The first week of Chemo Side Effects
I thought that keeping a log of what I was going through could be valuable. I can look at it next go round, and maybe have an idea of what is coming up. Also, anyone who is reading this blog who is going through Chemo might find it informative.
The problem is that Chemo is different for everyone. I may or may not feel these same side effects next session. Someone else with a different body make-up or different chemicals used in their therapy may have completely different reactions. It's a crap shoot.
Tuesday, Chemo Day 1 –
Felt really good today – probably the steroid coursing through my veins had
something to do with it. Taking the anti-nausea pill Zofran and a stool
softener since unfortunately, the Zofran causes constipation. Got some errands done, and
took the rest of the day off.
Wednesday, Chemo Day 2 –
Again, no side effects with the exception of slight gastric cramping. The
Zofran is evidently running ahead of the stool softener as nothing of note has
moved forward since Monday. Maybe not quite as much energy as yesterday. I did have some knee
pain in the evening which I thought was due to improper placement of the
laptop while I was on the computer.
Thursday, Chemo Day 3 – It
wasn’t the laptop.
My left knee has been stabbing me repeatedly through the
night no matter what position I put it in. I feel achy all over, but especially
my knee. My brain feels fuzzy, my teeth hurt, and overall, I feel just rotten.
I haven’t been taking my normal Tylenol in the a.m. for my
arthritis because the infusion nurse had said something about not masking a
temperature, so I send an email to all my doctors and nurses (hoping that one
of them will be on call on New Year’s Eve) asking for some help. As I finish
the email, I get hit with a wave of dizziness. I manage to dump myself into the
sofa and ask my husband to bring me a cold cloth for my head which helps
immeasurably with the dizziness.
I’m still having the intestinal cramping, so I decided to
add Miralax to my breakfast OJ, and I wait to hear from my medical team. I get
two automatic replies that two of the four are out of the office until after
New Year’s which is understandable. I do have a 24/7 number to call if needed,
but I still hope to hear from my team.
Eventually I check my email and my blessed oncologist has
responded telling me how sorry she is that I’m feeling so bad, and that I can
certainly take Tylenol and even the Tylenol 3 if necessary to get past this
pain. She says that it could be a side effect of the Taxotere, and also the
“Dex” crash as well. She even gives the OK to take another “Dex” pill, but I
choose not to do that. Not being a professional athlete, I don’t want to take
anymore steroids than I have to.
While waiting for the response, I finally have some lower GI
action, and that takes one worry off the table. I take the two arthritis
strength Tylenol and wait for it to take effect. My husband also digs out my
old “Iceman” ice machine which I used for my total knee replacement back in
2013. Between the icing and the Tylenol, the stabbing pains eventually subside,
and I am left only with an overall “flu-like” feeling which is doable. The rest
of the day is just feeling like I’m about the get the flu. My nurse does call
me to check on how I’m doing. It’s really nice to be able to be touch with my
team even on a holiday.
My poor dog doesn’t understand why I can’t have her in my
lap, but my body is so touchy, that even her slight weight makes me hurt. I
find that the Tylenol runs out well before the 8 hours, but I take some more
anyway. I’m watching how much I’m consuming per day, so I won’t overdo it. My
lower GI is still causing some problems, but I’m almost afraid that it might be
the diarrhea on its way.
It’s New Year’s Eve and we head to bed at 9.30 p.m. – it’s
the new midnight if you’re dealing with chemo side effects, and I sleep fairly
well. I wake a couple of times in the night, but not with the pain of the
previous evening.
Friday, Chemo Day 4 – I
feel much better than yesterday, still achy, but now with a new uneasy feeling
in my stomach. I’m continuing to take the anti-nausea and Tylenol, in fact I
get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to take it, and then return to bed until I begin to
feel some better.
When I do get up, I find that the most pain is now in my feet
– go figure. I suck on a couple of popsicles which help with the uneasy
stomach, and eventually chew on a couple of crackers. I have a different kind
of anti-nausea prescription which I haven’t taken yet called Compazine which I
can take if I have break-through nausea, but don’t feel it’s necessary yet.
I step out on a limb and ask for biscuits and gravy for
breakfast. I know that doesn’t sound like the best choice for an edgy stomach,
but something about the comfort of it sounds really good. I am a Southern girl,
and biscuits and gravy are like mother’s milk. My husband uses a mix for the
gravy, so it’s not as “fat” as one might think, and when I eat it, I feel
amazingly better.
I do OK until the Tylenol from early in the morning begins
to wear off. I don’t want to take more Tylenol at this time, so I take an
ibuprofen hoping that will step in with the achies. The ibuprofen helps. I’m
writing all my meds down now, so I don’t OD on Tylenol.
The diarrhea never showed up, but I didn’t take stool
softener or Miralax today. I did however, eat black-eyed peas and cornbread for
both lunch and dinner. My husband cooked them with my guidance, and they were
good! Lots of fiber in black-eyed peas, so maybe that will help.
Tired, but couldn’t sleep when I tried to take a nap. I did
however, go to bed early, and slept fairly well.
Saturday, Chemo Day 5 –
joint pain is better, but then I'm also taking Tylenol arthritis pain and
ibuprofen. No major nausea - still taking Zofran, just feeling fragile. Tired,
very tired. Tongue looked whitish this am, but then I forgot to brush it and
use the Biotene mouthwash before bed last night, so maybe it's OK.
This may be TMI for some of you, but I still can't get my
lower GI back on track. I thought for a while I was past the constipation and
headed for diarrhea, so quit the stool softener. Back to stool softener today.
I get intestinal cramping, and then pass a little bit, but I know there’s more
in there. Come on black-eyed peas!
Someone on the breastcancer.org thread dealing with
constipation posted this link, and it’s funny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cNRkQJcnUk
For a little while in the afternoon, I had no pains. I lay back in the
recliner with a dog on my lap and did not hurt. It was really nice
Sunday, Chemo Day 6 –
Really, really tired today. I was up many times during the night with cramping
which would produce gas and a small amount of stool. Sllloooowwwwlllyyy I am
getting my intestines to empty. I stopped taking the Zofran last night, and just
feel fragile, not queasy. Finally I decided to retire to the bedroom, close the door and try to nap.I slept like the dead,
but feel a whole lot better than I did.Tired, tired, tired of intestinal cramps!
A friend of mine in Chicago who was diagnosed with breast
cancer just before I, was walking back home after her diagnosis still trying to process what had happened
when she came across this written on the sidewalk.
The next day it was gone. This made me feel better.
Monday, Chemo Day 7 – – The last couple of days have just been awful with abdominal cramping. Finally, I
emailed my nurse about taking Imodium. I wasn't sure I should take it since I
wasn't really having diarrhea, just softish stool that really hurt.
She emailed me right back and said it
was the Taxotere, and I should take the Imodium. Wow, what a difference. One cramp after taking the first pill. Took another two hours later and slept
all night without having to go to the bathroom. Passed stool without pain in the morning. I
feel like I've returned from the dead!
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