Day 6 post LAST CHEMO

Ha Lisa

Glad to hear you finally got that PICC line out and you got out on the water. I know from what we talked about on the chemo day you were excited to get out on the water.  Missed you when you left the clinic,  may see you from time to time when you go for radiation.

Hi Mich

This is really frustrating - my internet connection dropped out just as I was previewing a reply to you and i lost the lot! - how frustrating!

I wont type so much this time just in case I lose it again but in a nutshell - I said I had a look through your blogs and found myself nodding and talking to the computer - there are so many comments that I need to discuss with you! The most notable being of course the Taxotere reactions and then there's my good friend - DEX.

I have been on heavy doses of Dex for a month now - hence the fact that I am sitting here watching my husband sleep and typing a post just before 1am on a Monday morning..... I was put on heavy doses fo steroids (8mg Dex daily) and antihistamines for the hives, etc following chemo #3 and am STILL on 4mg a day! Tomorrow I can finally start halfing the tablets for a week, then half again and finally stopping a week before I start radiation. This has been to keep that blockade of antihistamines, etc for this round. I am now on day 16 post final chemo.... I still have to do a dance between all the meds and have a lot of pain in my pipes - right from my blistered tongue to my ulcerated stomach and I still swear by my mantra - "time is rubber". It doesnt matter what time of day it is - I grab sleep where I can but it is usually between 2am and 7am somewhere and then a nanna nap around mid afternoon if I can.

The Dex doesnt really give me bursts of energy as such - just wakefulness and I think it helps to strip the lining of my stomach and add to the pain of eating.I note with interest you have had difficulty breathing....? I get this after eating and when I wake up in the morning... I demanded a chest xray because it was scaring me (I am a Warfarin patient on Clexane at the mo) and my chest and heart are clear and good but I still get this "raspy, tight" feeling in my chest and I cough up something sinister in the mornings. I think it has its own heartbeat and attitude.... at least its breaking up.. anyway - I'm sure its going to just keep improving as I cut down on the Dex and get more distance between me and that last dose of toxins... my new friend Valium helps with the pain and breathing difficulties - just not the sleep. I have an anti oxidant preparation on standby that I am keen to start taking in order to get my body back to some semblance of normal balance but I plan to ask the pharmacist at the oncology unit for some guidance of the best timing for that. I know I need to leave this toxin to run rampant and do its thing in there for its due time (unfortunately).

Thanks for the notes on the radiation therapy - I have wierd skin that only tans red (back in the day when I was silly enough to suntan) so it will be interesting to see how it reacts to the treatment. I havent had any directions from my clinic yet but have an appointment at the end of this month so i guess I will ask all my questions then.

Thanks for your many notes and hints on your blog, Mich! They have been a great help to me.

Hi Mich

This is really frustrating - my internet connection dropped out just as I was previewing a reply to you and i lost the lot! - how frustrating!

I wont type so much this time just in case I lose it again but in a nutshell - I said I had a look through your blogs and found myself nodding and talking to the computer - there are so many comments that I need to discuss with you! The most notable being of course the Taxotere reactions and then there's my good friend - DEX.

I have been on heavy doses of Dex for a month now - hence the fact that I am sitting here watching my husband sleep and typing a post just before 1am on a Monday morning..... I was put on heavy doses fo steroids (8mg Dex daily) and antihistamines for the hives, etc following chemo #3 and am STILL on 4mg a day! Tomorrow I can finally start halfing the tablets for a week, then half again and finally stopping a week before I start radiation. This has been to keep that blockade of antihistamines, etc for this round. I am now on day 16 post final chemo.... I still have to do a dance between all the meds and have a lot of pain in my pipes - right from my blistered tongue to my ulcerated stomach and I still swear by my mantra - "time is rubber". It doesnt matter what time of day it is - I grab sleep where I can but it is usually between 2am and 7am somewhere and then a nanna nap around mid afternoon if I can.

The Dex doesnt really give me bursts of energy as such - just wakefulness and I think it helps to strip the lining of my stomach and add to the pain of eating.I note with interest you have had difficulty breathing....? I get this after eating and when I wake up in the morning... I demanded a chest xray because it was scaring me (I am a Warfarin patient on Clexane at the mo) and my chest and heart are clear and good but I still get this "raspy, tight" feeling in my chest and I cough up something sinister in the mornings. I think it has its own heartbeat and attitude.... at least its breaking up.. anyway - I'm sure its going to just keep improving as I cut down on the Dex and get more distance between me and that last dose of toxins... my new friend Valium helps with the pain and breathing difficulties - just not the sleep. I have an anti oxidant preparation on standby that I am keen to start taking in order to get my body back to some semblance of normal balance but I plan to ask the pharmacist at the oncology unit for some guidance of the best timing for that. I know I need to leave this toxin to run rampant and do its thing in there for its due time (unfortunately).

Thanks for the notes on the radiation therapy - I have wierd skin that only tans red (back in the day when I was silly enough to suntan) so it will be interesting to see how it reacts to the treatment. I havent had any directions from my clinic yet but have an appointment at the end of this month so i guess I will ask all my questions then.

Thanks for your many notes and hints on your blog, Mich! They have been a great help to me.

Hey Lisa

Congrats for being post chemo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wonderful wonderful feeling isn't it?? I must admit when I read 6 days post chemo and then saw that lovely pic of you out iin the boat I thought to myself my god how has she been able to do that!!! but then I read on that your wonderful friends took you out to enjoy the water.  Lovely friends and that is definitely a lovely thing to help you to keep focused on what you need to get done and then to work towards getting back out there in the water.  I love it.

Good luck with your rads, whether 5, 10, 20 or 35 make sure you do all that is necessary to look after your skin as some skin copes better than others.  I feel I was lucky with the rads where as my friends were not so lucky so do everything you can to help yourself get through it and then it will soon be over and you can get back out there in that boat full steam ahead. (Sorry if I sound like a mother hen but your skin can change over night so you need to look after yourself)

Wishing you well and will be thinking of you.

Mich xoxo

 

Hey Lisa

Congrats for being post chemo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wonderful wonderful feeling isn't it?? I must admit when I read 6 days post chemo and then saw that lovely pic of you out iin the boat I thought to myself my god how has she been able to do that!!! but then I read on that your wonderful friends took you out to enjoy the water.  Lovely friends and that is definitely a lovely thing to help you to keep focused on what you need to get done and then to work towards getting back out there in the water.  I love it.

Good luck with your rads, whether 5, 10, 20 or 35 make sure you do all that is necessary to look after your skin as some skin copes better than others.  I feel I was lucky with the rads where as my friends were not so lucky so do everything you can to help yourself get through it and then it will soon be over and you can get back out there in that boat full steam ahead. (Sorry if I sound like a mother hen but your skin can change over night so you need to look after yourself)

Wishing you well and will be thinking of you.

Mich xoxo