First Chemo today!

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ittapp
ittapp Member Posts: 383 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hello all, I went in to see Onc. at 9:00 and then to the hospital for treatment. Boy was it a long day, the computers were down, they had to wait on orders to be faxed instead of being sent via computer. I just happen to ask the nurse about Avastan, don't know why I did and she said oh the Dr. marked that out, We said what, that was part of the treatment plan. She left to call the Dr. he personally called her back to say yes absolutely she is to get that! What a day. Now to the fun stuff, I already am feeling the sensitivity to cold on fingers and feet. I told the nurse and she said that would be too soon but, I am feeling it when I touch my cold water bottles or when I walked barefoot across the ceramic tile. How to combat this, what to drink, they want me to drink lots of water but room temp. water? gross Oh well any suggestions would be great. I ran out of time to get my bag put on so I go in again in the morning for the pump. Yippy

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  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #2
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    my first time was bad too
    Hi,
    Sorry to hear you had such a long and rough day. When I got my first chemo treatment, I had it rough too. Not in the disorganizational sense like you experienced, but I had a major allergic reaction right away to the adhesive tape they put over my port. I never have had any problem with adhesives, bandaids, etc. until that time. Next, I had an allergic reaction to the oxalyplatin (part of the Folfox- it's the one that causes the oversensitivity to cold). It was pretty bad. I was so scared I wouldn't be able to take it anymore, but they doped me up with steroids and benadryl, and then I was okay.
    So far as your nurse saying that was too soon to experience the cold sensitivity, I always experienced it before I even left the chemo room. Yes, you will probably need to drink lukewarm water- I couldn't drink anything at all that was even slightly cool. It was gross at times, but I dealt with it. When I was in the middle of my treatments, it was winter & it was hard to get anything warm. Water from the faucet or that sat out was still too cool for me to comfortably drink. I got in the habit then of drinking lots of hot tea, coffee (decaf), and I'd buy juice boxes and leave some out room temp for me. All fruit had to be room temp too. You'll get used to it & it will just be temporary. Just look at each time of getting the chemo as fighting the beast within you. Any discomfort you experience, think of what that chemo is doing to the cancer cells in you! Always communicate with your oncology nurses too, if you have any nausea, weird feelings, pain, neuropathy (the pins and needles numb feeling), especially if it doesn't go away after a couple of days. If it gets to the point where it's not going away in between treatments, you might need to take less of the oxy or have a break from it. You don't want any permanent neuropathy. My fingertips, which I couldn't feel any longer at the end, are completely back to normal now.

    You'll discover that there will be certain days over the next week where you'll get some delayed symptoms. You'll get to know what to expect on what days. The hand/foot syndrome from the 5FU (stuff in the pump) used to hit me about 6 days after I got it. Then, the 4-5 days before I'd get another treatment again, I was always feeling pretty good. I'd get my treatments every 2 weeks. Some people are on the every 3 weeks plan.

    Do take care- you can do this!!!

    Hugs,
    Lisa
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #3
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    Sorry
    Sorry your day didn't go as smoothly as you wanted, but at least you got through it. I know with my first chemo infusion my sensitivity lasted only about 1-2 hours that day and that was it. The second infusion was right away for five days and then on day 7, 8, 9 I was sick to my stomach but the rest of the week was fine. For your nurse to tell you that it was too early is clearly mistaken as I felt it right away it just didn't last for long. Ask your oncologist about taking Vitamin B6, it is to help with some of the effects of the chemo. Get some crystal light packets to put in your water. Even at room temperature that stuff is pretty tasty. Good luck with the pump, I just got mine off today.

    Kim
  • PamPam2
    PamPam2 Member Posts: 370 Member
    #4
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    COLD STUFF
    The suggestion about the chrystal light is a good one. I kept a jug of water beside the couch, and fresh lemon or lime squeezed in your water helps too. I got so used to it I still drink my water room temp. Another suggestion, I kept a pair of gloves on the fridge and freezer for when I wanted to get something out, and my slip on sandles nearby when too hot to wear socks all the time. Everyone is different, but I could drink cold stuff, not icy cold, but touching anything cold was like an electric shock. They just want you to be careful with drinking real cold stuff due to choking reaction some people get. And yes, I got the tingles in my hands the first treatment too. I hope you get through your chemo with as little trouble as possible and it goes quick as possible for you too. If I remember any other things I did that helped I'll post again.
    Best Wishes Pam
  • lizzydavis
    lizzydavis Member Posts: 893
    #5
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    PamPam2 said:

    COLD STUFF
    The suggestion about the chrystal light is a good one. I kept a jug of water beside the couch, and fresh lemon or lime squeezed in your water helps too. I got so used to it I still drink my water room temp. Another suggestion, I kept a pair of gloves on the fridge and freezer for when I wanted to get something out, and my slip on sandles nearby when too hot to wear socks all the time. Everyone is different, but I could drink cold stuff, not icy cold, but touching anything cold was like an electric shock. They just want you to be careful with drinking real cold stuff due to choking reaction some people get. And yes, I got the tingles in my hands the first treatment too. I hope you get through your chemo with as little trouble as possible and it goes quick as possible for you too. If I remember any other things I did that helped I'll post again.
    Best Wishes Pam

    Choking Reaction
    What do you do when you get a choking reaction?
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    #6
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    Ask them about Magnesium Sulfate
    Hi, I

    For your next round, ask your doctor to give you Magnesium Sulfate as part of your bag drops. I found it really helped relieve the cold sensations that you get on your hands, and when you try and drink something cold.

    The Oxaliplatin was bad for me as well. I did my first before I had my port installed, and they ran the IV into the top of my hand. About an hour before the treatment ended, I had extreme pain in my hand and up to my elbow. It was cold that day and the nurses had not told me what to expect, and I had to put gas in the car and there was ice all over the car and when I went to scrape it off - Yikes!

    I used to have to wear gloves too and drink things at room temperature. My feet would feel bad too when the floor or tile was cold. Running your hands under cool water was like an electrical shock as I read in another post.

    Then we started the MAG. And it really helped me deal with the neuropathy and I could drink cool drinks again, not have to wear gloves, and could run my hands under cool water.

    Magnesium Sulfate - ask about it - or better yet, tell your doctor you want to try this. It does not work for everybody, but it was a miracle for me, I can tell you.

    All the best
    -Craig

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