I feel like im going mad

Hi Patsy38                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I was saddened to read your message,its all just so new to you at the moment. Firstly lets talk about how you are feeling you say you have had chemo a few days ago and you don,t feel well,it might be a good idea to contact your breast care nurse and tell her about your health concern also contact your oncology department for further advice.I am not qualified to give you any advice but i would definitely ask for some to put your mind at rest. We all feel like we are falling apart emotionally from time to time this is perfectly normal for anyone dealing with cancer, i know i do on a regular basis.This might sound odd but crying is good for you, you need to get it out its good for your soul.I am in the incurable group and know all about emotions being all over the place.Its hard when you have small children they don,t understand whats going on with their mom and they get scarred all you can do is reassure them and give them a big hug.I have asked my family and friends not to use the word positive or how strong i am in dealing with my cancer, because i think that i have to live up to it and at the moment i cant always do that. We all deal with our health issues differently, mine was and still is a bad day were i cry at anything and a better day were i am a little better.All these thoughts we have about dying, and leaving our families,are ok to have.First things first sort out why you are feeling unwell,if you fell poorly everything else seems worse,someone told me to STOP and BREATH and that was good advice.I hope you get this sorted soon and please try to keep calm this will get sorted i promise.This forum has a lot of kind, helpful, sincere,people who will reach out to help you we all try to here for each other.If i can help in any way i will always offer my support Keep Well and Safe xx

Hi, 

     Sorry to hear you’re having a rough time. I had a reaction to the docetaxel on my second dose also. They were able to continue giving me it just had IV hydrocortisone before giving me IV hydrocortisone on my 3rd dose and was ok. Also those filgrastim injections made my legs ache they affect the long bones in your legs. After discussing with oncologist changed it so-

1st chemo took filgrastim injections on day after chemo at 20.00 5 doses- was in agony stomach and leg pain

2nd 3rd and 4th chemo took filgrastim injection 3 days after chemo was a lot better only took 3 doses each time. All this was discussed with my oncologist. Also I took my steroids at a reduced dose for longer this helped with my pain also discussed with oncologists

hope thus helps chemotherapy exhausting and affects us all differently. I just kept tweaking things and it did get better 

take care

Grunchy xxx

Hey, thank you do much for replying, I've contacted the doctor like you suggested so I'm just waiting for a call back. I just seemed to find the emotions really hard to handle and to maintain the upbeat positive attitude people look from me if that makes sense. I took your advice to just stop and breathe and you are 100% again. Thank you for helping me, stay safe xxxx

Thanks Gail, sounds just like what happened to me too. I didn't realise I could potentially switch things around to help. I will speak to my oncologist about what I can do on the injections etc. Take care and thanks very much xxx

Hi ,

those Filgrastim effects can also be helped by taking a daily dose of Loratidine (brand name is Claritin) beginning the day before you give yourself the first injection. It helps with the bone pain (no idea why or how, but it’s just that antihistamine!) 

sending big hugs, sounds as if you really need them xxx

Hi

aww sweet I think our family and friends dont know what else to say so the " keep strong , stay positive " is the only thing they think helps. Even though this statement comes from a place of love and caring. It's really not what we need to hear sometimes. No one who asnt had the dreaded diagnosis can imagine the torment we feel on a daily basis. The fear and the what ifs. 

Just take each day as it comes , if your In pain ask for help , whether that's from family or your bc team.  Have time to mend emotionally and physically,  if you want to cry then cry , if you want to shout then shout and if you want to rant at the world then do so. 

Hope the oncologist comes back with a suggestion to help you. 

Take care stay safe 

Julie 

Thanks Julie, I really appreciate you replying. I'm feeling a little bit better today so just need to take it as it comes and cut myself a bit of slack every now and then lol

Take care Julie and stay safe xx

Hi

I just wanted to say thank you. Your post covered just how I have been feeling. I'm a touch more positive about what I can do now 

Hey,

I'm glad it has helped and it helped me posting it. I'm back in for the next chemo session today so I'll be feeling like that again shortly but it doesn't last forever. I felt really bad a few days then it just seemed to gently ease.

Take care and just message if you need a chat. Xx

Hi , missed you original post but just wanted to say I had exactly same thing when I switched to docetaxel. "Brain fog" for a few days and aches and pains from the filtration injection but it did pass. I've also been much more emotional on this one, but that could be combination of coronavirus on top of everything else. If your upset it's what you need to feel, don't try and bottle it up. Sometimes you feel better after a good cry. A nice long shower while you get it out of your system works for me then I can put on a brave face again. And there are times when I feel genuinely ok and happy . Don't be afraid to tell the team if your struggling to cope. Good luck xxx