Adriamycin Cytoxan-My Summary after completing this regime.

June 16th, 2011 I had my last infusion of my 1st regime, Adriamycin Cytoxan. People were telling me it has cumulative side effects. Well I do think they were right. One whole week out I finally felt good. I was fighting nausea all the way out to a week from infusion. I tried various combinations but I could not get a handle on the nausea.  Finally put a call into my nurse at the oncologists office. Her recommendation which I think was right, dehydration. We had some scorching 100 degree days. I was trying to keep up drinking water but I was beginning to hate the taste of water. I broke down and bought some Gatoraid drinks. Surprisingly it helped. Is this the answer to fighting the nausea? No, but dehydration can hinder your progress. After hydrating with electrolytes, the nausea finally disappeared 1 week from the infusion.   There was some aches in my shoulders and neck so wondering if that is a side effect of the Neulasta shot I got on the Friday after. Took my Clariten D to see if that would help but it also seemed to have a cumulative effect.

So, to help you if your someone who is going to be doing this regimen, I am going to list the different side effects and how I dealt with them. I know I mentioned in early blogs what meds I was taking but I think that was all experimental and just trying to figure it out. Now that I'm done, I have a better idea of what has happened to me and what I did to cope with the side effects. As always, talk with your Dr. about specific questions about your care.

So, here we go..... hair... well I still do have some, shaved but I did not lose all my hair. It  feels like my head is wet but it's just that I can feel the temperature change very easily. The hair is still growing Mohawk style on the head but I have lost my hair on my head everywhere else. I have my eyebrows which are really thinning. All that is left are the burly brows you normally have plucked or trimmed but it is something! Still have my eyelashes but they too have thinned. Really weird but I have the hair on my arms. It is very fine blond hair but I did not lose it. Shaving my legs once to twice a week but it again never really stopped growing but simply slowed. The hair "down there" has really thinned out, I mean really. Haha who knew I would be sharing something so intimate with the world! I have to laugh to myself because that was one of my questions when I started all this, do I lose my hair "down there"? Some of the silly things that your concerned about. It is a new look for me ;-)
The nurses had said you will lose your hair after the 2nd AC infusion. I started the process of cutting my hair shorter to prepare my 4 kids to what was coming. A day after the 2nd infusion I buzz shaved my head. I was shedding like a cat but still had hair. Shortly after, I shaved it off. The tiny hairs were itchy for me. I think if I had not done this and left it long, there would be an endless pieces of hair on my shoulders coming out. In the end it did seem as if I lost all my hair on the sides of my head but not the top. As of now, 1 week after my first Taxol infusion, my hair is growing back.....very slowly.
I have been neglecting my homeopathic items. Trying my best but the thought just makes me wousy. I do have to say, after every chemo I would have problems with my throat. I started putting the caster oil on my throat before bed and it really seems to help. Weird. I've been trying to drink the veggie juice but again the thought makes me nausea. Do I think the homeopathic meds helped me? I really don't know. It is such an unchartered area that I do take some vitamins but other things I have stopped.

Eyes. My eyes are watery in the morning. Have no idea why but it is at it's worst in the morning or if it becomes really bright outside. When I do cry, which is not too often now, my tears just flow. They feel different. Can't explain it but it's like the flow is faster.

Constipation. If someone would have just warned me more about how bad it gets, especially with all the nausea meds. It has caused some severe issues with hemorrhoids. Not a pleasant subject but someone has to put the info out there. If I can help someone through this symptom, great. My advice take stool softeners starting a couple days before the infusion. Once the meds hit you, you have a head start on keeping your system moving. Your body will have a difficult time of it trying to heal once you have the hemorrhoids. If it gets really bad, I used Milk of Magnisum. That got the pipes moving.

Nausea. I started meds a couple days ahead of the infusion. First med was the Ativan. Day of I would get infusion of various neuas meds one being Emend. As soon as I got home I started the Ondansetron for nausea as well. I would take each morning my Emend for 2 days after the infusion. The whole time I would continue the parade of nausea meds; Ativan and Ondansetron. All of these kept the nausea under control. I continued all these through until Sunday night then I would wean myself one by one from them (the Emend was only used the 2 days after the infusion). I still use the Ativan to help me sleep at night.  I did try the ginger and ginger ale but the taste just made me feel sick.

Bone Pain/Neulasta. I would receive the Neulasta shot the day after the infusion. It was suggested by the oncologist to take Clariten D to help with the bone pain. Again I would start a day or two ahead of infusion so the meds were already absorbed in my body. It seemed to help but I still did get achy starting on Friday night. The aches would last until Sunday night but each infusion the aches lasted longer.

Mouth Sores.  I did get a couple but I gurgled with salt water and/or the Biotene mouthwash. I was very careful right before and after infusion about the types of food I ate. No citric acid or any other foods that could irritate my mouth. This was not a problem for me.

Sore throat/hurting ears. My throat about 36 hours after infusion would hurt like a sore throat. It would then move into my ears like an ear ache. The oncologist suggested using Musinex to help drain the fluid from my ears. I used it a couple times and it seemed to help. I also used the Casper Oil at night. I would rub it on my throat and under my ears. Really weird but it was cleared up the next day.

Sores/scratches that don't heal. This was a problem. I would get ingrown hairs on my legs since my hair was growing at such a slow pace. When I would notice a scratch or ingrown hair I would use Neosporin to help my body fight the infection. Again, nothing serious developed.

Depression. Well yea...your taking chemo to fight off a cancer reoccurance. Is it depressing? Yes. I did try to keep myself happy with positive attitude and joked around alot but sometimes it's just too much to handle and you break down. You have a good cry or I should say, you sob because your scared and overwhelmed about what might and is happening to you. Let it out, is all I can say. It helps. If you reach a point where you can not pull yourself out of the depression, seek help. There are many support groups to help you. Your local hospital or American Cancer Society is probably a good starting point.

Chemo Brain. This is a tricky one. Those of my friends know I am just a scattered kinda person. Have I noticed a change? Yes. Especially when I read my blogs. I am missing words or my writings don't make sense. I have always forgotten things; car keys, where I put my purse, etc so I don't know if it is chemo brain. I do "words with friends" with strangers to help keep me attentive. I also keep score at the water polo games. I find if I keep "the book" as it is called, it also helps me. Things happen so fast in the game of waterpolo that you have to pay attention when you record the events; cap numbers, times, team color, goals, fouls, exclusions, etc. I don't do the official book but I keep my own version.

People ask, what does chemo feel like? Well, it feels like your worst hangover coupled with your worst flu. My first infusion was the worst. Second much better, Third was harder to come back to life and the last regime just took forever to feel better again. The side effects last a few days after infusion and then your normal. You do tire much easier but try to keep your exercise up. It seems to help. Food aversions are a lot stronger but your body just guides you. All I can say is, you can do it. Think positive.