Chemo 1st one down what a ride

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  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    Thank you Blossom I don't have any connections other than here to discuss it all with, so frustrating that you have these terrible side effects that go with it all. Where are you treatment wise ?
  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    ddon said:

    So sorry you are struggling so much through this. AC is crappy. That’s all I can say. 

    Where are you with your treatment ??
  • Blossom1961
    Blossom1961 Member Posts: 2,379 ✭
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    @Berchel14 I finished last August.
  • Mazbeth
    Mazbeth Member Posts: 199 ✭
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    Hi @Berchel14 I am sorry to hear you are having a rough time - AC is gruelling and grotty but you are now half way. I did the 4 and I have just had number 7 of the 12 weekly taxol. Taxol has been far better for me and I hope you have the same experience. When I finish chemo I will have surgery. Treatment is a challenge at any time and isolation adds another layer to it. This forum is an excellent place to come to for so much practical advice, it has helped me so much, especially now we are in isolation.  

    I also tried the cold cap and after the second AC I decided it was not working for me. I was also getting really anxious just watching my hair. I am a pretty much ‘give it a go’ person but I know that the cap is a pretty inexact science - works really well for some and does not work for others and you don’t know which group you are until you try it. I ended up shaving my hair - and yes, I cried - but then I moved on. The silver lining to not using the cap was no more anxiety over whether it was working and the treatment was much quicker. I really just sat down got hooked up for the treatment and away I went. My supportive nurses were helping as much as they could with the cap, but as they explained even if a person keeps 30% of their hair, the company counts that as a success. For me, 30% of my hair was extremely thin and patchy too. 
    I am sending you lots of good wishes. Hang in there and take care. X
  • Flik76
    Flik76 Member Posts: 4 ✭
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    Hang in there babe" i found a wet facecloth was a great tool to have with my headaches" iv only had my first chemo last week also xxx
  • Flik76
    Flik76 Member Posts: 4 ✭
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    Stomach massage in clockwise direction and movicol for constipation and mayb a hydralite for exhaustion? I found these helped me a little xxx
  • PV123
    PV123 Member Posts: 202 ✭
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    Hi @Berchel14
    Sorry I didn’t see your earlier message in March.  I did not have the AC chemo, I had weekly Paclitaxel for 12 weeks. I have three weekly herceptin till September this year.   From what the other ladies have indicated, AC is more challenging than Paclitaxel.  I did have stomach issues, skin issues, mouth ulcers and one trip to the hospital.
    Hopefully your next chemo session is better, sending you hugs.  
  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    PV123 said:

    Hi @Berchel14
    Sorry I didn’t see your earlier message in March.  I did not have the AC chemo, I had weekly Paclitaxel for 12 weeks. I have three weekly herceptin till September this year.   From what the other ladies have indicated, AC is more challenging than Paclitaxel.  I did have stomach issues, skin issues, mouth ulcers and one trip to the hospital.
    Hopefully your next chemo session is better, sending you hugs.  

    Thank you for the feedback, I am seeing the Dr on Thursday so I am going to ask questions.
  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    Mazbeth said:

    Hi @Berchel14 I am sorry to hear you are having a rough time - AC is gruelling and grotty but you are now half way. I did the 4 and I have just had number 7 of the 12 weekly taxol. Taxol has been far better for me and I hope you have the same experience. When I finish chemo I will have surgery. Treatment is a challenge at any time and isolation adds another layer to it. This forum is an excellent place to come to for so much practical advice, it has helped me so much, especially now we are in isolation.  

    I also tried the cold cap and after the second AC I decided it was not working for me. I was also getting really anxious just watching my hair. I am a pretty much ‘give it a go’ person but I know that the cap is a pretty inexact science - works really well for some and does not work for others and you don’t know which group you are until you try it. I ended up shaving my hair - and yes, I cried - but then I moved on. The silver lining to not using the cap was no more anxiety over whether it was working and the treatment was much quicker. I really just sat down got hooked up for the treatment and away I went. My supportive nurses were helping as much as they could with the cap, but as they explained even if a person keeps 30% of their hair, the company counts that as a success. For me, 30% of my hair was extremely thin and patchy too. 
    I am sending you lots of good wishes. Hang in there and take care. X

    Thank you, yes I am glad that I tried it, but as you say the time with be quicker so that is the positive. I really appreciate all the feedback back this site is amazing :)
  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    Flik76 said:

    Stomach massage in clockwise direction and movicol for constipation and mayb a hydralite for exhaustion? I found these helped me a little xxx

    Thank you hope you are doing ok with this journey 
  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    Flik76 said:

    Hang in there babe" i found a wet facecloth was a great tool to have with my headaches" iv only had my first chemo last week also xxx

    Thank you yes I have used that too.  Are you having AC ?
  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    Blossom1961 said:

    @Berchel14 I finished last August.

    That is wonderful news and so glad you are through it, best of luck 
  • ddon
    ddon Member Posts: 349 ✭
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    Many times throughout the AC I despaired of getting through it and I didn’t suffer anywhere near as much as some. It’s a misery that you just can’t describe and just after my last I had a nightmare where I was told I needed one more. I was devastated in my dream. I have had my 9th paclitaxel and coping much better. It’s still chemo but having it weekly just means the side effects are still there but muted and tolerable. It’s a tough gig having chemo and no one around you can really enter in unless they have experienced it. And AC is not your average chemo either. If you look it up it’s one of the most vicious available - probably one of the most effective also which is why we sit there and let someone infuse it into our veins. I would get so down on day 4 and 5 that I would have a tear - filled melt down, mostly alone because I didn’t want to upset my kids or husband, but by day 7,8 I was able to see the end in sight again. 
    I feel for you so much. Hang in there because it will end one day. Xx
  • Afraser
    Afraser Member Posts: 4,374 ✭
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    It’s bizarre how chemo affects people. You’ve had a horrible time and I am glad you are finding Taxol easier. I had the opposite, apart from losing my hair (fairly inevitable with both and cold cap wasn’t offered then) I had virtually no other side effects on A/C. One later, after I had finished A/C, but how much it was caused by A/C is still questionable. Taxol on the other hand was a pain - taste buds gone, bloody nose, peripheral neuropathy, and so on. No telling really. Best wishes. 
  • ChezaH
    ChezaH Member Posts: 549 ✭
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    ddon said:

    Many times throughout the AC I despaired of getting through it and I didn’t suffer anywhere near as much as some. It’s a misery that you just can’t describe and just after my last I had a nightmare where I was told I needed one more. I was devastated in my dream. I have had my 9th paclitaxel and coping much better. It’s still chemo but having it weekly just means the side effects are still there but muted and tolerable. It’s a tough gig having chemo and no one around you can really enter in unless they have experienced it. And AC is not your average chemo either. If you look it up it’s one of the most vicious available - probably one of the most effective also which is why we sit there and let someone infuse it into our veins. I would get so down on day 4 and 5 that I would have a tear - filled melt down, mostly alone because I didn’t want to upset my kids or husband, but by day 7,8 I was able to see the end in sight again. 
    I feel for you so much. Hang in there because it will end one day. Xx

    Thank you so very much, it really helps to get some insight from somebody who has been there.xx

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