Newly diagnosed, about to start AC
I put this in a new discussion thread but realised I should probably have put it here.... Hi, Well as the title indicates I'm newly diagnosed with invasive DCIS, starting AC the week after next. I'...
Forum Discussion
Hi everyone, thanks again for all your helpful suggestions prior to my first AC treatment, it was good to have some idea of what to expect and how to manage.
I'll be honest though - it was brutal!! I was counting the hours between anti-nausea meds and didn't really start to feel myself again for nearly a week. Good news though is that I do now feel pretty normal again aside from a mild undercurrent of nausea (which is gradually fading), regular headache (also lessening) and a bit more tired than usual. But wow, I was worried there that I was never going to feel better again...
I saw the oncologist yesterday and he is going to try stronger anti-nausea meds plus a sleeping tablet for a couple of nights next time as he felt I was sicker than he had hoped I would be, so it's good that they are happy to play around to try and make things more comfortable.
Meanwhile I've had my hair cut short and keep waiting for it to start falling out - apparently I have a few more days then it will be coming out. In some ways, as scared as I am about losing my hair, I sort of want to get it out of the way now. I've bought a heap of hats / scarves / beanies / bamboo caps and also have ordered a wig, plus I've splashed out on a bunch of new earrings just to make me feel better. I feel like the first chemo session was the first big hurdle, the hair will be the next big one then I'll just be along for the ride until surgery time. That said, I'm not ready to shave it all off until it actually does start to fall out. My hairdresser is on stand-by to come to my house as soon as I need her (a wonderful lady, she refused to let me pay when she cut it short last week and says she won't charge me again till it's grown back and we're ready to start styling again!).
All that aside, as I said, thanks for all your comments, you were all so quick to jump on and share your stories and it made me feel much less alone, I really appreciate it.
I'll be honest though - it was brutal!! I was counting the hours between anti-nausea meds and didn't really start to feel myself again for nearly a week. Good news though is that I do now feel pretty normal again aside from a mild undercurrent of nausea (which is gradually fading), regular headache (also lessening) and a bit more tired than usual. But wow, I was worried there that I was never going to feel better again...
I saw the oncologist yesterday and he is going to try stronger anti-nausea meds plus a sleeping tablet for a couple of nights next time as he felt I was sicker than he had hoped I would be, so it's good that they are happy to play around to try and make things more comfortable.
Meanwhile I've had my hair cut short and keep waiting for it to start falling out - apparently I have a few more days then it will be coming out. In some ways, as scared as I am about losing my hair, I sort of want to get it out of the way now. I've bought a heap of hats / scarves / beanies / bamboo caps and also have ordered a wig, plus I've splashed out on a bunch of new earrings just to make me feel better. I feel like the first chemo session was the first big hurdle, the hair will be the next big one then I'll just be along for the ride until surgery time. That said, I'm not ready to shave it all off until it actually does start to fall out. My hairdresser is on stand-by to come to my house as soon as I need her (a wonderful lady, she refused to let me pay when she cut it short last week and says she won't charge me again till it's grown back and we're ready to start styling again!).
All that aside, as I said, thanks for all your comments, you were all so quick to jump on and share your stories and it made me feel much less alone, I really appreciate it.