfortable when you lose your hair - you are beautiful! Great idea for he football poll. That will benefit a lot of people and get everyone involved in your treatment.

    Take care!

    Love it, love it, LOVE it!
    A "hair pool," LOL! We are kindred spirits, Liz -- I have a pool going that I started after my diagnosis for how many separate medical professionals will touch my breasts by the time this is all done -- it was just so weird when this began to go from a VERY select few people who ever saw my breasts to a new stranger every day!

    (For anyone playing along at home -- 16 people so far :-)

    And I'm laughing about how you're not allowed to see who bets when. I can just see you -- you wake up on the morning that your favorite person has bet on, and your hair isn't falling out yet, so you start YANKING on it -- come out, come out!!

    And...oh Liz..."Someone Who Never Takes Pills" -- you'll probably be getting over that REAL soon. Since I started chemo, I have a Pill for Every Occasion in my medicine cabinet, and I had to get a bigger cosmetics bag to carry to work with me just to fit the pill bottles. In my crankier moments, I refer to myself as a "Walking Toxic Waste Dump," but really, I try to remember that it's only temporary!

    Keep us updated on how you're doing, and how we can help! Can you send me some of that brisket?

    :-) Traci
  • outdoorgirl
    outdoorgirl Member Posts: 1,565
    #6
    Sounds like your first chemo
    went well,I'm glad! Now you have an idea of what to expect for next time. Remember-drink lots of water!!
    Yeah,good ole Ricky Bobby,huh!
    No offense at all about the poll-I think that's a great idea! And glad that you have friends who visit and are taking care of you.
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #7
    LOL
    I'm all for making this crappy journey as fun as we can. Love the football pool idea. Soooo, how much a square? Glad to hear you are hanging in there. keep us posted!! ♥Pammy
  • Alexis F
    Alexis F Member Posts: 3,598
    #8
    Amazing woman
    Liz, you are such an inspiration! I am so glad that your first chemo went so well for you. What a great friend you have to help you with this. I have to admit that I laughed at the football pool about your hair. I hope I don't offend anyone either. What a clever idea and to do it with humor. You are amazing! Wishing you the best with the rest of your treatments. And, your new short "do" is darling!

    Lex♥
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #9
    The only thing I am offended
    The only thing I am offended about is that you think we would be offended! LOL One thing most of us Beast Battlers have in common is that we are not thin-skinned. I laughed at Traci's "who has seen/touched my boobs"~ I have also often said that more people have looked at, touched and commented on my boobs in the year of treatment than in all the years, including my sometimes promiscuous, mis-spent young adult ones prior to BC!

    Don't forget to drink plenty of water, and the suggestion about being aware of the possibility of constipation is vital!

    Post when you feel up to it~ and rest up. BTW, if the shot you got was Neulasta, know that in 36 hours you may feel as if you have been hit by a Mack Truck! All 206 of my bones ached horribly~ the production of white cells is sped up in the bone marrow, and the acceleration can be rather like your bones are now tubes of toothpaste being squeezed to get the last dregs of the paste out! You may need pain pills to relieve the ache; and the pain will subside in 3 to 4 days. On the other hand, some have no adverse side effects at all~ I tolerated the chemo better than the Neulasta, and actually cried every 3 weeks knowing I was getting the dreaded shot again! Also, my Dr NEVER told me about side effects, and I was scared to death when I couldn't lift my head up from the pillow without assistance!
    This is not to frighten you; but I am now a firm believer in being forwarned~ just in case!Once I knew what was happening to me, and that it wasn't at all dangerous, I grinned and bared it!

    Hugs,
    Chen♥
  • elm3544
    elm3544 Member Posts: 748
    #10
    I hope the chemo is kind to
    I hope the chemo is kind to you and I like your idea, very original! Have fun with it. Humor is great medicine!
  • pitt
    pitt Member Posts: 387
    #11
    elm3544 said:

    I hope the chemo is kind to
    I hope the chemo is kind to you and I like your idea, very original! Have fun with it. Humor is great medicine!

    I'm feeling human again. I
    I'm feeling human again. I saw my onc today to discuss my mild fever and throat sores. I'm now taking the Magic Mouthwash and the fever has disappeared. The headaches for me were worse than anything else. It turns out that the Zofran (sp?) has that tendency so my onc is going to give me a different anti-nausea drug for my next chemo treatment.

    As for the Neulasta shot, my onc has me taking a Claritin the night before the shot and then continuing for 10 days to alleviate the effects of the shot. I had some serious aches but the Ibuprofen helped too.

    Thanks for humoring me with my twisted sense of propriety. I hate the idea of losing my hair so I have to figure out a way to make it less emotional. I also thought I would watch Demi Moore and Natalie Portman...it just burns me that they were paid millions to shave their heads and I have to pay someone else to do mine! That's so wrong on so many different levels.

    I'll admit, I've had a few panic attacks along the way... Misunderstood some simple reports... But I have cancer. Seems to me I've got a trump card to exonerate me for any stupid assumptions for quite some time. :-) Thanks for all the advice. You gals are awesome!!!
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #12
    pitt said:

    I'm feeling human again. I
    I'm feeling human again. I saw my onc today to discuss my mild fever and throat sores. I'm now taking the Magic Mouthwash and the fever has disappeared. The headaches for me were worse than anything else. It turns out that the Zofran (sp?) has that tendency so my onc is going to give me a different anti-nausea drug for my next chemo treatment.

    As for the Neulasta shot, my onc has me taking a Claritin the night before the shot and then continuing for 10 days to alleviate the effects of the shot. I had some serious aches but the Ibuprofen helped too.

    Thanks for humoring me with my twisted sense of propriety. I hate the idea of losing my hair so I have to figure out a way to make it less emotional. I also thought I would watch Demi Moore and Natalie Portman...it just burns me that they were paid millions to shave their heads and I have to pay someone else to do mine! That's so wrong on so many different levels.

    I'll admit, I've had a few panic attacks along the way... Misunderstood some simple reports... But I have cancer. Seems to me I've got a trump card to exonerate me for any stupid assumptions for quite some time. :-) Thanks for all the advice. You gals are awesome!!!

    Congrats Pitt on getting
    Congrats Pitt on getting that first chemo done! I love your posts. You have such a good, positive attitude.

    Hugs, Diane ♥
  • laurissa
    laurissa Member Posts: 773
    #13
    Glad you're feeling better
    Headaches, stomach ache, and bone aches are what I'm feeling now, my 2nd day after chemo. I also took the leunasta shot. I took a pepsid and it helped my stomach. I still have a few pity parties about it all, hair loss for one, but it will get better.

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