hi I'm mbh456, i just had my second R-CHOP this last Monday and I'm having chills, runs, vomiting. I'm thinking twice about this whole chemo thing. i know i need to go through it to live. is anyone else going through chemo with similar problems? if so please write me and let me know what helps. my doctor is calling tomorrow morning for an update and i took my temp about an hour ago and I'm starting to get a fever. i hope i stay out of the hospital. thanks everyone for support. mbh456
Hi M...I am only post one and I have had a few good days but today isn't one of them. I know it is really hard. This whole thing is really hard and I will pray for you tonight but don't give up. If the chemo seems too much for you look in to clinical trials and make sure your doctor is giving you the meds you need. Pain meds, nausea or whatever you need and if you need to go to the hospital it's better that you do and don't take chances. Things can change suddenly and they can also get better suddenly. so please don't give up. It is your life and this will be over. Take care Lori
dear loril,
yes i had a good day this last time too followed by a week of runs chills and just feeling yucky. hang in there too. i feel better about things and what happened was i vomited and didn’t think i could hold down the compazine they gave me so they told me to alternate the compazine with the ativan. this helped me get through Friday and also the weekend. I’m feeling much better. lately I’ve been struggling with depression so i have an appointment with my therapist on Tuesday. don’t be too scared as it will be overwhelming at first but there are lots of good people here that will help you. are you going to a doctor a oncologist? mine is good at what she does and takes time to talk to me. i guess I’ll share more from now on. write me anytime.take care mbh456.
mbh-
Sorry to read about your issues with chemo ... I see you posted this a few days ago, have things not gotten any better? Whether they have or not, you should tell your doctor about all your symptoms, because it's possible he or she can help to alleviate some of them.
Ross
yes, things are getting better now. I'm off the steroids and my blood sugars are down some. my chills are gone. but i will talk to them tomorrow as i go in for blood work to check my blood cell counts. they were concerned on Friday and i promised to call if i got worse. i think I'm learning how to treat the side effects well. it's that each time it's different for me. i didn't have chills the first time. in two weeks i have another treatment so i would love to ask them what to do differently. thanks for advise. take care. mbh456
Thinking of you all and sending healing thoughts your way!
Hey MB, I am very sorry to hear that you are having a rough go on this 2nd one. I hope they are able to get everything balance so you won't have to go through so much. Thanks for posting, esp with all the stuff going. God Bless, Kathy
it’s ok. i feel tired out but otherwise my spirits are good. thanks. mbh456
dear M, I just read your post and want to wish you the best of luck. My Husband was diagnosed with a rare T-cell HNL last July and has finished 6 treatments of CHOP. He was scheduled for 8, but was in remission after 6. You must continue chemo treatment if you can. The side effects can be reduced in many cases with the right prep. I want to recommend a cookbook that I found on Amazon.com called the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz. It has recipes that will help with the symptoms before, during, and after chemo treatments. It also specifically states which recipes to make when you have nausea, dry mouth, constipation,fatigue, diarrhea, nuetropena etc. It was the best thing that ever happened to us having to go through this horrible disease. My husband was able to eat and keep his weight up during treatments. Every recipe I fixed, he loved and so did I. My mom also has cancer and now my sister is using the cookbook recipes for her.
We are now starting the second phase of his treatment which is the bone marrow transplant. I will be definitely taking the cookbook with us to Seattle.
Best of Luck
Hope you start feeling better soon!
Thanks for the name of the cookbook, it is very helpful info to pass onto others. Good luck and many blessings for a sucessful transplant for your husband. KBeale
this is a cookbook i will definitely get on the 1st. I'm sure it will help me after chemo treatments. i never know what to eat. my taste changes so much that I've lost 30lbs so far. I'm overweight but was advised to not diet while going through chemo. i eat the best i can but i think this cookbook would help me. thanks for posting it. take care. mbh456
You are very welcome....good luck and enjoy the recipes. They are very delicious. BTW, it is more than a cookbook, the author is informative as well as practical. None of that "out there stuff" that sort of turns me off. I have learned more about how nutrition can help mitigate the side effects of chemo and also she puts in very interesting antidotes that make cancer less threatening.
Enjoy!
You guys are great, I also am going to try the cookbook. Monday I get #2 R-Chop treatment. I have had chemo not too long ago for breast cancer and found that talking with the nurses during my treatment time helped me take care of the side effects to come. They have a pretty good idea due to all the people they see with our cancer. They would also talk to the MD and get me anything I needed to help me out. They were my best resource. I also found out that I didn't feel the same after each treatment. Some people could predict how they were going to feel but I felt differently after each treatment. I learned how to deal with the side effects as they were handed to me, because you usually do not have all the side effects they list but have to tell you about just in case you do. So the upside to this is having had chemo before has helped me to be prepared for what may happen and how to prevent it or deal with what does happen. Never, never give up this too shall pass, do your chemo today and live life to it's fullest tomorrow and you will make it thru! Hugs and prayers to you all
Hello all,Just did my third round of Treanda/Rituxan.So forgive me if I mess-up.Guess I must be either really really tough.I never got truly sick like I read on some posts.Sure I've lost weight and my appetite but happy I got through most side effects.Wasn't even sure I was having side effects since I have many other conditions to deal with.They do have lots of good stuff to help if one drug doesn't work.I usually write things done or call if I can't deal with it.Not big on reading up on all the side effects of chemo's.Maybe that's done me good at times not knowing.I've had side effects from these drugs that are all new.Alot of my side effects have also been different from one month to the next.So with that said try and hang in there life is still good no matter what.Michele
I second that!
I too turned to the Cancer Fighting Kitchen CookBook. Mineral Broth soup saved me. I discovered the book around chemo 3. That soup really worked for me. The other recipes were also things I could eat and more importantly wanted to eat. Don't give up. The chemo is worth it. It works. It is hard to endure it, it is an aggressive treatment but so is this cancer. Don't give up.
I agree Go Away!!!!So tacky and tasteless.
MBH 546 Hold on it will get better Ross is right you need to ask your MD for something to help the nausea better. I had problems with nausea also and Oldanestron worked wonders but you need to use it before you get sick cuz it's hard to catch up after you are sick. You will learn the foods to eat with the prednisone to stop the nausea before it starts. Oatmeal of all things works for me. Toast with light butter or anything to coat your stomache will greatly help. I also called my MD and got a perscription for lowering stomache acid during this all of these things help but you need to call the triage RN so she can get orders for you to help. I of course still have bad days but they aren't so bad I can't manage them. This group really helps let me vent and get things out that others don't understand. Keep on keeping on! This too shall pass.
Mineral Broth Soup. It helped me tremendously. Particularly if you are so sick you can not eat much. It is in the Cancer Fighting Kitchen Cookbook. I sound like an ad for that book but I have no vested interest, I assure you. It was the turning point from when the treatment really started working for me. The recipe ideas are things you will actually want to eat and the mineral broth soup really helps when you don't feel like eating. The down side is you need a really big pot. I was lucky. I live in Marin County. Lots of people into this kind of eating. I was able to hire someone to cook for me from that book. No I am not rich. It just was the turning element for me in getting better. I mean Chemo first, western medicine first, but the healthy eating helped it all work.
Feeling sick is really no fun. Mashed potatoes really worked out well for me the first few days after chemo.
Ginger Kombucha tea worked really great as well to settle my stomach. Again I live in Marin so stuff like that is mainstream in almost any grocery store.
It gets better! I promise! You will be looking back and writing posts like I am now.