r/endometrialcancer • u/Talesfromthescript11 • 6d ago
Chemo side effects
My mom is 3 days out after her first chemo session. Her biggest complaint is that she’s so tired and weak and she doesn’t want to anything. How many days post infusion are the worst? She’s taking her nausea meds around the clock to prevent nausea when is the nausea risk low enough to not take them?
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u/hobbit_whxre Stage IIIC 6d ago
I'm 37 and day 3-5 after are the worst for me. Currently on day 4 right now. I can't really speak for nausea, I haven't really had any. I get fatigue and joint pain mostly.
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u/sentient-acorn 6d ago
My mom, age 65, found days 2 and 3 post chemo the worst but honestly she was pretty drained through out the duration of all her 6 cycles. She finished about a month ago and is just started to feel as close to normal as she’ll probably ever get now, and has enough energy to leave the house for several hours, play a bit with my toddler, etc.
My mom didn’t get a lot of nausea so hard for me to say. She vomited maybe twice after her second or third cycle. Her nausea meds were only taken as needed so she rarely took them
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u/sanityjanity 6d ago
For me, I was out of commission for 5-7 days. The first two days I was tired, and then my legs hurt so bad I could barely walk.
I didn't take the anti nausea meds unless I needed them, other than the morning of the infusion
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u/No_Deal_9308 6d ago
I was on steroids the first two days after chemotherapy so my worst days are maybe off BUT days 4/5/6 were the worst for me.
My oncologist said before chemo started that I’d only have a couple of days of side effects and to me that meant the first days after treatment but rather it was those last few days of the week of treatment.
It for sure affects all of us differently but the suggestion someone had to keep notes of how she is feeling each day is SUPER helpful!
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u/GammelgardNYE61 6d ago
I would get my treatment on Thursday. Friday night I would start to feel icky. Then didn’t really feel better until later Sunday night/Monday morning. I had so much fatigue and brain fog along with joint pain. I didn’t have much nausea but I did get a medical marijuana card and that helped a lot if I felt a bit nauseous. One of the worst side effects I ended up getting was the nastiest taste in my mouth I could not get rid of. I couldn’t eat anything except something super sweet for at least 3-4 days. I had that the last 2 treatments.
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u/ImaginaryClue4471 6d ago
Regarding the medical marijuana - did you smoke or use edibles for nausea? Hope you're doing well now
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u/GammelgardNYE61 6d ago
Doing well now thanks! I would smoke it for the nausea because that would pretty much take it right away. And it was good for appetite stimulation. I would take the edibles to help me sleep. I was given a really strong medication for sleep that I didn’t love taking all the time. So I would supplement with the edibles.
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u/ImaginaryClue4471 6d ago
Thanks for the quick response. I'm just starting out with my EC diagnosis. I have a lung nodule that's causing concern too so was thinking I'd not be using any flower but hoping edibles would help with nausea, pain and sleeplessness, as long as my oncologist says they're ok. Very happy you're doing well!
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u/SurroundedByPlushies 6d ago
I was told the drugs I was given with my chemo would probably get me through the first two or three days, and that fits with when my worst symptoms kicked in.
They lasted about three and a bit days from that point.
My second set of chemo treatments, the symptoms hit around the same point, but they weren't as bad and didn't last as long.
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u/Talesfromthescript11 6d ago
Great! I will tell her this. She’s really frustrated with how weak she is. She’s on day 3 as well. Tomorrows a new day do hopefully they get less severe as it goes!
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u/SurroundedByPlushies 5d ago
Unfortunately, symptoms vary from person to person, so I would wait and see, rather than get her hopes up.
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u/Devils-Detail 6d ago
Im day 11 post first chemo .... like sanityjanity I was off for 7 days ... first couple of days I was running on all the meds given at infusion time. By day 3 I had sore lower legs and day 4 and 5 were uncomfortable leg wise and then it passed. I've not had any nausea, vomitting or the bowel issues that can come as well .... just feeling pretty tired and I'm not sleeping that well. What I am doing is hydrating really well and I have 4 small meals a day (sometimes I don't feel like it) to keep up my fuel for healing .... I'm adding protein powder to them as they are small meals and protein is the key. Also I'm eating acidophilus yoghurt to help my gut microbiome to repopulate. That stuff I can control in this crazy outta control world my life has become. I'm also keeping a diary cause I believe chemo brain is gunna kick in sometime soon and I'll be barely able to remember my name .... might have to ink it onto the inside of my knee! Talesfromthescript - tell your Mum that resting is healing too so she should go for it and get that healing a happening - no use forcing herself to be upright before she feels like it. All the best :)
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u/Hummingbird_1960 5d ago
I don’t remember feeling good after a chemo session. I was ok, but fatigued always. I didn’t have a lot of nausea and had a regimen of meds I had to take on certain days, and may have only taken nausea meds a few times throughout the duration. I finished my six months of chemo on February 10. Now I have horrible neuropathy and hoping it goes away at some point. I had really straight fine hair before and have short curly hair now. I love it but I’ve heard it goes away.
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u/Talesfromthescript11 5d ago
I never knew it could temporarily change your hair, that’s carzy! Did you wear ice gloves/socks? My mom wore the socks but had a hard time with it on her hands because it was. So cold. I did notice today that she had a slight tremor in her thumb
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u/Hummingbird_1960 5d ago
I didn’t know it could either. lol. I absolutely love my hair now and hope it stays. I was not told about ice in socks or gloves. I did buy a machine for my feet but sent it back because it made matters worse. The neuropathy can stay up to a year or longer. I will just have to wait it out.
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u/Economy-Ad-3480 4d ago
Is she doing carbo/taxol? If so, they should give her some post-chemo drugs for the 3 days after treatment. If she’s not nauseated, I wouldn’t suggest she take them, because a few of them can make people tired. But the first week after treatment is typically the worst.
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u/no-user-names- 6d ago
Get her to write a diary. How she is after this cycle is probably how she’ll be all along. It really helps knowing your pattern of illness and better-ness. It helps mentally to know and enables you to plan your life when everything seems so out of control.
Btw, nausea meds can make you constipated, so if she doesn’t need them….