Hii @sunrise_sunset, all the best with your treatment. It is all a bit scary, the first day of each new treatment was the scariest for me as you don't know how you will react until you start.
I had the same chemo plan. The AC 4 rounds were probably the hardest for me (and I think most people). I didn't get any nausea, the medication for treating it is much better these days. I never completely lost my taste either, my appetite was ok as well, and didn't get the metalic taste with water either.
The first few days after treatment were ok, the steroids doing their job, but from day 4-8 I got pretty severe fatigue, so lots of naps and resting. For me the fatigue with AC was the worst side effect. There were days when having a shower was hard work and I'd have to lay down and rest after.
The steroids can give you insomnia, but as I suffer from that anyway it didn't really bother me more than it does normally.
I tried to do as much exercise as I could, mainly walking and stretching. As it was wet season in Darwin and pretty hot I bought myself a walking pad/treadmill and would do 15 minutes walking blocks watching the TV, I tried to do this even on the days when I was really fatigued.
Week 2 after treatment was my 'good' week and I felt ok.
I didn't work during AC but went back 2 days a week through the paclitaxel treatment. I felt generally better on paclitaxel, no severe fatigue.
My treatment centre didn't offer cold cap, I'm not sure how effective it will be with AC but no harm in giving it a go. I'd definitely try the gloves for paclitaxel, I ended up with some peripheral neuropathy in my fingertips, although mild, and my nails on my hands suffered.
The chat 'struggling though chemo' will give you an idea of the side effects you might get. Most of my side effects were fairly minor, although I got terrible mouth ulcers around session 7 of paclitaxel.
Overall I found the treatment manageable.
I had great support from my husband, friends and work. Don't be afraid to accept help when you need it, take it easy and listen to your body. I tried to get out and catch up with friends when I felt ok, mainly in outdoors setting as I felt this reduced any infection risk.
I'm over 5 months post chemo, and feeling ok, almost normal. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly my body recovered from the chemo. The peripheral neuropathy is getting better all the time, and is only faintly in my fingertips now.
