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janinaj's avatar
janinaj
Member
12 years ago

First chemo

So I had my first chemo yesterday. Haven't had the best luck with Drs and nurses to date bit have managed to push for what I needed to get through this so far. Yesterday was no exception. The experience is incredibly frightening. Especially with a brand new port that May or may not work and feels really weird. I suppose everything is just foreign. I sat down and soon thereafter asked the nurse to check if my Onc who is a locum had checked my bloods, sure enough he hadn't so he hadn't prescribed anything for my chemo for the day. Just what I needed. A two minute rushed job. It got worse however when I found out that the things that I had been educated on wouldn't be provided e.g. Steroids to help me get through and Neulasta. Honestly I didn't mind about the neulasta shots. But going through first chemo without steroids sounded like a death sentence so I burst into tears. Luckily I had a friend with me who kicked up a fuss and got the nurse to check again with the Dr for peace of mind which she did and what do you know, next thing she was giving me steroids. But not before trying to take my blood pressure off the arm that has had a full axillary clearance. When i freaked out and told her no she argued with me that it was just a precaution.... Honestly, I don't care if its a precaution, just take the precaution and don't do it! Certainly don't try make me feel like an idiot for it. This was all before chemo started.... When chemo finally did start it was relatively straight forward. You have to try not think about the reasons why the nurses get dressed up in what is akin to gas masks and relax. I had been taught to say a little mantra to myself which I did about letting the chemicals in to live a long life. By 4;30pm, without incident I was sent home. Everything seemed fine until about 6-7pm when the nausea started. I took one of the little nausea tablets given to me but they didn't work. Instead I Spent the night trying to stop myself from vomiting constantly. It sucked. Sure, I could have gone to the emergency room, awaited 2hrs for better meds and come home but I decided to battle it out, My temperature was remaining stable so there wasn't many reason to panic, my body was just totally rejecting the chemicals. As I'm typing now, I still feel like hell. Should go see a Dr soon I suppose, hopefully they will have something for it. Jx

5 Replies

  • janinaj's avatar
    janinaj
    Member
    12 years ago
    Thanks all, I went to see my local GP first thing this morning after the night from hell. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the nausea tabs that I was prescribed and gave me something starting with Ona......... Zodif? It works like a dream. Half an hour after one wafer and I could sit up straight again, lie down and walk around. Heaven! Even manage to stomach food this afternoon. I advised the centre of my night from hell and was told that they were very sorry. I really don't know why everything had to be so hard. Anyway, bright lights still hurt my head so I can't look at this screen too long. It Was good to hear that I did the right thing in pushing for the steroids and neulasta though. Thanks for your advice. They are 'updating my file and fixing my meds for next cycle'. Thanks, Jx
  • janinaj's avatar
    janinaj
    Member
    12 years ago
    Thanks all, I went to see my local GP first thing this morning after the night from hell. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the nausea tabs that I was prescribed and gave me something starting with Ona......... Zodif? It works like a dream. Half an hour after one wafer and I could sit up straight again, lie down and walk around. Heaven! Even manage to stomach food this afternoon. I advised the centre of my night from hell and was told that they were very sorry. I really don't know why everything had to be so hard. Anyway, bright lights still hurt my head so I can't look at this screen too long. It Was good to hear that I did the right thing in pushing for the steroids and neulasta though. Thanks for your advice. They are 'updating my file and fixing my meds for next cycle'. Thanks, Jx
  • Janey235's avatar
    Janey235
    Member
    12 years ago

    That's just awful. It's bad enough having chemo pumped into you but having medical staff that are either incompetent or inexperienced is unacceptable for cancer patients. Do you have a regular Oncologist that you can get in touch with. When you said the Onc was a locum, was that the Doc on duty in the Chemo unit? Should know better! You should be given a precription for Neulasta, I can't believe you weren't. When you are well enough, I'd be asking questions why things weren't the same as your education session. Can you go to your GP to ask for help? Whether you are a public or private patient, there is no excuse for poor medical practice.

    Hang in there you poor darling. I hope you feel better soon.

     Sending you hugs

    Love Janey xxx

  • Viv_C's avatar
    Viv_C
    Member
    12 years ago
    So sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with your first chemo. As Deanne says, good on you for speaking up and checking on your treatment. It is so unfair that sometimes we have to be so assertive when we should be able to expect proper medical care at all times. I have been very lucky with my medical team and my response to treatment so far, but find I have to keep reminding everyone of my allergy to some surgical tapes and about not using the axillary clearance arm. It sounds to me as if the locum you saw wasn't following correct treatment protocols. Perhaps it would be worth raising the issue with the patient liaison service or equivalent when you are feeling better. Until then, as Deanne says, hit the phone to get some help. Best wishes Viv
  • Viv_C's avatar
    Viv_C
    Member
    12 years ago
    So sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with your first chemo. As Deanne says, good on you for speaking up and checking on your treatment. It is so unfair that sometimes we have to be so assertive when we should be able to expect proper medical care at all times. I have been very lucky with my medical team and my response to treatment so far, but find I have to keep reminding everyone of my allergy to some surgical tapes and about not using the axillary clearance arm. It sounds to me as if the locum you saw wasn't following correct treatment protocols. Perhaps it would be worth raising the issue with the patient liaison service or equivalent when you are feeling better. Until then, as Deanne says, hit the phone to get some help. Best wishes Viv