Start tomorrow...didn't see it coming...

2

Comments

  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #22
    Skiffin16 said:

    Phases...
    LOL, only another Marine can truely appreciate the reference to phases.....although, in the USMC, I'm not sure which was worse, phase one or phase two....definitely phase three being the best.

    JG

    The best-
    of hopes are with you two. And, of course, Prayers. Just another, albeit major, leg of the journey for you. Would only advise to keep your Drs. in the loop with how Mark is physically handling it, as meds can help (1/2-tab of Xanax before the rads for me- did wonders). Your treatment isn't exactly like mine, so cannot advise what you will experience, Mark. Just know that there is no doubt, whatsoever, that you will emerge from this C-free; and, if possible, just keep that fact overriding all else over the next two-months. And, Kim- appears you are doing exceptional with the preparation, and have it together one heckuva lot better than the vast majority do. Again- let the Positive, and Prayers, rule the days to come for you two.

    Believe

    kcass
  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #23
    kimba and Mark, you know you
    kimba and Mark, you know you have our prayers and best wishes. I truly hope all goes well. Stay strong and like the others said, we will be waiting on you at the finish line!!
    Please keep us posted on Mark's progress ;0)

    God bless you,
    debbie
  • Kimba1505
    Kimba1505 Member Posts: 557
    #24
    debbiejeanne said:

    kimba and Mark, you know you
    kimba and Mark, you know you have our prayers and best wishes. I truly hope all goes well. Stay strong and like the others said, we will be waiting on you at the finish line!!
    Please keep us posted on Mark's progress ;0)

    God bless you,
    debbie

    Day 1...DONE
    Thank you everyone for your well wishes, they not only touch my heart, but also create determination. Day 1 was long but not hard. I know the days will get harder. I am making myself a chart to cross of days...I like to see the progress.
    My best to everyone here!
    Kim
  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #25
    Kimba1505 said:

    Day 1...DONE
    Thank you everyone for your well wishes, they not only touch my heart, but also create determination. Day 1 was long but not hard. I know the days will get harder. I am making myself a chart to cross of days...I like to see the progress.
    My best to everyone here!
    Kim

    kimba, you are so welcome!
    kimba, you are so welcome! Please post to let us know the progress and to vent or ask questions, whatever you may need. That is why we're here. Stay strong and hang in there.
    God Bless,
    debbie
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #26
    debbiejeanne said:

    kimba, you are so welcome!
    kimba, you are so welcome! Please post to let us know the progress and to vent or ask questions, whatever you may need. That is why we're here. Stay strong and hang in there.
    God Bless,
    debbie

    I am with everyone else. I
    I am with everyone else. I followed almost the same timeline as Hondo.
    You and your family are in my prayers. Sleep, eat and drink whenever you can. I had to have a wound care consult for my neck, seems like you guys really keep on top of everything already. Good luck..when is your last day, we can count down together!
  • Kimba1505
    Kimba1505 Member Posts: 557
    #27
    staceya said:

    I am with everyone else. I
    I am with everyone else. I followed almost the same timeline as Hondo.
    You and your family are in my prayers. Sleep, eat and drink whenever you can. I had to have a wound care consult for my neck, seems like you guys really keep on top of everything already. Good luck..when is your last day, we can count down together!

    July 19th
    If all goes as planned (how often does that happen?), Mark's last treatment will be July 19th.
    Nausea already this morning. Hardly ate. Hopefully anti-nausea meds will kick in today and he will get some high density calories in. No PEG tube yet.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #28
    Kimba1505 said:

    July 19th
    If all goes as planned (how often does that happen?), Mark's last treatment will be July 19th.
    Nausea already this morning. Hardly ate. Hopefully anti-nausea meds will kick in today and he will get some high density calories in. No PEG tube yet.

    Hi Kim


    You are right nothing goes as planned, so we just pray that it all goes as good as possible. The nausea is normal or at lease for me it was and yes the anti-nausea works great. Get as much food in him as possible now because he will loose his taste in the next few weeks.

    All the best to you both and keeping you both in prayer
  • stevenl
    stevenl Member Posts: 587
    #29
    Hondo said:

    Hi Kim


    You are right nothing goes as planned, so we just pray that it all goes as good as possible. The nausea is normal or at lease for me it was and yes the anti-nausea works great. Get as much food in him as possible now because he will loose his taste in the next few weeks.

    All the best to you both and keeping you both in prayer

    Hi Kim,

    Just one thing to keep a check on, while it is on my mind. The anti nausea and pain meds may cause him to become constipated. Not a pleasant subject but be on the lookout for it.
    There are good OTC medications for this. Myralax is one. I had some extreme problems with this because I let it go too long. Just didn't know any better.

    Best,
    Steve
  • Paulssister
    Paulssister Member Posts: 30
    #30
    Thinking about and praying
    Thinking about and praying for the both of you. Hopefully, the road you must now travel will seem shorter knowing so many are walking with you.

    Kind regards,

    Susan
  • MarineE5
    MarineE5 Member Posts: 1,034 Member
    #31
    stevenl said:

    Hi Kim,

    Just one thing to keep a check on, while it is on my mind. The anti nausea and pain meds may cause him to become constipated. Not a pleasant subject but be on the lookout for it.
    There are good OTC medications for this. Myralax is one. I had some extreme problems with this because I let it go too long. Just didn't know any better.

    Best,
    Steve

    Constipation
    SteveL,

    Thanks for mentioning the results of pain med's and not drinking enough water during our treatments. Yes, we need to address this along with everything else we have to deal with while going through treatment. I used " Colace " at least once every other day. It is a stool softener and I was able to stay regular during all this.

    You brought up a very good point, that is over looked many times. We also need to take in roughly 64 ozs. of fluid daily as well.

    My Best to You and Everyone Here
  • Greg53
    Greg53 Member Posts: 849
    #32
    Paulssister said:

    Thinking about and praying
    Thinking about and praying for the both of you. Hopefully, the road you must now travel will seem shorter knowing so many are walking with you.

    Kind regards,

    Susan

    Mark
    Mark,
    Good luck and you are very lucky to have such a supportive spouse looking out for you!
    Greg
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #33
    Greg53 said:

    Mark
    Mark,
    Good luck and you are very lucky to have such a supportive spouse looking out for you!
    Greg

    Nausea
    I had to use Compazine (pills) a couple times in weeks #2 and #3. Keep the mouth hydrated, and would advise the rinses, and spitting as much as he can- rather than swallow mucous. Might help. I carried a small pail with me. Just seems a bit early to have nausea from the chemo, with as little as he's gotten so far, Kim. Might be a reaction to something else. Nerves can play into it as well. Of course, I know Mark's already had some things done, and everybody is different. Hopes and Prayers, Kim.

    Believe

    kcass
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #34
    Kent Cass said:

    Nausea
    I had to use Compazine (pills) a couple times in weeks #2 and #3. Keep the mouth hydrated, and would advise the rinses, and spitting as much as he can- rather than swallow mucous. Might help. I carried a small pail with me. Just seems a bit early to have nausea from the chemo, with as little as he's gotten so far, Kim. Might be a reaction to something else. Nerves can play into it as well. Of course, I know Mark's already had some things done, and everybody is different. Hopes and Prayers, Kim.

    Believe

    kcass

    Do Well
    We're all pulling for you. Keep docs informed on the nausea front - there's so much available now, there's no reason to suffer. I got Emend, and it was MAGIC.
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #35
    Kent Cass said:

    Nausea
    I had to use Compazine (pills) a couple times in weeks #2 and #3. Keep the mouth hydrated, and would advise the rinses, and spitting as much as he can- rather than swallow mucous. Might help. I carried a small pail with me. Just seems a bit early to have nausea from the chemo, with as little as he's gotten so far, Kim. Might be a reaction to something else. Nerves can play into it as well. Of course, I know Mark's already had some things done, and everybody is different. Hopes and Prayers, Kim.

    Believe

    kcass

    Do Well
    Oops - heavy "Enter" finger
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #36
    Kent Cass said:

    Nausea
    I had to use Compazine (pills) a couple times in weeks #2 and #3. Keep the mouth hydrated, and would advise the rinses, and spitting as much as he can- rather than swallow mucous. Might help. I carried a small pail with me. Just seems a bit early to have nausea from the chemo, with as little as he's gotten so far, Kim. Might be a reaction to something else. Nerves can play into it as well. Of course, I know Mark's already had some things done, and everybody is different. Hopes and Prayers, Kim.

    Believe

    kcass

    Do Well
    Multi-post
  • j3rey
    j3rey Member Posts: 57
    #37
    Kimba1505 said:

    July 19th
    If all goes as planned (how often does that happen?), Mark's last treatment will be July 19th.
    Nausea already this morning. Hardly ate. Hopefully anti-nausea meds will kick in today and he will get some high density calories in. No PEG tube yet.

    Hi Kim
    Our radiation nurse said that the aloe could help with the nausea as well as the 'burning.' We are done with the first two weeks. So far, fatigue is the biggest issue with dry mouth at night being next in line. Hubby (also a Mark) is sleeping a lot during the day and has broken sleep at night. We are trying a humidifier to moisten the air but don't really know if it is working yet. We seem to be about a week or two ahead of you but with no chemo. Prayers and good wishes to you two as you go through this. PM me to share high calorie recipes! :)
    luck to you,
    Jen
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #38
    Pam M said:

    Do Well
    Multi-post

    More well wishes
    Just wanted to throw in my wishes for a treatment with manageable symptoms. Best of luck to you both.
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #39
    j3rey said:

    Hi Kim
    Our radiation nurse said that the aloe could help with the nausea as well as the 'burning.' We are done with the first two weeks. So far, fatigue is the biggest issue with dry mouth at night being next in line. Hubby (also a Mark) is sleeping a lot during the day and has broken sleep at night. We are trying a humidifier to moisten the air but don't really know if it is working yet. We seem to be about a week or two ahead of you but with no chemo. Prayers and good wishes to you two as you go through this. PM me to share high calorie recipes! :)
    luck to you,
    Jen

    Neck Burns
    Hi Jen,

    Everyone is a little different in reactions. I know that my neck externally was more like a bad peeling sunburn. It discolored (pretty dark brown, and dry). I did try the Aquaphor, didn't like the greasy feeling. I tried the Aloe (plant), but it was at that time I started having reactions to the Amifostine. I started having extreme fevers and wasn't sure what was causing it, so I stopped the Aloe first. Eventually I found out it was the Amifostine, but by that time I was near finished with the radiation. For me about the best thing for the radiation burns and dry peeling skin was just plain warm showers.

    Best of luck, God Bless,
    John
  • Irishgypsie
    Irishgypsie Member Posts: 333
    #40
    sweetblood22 said:

    More well wishes
    Just wanted to throw in my wishes for a treatment with manageable symptoms. Best of luck to you both.

    Just wanted to add my wishes!
    Hi, Just wanted to add my wishes. Just got the 2nd dose of ciplatin wed; i'm so glad i got the peg. Mark is lucky to have such a great team member. We'll make it! I have 12 more doses to go with one more cisplatin! I just pray it's all worth it!! :)

    Charles
  • Kimba1505
    Kimba1505 Member Posts: 557
    #41
    j3rey said:

    Hi Kim
    Our radiation nurse said that the aloe could help with the nausea as well as the 'burning.' We are done with the first two weeks. So far, fatigue is the biggest issue with dry mouth at night being next in line. Hubby (also a Mark) is sleeping a lot during the day and has broken sleep at night. We are trying a humidifier to moisten the air but don't really know if it is working yet. We seem to be about a week or two ahead of you but with no chemo. Prayers and good wishes to you two as you go through this. PM me to share high calorie recipes! :)
    luck to you,
    Jen

    Fatigue Nausea, Dry mouth and Stubborn...HELP
    I would say these are the biggest issues. Nausea is from the chemo and should be working itself out soon. (Only to reappear, I know).
    I am having trouble having Mark realize how much he needs to to drink and eat. I get that when nausous the body's instinct is to NOT EAT. But his nausea does not get worse with eating, and he is taking 3 anti-nausea meds. But the drinking...I just went over with him the information from radiation about drinking 64 oz. a day and how dehydration can make you have dry mouth, nausea, and fatigue. It almost seems like he has to find it out for himself; and then we are in a "reacting" place; not the proactive place I have been developing. It is a personal stubborness, or a denial, or a little of both.
    I will take helpful suggestions from care givers and all of you fighting or who have fought and perhaps had to learn the hard way or overcome your own barriers.
    He gets the PEG on Wednesday and then his resistance to eating and drinking will be a little easier for me to overcome.
    It is not a dynamic of our typical relationship for me to push, bully, or insist. This is new territory...and it really matters.
    Jen, I will PM you for recipe swapping. He has very specific requirements for his protein shakes that has made things challenging too. (No milk, not too sweet, too gritty). Sometimes things that are good for you don't taste good!

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