Steroids ?

I start my chemo-rad tomorrow. 32 rad and 5 citaplastin. The doctor mentioned steroids and I was too overwhelmed to ask why . 

Did any of you have these and is it just a normal part of the treatment ?

Hi soozeh 

They give you steroids to help stop the sickness.normally 3 days worth to take day after chemo ....be prepared to not sleep while takin them..that is 1 of the side effect of them unfortunately. .but I suppose that's better than bein sick xx

Yes!

I was given steroids (8mg dexamethasone) on the day of my chemo, to be taken just after I arrived and before the chemo went up. My chemo was on a Monday, and I also had to take them on the following Tuesday & Wednesday morning and early afternoon (4mg each time). It's primarily used to reduce the nausea caused by the chemo and can even increase appetite, but it also reduces cellular inflammation that might occur because of the chemo.  

Obviously your dosage and specific steroid might vary depending on your liver/kidney function, chemo dose & clinical protocols used by your team, but it's pretty typical for steroids to be prescribed with 'our' chemo for cervical cancer treatment.

A word of warning/ top tip though, try and take your first dose of steroid on the second & third days with a little food or fruit juice as early as you can tolerate getting up in the mornings, and the second dose by 2pm at the latest (you need six hours between doses). The steroids affected my sleep pattern badly, and the later you take that second dose in a day, the worse the effect. By the Wednesday afternoon (day 3 of steroids) my mind was racing anyway, I was manic as all hell and sleeping on Wednesday night involved me taking a notebook & pen to my bedside so I could record my endless lists & thoughts. I found sleep sooooo hard!

Seriously, Wednesdays & during the day on Thursday (the day the steroids stop) were always my most productive days for getting random chores done because of the steroids, and then I'd collapse in a knackered heap for Fri & Sat. Just in time for the weekly cycle of nausea, mania, collapse & Sunday sanity to begin all over again! :)

Thank you ladies, that's made it much clearer and very useful info on the timing and sleeplessness too. 

Very encouraging to see your results so far Cheery Smile

Yes steroids are all part of it Soozeh :) they do help with the sickness and also make you eat! or at least maintain an appetite! 
the nurses will tell you to try not to take them after a certain time as they definately do mess with your sleep! and also make your face really round (i feel like a real life ooompa loompa :D) can't wait for it to wear off! 

Hope you are doing ok with your treatment? hopefully it's not as bad as you thought it would be? 

sending love and hugs xxx

Thanks Bumblebee25 I'm into the second week now and I only get the steroids with the chemo on the Mondays. It makes me so hyper that I can't sleep, but I turned that to my advantage last night and did all the ironing at 2.30am ! They haven't given me pills to take. 

The treatment has had a few side effects. Last week I was constipated and today the total opposite ! I'm happy that the bleeding has stopped, still a pink watery discharge but much more manageable. I feel better this week than I did last week :)

Hope all is well with you x

Yes I was exactly the same I could never sleep! 

I found I lost weight initially but was putting it back on by the end of treatment. I've become abit obsessed (even more so than usual and I like food Smile) I think because of having to limit what I could eat for the radio that when I came home I've bungled on what I couldn't have....and have out a stone back on. 

I did have to force the food down initially though. Savoury snacks helped me eat. Pretzels especially.. .think it was the saltiness.

Hope things are going well?

Sending love and hugs xxx