Dreading next infusion

Hi Fist and a warm welcome to the board. I’m sorry to hear that you’re struggling with the chemo and I remember being in the same situation - the nurses told me that slowing the infusion down would prolong the discomfort but I’ve read others have found it to be beneficial? Like you I think it was more a time issue knowing they had to ‘free up the chair’ for the next patient. So here’s a few ideas from me that could be worth trying

1. Ask your consultant to tell the nurses that it needs to done over a longer time and then get a morning appointment 

2. Ask them to put a heat pad on your arm before and during the infusion. Keep a heat pad at home (like those ones you can pop in the microwave) to use for the first few days after.

3. Ask for a different antisickness med. They tend to start you on the cheapest brand but it doesn’t suit everyone so ask to try a different one - I think I’ve read that Emend is very good.

4. If the painful arm continues then ask for a picc line. This is a cannula that stays in your upper arm throughout your treatment. It is painless to fit and although you may still experience the neuropathy you won’t havung the bruising and feel like your arm has been beaten with stinging nettles.

5. Keep your hands and feet well moisturised and wear gloves when touching anything cold. Show the nurses if your hands or soles of your feet start to redden as PN can continue to get worse after stopping treatment and can be permanent.

6. Tiredness is a side effect of chemo so listen to your body and don’t try and carry on as normal if you don’t feel up to it? Wrap up warm and rest when you need to. Chemo is tough so look after yourself and make a few temporary changes to your life if necessary eg. Online supermarket shopping, ready made meals etc. Make life as easy as possible for yourself for a couple of months

I appreciate that it’s hard to be ‘pushy’ sometimes but you know how you’re feeling and you shouldn’t be struggling when there are options to relieve some of the side effects? Talk to the nurses and don’t feel like you cant because they’re too busy - it’s your health and body so have a chat with them while they’re putting the cannula in and hopefully this next session will be a bit better.

Hope this helps

Karen x

Thank you Karen for your helpful reply.  I shall try your ideas!

Hello Karen

I am sending you warm hugs and lots of love. I hope you feel better soon.

Thankyou Kaay I maybe should have mentioned that this was back in 2017  x