schmaydee Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 ....just completed my chemo (6 carboplatin/vp16) and (35) radiation treatments 3 weeks ago....i'm still having a lot of trouble eating and i'm still very weak.... how long does it take to get over chemo/rad ? thanks, ...s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhutch1366 Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Hello S, I had similar chemo and radiation. You will gradually feel better. Drink lots of water, take plenty good nutrition, and rest. Exercise what you can moderately, (and stay away from crowds). You will, slowly but surely, start to feel better. It is slow process, but it will come. Don't fret. XOXOXOXOX Prayers always, MaryAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDianneB Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Schmaydee, who was diagnosed on the same day as me and lives in the same city ... Just come downtown and have lunch with me one day, and I'll show you how to eat. Boy, will I! I completed chest radiation about the 2nd week of September, and it seemed as though after 2-3 weeks, I was like you -- still not quite back up to snuff. Just remember that the radiation continues to work for a while after the treatments stop. The "bad" cells inside you are dying off, and the "good" cells are regenerating and trying to heal, on top of everything else you've been through. In other words, your body is working hard to do lots of things at the same time, so uses its energy sparingly. It is probably telling you that climbing the mountain to see Rock City right now isn't on the agenda! It seemed like all of a sudden -- one weekend -- BAM -- I no longer had the fatigue, and was beginning to feel like myself again. Fortunately, it was when my mother was visiting here, so we got to have some really good visiting time. Since then, I've felt better and better, and as of last week, I feel better than I have in months. I'm about to start PCI soon, I think, but they tell me I won't experience the same fatigue with that like I did the chest radiation, and it only lasts a few weeks, so the Oncologist told me that would be a "breeze" compared to what I've already gone through. Just let me know if you ever want to get together and talk. (Oh, and don't forget popsicles, lots of popsicles -- they are magic!) Di Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmaydee Posted October 15, 2004 Author Share Posted October 15, 2004 sdianneb, sounds like youre really getting along well.... i've put all my stuff in storage and moved out of my apt in nashville until i get well enough to work again...i'm in ky now spending a little time w/my mom.... we do have a lot in common....i think youre about a week or two ahead of me (i finished my last chemo sept 24)....i believe youre a lot more active than me...i'm pretty much a slug... i'm not really sure how much to excercise (and dont feel like doing it at all)..... ......s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDianneB Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Moi? Active? Haha!!! I am now, at least more than I was, and will begin walking daily once they give me the go ahead (probably on Monday when I see the Rad. Onc., since my blood work is all back to normal). IMO, it's one of the good things to have come out of all this -- changing things in my life. Di Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Lamb Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 S,I too had similar treatments.Like Di said it keeps on working inside on the cells even after you are finished with it.I was told it keeps workin in there a month or a little longer in most cases.I didn't really feel a lot better tho for several months afterward.The good news is it's doable and I am very active now considering only one lung & it is damaged.(radiation,asthma etc).I'm on oxygen but still walk(2miles almost daily),I fish,hunt,shop,do yardwork etc.Bottom line is hang in there you will get and feel better. PS:If I lived closer I would show you and Di how to eat up a storm.Ha Ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDianneB Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 You people who have had lungs or partial lungs removed just amaze me. I am in awe! I need now to get some weight OFF so that I don't develop stuff like heart disease, diabetes, etc. I'm told that because I didn't have any of those things going into this is probably why I tolerated treatment so well. I'd like to keep it that way. They just asked that I not jump off into a fad diet or maniacal walking until my checkup Monday. They wanted to make sure things looked ok and that my blood work all looked good, which it did this past Wednesday. I think I'm good to go, but will see what they say about it Monday. Frank -- here's a deal for ya -- you come here and show us how to chow down on this good ol' southern cooking, and we'll watch you do the yard work and fish and hunt and all that stuff. Ok? Ha!!! You take care -- I'm in awe of you!!! Di Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Lamb Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Di,That don't sound like a bad deal at all.Unfortunately with all I try to do the weight has never come off.I weighed 210 at 18 yrs of age and now 40 yrs later tip the scales at a whoppin 235.(but I do like donuts & steak & burgers & chocolate). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDianneB Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Well now, yanno down south, everything has to be deep fried or it isn't any good! When I first got sick, and even before chemo, nothing tasted good to me. The strangest was bread -- it was like I had a wad of paper in my mouth when I tried to eat bread! But, biscuits worked for some reason. Once chemo started and until a few weeks after radiation, I just had a funky taste in my mouth all the time, and things that used to taste really good no longer even appeal to me. Early on, I figured out that popsicles were magic in keeping my mouth somewhat fresh, and were a good fluid source, things were much better. Now that I'm feeling so much better, things taste better, but I no longer have my addiction to Diet Coke! I used to have one in my hand just about all the time and now they don't taste good at all. I have one cup of coffee a day, maybe, and maybe a cup of decaf in the afternoon, whereas I used to drink a LOT of coffee every day -- especially when the weather was cooler. If I even have a soft drink now, it's a 7-Up, but mostly I drink Diet Snapple tea, with no caffeine. I actually buy water and take it with me now, and drink more water than I have in ages. My body is probably thanking me after all these years for not putting all the junk into it that I used to! I do have to curb my eating now though -- and get out and walk, else I get where I have to roll into the doc's office! Di Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloesmom Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Di, That caffeine thing--I got the same way! I used to drink coffee all day long, and iced tea, and for me it was Pepsi. Never bothered me, could do it all the way till bedtime and still fall asleep for the night. Now, since all this, I drink maybe one cup of coffee a day and while I still am drinking iced tea, it's more to keep me from eating all day long than the need for caffeine. Maybe it's got to do with stopping smoking too--caffeine doesn't taste nearly as good without the nicotine combo. Now, I have to stop all caffeine at about 5:30 at night--otherwise, I'll be awake all night long. Never lost sleep unless I wanted to before all this... Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Amen to the southern cooking! My mom was from eastern KY, and man could she cook! Green beans with bacon and potatoes, and homemade apple fritters, YUM YUM!!! Hang in there girls! And stay away from aspertame(sp?) to much is'nt good for ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remembering Dave Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 schmaydee, you need to eat plenty of protein, that will help with the healing process, i.e., feel better quicker. Dave had a problem swallowing/chewing for some time - he had plenty of ensure/prosure shakes, ate cottage cheese (he mixed in fruit), soft proteins like that. And ditto what everyone else said. Hang in there, you'll be better soon! Karen c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmaydee Posted October 19, 2004 Author Share Posted October 19, 2004 ...well... i'm starting to feel a lot better. last friday i made myself walk (about a mile) and i've been doing it every day... feeling quite a bit better.... thanks all.... ....s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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