Side effects after first EC session

Hi Recon 

I am sorry to hear this happened to you. I don't have any advice as I haven't had chemo yet but I am due to start EC in 2 weeks - 3 x EC and then 3 x Docetaxel. 

What did the hospital say when you phoned them and told them?  Did they offer any advice and did you take anti sickness meds?  I have been told I will be given anti sickness and it's best to take them straight away. 

I hope you feel better and that was the worst of it for you.

Andrea

You’ve clearly had a rough time! 
I found the EC chemo really hard. I had a range of pills to take snd a small spreadsheet showing when and what I might tske and was advised to try to preempt the nausea and sickness taking hold rather than try to calm it down after it started.

I found it hard to drink loads of water to get rid of the stained urine from the epirubicin- it felt like I was drinking from a chemical waste dump - but it was my body that was full of chemical waste.

The oncology pharmacist told me later that older people, prone to motion sickness and who perhaps had had trouble with pregnancy nausea were likely to be more affected by EC than others. That was me!

I had 4 infusions of EC  and tweaked my meds to suit me and forced myself to swallow water and got through it. 
I found walking outdoors very helpful for clearing nausea and staying on my feet for as long as possible after meals was lgood for my digestion.

It was a pretty dismal time though, the best bit of those four ECs was day 6 each time, when I felt the nausea and other symptoms just fall away hour by hour.

I didn’t try cold capping as I had 2 friend who found it painful, with the sessions prolonged and patchy results and I just felt I’d let my short grey hair go and grow it back - which it has. 
I hope your hospital has some good supportive suggestions for you-

All the  very best. xx

Hi Andrea,

I was feeling really unwell and very irritated, so my sister called the NHS helpline. They went through a long list of questions and symptoms for about 45 minutes, and in the end advised us to call an ambulance and go to hospital. We waited for the ambulance until 7am, but it still hadn’t arrived. By that time, I had started to feel a bit better after eating a banana and managing a short nap. My headache also eased, so we decided not to go to the hospital but to monitor my symptoms instead.

The hospital team did call back several times throughout the day to check in. They didn’t prescribe any new medication but advised me to drink as much fluid as I can and to eat small meals instead of large ones. Thankfully, my symptoms didn’t get worse. I was given anti-sickness tablets to take home, but the first dose didn’t help much.

I’m feeling better now overall, but I’m still struggling with fatigue.

Hi Cynoptimistic,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I’m sorry you had such a hard time taking in enough fluids to flush out the epirubicin — I managed to drink quite a lot, and the red urine cleared by the next morning. I haven’t tried walking outdoors yet as the fatigue has really knocked my confidence, but I will give it a try since you found it so helpful. My food intake has been very small so far. 

Like you, I also thought hard about the cold cap. I did try it, but at one point I regretted it, especially in the last 90 minutes, and I think that may have added to my sickness later that night.

It’s encouraging to hear how day 6 was a turning point for you each cycle — I’ll hold onto that. Thank you again for such a supportive message, it really helps to read other people’s experiences.