9/7/13 - TCH First Round Side Effects

I'm trying to give an honest account for anyone starting the TCH regimen. I know not everyone has the same side effects, so I can only give you an assessment on how my body is handling the chemo. I've got to say, after the first round, I'm not feeling as bad as I feared. Perhaps it's still too soon to really be feeling awful, or maybe the anticipation was far worse than the reality. I guess time will tell. The first week was definitely not fun. For me, most of the problems came from all the medications I was taking. The more meds I take, the worse my stomach feels. I've never had an easy time digesting pills - they tend to back up on me. As of now, I'm off all pills for the exception of a stool softener every once in awhile. The next round I will try to be more prepared for the dreaded constipation side effect. Once I stopped taking the Neupogen injections and got off of the antibiotic, I started to feel pretty normal (no wise cracks!). I'm very fatigued, but I am used to that having Rheumatoid Arthritis. My face has returned to the teen years, you guessed it - acne. The inside of my nose is dry, cracking and a bit bloody. My nails are looking the same so far, and as stated in a previous post, my hair is still holding on. Eyebrows and eyelashes are still intact as well. I have not experienced any neuropathy and I'm hoping that's one side effect that will keep its distance. The biggest neurotic concern I have, of course, are hemorrhoids. I fight off the demons of flesh eating bacteria on a daily basis. I often wake up in the middle of the night panicked that it has come back. I eventually calm myself down and try to get back to the business of sleeping. Night time is the most difficult for me - too much time to think. I have an appointment on Monday to check in with the nurse, and my next chemo appointment is Monday, Sept. 26th. - round two.

Robyn decided to fly home today to visit her boyfriend. She will be coming back on Monday night. She left her Italian Greyhound here with us. I've never seen a dog so spoiled in my life. If you're not holding him all the time, he whines,  barks,  grunts, coughs, sputters or whatever else he can do to get your attention. He is also very clumsy. He walks into walls and he is always hurting himself on something. I'm used to hearty dogs, you know, the ones you can pet and not have them go into a convulsion. He does have one redeeming quality, he is the sweetest dog you'll ever meet. I guess he may grow on me eventually - mostly because I feel so sorry for him. You kinda have to be nice to a dog that only has two teeth. So our weekend will be spent getting to know Gareas the Italian Greyhound. Luckily our dog, Jax likes him and Baylee just ignores him. Our cat is pretty ticked off that he is even in the house, and I know she is just waiting to shred him to pieces - it is after all, her domain. It should be an interesting weekend. Hope you all have a good one.

Cheers,

Beppy