First Chemo this week when does the side effects fade??

What kind of chemo are you having? I had FEC-T. With the FEC, I was back to work day 6 (working from home) and felt pretty OK from about day 8 or 9, slow, short jog from about day 9 or 10. First 4 days pretty worn out and lots of side effects, day 5 starting to feel better and day 6, fine to work. 

The docetaxel (T) floored me and the first dose I could barely get off the sofa or bed until day 10. They reduced my dose after that and it was similar tothe FEC in terms of timescales for work etc but I found docetaxel really tough and as chemo effects are cumulative, I felt more worn out and harder to recover the more cycles I had. I also found the first couple of days after docetaxel OK, but then day 3 the side effects started and went on for a bit longer. Back to work day 7 rather than 6, apart from that first cycle when it was longer.

Everyone is different but when I read up on other people's experiences, the time frames were fairly similar to mine even if actual side effects were different. 

The good news is that you will get through chemo and recover again. 

Thank you Beatthebreast for your info, it’s really helpful! I’m on Carbo and Docetaxel, so reading what you have said it’s probably that, that has floored me. 
Got the better of me today, my legs are so painful and the waves and  wooshes you experience, wowzers!! It’s all new this week and at least I’ll know what to expect next time and yes 1 down 5 to go!! I’m trying to stay strong, thank you x

The shooting pains are fun aren't they? I was surprised that paracetamol really helped with the pain. I had awful chills combined with intense, anxiety inducing hot flushes too. I could not get an even temperature at all. Docetaxel is pretty tough but my chemo was pre-op so I was lucky to know that it really shrunk the tumour. Much better than FEC did so worth it! 

Oh they are! Yes I’m all pre-op so am hopeful this will be the case and I won’t ever have to do this again! Can’t believe an op is next on the agenda, it’s a long year ahead...I’m getting some paracemol now! Thanks for chatting   

The op and radiotherapy were a walk in the park after chemo! Especially the radiotherapy. The operation is obviously major surgery but I started to feel so much better from chemo a week or 2 after the op that it really felt like I was on the road to recovery - plus the tumour was all removed which felt great. It is a long year but You'll get through it. I just finished radiotherapy a week or so ago and I started chemo at the beginning of October. But I already felt like I had my life back before then. Good luck!

Hi, I'm on TCHP, once the steroids wore off for me, I found Day 4 to be the worst with sickness and nausea and Day 5 not great. I on,y missed work on Day 4 both times though I work from home and can reduce my diary to make it easier. From Day 6 onward I felt lots better and whilst I've had many small annoying side effects, once the sickness had gone it was all very manageable.   On the first cycle I suffered terribly with heartburn like pains in my ribs and through to my back.  I am now on Omeprazole daily and I hardly had this at all in cycle 2, made Quinta a remarkable difference.

I suggest you talk to your medical team, I find they really want to support managing side effects and have many meds to give or ideas.  Good luck and hope it eases soon.
 

That’s great to hear! 
Thank you  

Thanks for feedback  i am on day 5 and have been hit with a terrible dry mouth, throat, terrible taste of metals, no taste buds  . I have throat sweets etc..and i am seeing my team tomorrow as it’s bank holiday today but do you know how long this lasts? Very depressed. 

Hi, I found the minor side effects, for me that was the weird taste and dry mouth, lasted for the first 10-12 days.  To be very honest, I didn't struggle too much with these, I was just so relieved not to be sick and nauseous.  By around day 13 I could actually taste a glass of red wine. Hope this helps and that you feel a bit better soon x

Sorry, should have said, try pineapple, or pineapple juice, that was recommended to me and helped a bit.   Someone here also suggested dry mouth pastilles, but I haven't managed to get any yet