Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't need to take anything which causes intellectual impairment; I'm troubled by the CRS disease already (Can't Remember $hit).
Stress will cause intellectual impairment too. A huge part of chemo brain is the stress. I functioned at a much lower level without ativan. My onc gave me IQ tests before, during, and after treatment. There was a noticeable decrease due to the chemo brain, stress, and fatigue. I'm slowly getting back to where I was at diagnosis (which was lower than where I was before I knew I was sick!). Without Ativan, Xanax, and the host of other meds I was on before getting access to green therapy, I was much, much, much worse.
Stress will cause intellectual impairment too. A huge part of chemo brain is the stress. I functioned at a much lower level without ativan. My onc gave me IQ tests before, during, and after treatment. There was a noticeable decrease due to the chemo brain, stress, and fatigue. I'm slowly getting back to where I was at diagnosis (which was lower than where I was before I knew I was sick!). Without Ativan, Xanax, and the host of other meds I was on before getting access to green therapy, I was much, much, much worse.
Just a thought.
Your advice is always excellent. So, I just called the oncology nurse and told her I'd never taken anything like that. But she said (as others have said on here) that my emotional ups and downs are normal, and that when I see the doctor on Wednesday, he will evaluate me and probably put me on something. So good. Thank you. It's not fun feeling like this.
I am now 8 years past colon cancer and chemo. Used one of the platinum compounds with a pump so basically chemo lasted three days continuously every two weeks for about 6 months. No hair loss but permanent socks on feet and some finger tips. That will turn into a compounding problem some years later.
With the exception of a neuropathy and back surgery related problem of some significance I am in very good health. The neuropathy is being treated with IVIG so I get a very long 3 day 6 hours infusion every month. It reintroduced me to the chemo dept.
One suggestion you might talk to your doctor about. I get a bag of benadryl to start each infusion which has a wonderful side effect...I sleep the first three or four hours. It is standard for IVIG where the big concern is an allergic reaction. I don't know how they would feel about it in conventional chemo.
I am actually a three time loser. I lost a testicle in my late 30s and had my prostate pulled 11 years ago. So I don't complain.
I found chemo a real nuisance and depressing which I simply fought off. An understanding wife helped a great deal. I also had no real pain...so suffering was not a part of it for me.
All chemo rooms are cold and many people suffer from cold effects of the drugs. I wear lots of clothes and wrap up with my own blankets. I have a friend fighting a relatively vicious uterine cancer who has the opposite problem - she finds it very hot. Nice looking chick who wears as little as she can to chemo . Keeps all us boys happy and trying not to stare. She lost all her hair a year ago early in the process but now has an uneven head that she does up in a colorful spikey way...looks modern and not bad.
The key to all chemo is to persevere. And to put up with the lunk heads that tell you to persevere when that is all you can do.
Ivoc, stories like yours make me cry. You're so brave, you clearly don't feel sorry for yourself (like I do), and you're a role model for people like me, new to all this.
Sometimes circumstances in life conspire to make things more difficult; I lost my husband, my dad, my mom, and then my cat of 14 years, Annie. I do have another cat now, Edward, a big, gentle, gentleman, love bucket of a cat, so I'm not entirely alone, but I miss my mom and dad so much it's pathetic. I'm glad your wife supports you; this is a big advantage.
We had a huge explosion of the moth population recently in my part of the world, and Edward won't even hurt a moth. He tries to play with them, but without hurting them. As HUGE as he is, he has not even lightly scratched me in the year or so I've had him. (A friend of mine saw him in the gargage bin behind a pizza hut; she said "kitty, kitty" and he ran and jumped right in her car!) He is an angel cat!
Cute story about the cat! I hope you are feeling in better spirits today.
Don't feel weird about the Ativan, if your doctor recommends it. I was also prescribed it. I just take it when I need it, which at this point is rare.
I'm seeing the surgeon tomorrow and he's probably going to give me something, I don't know what. I've gone a week feeling pretty good -- sometimes *very* good -- but I started losing my hair today. Drat.
Don't feel weird about the Ativan, if your doctor recommends it. I was also prescribed it. I just take it when I need it, which at this point is rare.
Totally agree! Most of the time they'll prescribe .5 mg tablets. By comparison, nurses will push 2mg for a baby if it is screaming and crying when they need to do something and the child won't sit still. No adverse effects to the baby.
Also worth noting, my girlfriend's Scrabble ability improves significantly when she takes it because she's not as stressed about other things.
Well, he didn't give me any antidepression medication, but a prescription for Premarin. I'm not taking it; it's against my spiritual practices to take this product. It's impossible to be completley vegan in the modern world. We send children to school with dead animal byproducts in their lunchboxes; hide glue holds together the violins I play and is in books and under the wall paper. But you don't have to do something if you have a choice.
Well, he didn't give me any antidepression medication, but a prescription for Premerin. I'm not taking it; it's from horses, I think. I don't want to take this stuff. I'll be okay.
But think about how ready you'd be for the Kentucky Derby.
But think about how ready you'd be for the Kentucky Derby.
(We must keep our sense of humor )
Oncology nurse called and is replacing the Premarin with Cenestin. But I'm not going to take that, either. Why would he prescribe something which is counterindicated for cancer?? See:
I called her back and told her I wasn't going to take any hormones. If he doesn't want to give me any antidepressants, that's fine. But I'm not taking that stuff, even short term/low dosage.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
