Had my op

Glad that part is over for you Smurfy, hope you feel ok! I’m due for my op mid March (Diep) terrified but optimistic! I took advice and bought a V shaped pillow, hopefully that will stop me rolling over during the night.

Had to inject myself during chemo, couldn’t do it but hubby took on the task...a little too enthusiastically if you ask me!!

Glad all went well for you...onwards and upwards!

It is amazing how "good" you feel post op isn't it?  I wasn't unduly worried before mine but it went, and is going, so much better than I could have imagined.  Now a week post surgery and still discomfort but very little pain per se.

Glad you are also recovering well.

Had my first proper shower today...another milestone! 

Bramble22

V pillow worked really well for me, and still is...haven't turned onto side once.  It doesn't however stop me forgetting that it hurts to put mt right arm above my head unfortunately!

Good luck ladies

Thank you.  I managed to inject myself even tho I hate needles. Now to gain my strength back for the next part.  How was the  chemo for you? That's the part I'm dreading the most as you hear all the horror stories. 

For me the chemo was not too bad at all, I was very good on the EC.

I had no sickness or nausea and lost some of hair (got it all shaved off, could have probably kept c60% but it just got far too annoying!) but they were the main things. I did have a stay in hospital after 1st EC with low white blood cells (got neutropenic sepsis) but really enjoyed my stay (lots of visitors, the nurses were so lovely and it was like a spa without facials!) and only felt rough at best the first day of 5 day stay. Following this was given GCSF injections to up the white blood cells, not a huge fan of injecting self but did it! There were the odd things on top of this (thrush, follicle infection) but all quite minor for me.
Generally felt fine for 3 days post chemo then rough for a week (struggle to get out of bed, not really hungry, felling pathetic) then ok for 2nd week & fine for last week.
For me the paclitaxel was the worse of the 2 (its usually the other way around for most) and after 1st dose suffered from peripheral neuropathy in feet (which is now gone) and a little in hands, as my cancer lumps responded well to EC my oncologist (when challenged!) agreed that I could return to EC.

The cumulative effects of the EC caught me up at the end and after the 5th & 6th EC felt rougher for longer, didn't help that I also got a chest infection that took ages to disappear.

You do need to take others experiences with caution however as how you react is totally based on you & your body, I found that having a positive attitude and approaching treatment with a healthy sense of humour definitely helped but each to their own and you know what's best for you.

So I didn't skip through the tulips but hopefully as you can see it was all very manageable. The important things for me are 1) take your temp, 2) Escalate any issues to your support team so they can be sorted straight away and 3) Challenge your support team if something isn't working for you (you know yourself best!).

And its worth mentioning that what made my chemo enjoyable (yes, odd I know) was seeing the genuinely lovely & personable nurses and other patients on the ward and having a good old laugh with them as well as arranging for different friends to come and accompany me...its left me with really good memories and actually miss my regular visits (not sure the nurses/patients would agree...). So I would suggest talk to people - nurses, fellow chemo receivers- if that's your thing as it will make it so much more enjoyable.

Also, if you haven't already, get on the monthly chemo thread as there's everyone else going through similar challenges that can provide support, listen to you grumble,  or in my case, provide a good laugh!

Good luck

Sam X

And bear in mind that those you read about are probably having the toughest times (and therefore need support) those who are finding chemo easy most likely don't need to post!  So you will find more horror stories than not....

Thank you for that.  I am going into this with a daft, silly approach and laughing my way through it. I am also being super positive which has helped so far. I will make sure I have good back up with friends etc like you suggested. It does help when people don't sympathise with you but instead urge you to carry on as normal (what is normal). Onwards and upwards! 

I was surprised at how well I feel. Only 2 days after op and had a brilliant sleep last night. Still no pain just a bit of discomfort. Daft as it sounds but can't wait to wear my bra again! Hate this sports thingy as it's not pretty!  My tummy is starting to bruise from self injecting with blood thinner. But onwards and upwards and keep thinking happy thoughts!!!! 

Well, that's great that you're doing well after surgery. I feel you're really brave to inject needles yourself. I still got scared even if the doc says to get shot. I'm really inspired by you. I hope you'll get well soon so stay positive always. 

Hi

I had to use blood thinner injections after surgery on my feet. I found I bruised if I injected too quickly. I was. Immobile for six weeks, so six week injections!  Slow and steady is the way to go.

Good luck

Hopefully you won't have to do the injections for TOO long! Bruising is an issue, as you've already found, so try and make sure that you move the site of the injection each day to spread them out. I've found that if you do it where you can pinch a bit of fat (I can pinch plenty, so it's not too bad!) you may find it bruises less.

My team said that I could use the outside of my thigh as an alternative if the stomach bruised too badly - might be worth checking with yours. However, I have found that the jabs sting more in the thigh, and my thighs bruise more easily than my stomach.

You do get used to the jabs - I've been doing them for 18 months now, and have recently gone from once daily to twice daily. They become part of the everyday routine pretty quickly! 

Good luck with everything, and hope you keep feeling well...