About to start Chemo, have heard stories of women unable to control bowels and vomitting on way home from chemo. Can anyone shed some light on this and any preparations??

Its ok to be scared, there are some real horror stories out there. Its not as bad as that, its no walk in the park but they will give you drugs to assist. My advice, take all the drugs they give you for settling your stomach,etc have some bowel medication on hand and drink loads of fluids. Rest, rest and more rest and you will come out the other side soon enough. Take care and be kind to yourself. Donna

You will be given drugs to take before and after chemo which prevent most of the symptoms - my pills went for 2 days after, and I kept a schedule and ticked them off as I took them - it is easy to get confused. The symptoms were nothing like you are afraid of - mainly muscle aches and headaches. You don't say what your program will be, so keep in touch. Someone here will have had the same and will be able to advise you. As Donna said, drink lots of fluids afterwards to flush your system out. But definitely take the pills, even if you think you might not need them - symptoms are easier to prevent than to treat once you have them. All the best. Ask questions anytime. Michelle x

Hi, I had no immediate effects(FEC/Docetaxel) and have not heard of anyone having what you said happen. Hope all goes well, Julia

Hi I was terrified also when I first started my chemo - I've had fec (2 doses) so far all good! Take all the meds they send you home with & you'll be fine! All I get is muscle aches & fatigue on day 4 & 5 then after that all good again. Best of luck x

You poor thing. It sounds like you have heard all the horror stories and chemo is scary enough without having people tell you the worst. I bet you there is not one person that hasn't been scared sh...less. As Donna said its no walk in the park but you will get through. Everyone's experience is different. I wrote down all the symptoms I had and when they occured after my first round no matter how small they were so I could tell my Oncologist and she was able to adjust the chemo as we went along. Eat a light meal before your treatment and drink as much fluid as possible. I took a big bag with some supplies with me, I called it my chemo bag (daaaaah) and probably will never use it again :) A friend of mine suggested Fruit Tingles to suck on as they have bicarb in them and give some relief from heart burn which I suffered from. Also your Oncologist can prescribe Nexium for stronger relief if needed. I also sucked on icy-poles during treatment which I found helped with mouth sores and dry mouth. Tissues, headphones if you would like to listen to music, if you have a smart tablet like an iPad to play games on or a book to read, all help to pass the time quickly. Plastic bags just in case of.... on the way home. This only happened to me once and it was when we were trying to work out if one of the anti-nausea drugs was giving me headaches and my Onc suggested we try leaving it out. I don't recommend this as I was really sick. Dress comfortably. I dressed in a track suit. For the first round I also took along with me any vitamins and supplements I was taking and showed them to the Hospital Pharmacist for his okay. He told me not to take some for a certain time before and after chemo as they might have had a negative effect so this might be something you might think of. One of the chemo drugs is nicknamed the red devil and this turns your urine red the first time you go to the loo so if you are on this one, don't freak out. I was warned about it by the chemo nurse but a friend wasn't and she panicked thinking there was something terribly wrong. Ask your chemo nurses if you are unsure. Ask plenty of questions, forearmed is forewarned. I know this all sounds overwhelming to you but once you are over the first one, you'll get your own routine going. It's really not having the chemo that's bad it's what happens when the side effects kick in around day 3 or 4 for me. Again remember that we are all different and the side effects will be different for you. I will keep my fingers crossed that you will breeze through with mild side effects. But you'll find your inner strength to fight any side effects no matter what they bring. Take all the help that is offered to you. You are número uno through this. Take each day as it comes. Being scared of the unknown is perfectly natural but once you know what to expect, you'll do okay and before you know it you'll be through. Sorry about the book, I do tend to rambled on :) Sending you hugs and kisses. Love Janey xxxooo

Scared Sh**less! | BCNA Online Network

14 Replies

Andir
Member
13 years ago
Hi I was terrified also when I first started my chemo - I've had fec (2 doses) so far all good! Take all the meds they send you home with & you'll be fine! All I get is muscle aches & fatigue on day 4 & 5 then after that all good again. Best of luck x
Julia44
Member
13 years ago
Hi,

I had no immediate effects(FEC/Docetaxel) and have not heard of anyone having what you said happen.

Hope all goes well,

Julia
Michelle_R
Member
13 years ago
You will be given drugs to take before and after chemo which prevent most of the symptoms - my pills went for 2 days after, and I kept a schedule and ticked them off as I took them - it is easy to get confused. The symptoms were nothing like you are afraid of - mainly muscle aches and headaches. You don't say what your program will be, so keep in touch. Someone here will have had the same and will be able to advise you. As Donna said, drink lots of fluids afterwards to flush your system out. But definitely take the pills, even if you think you might not need them - symptoms are easier to prevent than to treat once you have them.

All the best. Ask questions anytime. Michelle x
mgndam1603
Member
13 years ago
Its ok to be scared, there are some real horror stories out there. Its not as bad as that, its no walk in the park but they will give you drugs to assist.

My advice, take all the drugs they give you for settling your stomach,etc have some bowel medication on hand and drink loads of fluids.

Rest, rest and more rest and you will come out the other side soon enough.

Take care and be kind to yourself.

Donna

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Scared Sh**less!

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