I have split this apart from the rest of my chemo treatments and the start of chemo, due to this time being more stressful and the amount of side effects from the treatment.

 

So, after I came home from hospital, I had the next treatment cycle within 3 days, so I had no time to be nervous/anxious, this would change rather quickly, because soon after the cycle I started to have night cramps, spasms, twitching of the limbs and popping in the legs. From the information I had been given, I read that I was susceptible to blood clots and because the cramps and spasms weren't going away, I became very stressed and went to the emergency room. I would continue to visit the emergency room after each attack, however each time I was told that it was just an electrolyte imbalance and was given magnesium before being sent home. Between this and the start of my next cycle, after being very frustrated, I worked out by experimentation that heat packs helped alleviate the cramps and spasms, but because they only worked for a couple of hours, I had to wake up every 2 hours or so to reheat the heat packs, which meant I didn't get much sleep.

 

On the next chemo treatment cycle, however I was told that what I was experiencing was normal for chemo patients and he prescribed magnesium for me, along with a recommendation to see a physio to give me some exercises, providing me with a more effective and long term solution. My GP also gave me muscle relaxants in case the cramps came back in the in-between times, I found this especially helpful at night as it would lessen the need for heat packs and was able to get a good night's sleep. I already had a physio due to a work-related RSI problem I was getting treatment for, so after asking her if she could help me with the cramps, pops, etc, she accepted and gave me a few exercises, all of which were very effective. After a few days of using all three, my symptoms faded away and I was feeling a lot more normal. Since I was still feeling very anxious, it was recommended to me at the treatment session by the oncologist and the nurses there to take 1-2 weeks off work to get adjusted to the whole process and to see a psychologist who specialised helping people cope with the whole chemo process.

 

I continued to get different side-effects after each cycle, which led me to visit the emergency room a few more times, each time getting told I had nothing to worry about. The oncologist confirmed this and told me just to observe them for any changes. He did however say that it was unusual for someone to get all these in such quick succession. These side-effects stopped accumulating around the 4th or 5th cycle. I still had to keep up with my established routine with my medications, exercises, etc. so the side effects did not worsen.

 

During Chemo