Almost 1 week post first chemo i developed SEVERE constipation that almost brought me to the ER, i was (not to be gross) impacted!!!  I sat in the bathroom for 4 hours in tears, the on call onc didnt have much to say, needless to say was NOT happy with him, i know i didnt drink enough post chemo, im not a big fluid intake person and i really tried to get it down but its very hard for me.  I had my follow up for WBC count yesterday and thank god the neulasta did its thing and it was perfect, he said to try senokot every night at bedtime, tried it, it worked a little, but alot of tummy cramps, i was going to add colace to my daily regimen.  Does anyone have any suggestions??  Dr said most people get diarrhea from chemo, but of course i went the other way!  Im not sure which is worse!!!

Any input would be appreciated, that was a horrible experience

2nd question, has anyone ever had a reaction to the IV decadron??  The last i posted was they thought my reaction on first treatment was to the taxotere, but now onc thinks it was the decadron IV, so my thing is, are they going to give it again!!!  It was a pretty severe reaction, im a nurse and NEVER heard of this reaction to decadron, but i guess anything is possible with this stuff.  Just wondered if anyone else had this experience.

I truly want to thank you all for always sharing with me, it means the world!!!  Im finally starting to feel normal again, today was 1 week post treatment!!  So i guess i can at least plan a little better for the next round in 2 weeks.  Im going thru alot of emotional things lately too, crying for no reason, very down at times, im assuming this is all part of the process??

 

Also having MAJOR problems with my husband which i really dont need right now, but he is just NOT supportive, he has so many issues of his own, and i just dont feel im in any position to leave right now in the middle of my treatments so im trying to just DEAL with life so to speak.

Thank you for listening i just needed to vent ladies..........any input i will cherish as i always do.

 

Love and hugs to all  Gina 

 

Lori had constipation and horrible gas!! I mean really nasty gas!! You know the smelly kind that you wish you were the only one in the house or on the planet kind?

 

Lori only took the decadron on the day of chemo and the day after the first chemo, and then for the next 5 treatments she would only take it on the day of chemo. Her onc said that she knew her body better than anyone, so he didn't have a problem with that. She had a terrible reaction to it. She shook all over, not the kind you had. She couldn't sleep..it was awful. It is supposed to keep you from having constipation from what Heather said on her blog, so I really don't know.

 

 

Warm water in the morning as soon as you get up and before you go to bed should help. Lots of it!! You can even put lemon in it to make it more palatable. Lori could not tolerate fruit as it gave her the diarrhea.  You could always try prune juice or apple juice also.

 

I have not read where someone had a reaction to the decadron, only the Taxotere. Maybe someone else will post if they have heard of that.

 

With the husband...I could give you advice...but then they would probably ban me from the site. Getting to age 67 has given me quite a bit of insight as to husbands. As one gal said to me in an email: if they figured out how to send a man to the moon...why couldn't we send them all!

 

Tell him to straighten up. You need all the support you can get. This is about you....not him!

Hugs Gina,

nancy

 

 

 

I had completely forgotten about the constipation !I probably ate dried cherries & prunes. I do laughingly recall parts of a conversation I had with a neighbor, not sure why I was discussing this with her...but her offer of giving me her sons suppositories. The idea of it must have scared the sh*t out of me because I never succumbed to it !

I wish I had some insight to offer.  Unfortunately, I have yet to start chemo.  I just wanted to respond to let you know that you sound so strong!  I know you can do this, constipated or not !

 

As to the husband, if you have to pretend that he is not there, than do it.  Do not waste any of your precious energy on him.  If he is too selfish to see that you are fighting an epoch battle, he is certainly not worth an ounce of your attention.  I am aware that this is easier said than done.

 

About 7 years ago, my husband and I hit a rough spot.  Both of us were in high pressure jobs and fairly self absorbed (we are intentionally with out children which leaves us a great bit of time to either get along or not).  Any way, it dawned on me I needed to leave the pressures of work at work and focus on our relationship if we were going to connect.  I planed all kinds of wonderful things for us to do together and he kept shooting me down and basicly being a pain in the but. 

 

Finally, I stopped trying and focused on me.  I joined some community groups and made friends.  I found other ways to enjoy myself and relieve stress without him.  Eventually he noticed how much I was gone and how happy I was WITHOUT HIM.  This whole process took almost 6 months to a year.  It worked, however.  He slowly started asking me to do things, fun things, simple things, with him. 

 

I know this is not an easy fix, just an idea.  Live your life and focus on you.  No matter what he does, you have to be happy with you.  We are all here for you when you need us.  I am sending lots of love and positive energy your way, can you feel it !!

I do remember the days of constipation also. The nurses were the ones that told me to start taking colace stool softener over the counter. I got so contipated that my hemorrhoids started to bleed and thought the cancer was know in my colon. I started with the colace 1 in the mornig 1 at night untl my next chemo. The day before 1 in the morning 2 at night. In the morning I was told to have something cold to drink followed by hot coffee or tea to cause the cramping so the intestines wake up. (dont mean to be gross). Hope this helps.  Eileen

 

I also experienced the problems you are dealing with regarding elimination.. most importantly the water must start a day before the chemo...try the Colace and the Senokot. If they are too difficult for you to take...old fashion prune juice is something that is recommended quite often. Caffeinated beverages will add to the problem. Whole grains will become your new best friend along with fresh fruit and vegetables if you can eat them.

 

The chemotherapy we already know is toxic to our system....what we do not expect is that people we love will also add to the toxicity in our lives while going through our cancer treatments. It is interesting it is said the survival instinct is the strongest and I believe that. I told my husband IMMEDIATELY after I was diagnosed (I really like the guy too!)..."If you cannot deal with this...please get out and I will understand completely and no hard feelings BUT if you stay remember I am in a fight for my life and I do not have the inclination or strength to do battle with you and the disease. 

 

You described he has issues and that is exactly what they are HIS issues. Let him deal with whatever they may be.

 

Gina existed before you married your husband. You were strong enough and intelligent enough to get your nursing degree. You are probably a compassionate, caring, nurturing woman (or a bit of a masochist being a nurse with all the heavy patient loads, shift work, etc.)

 

When a person goes shopping they hope the store has what they are looking for...surprisingly sometimes you find the store went bankrupt or just did not have the stock you thought it advertised....and so too a husband may be emotionally bankrupt and just does not have the attributes you thought he possessed. So, you file that away for another time under "the guy was too self-absorbed, not compassionate, greedy...".

 

You have needs but you are not needy. While you have directed your spotlight on your husband....redirect the focus on you and surround yourself with people who are more Gina-focused...you deserve that and you need that.

 

Emotionally and physically your energy stores must be used for you. If your husband cannot give you what you need at this time IGNORE him, pamper yourself, order food in for yourself if you do not feel like cooking. Ask your family and friends to help you do things you need done to make the treatment easier. Your husband is a big boy .... he can take care of himself.

 

You have two situations that require some sort of cathartic...deal with the immediate physical relief you need to be comfortable with laxatives... the other you can deal with when you are stronger.

 

Remember there are people who love you and will care for you with a stronger connection to you than a piece of paper!

 

 

Love,

 

Connie

 

I had a similar experience in that my DH always seemed to have to be away at military drills just around chemo-weekend time.  His parents stepped in and I was ever so appreciative, but frankly, I wanted my husband, not my mother in law.  Even with this last scare, I told him that the other two times I got his parents; this time I wanted and needed my husband.  Bless him.... he passed on the drill weekend and is here with me.  But, I can do what I need for me and he has learned that if he's not going to do it, that I will be putting myself first and then care for him (sorta like in the airplanes when they tell you that if the oxygen masks fall, you should put yours on FIRST).

 

About constipation -- it's common.  For me, it was constipation for the first several days and then diahrrea.  Drinking lots of water, before, during and after treatment is the key.  In addition, I've used Benefiber in my tea in the morning.  You can't taste it but it gives you extra fiber.

 

Remember, WATER, WATER, WATER. 

 

Love,

Caryn

once i got rid of the steroids, it was smooth sailing!  i still had the steroids the nurses administers on infusion day, but that was it.

a friend also made a big pot of bean soup for chemo weekend-it was dynamite!

take care!

 

 

I just have to respond to the big pot of bean soup

 

It was dynamite???? Literally Huh?? Bet they cleared the house for you

 

Sweetie, you made my day! Every day one of you type a line like that, and there is always Connie to come back with another...and I get to laugh for a long long time. I love to laugh

 

See, getting rid of the steroids helps tremendously. Just on the infusion day, that's all Lori had, after the first chemo from hell. She said she felt as though she had bugs crawling inside of her.

Hugs,

Nancy

My mom has bought me a ton of fun t-shirts and hats, i have a shirt says courage with the ribbon on front, in the back it says "what do u fight for" by Everlast, with the boxing gloves!!!!  SO CUTE.  She is amazing!!!  (MY MOM)  THis is all very difficult for her, because her mom went thru it, and she is also BRCA+ and feels that is should be her and not me going thru this, im not a mother yet unfortunately and i cant imagine watching your baby go thru this, Nancy im sure you can relate!!!!

Ladies............what can i say!!  All the info will be put to good use, thank you for the constipation tips, because it really is a very unpleasant thing, i know with chemo there are much worse things, but we need to avoid as many unpleasant things as possible dont we?? 

 

Im singing tomorrow night, i know u all know im a nurse but im also a singer with a wedding band, and i have a wedding tomorrow night, people keep asking me how im still doing it, my answer.........  its my happy place, i love singing, it takes me away from my life for a few hours, and who cant use that from time to time, and as long as i feel well enough, IM THERE!!

 

You ladies as i have said before are my ANGELS!!  I tell my mom everyday how truly blessed i feel to have you all in my life.

Have a wonderful night and day tomorrow, i will let you know how i make it thru the wedding tomorrow, just hope im not too tired

 

LOVE AND HUGS TO ALL!!!!  

Gina

 

I am so glad you enjoy your singing and hope you will be able to continue through out your treatments.  It would be helpful if you were able to enjoy that something that makes you feel good.  We need this feeling.  As you are already finding out, our emotions are all over the place and so are our bodies.

 

You hang in there dear and have faith that you will get thru this journey and conquer c.  Then you can take care of that other problem.  You matter now!  Don't be afraid to say no.

 

We women have a tendency to want to make everyone happy and everything and it's nonsense, just something built into us but as we go thru something like this then we realize that we do matter and yes hubby is a big boy and can find a TV dinner. lol

 

It's good to hear you have good family support, your mom sounds like a doll.

 

Hugs,

 

I've had bad constipation issues from the very beginning, and I've tried lots of things, some mentioned above, but the best thing for me has been Miralax.  It used to be prescription only, but now is over-the-counter.  For me, it gets things moving without any cramping.  And I know this is TMI, but the poop is nice and soft, so it doesn't hurt my poor sore bum so much when I "go."  The key is to stick with it and drink it (i mixed with OJ or cran juice) every day.  Sometimes I take stool softeners with it.

 

Good luck!

 

I applaud you being the osmotic laxative specialist....there are far too many generalists in the world!

 

Love and laughter,

 

Connie

 

 

 

 

After you have children and rejoice when they exchange Pampers for porcelain you lose all sense of decorum.

 

Thank you for the laugh today.

 

Connie

 

Well, I am laughing, because I still might have a chance to be a specialist of something with my chemo brain!

 

Thank you, Connie, I feel SO MUCH BETTER!

 

WOW!! Sweetheart you just said what so many should say or want to say, and cannot say! As Connie says..."you do not need a man to define you as a woman"! There are men and then there are MEN!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simply put:  buy up all your favorite dried fruits (try to get unsulfured apricots) pour them all into a kettle. Cover with distilled water. Simmer until water has evaporated. You may need to add extra. Cool. Put into blender, again add more water if blender starts to moan. I put the fruit into refer & freezer for storage.

Every day. put 1-2 Tbs on morning cereal, and then throughout the day every day use on meat, potatoes, ice cream. Goes with everything and is nice to find something that actually works and is not one more chemical to add to our bodies. Best of luck to you

 

Your post as to the "power pudding will be added to the "chemo and rad tips". If your onc told you this then he/she must be looking out for your good health!

See, you just keep helping!

Nancy

 

Your onc did tell you that we should all be having 5 small servings of fruit a day. I will add the part as to the Hospice nurses. They always have such excellent suggestions. You tip has already been added mainy. Perhaps I will add the tip as to the bread also. Many gals experience constipation, and not having to take another med is good!

Hugs,

Nancy

 

XO Gina

Have you tried taking the very warm baths for the body aches? I mean a real soaker for a long time?

Nancy

I just tried to private message u back, but it said your box was full   

I will try that this time for sure, and im going to take the motrin before it even starts, i want to watch what i take because i DONT want the constipation again, that was brutal!!!  My hair is pretty much gone, alot of bald spots, i cut it as close to my head as possible and will just leave the rest in the hands of god, i can put wigs on now, and i ordered a few really cute hats on tlc website.  I will be around all weekend after my treatment tomorrow so i will be posting.  Thank you for the thoughts!!
Luv Gina

Gina

I just cleaned it out!

Nancy

 

Hope your treatment is going well today,

 

Hugs