AC Chemo - Day2

OK, day 2 now behind me and so far so good.

Staff at POW at Randwick were absolutely amazing all the way through and the Oncologist made sure he reviewed progress with my crazy allergies being kept at bay and he is rethinking initial chemo plan for me as it seems his locum and the team were wanting me to go on a 2nd round if chemo post AC but he is against it as my allergues not likely to tollerate it.

As apprehensive as it made me that others think I need further Chemo I get that no point killing me by causing allergic response before any cancer can get me and he is being thorough ensuring I was given all the meds they are putting me  on post-duscharge while still on the ward so they could monitor me plus he had viral/infectious diseases team examine me to ensure they had a treatment plan ready should I develop any infections while on AC seeing I am allergic to just about every antibiotic available to them.

Kind of weird feeling that I am setting off into this 'lets Pump poisons into you for 3 months' journey knowing I am allergic to everything but at least I guess these guys are trully thorough so I do FINALLY feel I am in the right place. As scared and apprehensive as I was prior to chemo (my journey has been a bit terrible and mismanaged by medical profession thus far) now that I am in the 'Toxic zone' and the one most dangerous for my well being I am actually feeling confidant. I guess that is what I find weird. I thought Chemo would the point of most distress and uncerainty but they are so together and prepared and informative that i honestly finally feel reasurred that I CAN DO THIS. The point I feared the most has given me the most reassurance and confidence this can be done - it can be managed and there are people out there for me 24x7 that will help me navigate this and get the best possible outcome for ME.

Now l am guessing that everyone who has not had AC Chemo yet would be most interested in the sideeffects they could expect. Keep in mind guys this is just me and how my body has been reacting and everyone is different. You may get these or may not. Remember I am a weirdo medically that is allergic to everything on the planet and Oncologist was very surprised by at least of 2 of my reactions taking place that soon - as they hit me in under 10 hours which he thought would not happen for 3+ days at the least...

So here are some medical weirdo's sideffects in the 30 or so hours post 1st round of AC Chemo. 

My Chemo was adminsutered between 3 and 5pm and wierdly enough I felt completely fine throught that point.

Arround 6 pm started to feel a very very mild nausea. I naturally am unable to burp (maybe burped 20 times in my whole 44 year which if bothered by gas does make one feel nauseous) so I figured that was what was causing this so I decided to try and walk it off.

Walking helped me a lot as it resulted in my managing to burp several times and provided immediate relief. I must have walked some 20-30 minutes exploring the hospital and I can honestly say walking was very very helpfull and I highly reccomend it as it both got rid of the queezy feeling and it made me feel reenergised And I AM NOT a walker by any stretch of the word as I have a physical dissability the prevents me from walking much.

I had found in the inital 12 hours or so post Chemo that taking anything by mouth even few sips of water was causing the same gass - need to burp or feel nausios reaction so most of that evening I did a lot of walking. Having said -'a lot' provably 1.5 to 2 hours alltgother in several different stretched lasting anythibg from 10 to 20 minutes at the time.

At one point - probably 4-5 hours post Chemo nausea was not being relieved by walking alone so I resorted to sucking on grapefrut. May sound weird but normally when nausia hits me at home I have some lemon squeezed into a cold glass of water and relief is immediate (I do have a congenital.l liver disease so nausia is a frequent companion). Lemon I did not have on me but I did have grapefruit so figured bitter citrus may work.

Guys, GRAPEFRUIT IS MAGIC !!!!!

I broke it up and cut it up into segments or something resembling them and would slowly over a period of an hour suck on those slowly like it was a lollypop while strolling and it worked. Nurses were offering me antinausea meds but grapefruit worked so well there was no need for meds. By the time I slowly consumed the whole grapfruit nausia was 100% gone. Nurses were intrigued and I think every single one off them was buying after their shift some of what they thought was 'a weird fruit' but they were astounded that someone who asked for barf bags just in case in under an hour had no nausia and went to bed to watch movies.

I have had no repeat of nausia at all that whole night so now that I am home I am sticking up not just on lemon but on grapefruit as well as the initial 30 Hours I had not felt nausiated again.

Sleep was not easy to come by that 1st night (combo of my being injected with imense amount of steroids - way more than normal for Chemo and varuous drugs meant to do stuff to my heart - allergy treatment plus in a room closest to the ward exit and every time there was walking through the door it would slam and wake me up)

2nd sideeffect I noticed was a very mild metalic taste on the sides of my tongue. It was incredibly mild and not bothersome and any drinking or eating would get rid of it for a while. Amazingly my magic grapefruit did away with it almost completely. As day 2 progressed Metallic taste dissapeared completely.

3rd sideeffect I noticed was a bit of tinnitus - sort of a weird sound in my ears that resembles the sound a TV that is on but not receiving reception makes. Again, mentioning it as it is there but is not really botheing me. I must mention I have had tinnitus in the past (sometimes for months at the time) so having an onset of it this early on may not happen to others - could be just me as I am prone to them.

4th sideeffect Oncologist though should not have happened for days was the most thoublesome. Needing to empty my bowels 1st thing in the morning but was 'fruitless". It felt like there was cement inside as nothing could get out regardless of the amount of straining. Took almost 30 minutes to expel anyting and still felt terribly full but had to stop as I am prone to intestinal bleeds and fissures and was scared I could cause one or the other and out kyself at a risk of infection.

I asked to be given movicol so that at least in a few hours it would help get rid of whatever fid not feel.like vacating my poor intestinal tract at the time. 

For those that are squeemish I appologise for being graphic but have decided to be as true as can be as it may help someone who is yet to sail these AC Chemo waters avoid my pitfalls... as my bowels were still troubling me I had made an hour later one more pittifull attempt to emoty them but resulted in a same 30min straining session to get wha fel like hard cement out.

It is absolutely normal to have that reaction to steroids just that I got it way faster than normal. I would strongly recommend anyone going to have AC to start on movicol or stool softener the morning off to avoid my problem. Not essential I guess but pretty sure doctors will agree that a mild stool softener will not harm you and can only help once steroids are in your system - but do run past your doctor first...

Happy to say that since movicol Kicked in all is good on that front and I have been prescribed it twice daily for the duration of the treatment (as needed)

The next sideeffect was what I would best describe as a feeling of low fever. You know like when you are tired or coming down with something and eyes get a bit glassy and you feel hot but not really running a temperature. Just makes you need to concentrate a tad more than usual. Again nothing drastic and nothing that would prevent me from functioning normally.

The very last sideeffect which I must admit hit me like a ton of bricks was an onset of migraine that morning. Well mild symptoms during the night but come morning some 12 hours pist chemo it was the tone if bricks and I had them give me 1 panadeine forte which alongside of my resting for 30minutes worked its magic. Managed to do away with the pain and did not come back. Frankly still have some symptoms other than pain but taking into account my bowl issues I have decided to refrain from taking more meds for it as it is mild and managable.

I have noticed that a nice stroll would also help me with this feeling.

I should mention that I also drove myself home in a full on 45 Minute drive in crazy Sydney traffic and all went well. I did have to concentrate a tad more than usual but considering the chemo and migraine that is not surprising ?

Even though I was no longer feeling nausia they did administer anti-nausia meds to me the next day to ensure I was not allergic and i reckon they work a treat.

When I got home I decided to have lunch and found not just that no nausia but suddenly I had this insane appetite and had consumed twice the amount of food I would normally eat. I would normally feel ill after that much food but this time felt great. Those meds work!!! Not that I am recommending pigging out like I did for both lunch and dinner... i know I am eating like a pig because of the steroids and that I have to curb it but I guess it just goes to show that we should take the meds given as they realy do what they are supposed to. At least in these early days.

All in all pleasantly suprised with the sideeffects or the mildness and lack off them at this stage.

I know day 2 is very much early days and they may change or intensify but for now nowhere near as horrible or scary as I had imagined it to be and for now planning to stick to my walking, grapefruit and prescribed meds and hoping it continues to work for me.

Again, I know we are all different so my experience and the way my body reacts may be very different from others but in all I reckon worth sharing in case someone out there is just as scared as I was as it is not all doom and gloom like we can imagine those initial first few days to be and it does not mean instant constant nausia and vomiting which I and at least a few other people I spoke with imagined it to be.

I can honestly say that had I not taken leave of absence from work and felt the way I did yesterday I would have gone to work as had worked many a time feeling way way way worse ...