The Colon Club

pp Hot flashes my new best friend. Hang in there Jenn!

Oooh! More of that cold sensitivity! Just had a sip of cold water coz hot flashes making me a crazy, reckless thang.!.
Felt like tiny little ice crystals forming then melting along my lips, over my tongue.
WEIRD sensation!

[quote="JennPixie"]Oooh! More of that cold sensitivity! Just had a sip of cold water coz hot flashes making me a crazy, reckless thang.!.
Felt like tiny little ice crystals forming then melting along my lips, over my tongue.
WEIRD sensation! [/quote
I read a little, and I'm glad you decided on the port. I hated being confined for so long, but I would pass along some different advice. I would highly suggest you eat something before treatment. After 27 treatments of different chemos, I always felt better, if I ate before treatment . On the occasions I didn't it was brutal !
Michael

Ditto to Justin Case.

I would always get an egg cheese breakfast sandwich on the ways to chemo.

Can you get something to help with your hot flashes. Funny I did not get hot flashes until AFTER I finished chemo. Chemo nurse told me this can happen.

good luck,

Lee

JennPixie wrote:Oooh! More of that cold sensitivity! Just had a sip of cold water coz hot flashes making me a crazy, reckless thang.!.
Felt like tiny little ice crystals forming then melting along my lips, over my tongue.
WEIRD sensation!

Yep, it's really weird. I ended up microwaving drinking water before I drank it.

Jenn,
How is the chemo going? What effects are you experiencing? I have my port installed, inserted, next Thursday. I am back and forth with 5 FU and Xeloda? How is it with baby bottle?
Susan

Okay. Got my second round going. Sitting here with my lil ball beside me, slowly doing it's thing. I had a cheese sandwich before going to hospital, and a chocolate pound cake slice when I was done w/ the 2 hour drip..
As soon as I started on the pound cake I could tell the effects were a bit more... pronounced this time.

I had read that some people could feel a discomfort or even a pain with the first few bites of something, right after that first part. Well, last time , I got the tiniest hint of it feeling different. This time, though, my teeth hurt! What? Open mouth, no prob. Close mouth, fine. But try to chew that awesomely perfect pound cake... whoa. I was so not expecting that!
But after a few careful chews and a few careful bites, it lessened, and then went away. So okay, we're cool. Just, take care with first bites. It's a thing. Got it.

But that cold thing! NOOOOoooo!!!! went out side while waiting for hubby to come pick me up. Touched a decorative post thingy. It was cold. It felt... almost sharp? Eh. Back inside.
Cold temp, not exactly pleasant, but not too bad. I have a fluffy robe. But... cold water, bad. Touching the bottle was almost stabby feeling! Slippers. On. Tile. Floors. Two steps into the kitchen was enough. Felt like small stones. Not the polished smooth river stones, no. These were decorative garden stones, -inch size, rough. For that more rustic part of your gardenscaping. Not comfy for footsies.
Ok. Sweetie does fridge/ freezer stuff for me. I can still cook some, but he's getting the food out for me!
And wear slippers.

Butt! What about cold POTTY seat?!? Holy cannoli, that was a shocker! cold porceline on bare skin... eeee-yow! I was NOT very happy about that one! I mean... i only sit half as much as i used to, as the bag is (sort of) easier to deal with in a standing position.. but this girl still has to sit for a pee! *and the rare but existent bottom poos just like a 'normal person' again!
How have some of y'all dealt w/ cold toilet seats? Please tell me that gets better...

Still trying to figure out how to balance cold sensitivity with menopausal hot flashes, lol. I may ask my doc on Friday when I go for disconnect. I'm meeting w/ oncologist that day. Might get something then. We'll see...

I don’t have a cold toilet seat, so I can’t help with that. But the hot flashes, yes! I don’t have a solution for that, I just ride them out. Nobody really talks about the juxtaposition of those two things, but I basically chose the discomfort of the hot flashes over the discomfort of cold sensitivity.

First bite. It's the taste buds more than the teeth. I would place the food in my mouth and slowly let them wake up. First one side then the other while slowly biting down after the first side to side wake up. It didn't NOT happen, it just lessened the intensity.

Hubby had to do all the cold stuff too. I couldn't pull anything from the freezer for about 4-5 days after infusion. Freezer would linger longer but not as severe. To cut up cold foods I would use my knuckles to hold down what I was cutting up.

Toilet seat, not an issue for me. I only had cold sensitivity in my hands, feet and throat. Maybe get a couple of rags to place on the part where your bottom makes contact? Or even line with toilet paper?

Try to remember this is only temporary. The goal is worth the battle!!

Oh believe me, I'm loving that this is a temporary thing!
In fact, while I was at the hospital getting the drip-drip-drip, i heard the most wonderful reminder of that.
When a chemo patient gets their last treatment, here, they ring a bell to celebrate. *Don't know if that's done everywhere, or if theres a different celebratory thing for last treatment, or what... but here, we get to ring a bell. Everyone there hears that, applauds and congratulates the bell ringer.

And while I was getting my meds, I heard it, the enthusiastic jingling of someone's last treatmdnt bells. I applauded her success, and suddenly started feeling very emotional. That victory bell suddenly seemed like it was so much more than one person's victory.

That bell called out her last treatment, of course. But it called out ALL of our victories... "I did this! I made it! And so will you!" A sound of hope and strength and the encouragement to keep on fighting. Soon enough, we will be ringing our own victory bell.

Dig deep, find that strength. Fight like a rabid hell hound. Because it is only temporary, and we will get through. We will emerge victorious. And we will ring that bell, not just for ourselves, but for everyone else there... "we can do this! We are stronger than this disease, we are strong enough to get through these days, and we can we will get through!"

Don't know if anyone else there got so much out of that bell, but it ment a lot to me, hearing it. And I teared up thinking about it. I applauded And said thank you as she went by my little station. Don't know if she even heard me, but...



Anyway..
Temporary, yes. And my eyes are on the road ahead, not only where I am now. I got my destination (the beautiful "NEDville") in my sights!


Oh! Yes, I totally didn't even think about t.p. the seat! That's a very good idea! Thank you even just a thin one layer should work. Like the paper covers at a public rest room.. coz I did put one of those down on the seat while there, and the cold seat was not an issue, then. So yeah, a lil bit of t.p. should do the trick

Heading over to get my port, yes this is real.
Susan

JennPixie wrote:I had read that some people could feel a discomfort or even a pain with the first few bites of something, right after that first part. Well, last time , I got the tiniest hint of it feeling different. This time, though, my teeth hurt! What? Open mouth, no prob. Close mouth, fine. But try to chew that awesomely perfect pound cake... whoa. I was so not expecting that!
But after a few careful chews and a few careful bites, it lessened, and then went away. So okay, we're cool. Just, take care with first bites. It's a thing. Got it.

Oh yes. "First bite pain". With me my upper and lower jaw would almost lock together it was so intense. BUT then it would disappear and I could eat the entire meal. Such a bizarre sensation.

Caat55 wrote:Heading over to get my port, yes this is real.
Susan

How did it go? You okay?

Well, went in for disconnect and chat with doc.
Said that there was some news on my CAT Scan.

Chest was fine, but there's a wee spot on my liver that they wanna keep an eye on.
Oh boy.
No change w/ treatment, coz if it's cancer, chemo gets it. If not, it's not something to worry about.
Still. Don't like to hear about new "spots" they want to monitor.

Oh well.

It seems both so unreal and all too real at once, for me anyway. Yes, the chemo will get it, that's why we are doing this!
Susan