Hello everyone, I was redirected here by Mike and have just copied this over from the newbies section. Since writing (now day 10) it's been a huge relief to finally feel remotely "normal" and able to eat!!!
Day 8 first cycle of ABVD and still feel absolutely beaten up! Definitely a glass always half full kind of girl but this has knocked me sideways.
On day 3 I developed a severe migraine and ended up in A&E pumped full of morphine (which took off the edge - no euphoric sensations alas lol). They kept me in overnight because the pain was so bad. Hubby said I vomitted 11 times! They put me on a ward in a separate room but I could hear an old lady screaming throughout the night so didn't sleep. Then I woke up to a builder outside the window on scaffolding starting an industrial drill! I can laugh at this now but seriously you can't make this stuff up LOL.
The following night a crushing chest pain woke me up at 2am. This did subside within an hour but my hubby had called an ambulance so was back in hospital for more tests. They say the heart is ok. Phew.....now left with a super achey right arm where they stuck all the needles in (Side note: always get a nurse to do bloods, never a doctor HA HA sorry any docs out there). It took them 5 attempts at one point.
I guess like many newbies here I'm looking for anyone with a similar experience? I'm reading posts from people who have experienced months and months of chemo with children to look after and I have absolutely no idea how you do it. We have five rescue dogs :)
Aside from the migraines and crushing chest pain (which were terrifying at first) the only way I can describe this is, is like having the flu, add a hangover, and a permanent headache. They did give me morphine to take home for emergencies with cocodamol, and the cancer team are reviewing the drugs / combo for the next treatment next Friday.
I'd like to think that mentally I can handle this but I am concerned my body isn't strong enough. I've lost 4kg in weight in 7 days. Keep reminding myself how lucky I am that they're looking at just 2 cycles (early stage lymphocyte rich classical Hodgkins - it's very rare but treatable!) with radiotherapy.
Whatever fight or struggle you are going through for anyone who's reading this, I salute you and wish you every success with your treatment. If you've got this far thank you for reading.
Hi Pod5, good to see you joined the HL group. The treatment journey can be full of twists and turns and you have to expect the unexpected.
Treatments used can be a BIG hit on the body..... and mind. Keep in mind that the treatments are targeting the growth areas in the body and there will be residual effects in other areas. My mass was in my neck where the ‘brick’ sized growth had surrounded nerves and muscles...... the pain before treatments was bad...... during the first few cycles the pain was as bad if not worse as the muscle and nerves were being let loose...... keeping the greater good in all this is so important. Head down and fight the storm.
Mike
Hey Kate, thank you so much for your super kind reply.
I'm so sorry you're having to go through this treatment too! of course we know it's saving us but jeepers it's tough! Oh the tears, I absolutely feel you. No sleep up until day 10? that's horrid 
Can I ask how many cycles you're on? no pressure to share. Such a great way to view the treatment attacking the horrible bits, I like that, thank you.
By Saturday I was MUCH better and managed to clean the bathroom only to feel dizzy and super tired ha ha. My biggest achievement prior was to make the bed once in a 7 day period. Got out for a walk with a friend by Saturday afternoon.
All in all, even so early in I've felt a profound sense of gratitude for being able to do functional things most of us take for granted like going to the loo, eating, getting a good night's sleep. For all the incredible love and support of family and friends. And for reading other peoples' stories.
I wish you every success with your treatment Kate 
XX
Oh Mike I can't even imagine it's a whole new level of pain and sensations right? Were you given any morphine? When I left the hospital for the first time they gave me a small bottle for emergencies which is reassuring despite it just touching the sides of the migraine when they kept me in.
Definitely with you on keeping our chins up. I teach people how to create strong joints as a mobility coach so not being able to move or do much for the first week was a huge shock. I'd been eagerly reading posts on people saying they were out running by day 3 and thought yep that will be me! what a joke LOL.
All the very best to you Mike.
If you have looked at my story you will see my type of NHL had become very aggressive so we had to hit it hard and fast but the pain was off the scale.
We tried a number of pain meds including Morphine but the one that did eventually work was Tramadol. Tramadol is evil, and as a strong opiate based drug I was having some very bad side effects including things crawling on the ceiling
But once the positive effects from the treatment kicked in I was then using Morphine for the residual pain until the end of treatment but also through my two Stem Cell Transplants.
I was left with a lot of nerve damage so it took a good few years to say that most of the pain was gone but this did take a determinant effort to get some help from a cancer trained fitness coach who set up a set of exercises to help over come the issues...... to the point that I asked for my codeine meds to be taken off my repeat prescription.
It’s all about keeping your eye firmly on the greater good in all this.
During the first 6 months I gave him some interesting names. The access was arranged through our local Maggie’s Centre and the trainers actually work for our local council in our main Community Centre where we could get free access.
I am in awe at everyone’s cancer journey, everyone an inspiration.
