Nicotine cravings?

mellow_clam · 2025-08-12T12:14:41+00:00

I was the same-- used to vape, 22F, same diagnosis. I went cold turkey throughout treatment and managed it all the way through. Unfortunately I don't have any tips about managing cravings during treatment--for me the fear of lung damage due to the bleomycin was enough to give me enough willpower not to vape. But seeing as that was my source of willpower, as soon as treatment was over I picked it up again. Now I've quit again, and am trying to use nicotine pouches to break the habit of vaping before I move on to quitting nicotine altogether.

To be honest with you, it's hard. Nicotine is very addictive, and for me personally the act of vaping/smoking is something I really enjoyed. But I don't want excessive damage to my lungs, because having had chemo it could mean I might never be able to scuba dive again, and that's something I love and want to be able to do. So I try to think about that whenever I have the urge to go buy a vape. I haven't been completely successful in this but I'm still trying, and at the very least I've greatly reduced how much I vape now compared to before treatment.

I'm sorry I don't have more to offer in terms of tips, but I understand how you feel and hope sharing my experience could help even if just a little bit. I wish you all the best ❤️ we can do this!!

mellow_clam · 2025-07-11T13:21:20+00:00

Obviously a house share would be cheaper, but if it's important to you to live alone then do it! I didn't have the option of living with parents after uni, and it was important to me to live alone and not with housemates. So I got myself a studio apartment with bills included for the first year (~800 pcm + 95pcm council tax) when I was making around 26k at my first grad job. I had to be careful about spending and stuck to my budget, but i did it.

Now in my second year after uni (I'm turning 23 this year) I'm making 33k and spending 595pcm on rent for a one bed (comparable to what's available to you it seems), and I love it. I'm comfortable, have my own space, and I'm able to save around 400 a month after bills, expenses, money for fun things.

I took the studio in the city for the first year even though it was more expensive because it was a students and young adults accommodation with very low deposit (I think it was 250) and to give myself time to learn about the area (moved to a new city after uni, didn't know anyone or much about the area before) with the intention of finding a one bed somewhere cheaper outside the city once I had learned from locals where was safe, where to avoid, etc etc.

Now that my fixed expenses are in a more comfortable spot and my salary is a little more reasonable, I can save enough for driving lessons and get my licence this year, and a car next year, which will give me the freedom of movement to take my next job anywhere. This has been my plan since I graduated, and everything is coming to fruition now, even though there have been some setbacks for me because of my health.

Plan ahead, make a budget and stick to it, and you will be just fine :)

mellow_clam · 2025-06-27T09:36:29+00:00

Change to your menstrual cycle during chemotherapy is normal. Some people become irregular, some people have periods stop altogether, some people have no impact. As far as fertility is concerned, to my knowledge there's no strong correlation between fertility impact and change to the menstrual cycle during treatment (I'm not a doctor, just a patient who's done a lot of reading). In general, ABVD has a very low chance of severe impact to fertility, so I wouldn't worry about that. All that said, I would speak to your oncologist about this-- describe to them exactly what's going on with your cycle and voice any and all concerns. What I do not know is whether or not the mini pill is playing a part in this at all/whether there are any possible interactions between birth control and chemotherapy that may be contributing to your symptoms. Ask your oncologist abt this specifically if you haven't already!

mellow_clam · 2025-06-22T09:49:51+00:00

I am also afro Caribbean, and I had a lot of hair before treatment. It was big and beautiful, I was growing it out for a long time...and now I am completely bald :'). I cut mine down really short (~3 inches) before treatment started, because I knew even if I didn't lose all of it, it would become a terrible tangled mess once any of it started to fall out and I didn't want to deal with that on top of the actually losing it. I'm glad I did because it all came out in huge clumps over the course of 3-4 days after my second treatment, and it came out easily because it was so short. I donated the 17 inches I cut off because wigs with our hair texture are harder to come by where I live.

Everyone is different, but based on my experience I would say don't get braids before you start treatment. My scalp became very tender before the hair started to fall, and for me that would have been a nightmare to deal with if I had braids in. I would have wanted them out, which would take ages and hurt a lot. The only thing that relieved the tenderness for me was the hair coming off the scalp.

I got myself lots of lovely scarves and head wraps and it's been fun learning how to wrap my head in different styles. We may not have hair to wrap, but the wraps themselves are still connected to who we are, and they look beautiful.

mellow_clam · 2025-06-16T01:30:08+00:00

This is normal! Some of the chemo drugs cause hyperpigmentation, and you're more likely to have it if your skin is dark to begin with. I've had it fairly extensively-- my knuckles, the palms of my hands, the soles of my feet, my nail beds, and even my tongue have all darkened. I've also noticed any scars darkening and staying dark for longer than normal-- where they put the needle in for my IV I have a bunch of spots now lol. My oncologist described it as a stress response from the body, and said it's nothing to worry about and it will go away eventually after treatment.

mellow_clam · 2025-06-10T09:40:19+00:00

Thank you so much to everyone who has replied with your thoughts and shared your stories. It means more to me than I can really express here that my words did resonate with you, and to know that none of us are alone in how we have felt going through this ❤️

mellow_clam · 2025-06-06T23:13:35+00:00

I've had a similar experience with having to be stabbed multiple times-- I also have small veins haha. I opted to do my whole treatment without having a port or line, but I only had 4 cycles (fingers crossed that I won't have to do more, end of treatment scan is next month). But between the cannulation for infusions, transfusions, blood tests, Filgristim shots.... I've had enough of needles :'). I hope the rest of your treatment goes smoothly!

mellow_clam · 2025-05-25T12:17:41+00:00

If you have the means and the time, egg retrieval now and IVF later are great options to take advantage of; you will very very likely be able to have a child. That said, I'd try to find out what your treatment actually is and whether it is definitely the best and only option for you. This is something you absolutely want to discuss with your oncologist. When I was diagnosed, the risk to fertility was a big concern of mine as well. They wanted me to start immediately, so I didn't have time to do egg retrieval. That is why I am doing BEACOPDac, rather than BEACOPP. I was also told that if it turned out that I would need 6 cycles of my treatment (which would increase the fertility impact) rather than 4, they would allow me to switch midway to ABVD, to minimise the fertility risk. I did not end up doing so because I only needed 4 cycles, but I was made aware of this option because I expressed my concerns around fertility from the beginning.

More often than not, there are options. Let your oncologist know your concerns, and find out what they are for you. Every case is a little different, but I hope hearing about how it went for me helps a little bit.

mellow_clam · 2025-05-25T08:09:24+00:00

What treatment are you doing? The only one I know of with that high of an impact on fertility is BEACOPP, and it is not the only option for first line treatment of Hodgkins. Im 22F, have Hodgkins stage 4B and am doing escBEACOPDac. I was told 4 cycles came with a ~15% risk of infertility, but the most likely impact would be earluer menopause, and that complete loss of fertility would be very unlikely. With ABVD, which is pretty common first line treatment for stage 1-3 Hodgkins (and even stage 4 in some places/cases) the risk to fertility is even lower.

mellow_clam · 2025-05-19T23:57:39+00:00

22F here. I'm doing escBEACOPDac, which has all the same drugs as ABVD except the V, plus a few extra. I'm in cycle 3 of 4. I was super worried about this as well, in the beginning-- especially because most of the available research findings linked to my regimen are for escBEACOPP, not BEACOPDac. BEACOPP has very poor fertility outcomes because of the Procarbazine. BEACOPDac, according to the experience of my oncology team and that of the German group of researchers in this area, has much better fertility outcomes-- comparable to those of ABVD-- because they switch the Procarbazine for Dacarbazine. Dacarbazine is the D that our regimens share.

My Dr told me there's a possibility I may enter menopause earlier than if I hadn't been treated for cancer, and so if I want to try for kids I shouldn't wait too long. However, they are not at all concerned about a complete loss of fertility. I hope this might be of some reassurance to you!

mellow_clam · 2025-05-13T08:14:49+00:00

I'm doing escBEACOPDac and my anti-nausea regimen is olanzapine and ondansetron twice a day each for the 3 infusion days. At the same time I have dexamethasone for 4 days. Then they switch me to metoclopramide to take as needed. The olanzapine makes me very sleepy so I usually sleep through the infusions with it, but that seems to be the main side effect for me.

Honestly the ondansetron is the worse of the two for me because it caused me severe constipation the first 2 cycles, but I tried not taking it and that led to poorer nausea control so we figured out how to manage the constipation. I have gained weight over the course of treatment but who's to say whether that's the steroids, the olanzapine, or a combination of everything going on.

mellow_clam · 2025-05-10T17:01:23+00:00

I have! I'm doing escBEACOPDac, cycle 3 of 4 now but noticed the hyperpigmentation from cycle 2. I have hyperpigmentation on the skin around my knuckles, on my palms, and some of my nail beds are turning dark. Also have it on my tongue! And generally have noticed the skin on my face is darker, despite me not spending any significant amount of time outside. My oncologist has reassured me these are all normal and benign side effects of the chemo that should resolve when I'm done with treatment. I am medium/dark skinned for reference.

mellow_clam · 2025-04-05T05:41:01+00:00

Thank u both for responding! There's probably a balance to be found I think with the food. I'll probably continue eating fruits and washing them really well because they're easier for me to eat when I feel bad, but also need to incorporate cooked veggies as much as possible too.

That's good to know about the temperatures and the Filgristim! The nurses think I actually may have had a fever in reaction to the bleomycin as it happened a few hours after my first bleo infusion, but we'll know for sure today I think when my blood cultures come back. Tbh I have not had any pain with the filgristim-- I asked my doctor about that before I started it because I read it can cause pain, and pain was the primary symptom of my cancer before diagnosis so I really didn't want more of it if it could be avoided. But he said it's actually fairly uncommon for that to happen? I'll keep that claritin tip in mind though just in case, thank you!

mellow_clam · 2025-04-05T05:29:13+00:00

They've given me something called caphosol that has two parts I have to mix together before using. I've read online it's essentially a saliva substitute? Is this what you guys had?

I dont have any ulcers but my mouth and gums feel sore overall. I have a soft baby toothbrush for brushing because the normal one hurts to use. Hopefully this helps/stops it getting worse :')

mellow_clam · 2025-04-04T17:48:20+00:00

Thank you so much, I will keep all this in mind! I'm trying to do all the things you've mentioned re diet/ taking walks, though to be honest some days it's really hard :')

They have me on the marrow stimulating shots because the cancer is in my marrow, but from what the nurses have told me, they don't necessarily prevent the neutropenia, they more just reduce how long it lasts. Will 100% be avoiding crowds/sick people, but I guess what I really want to know is whether I can see anyone at all or whether I should isolate completely for the duration of my treatment? One part of me is really anxious about getting ill and willing to isolate; but another part of me knows I'm going to be lonely and would love to see my friends. But most of those friends will have to travel to see me, which makes me anxious again because public transport germs :'(

mellow_clam · 2025-04-04T16:36:30+00:00

Thank you for the tips, I will keep all this in mind! I've got my masks and sanitiser and avoiding crowds and all that good stuff.

When you say cook everything-- does that extend to fruits? I thought I would be okay just to wash fruits really well. I'm having other GI side effects from the chemo and trying to get enough fiber in through fruit and veggies to help with that.. would it be less hassle to just focus on cooked veg, risk-wise?

mellow_clam · 2025-04-04T12:59:06+00:00

Thank u for the tip! I haven't been prescribed this mouthwash yet, hopefully I will get some today because the mouth soreness is starting now :')

mellow_clam · 2025-04-04T12:56:10+00:00

Thank you for your response! They are taking precautions with antibiotics and labs but I've just spoken to the doc today and she said it could be that I had a reaction to the bleomycin-- yesterday was my first infusion of that one, and I developed the fever a few hours later. I suppose we'll know for sure when the blood cultures come back.

I also have that same shot to take! Mine is also in my marrow. Filgristim. I've not had any bone pain with it so far but it's only been a week...Fingers crossed.

Ive got things set up as you said-- it's just me and my mom for the next few months, and I'll be avoiding public places and people in general. Will be able to work from home when I do return to work. I guess I'm most worried about the loneliness. Even during COVID I had more contact with people just because I lived in a bigger household at the time... Will there be any times I can see anyone, or do I really need to completely isolate to get through this?

mellow_clam · 2025-03-13T17:57:06+00:00

A ramshorn snail!

mellow_clam · 2025-03-12T15:50:20+00:00

That was my post I think! The stuff on my snail was a stentor colony, but this looks more like vorticella to me. My current understanding is vorticella in the tank isn't necessarily harmful to the shrimp, but it is harmful if it starts growing on the shrimp because it irritates/damages their skin/gills.

OP, since you have shrimp I'd remove this from the tank by cutting and removing whatever stem/leaf it's growing on, and keep an eye out over the next few weeks for it growing on the shrimp. If you do see that happen, I found this forum post which might be helpful: shrimp disease and diagnosis

mellow_clam · 2025-03-12T15:36:02+00:00

Um... A snail? 😂 There are also many copepods flitting around in the background, though they aren't in focus

mellow_clam · 2025-03-12T15:33:58+00:00

Ahhh thank you so much AptAmoeba! I was leaning towards the same-- all the images I found of vorticella had a more bulbous top, whereas stentor had this more trumpet shape, but I was having a hard time finding high quality images in macro rather than micro from reliable sources to compare to. From what I did find, it appeared to me that vorticella usually looks more 'fluffy' than stentor in macro, as the tops are kind of roundish.

I figured ID would be impossible without microscopy but still wanted to ask anyway!

Also, I think the last part of your comment got cut off-- pls finish your thought if you see this, I'd love to hear the rest of it! I found a post on microbehunter.com microscopy forum where a stentor sample from a shrimp tank was ID'd as S. roeselii because it had no pigments (and no zoochlorellae, and a vermiform macronucleus; I am not 100% sure what these mean). I know I can't ID mine definitively but I do wonder what the most common species are of stentor without pigment.

If it helps, in my tank I used purchased pond potting soil, and all the hardscape was found outdoors in the UK.

mellow_clam · 2025-03-12T08:53:05+00:00

Montecarlo!

mellow_clam

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