Anyway, rant over, I wanted to do a post about the side effects I have had from Chemo so far. Obviously, I have only had one infusion of the demon Chemo so far so I will probably do another post later just on the lovely experience that is AC chemo.
Steroids
I have had a very hate-hate relationship with steroids since starting Chemo in October. I know that they're given for a multitude of reasons but I just don't like them. When first starting TC chemo, I had to take steroids before treatments for the first two weeks to prevent an allergic reaction. Once, it was clear I didn't have an allergy to Taxol, these steroids stopped. I still had a steroid infusion before each treatment and oral steroids for two days afterwards. I did try to mess around with my steroids post chemo (after checking it was okay with my oncologist) and was able to reduce them down, which was great but when I tried to lower them too much, I ended up in A and E!
So steroids obviously have their advantages, they help with nausea, allergic reactions and I'm sure lots of other things which I haven't informed myself of because as I've said a few times already, I hate them! The disadvantage for me of steroids starts with the ridiculous hunger that they cause you to have. When you start Chemo, they tell you to try to maintain your weight which seems reasonable and then they put you on these tablets that make you hungrier than you ever thought possible. Its the type of hunger that can't be ignored either, as you start to feel weak and faint and crave crappy, unhealthy foods. I have been trying my best to eat as healthy as possible and have cut down on eating meat hugely but I am eating more than I was before treatment started and I will definitely have some weight to lose once I finish treatment! Steroids can also cause you to retain water, so they can make you feel very bloated. The combination of the water retention and the gaining weight can give you a bit of a puffy face which I like to call moon face.
The other thing about steroids which I find very frustrating is the false energy they give you before an almighty crash! Once the steroids stop, the energy stops and my brain feels foggy, which can take a few days to recover from. This come down also plays with my emotions in a big way, one minute I'm laughing and one minute I'm crying. I'm very lucky I have a very understanding boyfriend!
Hair Loss
I think for me, hair loss was one of the scariest side effects that I knew I had coming. When I was first diagnosed and my colleague came over to wait with me while my parents made their way to the hospital, I kept talking about losing my hair. I had just been diagnosed with cancer, but my concern was about losing my hair?! Seems a bit ridiculous, but its the same for many people when they're diagnosed and throughout treatment. When I was diagnosed, I didn't feel particularly sick. I suffer from an Auto-Immune Thyroid problem which has rendered me tired for years now so I hadn't noticed any difference in my normal level of feeling a bit worn out! But thinking of myself with no hair scared me and I knew when that happened I'd have to look myself in the mirror and deal with the fact I was sick.
Hair Loss started for me about 1 month into my TC treatment. I didn't have any pain or irritation or anything unusual associated with it, which many people complain about, it just simply started falling out. In the beginning, it was pretty gradual but it got to a point where I dreaded having a shower because when I brushed my hair afterwards, clumps of hair filled my hairbrush. I also found hair everywhere, my clothes were covered in hair, my bed was covered in hair, even my car was covered in hair! I woke up one morning, washed my hair and when I saw the amount of hair in my hairbrush I rang the hairdresser and told her I wanted my head shaved today and she had me booked in for 10 minutes time! I picked my favourite hat out and drove myself and my mum down to the salon.
Having my head shaved was a strange experience. I had it done in Pink Ribbon, which is where I bought my wig as its so close to my house. They have a separate room available for this purpose and the girls there are so lovely, it just felt like the right place to do it. When shaving my head, the hairdresser faced me away from the mirror, facing my mum, so I actually didn't see my hair being shaved off. I think that this was the most brilliant idea and I think it saved me al ot of upset. I sat across from my mum and watched her cry and obviously cried a little bit myself too. I think the experience was harder for my mum because she could see it happening and she said it was like I was turning back into a baby! Apparently, when I was a baby it took ages for my hair to grow in the first place so all those years of hard work were ruined in a few minutes! When the hairdresser had finished shaving my head, she put my hat on and told me to look when I was ready, which I also thought was a great idea, as it gave me some time to process what had just happened.
My biggest fear that day was seeing my boyfriend when he came home from work. He had gone to work and I had hair and he was coming home from work and I was extremely bald! I did warn him, I didn't want him to come home and have a heart attack when he had seen what I'd done. I didn't let him see me for a while without a hat on but fairly quickly we both got used to it and we have the giggles now about the tiny little baby hairs that have been growing back on my hair while on TC!
I did think to myself when I started this blog that absolutely under no circumstances would I put up a bald picture of myself for the world to see. I have made a compromise here and have three pictures to show you (all under Snap chat filter of course!)
Hair/Scalp Care;
I read alot before losing my hair about what to expect and found alot of people complaining of dry and irritated scalps. I have been really lucky again with this as I have had no irritation on my scalp at all. I just wash and condition it the same way I always did and that has worked well for me. I do rock the bald head pretty much all the time while I am in the house, I don't really wear hats unless I am cold or am going out and I think that has probably stopped any irritation as it allows your head to breathe. I tend to run extremely warm at the moment, due to all the drugs and such and for that reason a hat isn't necessary indoors.
Other Side Effects;
As I said before, I pretty much sailed through TC so I don't have a huge amount of knowledge to share regarding other side effects, but what I do have I will share;
Nausea; I had virtually no nausea on TC but any nausea I did have was sorted out using anti nausea tablets. One thing I did find important to keep nausea at bay was to eat regularly and not allow myself to get too hungry. I found that if I allowed myself to get really hungry then I was much more likely to feel sick.
Fatigue; I did have days where I tired much more easily than other days but I was surprised at how much I could do while on TC. I tried my best to do one thing everyday, mainly to keep my head happy and I rested when I needed to.
Neuropathy; I ended up with a tiny bit of neuropathy in my fingertips from TC. It didn't happen until my 11th infusion and was minimal. I already feel like it is improving and doesn't cause me much bother.
Nose Issues; I have always had a very allergic nose so when I heard chemo could cause problems with your nose I knew I would definitely have this side effect. I tended to have alot of nose bleeds and blocked sinuses. I was prescribed a spray called Nasonex for the sinus issues which cleared that issue up. As for the nose bleeds, they were happening because my nasal passages were dry so the solution I was given was to put Vaseline up my nose. It's not a pleasant experience I won't lie but it helped alot with the nose bleeds so needs must!
That's all the side effects that I experienced with TC. I know AC is definitely going to be different, I can see that already after just one infusion! I have to say it feels like I have been having chemo for at least half my life at this point but this day 7 weeks (all going well) I will be able to say that I am finished chemo and I'll be a step closer to getting back to some kind of normality.
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