Hi Bazza
totally understand your trepidation.
below is my basic understanding in laymans terms and the advice i was given when on docetaxl
prednisolone is a steroid that restores some the good stuff that chemo kills when chemo is doing its job and killing the bad stuff. only downside is that it can keep you awake as its like having 10cups of coffee when you are on the big dose the day before/during chemo day.
anti sickness pills generally have no side effects. dont wait until you feel sick. take them before ie every day from chemo day to day 4. i was told to take them for 4 days, i did that and on day 5 i felt sick. doc said take for 6 days then as no down side and why feel sick if you dont need to. its like not taking paracetamol when you have an occasional headache, why wouldnt you. for the remaining cycles i took for 6 days and never felt sick again.
anti diorreah tablets i was told to take only if i had problems. i did on two seperate occasions very briefly. uusally what they give you is just like strong immodium .
i know everyone is different with chemo but i tollerated it well, used the drugs when i needed to and stilł ran 2 marathons on weeks 13 and 15 of it so please believe that you will be one of the majority who have minimal side effects.
I did have a low platelet count and ended up self injecting a drug to make my marrow produce more. terrible pain and high temp after 2 so was in a&e on antibiotics for a day in case i had an infection. i didnt, juat a bad reaction to the injections so i stopped and had less chemo next time. clearly it worked on a reduced dose as 4 years on i am still running and have a low psa of 0.06.
hope that helps mate
rooting for you
kev
Dream like you have forever, live like you only have today Avatar is me doing the 600 mile Camino de Santiago May 2019 |
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Hi Bazza,
I've had no experience of chemo yet but just wanted to wish you all the best with the treatment.
I hope it works well for you.
Steve
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Barry, France prescribe lots of medication on a just in case basis, then they’re there as you might need them.
I can’t remember how I took mine, it’s too long ago, but I agree with Kevin, irun, as to the best course seeing your other problems.
Chris.
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John has recently finished his chemo. he tooks the steroids exactly as prescribed and he didnt have the side effects of being kept awake, but it did give him much needed energy. anti sickness he took as needed but i like the idea of taking them the first six days, no harm in that. he had the occasional runs but didnt take the meds for that as he has constipation and it was a welcome relief! But he would have if needed, the doctors told him they dont like you to get the runs as you lose too many important salts. He did the frozen pineapple thing everytime and never had any mouth issues and he used the mouthwash every day, three times a day. He did well on chemo apart from the flu, which he had had the jab for, just unlucky. The infusions are ok, nothing to worry about. It is really not as bad as you think it will be Bazza. Chin up mate, it will probably be a lot better than you imagine. Without it I doubt he would still be here so.....
love Devonmaid.
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Hi Bazza
Got my 6th out of 6 coming up on the 14th Jan. The prednisolone steroids which I take every day are fine and help the immune system. My Onco prescribed dexamethasone steroids 24 tablets over 3 days ie the day before chemo, the day of chemo and the day after chemo. these have me wide awake at 4-4.30 so i just get up and do something and catch up with my sleep in the afternoon.
Never bothered with the anti sickness tablets, not felt sick and used a great mouthwash called benzydamine.
Feel pretty wiped out days 3-7 after the chemo but by day 10 back to normal again, whatever normal is with this sh***y disease.
One other tip if you've got hairy hands shave them before they put the cannula in, saves a bit of grief later when you take the adhesive off.
Good luck with it.
John