First chemo session

Hi S4maa  1st chemo session I had was for EC and was the day after I had my port fitted so I was feeling a bit sore and swollen on top of the nervy scaredness and probably still had some of the medication from the day before running round my body but the nurse put me at easy straight away the needle had been left in situ so that they didn't have to insert it into the sore skin only take it out I was weighed had blood pressure temperature and pluse ox done whilst having a cup of coffee and taking my steroids /anti sickness then a saline drip was hung and I had a nurse sit by me to administer the EC as it is done as a slow  push rather than a bag meaning the nurse has it in a syringe and adds it to the drip a little bit at a time afterwards i was sent home with more steroids and anti sickness tablets and I felt fine a little tired and slightly musz headed but not to bad  the next day I felt really sick luckily the anti sickness tablets work really well and quickly also a little dizzy and tired but not awful and I probable felt like that for the first 4-5 days feeling almost back to normal on day 6 but because I had had the surgery just the day before I don't know how accurate my reaction was as some could quite easily have been from the surgery  2nd session did follow roughly the same route though hope that helps and that your chemo goes ok sending hugs xxx

I found it similar to kentish maid. The only other thing was that I found my eyes went gritty/dry with the epirubicin and I needed hypomellose eye drops straight away - your chemo unit can give those to you or they can be found in any pharmacy. Sucking a sweet when cyclophosphamide is given to you helps with the funny taste as it goes in. Afterwards, I was mostly tired and if I did too much felt dizzy/light headed. I needed some laxatives to deal with the side effects of the antisickness medication, but it wasn't bothersome, just something that I had to take. When you stop the steroid tablets after a few days, you can suddenly feel more tired, but I found it had all lifted within a week from chemo. Drinking plenty of water the day before and for the few days after chemo to help flush it through your system can help. I still managed to walk every day on chemo, though keep it short if you walk on chemo day. I used to run in the second week, having not been a runner before chemo. It is do-able, I just had to accept the tired days, pacing myself and sleeping when I needed to, taking meds for side effects and seeing each one as a means to an end helped me. Good luck for your chemo and hope it goes well for you xx

Thank you. 
milk have a pict line placed in day before. 
did you use a cold cap? 
mum going against this as no guarantee and I don’t want to be there longer

Morning 

I personally didn't have the cold cap first chemo being day after having port put in ment I was already feeling sore then having to go in on my own not having any idea what it was going to be like or how long it would take and having to wear a mask the idea of being there 30min before treatment to have cold cap started and then some more after treatment to thaw out was just to much for me to process I have seen plenty of people having it during treatment and all seem to have kept a fair amount of hair but I don't really regret the decision I found hair folicals got very sore like red hot needles stabbing you which could be because im a natural red head meaning my skin is quite sensitive but once I had a buzz cut those sensation went away and although I have developed some bald patch's it's not all over and the hair I do lose is not so noticeable  and I'm now 3/4 or way through my chemo  so hopefully any I have lost will grow back it might be worth you putting out a message on here for other people views on cold caping though 

Yes, I’ve read cold calls gives it’s own side effects which I just don’t want to deal with on top of chemo. 
silly question it may be, my children oldest being 8, they don’t know about my health so the idea of loosing my hair is worrying to explain. 
I have thought I’d let her cut my hair super short once I started loosing it. 
I’ve read that it can be anywhere from 1-4 weeks after first session for hair loss. 
can I ask your experience please? 
Thank you for replying!!! ️

Happy to help i had long hair at the begining just below my shoulders so the 1st thing I did was actually have it cut for charity the little princess trust who make wigs for children with cancer which took it up to Bob length and gave me and everyone else a chance to get used to my hair being shorter and also gave me a feeling of something positive happening then I had 2weeks before starting treatment .

my treatment was accelerated to shrink lump as quickly as possible before surgery so it was EC fortnightly for 4treatments and I am now on Pac/carbo weekly .

My head started hurting after my 2nd treatment but I didn't start losing much hair untill after 3rd treatment when it started hurting more and was coming out not in big lumps but just a steady drop every time I touch my head which after about 3day just got to me so after a routine hospital visit  (as those first few weeks you seem to spend most of your time at hospital blood tests,MRSA and covid swabs , treatment,check ups with your consultant) I was just walking through our local shopping mall and just walked into a random baber's explained I was having chemo and asked them to just cut it off they were happy to do this but only a number 2 or 3 as they didn't want to take a chance of any cuts which I was fine with it felt a bit strange to start with but because the pain went almost immediately I soon got used to it I did have to invest in hats to protect head from the heat and cold and I used it to hide my short hair when round children to start with ...I work in a school and am a Beaver leader ..but after a few weeks because no more hair really has come out I now don't wear hat indoors 

Thought these photos might help you see how having shorter hair makes you look different but doesn't change who you are the only difference since the buzz cut now is my hair has lost its colour so is now white rather than red so probably looks less even thought it's not 

I tried the cold cap knowing that half of people that try it lose half their hair, which is fine if it thins evenly. My hair is thick so it took longer, adding about 2 hours or more to each chemo session. Unfortunately it wasn't applied properly the first time and so I lost hair over a large area of my crown, so by cycle 3 abandoned it. I could tell because my hair roots over my crown felt tingle on about day 2 after chemo, so I knew the damage had been done. Had it been applied properly I would have tried sticking with it. You have to be careful with your hair if you cold cap - unscented shampoos, silk pillow cases, care when brushing not to tug on roots, stroking in shampoo rather than massaging it, tepid gentle shower water, not hot. Its worth a go if you want to try keeping your own hair, but there are some great head coverings and wigs if you don't fancy it. I didn't mind the cold sensation on my head at all, but I know some do find it too much.

I have a wig and love it. I did cut my hair from very long, in to a bob before chemo, and then cut it after cycle 4, with hair trimmers, when it felt like there was too little hair left to be useful/ look like me in the mirror. 3 months after chemo I have about 2cm baby soft hair, but am using my wig as I like it so much.

xx

Thank you both. 
photos are super helpful. 
my hair is long , bra length. 
mum going to have to cut it, I’ve very thin hair as it is, so can’t see me getting away with anything. 
milk try some wigs, I already bought some hats, though I like the idea of wigs- thank you