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Caron's avatar
Caron
Member
15 years ago

Exhausted...

Hello to all you lovely ladies, i hope this day finds you as well as can be expected and a wonderful week ahea :)

I tell you, im exhausted, after having a horrid couple of days over the weekend here; My first chemo treatment was on Tues 11th Jan, i got through the first 2 days pretty well, then Friday came, i could hardly move, it was like i had the aches and pains of flu/pneumonia symptoms without having the infection and running nose, coughing etc(that goes with the flu). The aches and pains were in my feet, calves, knees..bu friday night i could hardly walk, the pain had moved to my thighs Toooo sore to even touch. Then Saturday, the aches and pains had moved up into my back, shoulders and neck, I have never felt so beside myself, ever....

I couldnt take my pain relief medication whilst this was all going on, as it wasnt a good mix with the 'anti-nausea' tablets that i was put on, to have at home. So panadol was all i could take and try as best possible to get comfortable..or some sort of comfort...sitting, shuffling walk ..or propped up resting in bed, is how i managed(though i dont know how) to get through these couple of days. Apparently it is one of the side effects of the "FEC" chemo treatments, not everyone gets this...but i did

So i thought that i would get on here, and tell of my side effect, that way...someone else can go..'that is what im going through with side effects"...

I wonder, has anyone else had those intense muscle joint pain times after their chemo treatment, or is this just one side effect of this particular chemo treatment?

Today, i have woken up...after 3 hrs sleep....and im not in as much pain, but im exhausted, soooo....there wont be much being done around here,unless those lil' fairies to lend a hand...otherwise, im thinking maybe in a weeks' time, i will be in a some kind of normal state, and able to get some housework done, before the 2nd chemo treatment is due.

Sorry about the blah blah blah...just one of those times where really...i feel yukk, but today is the start of a new week, and im gratefull to be seeing it, regardless of this darkness like state at the moment that im feeling and going through.

~gentle internet hugs~ from me to you

Love to you all

Regards

Caron xx

9 Replies

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  • Caron's avatar
    Caron
    Member
    15 years ago

    Thankyou for your message Di, lovely to hear from you. Treatments are all different, with varying degrees of side effects, this is what im finding out by reading messages from the lovely ladies on here, and everyone encounters different side effects as we are all individual in this journey. But its lovely being able to sit and chat through this site, like i said earlier in another message, its like a 'comfort', and this im greatfull of..

    Take care and be safe

    ~hugs~

    Caron xx

  • Caron's avatar
    Caron
    Member
    15 years ago

    Hello Di, thankyou for your message, lovely to hear from you.

    Coming out of the side effects now of the first round, at least i know what im in for with the 2nd and 3rd round of this 'red cordial' one. Its pretty scary and daunting when you are looking at the unknown.

    Take care and be safe

    ~hugs~

    Caron xx

  • Caron's avatar
    Caron
    Member
    15 years ago

    Hello Chrissy,

    Thankyou for you message, lovely to hear from you. Im starting to come out of the side effects from the first round, thankfully. My next round is on the 31st Jan., Least now i know what im going to be going through, and will be alittle more ready for the pain etc.

    First time i washed my own sheets yesterday...that was a main event of this journey, and has been chalked up as one of my achievements(not a biggie, but what a marathon that was..so its a biggie for me!!)

    As for the housework...hmm...well its there...and i will get to it, there is always tomorrow :)

    Rest is more important, and this im finding out, so ...rest it is.

    Take care and be safe

    ~hugs~

    Caron xx

  • Caron's avatar
    Caron
    Member
    15 years ago

    Hello Shirl, and thankyou for your message...

    And yes, it is like being dragged through a hedge backwards and then...like being hit with a double semi mac truck...(hmm...best way that i can describe it - not that i have encountered a mac truck, but hey...if you did, thats what it would be like)

    Im greatfull, for all the messages with the lovely ladies on here, including yourself...its like just touching base with comfort.

    Sending ~hugs~ to you

    Take care and be safe

    Caron xx

  • Caron's avatar
    Caron
    Member
    15 years ago

    Thankyou for your message Kay, and the heads up about the new set of chemo, I will deffinately keep pain meds in mind, for that new set of chemo, after this 'red cordial' chemo is finished. Im finding out, that knowledge is a great asset, even if its not used by myself, its there...and this is the greatest gift, i feel, with going through this journey of ours.

    Take care and be safe,

    ~hugs~

    Caron x

  • Caron's avatar
    Caron
    Member
    15 years ago

    Hello, and yes its the 'red cordial' chemo, i have 2 more rounds of this one, then 3 of the taxol, like you have had. I started coming good, then had 2 days of feeling depressed, so this is why i havent been online, Im coming out of those 2 dark days, and actually feel like im on the rise from the effects of the first round of chemo. Least now i know what im in for with the next two round of this 'red' one.

    Love the ~hugs~  thankyou...sending you some more, just because ~hugsss Kath~

    Take care and be safe

    Caron xx

  • kay's avatar
    kay
    Member
    15 years ago

    Hi Caron,

    I had pain  etc. with the Taxotare on my 4th round of chemo. I was feeling really good because this was my first time with this new set of chemo, and then it hit on the Sunday evening. It was usually the first round of the different lots of chemo that I felt the worst.  I made sure I took the pain killers on the second round of the taxotare.  I wasn't sure what to do the first round and contacted my oncology nurse.  We live 2 and a half hours away from the hospital I was attending. Hopefully the next round is better for you.

    Kay

  • di-p52's avatar
    di-p52
    Member
    15 years ago

    Hi Caron,

    I do hope you're starting to feel a little bit better, but it is that same old 'hit by a Mac truck' feeling!

    I dont know if I had the same chemo as you - but I do think most of them have the same or similar side effects.  I used to console myself by saying, 'if this is how the chemo is making ME feel, just imagine what it is doing to those nasty cancer cells!!!' 

    I can only speak from my experience, but the first round of chemo treatment (which I think was the stronger - 4 x 3 weekly) hit me 'like a ton of bricks' - not a lot of nausea, but the aches and pains were quite bad.  By the end of the 4th cycle I was glad that it was finished.  The onco told me that it has an accumalative effect in the body, that is generally why you only have 4 treatments.  Then I moved on to a 'gentler' chemo (12 x weekly) - which didnt cause as many probs.

    Try and tell yourself that this chemo wont last forever, and if it is making you sick, maybe it is making the cancer sicker!!!

    good luck. get lots of rest.  thinking of you!

    Di

  • Di_BCNA's avatar
    Di_BCNA
    Member
    15 years ago

    Hey Caron! :)  What a rough few days you've had, but it's good you're feeling a bit better.  No need to apologise for blogging how you feel -- if that's the way it is, then that's the way it is.  Good to get it out, I say, and you're right, it may help someone else to hear. Hang in there and hope you get lots of rest.

    {{{Caron}}} -- gentle hugs back