1st Chemo 2 days ago!

Hubby said:

Glad to hear your side
Glad to hear your side effects are bearable. Good luck finding something to eat; Donna has been having a lot of vanilla ice cream.

hugs back at ya

Bob

carkris said:

I was pretty sick, and had
I was pretty sick, and had to make myself eat, so dont forget the fluids and nutrition. just light easy to digest stuff. I really lost my taste buds and wish that I had been more religious about the mouth rinsing protocol, as people said that helped in not losing taste buds all together. I had so much going on, but did not get mouth sores so I was not as fastidious as I should have been. I hope you will round that curve soon. One Down, one you wont have to do again. scratch that off the list!!!!!

cahjah75 said:

Glad to hear
you're doing ok. I had my port placed yesterday and start chemo Tuesday. I already bought Biotene toothpaste & mouthwash. I also will be getting the Neulasta shot the day after chemo. Someone in these messages mentioned getting the shot slower than faster and it made a difference on how much it hurt. I'll ask my onco nurse about that. Hang in there!
Char

Jean 0609 said:

Hey Heather!
Hope you are doing better today. As you know, I had my chemo on Wednesday too. Was good up to today.....my crash day.....can't wait until tomorrow. Hugs. Jean

Heatherbelle said:

update...put your feet up, this may take a while!
Thank you all for your comments & encouragement! I was up with the birds this morning after a full 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night (which is no small task for me, with my sleep issues -PLUS I had my 20 month old baby in bed with me!). I feel like the reverse chemo girl here. I started it last week fully expecting to feel pretty normal for 3 or 4 days then crashing - it has been the exact opposite for me. I started feeling crappy during the chemo itself, got worse over the next couple of days, then started feeling better. I woke up this morning at 5 & decided to fire up the old laptop here instead of going back to sleep. I think the worst part was (sorry for the gross-out here but I do believe we're not a shy group of people around here) being constipated. That along with the nausea from the chemo just made me miserable. I drank alot of water & lipton diet green tea (best.drink.ever.) and took senokot & once i got that situation under control the stomach issues lessened. Even on the steroids though I was literally in bed all day the 1st day and most of the next. I had hardly any appetite at all but did manage to eat a few subway sandwiches with extra lettuce (lettuce is fastly becoming my new comfort food -maybe it's the crunch?) and lots and LOTS of carnation instant breakfast drinks. I think i will get some Biotene wash because I really don't want to have any kind of mouth sores or taste but issues -I'm such a picky eater by nature & don't want to end up living on lettuce & breakfast shakes for the next 5 months!
That neulasta shot hurt like HELL when she gave it to me, but I haven't (so far) had much pain from it. I have noticed when I'm on my feet for long periods at a time, my upper back will get achy, my hands have started hurting a few times, but that's about it. I'm thinking the rest of my chemo treatments will go easier for me - I'm pretty sure I had alot of anxiety about getting it started and that itself helped to make me feel so crappy. I must give a special shout-out to Rachel & Jean for texting me throughout my chemo and checking in on me - I really felt you ladies in there with me
Now I'm just doing the waiting game. I got my hair cut super-pixie short -everyone says it's short but I don't like it at all -which is why I did it, because my hair falling out is going to be really hard for me, so I had to start getting used to having almost none I do have some really cute hats & scarves, and I've been splurging at my favorite make-up store so I can still feel pretty. I have no idea what I'll do if my eyebrows fall out - I don't know how to draw them in! I've never penciled in my brows before!! I do get another fill in 2 days at my plastic surgeon's, THAT always perks me up. In more ways than one, I guess!
AND I almost forgot - in a cruel twist of irony - this afternoon I'm taking my mom for a follow up to her annual mammogram. They found something in her left breast that they want to take a closer look at. HOW do I possibly help calm her & reassure her that she'll probably be ok, that about 80% of the time it turns out to be nothing, when her 34 year old daughter is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer? She's a little scared, but says seeing how well I'm handling it makes her not so anxious. You better believe I'm gonna be right next to her, asking all the questions that I wished I would have at my appointment, because that waiting & not knowing is the worst part of it all through this. She's a smart cookie, though, and faithfully gets her mammograms every year, doesn't have any palpable lumps, and no outward signs (skin dimpling, puckering, nipple discharge, etc.-although I didn't have that either) - but at least with her being so good with getting checked yearly we know if it turns out to be something, that she's finding it fairly early.
Ok -there's my long winded check-in for the day! We had a very busy weekend with family -big wedding at the basilica at Notre Dame (breathtaking in it's beauty -and I'm not a churchgoer) on Saturday, we've been staying with my husband's brother, sister, father, and their families at a lake cottage since thursday (although I've been coming home to sleep because it's more comfy for me here) -so I've been busy busy with that. I even had 2 glasses of red wine at the wedding reception Saturday night! Life in the fast lane!!
*big big hugs*
Heather

fauxma said:

Heatherbelle,
I did not do
Heatherbelle,
I did not do chemo so most of this is out of my territory but I have a possible suggestion for the eyebrow issue. You appear to have really great eyebrows that have a great shape and that you don't use much product on. You could practice now while there are still there. Great a couple types of brow pencils or cake style with a brush and trace over your brows. Use feathery strokes, go heavy with it and get the shape down. Do it several times a day. You can wash it off after. This should help you get the feel for your brows. Also take a picture of your eyes and brows to use as a guide. I have always had nearly non existant brows and it took awhile to get the hang of doing my brows so they didn't look like I had painted them in. Now I don't care because my glasses pretty much hide them. Also there are some classes offered by ACS that can help. Forget the name but someone will remember.
I am sorry to hear about your mom and hope that she it is nothing but she is lucky she has you to help through all of this. I will keep good thoughts prayers for you and your mom.
Stef

Heatherbelle said:

update...put your feet up, this may take a while!
Thank you all for your comments & encouragement! I was up with the birds this morning after a full 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night (which is no small task for me, with my sleep issues -PLUS I had my 20 month old baby in bed with me!). I feel like the reverse chemo girl here. I started it last week fully expecting to feel pretty normal for 3 or 4 days then crashing - it has been the exact opposite for me. I started feeling crappy during the chemo itself, got worse over the next couple of days, then started feeling better. I woke up this morning at 5 & decided to fire up the old laptop here instead of going back to sleep. I think the worst part was (sorry for the gross-out here but I do believe we're not a shy group of people around here) being constipated. That along with the nausea from the chemo just made me miserable. I drank alot of water & lipton diet green tea (best.drink.ever.) and took senokot & once i got that situation under control the stomach issues lessened. Even on the steroids though I was literally in bed all day the 1st day and most of the next. I had hardly any appetite at all but did manage to eat a few subway sandwiches with extra lettuce (lettuce is fastly becoming my new comfort food -maybe it's the crunch?) and lots and LOTS of carnation instant breakfast drinks. I think i will get some Biotene wash because I really don't want to have any kind of mouth sores or taste but issues -I'm such a picky eater by nature & don't want to end up living on lettuce & breakfast shakes for the next 5 months!
That neulasta shot hurt like HELL when she gave it to me, but I haven't (so far) had much pain from it. I have noticed when I'm on my feet for long periods at a time, my upper back will get achy, my hands have started hurting a few times, but that's about it. I'm thinking the rest of my chemo treatments will go easier for me - I'm pretty sure I had alot of anxiety about getting it started and that itself helped to make me feel so crappy. I must give a special shout-out to Rachel & Jean for texting me throughout my chemo and checking in on me - I really felt you ladies in there with me
Now I'm just doing the waiting game. I got my hair cut super-pixie short -everyone says it's short but I don't like it at all -which is why I did it, because my hair falling out is going to be really hard for me, so I had to start getting used to having almost none I do have some really cute hats & scarves, and I've been splurging at my favorite make-up store so I can still feel pretty. I have no idea what I'll do if my eyebrows fall out - I don't know how to draw them in! I've never penciled in my brows before!! I do get another fill in 2 days at my plastic surgeon's, THAT always perks me up. In more ways than one, I guess!
AND I almost forgot - in a cruel twist of irony - this afternoon I'm taking my mom for a follow up to her annual mammogram. They found something in her left breast that they want to take a closer look at. HOW do I possibly help calm her & reassure her that she'll probably be ok, that about 80% of the time it turns out to be nothing, when her 34 year old daughter is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer? She's a little scared, but says seeing how well I'm handling it makes her not so anxious. You better believe I'm gonna be right next to her, asking all the questions that I wished I would have at my appointment, because that waiting & not knowing is the worst part of it all through this. She's a smart cookie, though, and faithfully gets her mammograms every year, doesn't have any palpable lumps, and no outward signs (skin dimpling, puckering, nipple discharge, etc.-although I didn't have that either) - but at least with her being so good with getting checked yearly we know if it turns out to be something, that she's finding it fairly early.
Ok -there's my long winded check-in for the day! We had a very busy weekend with family -big wedding at the basilica at Notre Dame (breathtaking in it's beauty -and I'm not a churchgoer) on Saturday, we've been staying with my husband's brother, sister, father, and their families at a lake cottage since thursday (although I've been coming home to sleep because it's more comfy for me here) -so I've been busy busy with that. I even had 2 glasses of red wine at the wedding reception Saturday night! Life in the fast lane!!
*big big hugs*
Heather