@KatWat
Chia seeds soaked in coconut milk with some honey and yoghurt and goji berries saved my bowels. I soak a tin of coconut milk with a quarter the amount of chia seeds. You can sweeten the coconut milk. It sets in the fridge in about an hour and is so variable. Any liquid will do. (Lychee juice was yummy). It was a delicious dessert that I ate every night and changed the fruit mix around. Chia seeds are miraculous, full of fibre, protein and calcium. They will regulate your bowels. Give something for the soft ones to soak into and break down the hard ones. I swear that's how they work. I had no problem with my bowels throughout my dose dense (every 2 weeks instead of 3 weeks but you finish sooner, lol) AC chemo. I hope it's not too cheesy to share a recipe but I honestly believe it was a huge help to me. My major side effect was anxiety. My diet took care of the rest, I believe.
My mouth was a mess from day one but the mouthwash they gave me in a white plastic bottle with blue writing on it saved me. I bought a soft bamboo bristle toothbrush, and mouth washed constantly as well as cleaning my teeth oh so gently 3 times a day. I went thru twice the usual amount of mouthwash and would often have to go back mid cycle to get some more (which was always handed out happily). I made sure I rested it on my tongue for as long as I could after all the gargling. At least 30 seconds, no less. It's a long time. If there was any lapse to my rigorous routine a mouth ulcer would appear immediately and as for pineapple, don't get me going. Even at the best of times I find pineapple to be an irritant. But in one of those mixed cold-pressed juices that I flushed myself out with after the chemo (some of those tumeric based ones are fluro yellow like the chemo, so I was pissing bright yellow for days, lol) I struck some pineapple. OMG, it took weeks to get over that, lol.
I couldn't have managed 2 days at work so I think you're a hero to get that far.
(the mouthwash was bicarb soda based with no alcohol and I couldn't find a substitute in any chemist shop)
These 2 things cover both ends of your body where all the trouble seems to happen. I kept a firm control over both.
I take 2 valium every nite (not before 9pm) and sleep like a baby. Endone suited me during the day.
I also visited a cognitive therapist every few weeks until chemo finished.
And I started to look at life differently from a new and better perspective.
Always look for the good that may come from all of this has helped me to cope enormously.
My spirits are with you.
