E/c chemo

Hi there, 

Sorry you’re having some troubles after your first treatment. Everything you’ve mentioned here sounds quite normal. I found that EC made me feel like I was drugged. 

I would suggest that you call your chemo team as they can reassure you and also get you any extra meds you might need to help you feel a bit better, especially if you are actually vomiting. 

I used Optrex drops for my eyes, which helped a bit.  I also found that when I felt really dizzy or woozy, if I stopped and lay or sat still that helped to ease it a bit. Metaclopromide also makes you feel dizzy or have a fuzzy head. 

For the bloating and indigestion a lot of people take Omeprezole and it really helps. 

The first treatment is really hard, please be kind to yourself and don’t hesitate to pick up the phone for help or advice if you need it. Once you get through this you’ll know what to expect and it should get easier. 

Ruby xx

Thank you so much for your reply, I feel quite dizzy at times but it is reassuring for someone to say it sounds  about 'normal ' I don't like feeling  ill and find it hard to handle, everything you put sounds good,I'm on lansaprosol for my stomach, it was just today I thought I can't face this all the time but I guess there may be an odd good day !! Thanks again 

You will definitely have good days! I found the first treatment was a shocker, but the following two got progressively easier, I hope that’s the case for you.

Rest and be kind to yourself, it will pass.

Ruby xx

Hi 

Thank you its nice to know I'm not alone in this .x

You’re not, you should join the June Chemo thread. Lots of ladies going through the same and at different stages of their journey. Everyone will support you and have lots of tips for getting through, it’s been a lifesaver for me. 

Ruby xx

Ok will do  thanks x

This sounds normal to me! I had blurry eyes for a few days, felt sick for the first week, had dizziness  etc. Everyone reacts differently to chemo, but those side effects sound common. I felt a lot better by day 5 on EC (couldn't really do much the first 4 days) and by Day 8, I no longer felt sick. On EC, there was definitely a bad week, OK week and good  for me. 

Thank you for replying, I'm on day 7 today  and do feel a lot better,  I rang my hot line number and was told dizziness wasn't a side effect and to get my blood pressure checked ,so the nurse who is giving me some horrible injection to bost the cells!! Checked and it was ok. So I'm really glad you said that and someone else said they were a bit dizzy. 

Its all the not knowing! Have the joy of loosing my hair  next !! Still its so nice to hear from others who are going through it or have been .Did you get worse each cycle?x

I would really recommend keeping a diary of symptoms, I did this and it is so good to look back on in subsequent cycles to know how you were feeling when and you can feel fine and then get some random side effect on day 12 or something! 

I cut my hair off and donated it (it was really long) and then shaved my head ahead of chemo. That made me feel much more in control and when it fell out, it wasn't really a big deal as I'd got used to the very short look! I had hats etc to wear for appointments and outside as it was over Winter that I had chemo but I was fine with my bald head. It grows back and I now have a thick head of hair after finishing chemo in January. It does come back very slowly at first. I actually found losing my hair the least bothersome side effect of all. It wasn't painful to lose and I barely noticed it falling out as it was so short.

I found EC fairly consistent in terms of side effects and enery levels (although I found each cycle was slightly different) and had 3 rounds of that. But then I had docetaxel for 3 rounds and that really knocked me over and I got worse each cycle even though they reduced my dose after the first one.

Chemo is cumulative, so do expect to get more tired and less able to bounce back as you go through. Your bloods are getting a battering, as is everything else. My oncologist kept telling me I'd feel worse as the cycles went on but it wasn't until docetaxel that I really felt that! But then I was also 4 cycles in at that point.

I have wrote down how I feel each day, I have quite short hair,I'm going to get it shaved off as soon as it starts to fall out,I thought it would be less traumatic that way.its nice to know it's now grown back for you. I have 2 more cycles ,once every three  weeks,then six weeks once a week of paclitaxel so goodness knows what that brings !! Then RT and hormone therapy! So just starting on the road. I will get through this ! Thank you for your advice and I hope you are going on ok x