Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
Comments
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Starella~
My heart goes out to you. I had the worst nausea during chemo that I ended up going to oncologist office and had to be seen. I have never felt so horrible as I did that day. They ended up giving me fluids...
I hope you are feeling better very soon.
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Starella
I agree with Omaz about eating. Toast, bagels, anything like that has helped me whenever I felt a bit of nausea coming on. Once I learned that, I've been fine ever since. I keep my stomach full the day of chemo. We bring bagels in the morning and then order sandwiches for lunch. I'm gaining weight.... but not nauseas. Ativan is supposed to help, can't hurt to take it. It helps with anxiety as well. Makes me really mellow.
I hope you feel better soon.
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I also agree about the small meals to help with nausea. I very often would wake up in the middle of the night for several days after each cycle and have a small bite of something (very often canned peaches) and then fall right back asleep.
I used the Ativan while on the steroids also, but only at night.
Last Herceptin this Wednesday!!! Yea!
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Good for you stlcardsfan!
I am getting my port out this Thursday...
If I have any pain it will be good pain.
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I'm 6 days out, and so far except for one day of a numb mouth and ick-taste, no down time.
I've continued to exercise 60 minutes a day, except one day I could only get to 30 minutes and today I was off because I have lost a lot of blood this week on my cycle. And I am dizzy with it, blurred vision, headache, etc. In fact, I'm pretty sure they will have to give me some blood when I check in on Tuesday for my Herceptin....I get anemic anyway during heavy cycles and this one, WHOA! Bad.
I do have a couple questions tho. I'm not having diarrhea or constipation (Metamucil in green tea), but my intestines/guts hurt. They wake me up at night aching, cramping, and just being overly too "acidic." At least it feels acidic. I hesitate to take anything because everything is moving along the way it should, better than usual even, but the pain is enough to keep me up most nights. Is that normal? I took Pepto Bismol, but it really didn't do much.
And the second question, I guess I never realized the symptoms happen in waves. I just thought they came, and moved in for 6 treatments. I do realize they're cumulative, but what I want to know is are there days that are almost "normal?" While I don't have debilitating SE yet, I can't get excited over food so usually just eat a piece of fruit, drink milk, or eat cereal.
I've lost the 7 fluid pounds from the steroids plus 3 additional pounds. But I as my taste is getting better, will likely make that up in no time.
Ok, that was kind of a ramble....sorry, lots going on here today....
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TonLee Are you taking any kind of antacid. Initailly they had me take Prolosec. It works for most people but never works for me so I had to get a percription for *Protonix.
*(I started to have issues again but in the past I have had bile reflux from the liver. Pretty sure that's what I'm experiencing now and they have a drug for that too. I will be taking both when I pick up the script tomorrow).
----------------------------------------------Everyone is different but I find the SE start up the same day every time. I know what day to take the metamucil, I know day 6 my tongue will start to get sore etc. The duration of some SE get a little longer each time. Seems like a day might be added each round, like taste change, sore tongue or something new might show up like last time my fingernails started to hurt. Certain things like the constipation stayed the same. My "tired days" have stayed the same but I don't get that tired so far. I think excercise helps although I don't do that everyday especially the week of treatment.
Dizzy blurred vision I get for a day or two and I am convinced it's from the Emend. The first round I was zombie/spacey for a week. I'm pretty sure that was from the Zyrtec. My body got used to the Zyrtec so it's SE have stopped.
Water gain will increase too and not go away as fast. I have gained 3lbs according to my onc. I'm not worried about that. Even if I put on 6, after chemo I know I can take it off. It's hard to really know how much I weigh because of the water gain. Once I take the steriods again I will drop like 4 lbs overnight. I do know I have dropped much of the water gain from Tuesday but still have some.
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my wife had her first TCH on Thursday followed by Neulasta on Friday. She woke up nauseous with heart burn around 4 AM Saturday morning morning but was able to get back to bed with some tums and anti-nausea medicine (it began with a "P" but can't remember the name). Saturday morning was fine, but the fatigue hit saturday night and she was out for a while. She was prescribed Dexamethasone and took it before, the day of, and the day after treatment.
This morning she woke up feeling hot, with soreness in her neck and lower legs. As the day went on she developed a pretty bad headache, she took some Aleve in the afternoon and has been back to her old self ever since.
She hasn't had any constipation but did have some diarrhea today. We're hoping she'll start to feel better tomorrow.
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imatthew Aleve has been my friend. Yes I had back pain so bad the first round that there were 2 days I couldn't even stand up straight. I only take it for a few days but it really makes a huge difference. I don't want to take it too much because it can upset your stomach and thin your blood.
Not everyone gets constipation. Actually I was told that diarrhea is more the norm. Some of us get both. I was told to use Imodium if I had diarrhea (more than 2 episodes). This is something you don't want to ignore because she could become dehydrated if it goes on for more than a day.
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imatthew - Sounds like you are both doing OK! Everyone is different and responds differently to chemo and the associated meds. I would encourage you and your wife to keep a little journal of your symptoms as you go along, I found it helpful in planning for the next cycle. I thought I heard you talk about your kids, how old?0
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Thanks Lago, I'm going to ask my Onc about prilosec today, or tomorrow when I am in .... snow day here so I have to play it by ear as far as when I can get in....
Now I have a sinus headache thing going on....lol, gotta love winter!
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TonLee - I had heartburn with tx 1 and did two things, one I got an acupunture treatment and that seemed to make it go away for the rest of that cycle. Second, for tx 2 the chemo nurse told me that with chemo it is sometimes hard for some people to know the difference between nausea and heartburn and she told me to take my anti-nausea meds more regularly. I haven't had heartburn again. don't know if that will help but I hadn't ever had heartburn before so I could see that I would confuse nausea with heartburn.0
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Ang7 - Please post how port removal goes - I look forward to that day late next year!!!0
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Oh, Starella, I'm sorry Emend doesn't seem to be working for you.
In addition to Emend, I was told to take Zofran and Compazine alternately (every four hours take one or the other) the first few days after chemo, whether I felt sick or not. It's easier to prevent nausea than to stop it once it starts. Taking them both is important because they work on different areas of your body. Zofran works on the nausea receptors in your brain and Compazine works on the receptors in your gastro-intestinal tract (or maybe it's the other way around, can't remember). Using them together is usually more effective than taking one or the other.
Also, never let yourself get hungry or thirsty. As difficult as it can be to eat, you must find foods you can tolerate and eat them regularly, and stay hydrated. Just when you think you can't drink any more water, drink some more water. Use the Crystal Light powder flavorings to make water more tolerable, if you need to.
As far as Ativan, it's an anti-anxiety medication that may calm your stomach while calming the rest of you down! :-)
Hang in there! If you're getting 6 TCH, then you're halfway there! Your last one will be here before you know it!
Ask about the Compazine if you don't have it already, and do your best to eat and drink.
Alaina
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Omaz...good info thanks...I've never had heartburn either, so maybe it's that? I dunno. All I know is once the spasms start in my lower stomach, nausea soon follows...should I still be getting nauseous 7 days out?? That seems wrong.
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TonLee - Sometimes I was slightly nauseous the whole cycle. Between 4 and 5 it tapered off around the second week but every night I had to take medicine for nausea. Its hard to say, but yes, you can still be nauseous 7 days post treatment!0
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Alaina, thanks for the advice about alternating, i will do that,zophran , is expensive i will start today between comp and zophran . The ativan makes me dizzy
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I didn't have any nausea, but I had terrible abdominal spasms. And they started about 5 days AFTER tx and continued off/on for the next week (so that means days 5-14 after chemo day). I dont' think it is a very common SE but it was VERY painful. It didn't seem to have much to do with either diarrhea OR constipation - I think my GI tract was having to learn how to function after each tx wiped out the healthy 'good' flora cells down there. I took magnesium supplements (which are supposed to relax smooth muscle tissue and help alleviate the spasm) and also took probiotics, digestive enzymes, etc. But after the 5th tx, it was brutal and I called for an RX and got Bentyl (I think that's the name/spelling) and OMG it worked within 15 minutes. I thikn it is a muscle relaxant and made me a little loopy (I wouldn't drive with it, and only took in the evenings mostly) but it REALLY WORKED and FAST. In retrospect, i wish I had asked for it sooner. So if you are affected by the TC that way, consider asking your onc to try it.
TonLee- I'm talking to you, girl! Hope this helps & you feel better soon!
Amy
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Good advice Amy - that gut stuff can hurt!0
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I start herceptin only today, first of 12 infusions.
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Omaz - good luck on your first Herceptin only. I declined the benadryl so I could drive myself to/from.
But be prepared for a little psychological tension as you go through it. I found that even though I KNEW it was Herceptin-only and would have little/no SE's, it was still very challenging going back to the same place where the chemo was given. I associated the room very strongly with all the bad stuff. It took me the first few Herceptins until it sunk in that it was just an hour or so in and out and then go about my day.
So if you feel shaky or emotional or scared, be good to yourself and realize it may take a little while for your subconscious to get the message that chemo is OVER (YAYYYYY!) and that even though the Herceptin is done the way chemo was, (same place, same infusion), that it isn't going to hurt you.
Let us know how you do. And TRUST ME, these 12 are going to fly by.
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Thank you Amy!! My Dr seems to think it is a combination of steroids and general chemo, so he gave me Nexium. I'll give it a few days to work, and then I'll ask about Bentyl. That is exactly what they are...painful painful spasms. Ice cream, frostys, and today a big fat pellet from Chick Fil A called Peppermint Chocolate Milkshake...REALLY makes it feel better. Really.
My WBC was 1 today. Boo. Any my platelets 94. I knew I had a heavy period!
And here my Onc thought Neulasta wouldn't be needed....lol. And it might not be. He's going to wait and see where they are in two weeks when I go for my next big treatment. I am going to do everything I can possibly do to get those suckers up. I don't want that shot, not after reading how everyone hates it!! lol
They'll be chasing me down....I'll be running down the hall with my chemo pole!!
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Omaz, sorry it took so long to respond-- I'm a spotty visitor these days! Avastin is another kind of monoclonal antibody used to fight cancer, like Herceptin. I'm in a study via my oncologist at UCLA, testing Avastin on early breast cancers. It's been used with more advanced cancers of various kinds. A study came out a couple of months ago saying it doesn't help advanced breast cancers, but I'm sticking with the study, because I have only two more rounds to go, and the side effects have been minor (mostly minor nosebleeds and I'm quicker to bruise).
As Amy knows, I had terrible gut problems. Like a vise grip on them for days. It helped me to go on a very bland, completely fiber-free diet for days 1-10. I visited an oncology dietician, and that's what she said I had to do. Small amounts of banana, crackers, scrambled eggs (you need easily digestible protein), and smoothies made of chocolate protein powder, ice, yogurt and milk. Also took tons of Benefiber. It was never easy but it got more bearable.
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Wife finished 6 TCH 3 weeks ago, however a recent scan suggests she go for more. 7th was today and then 2 more will be done bringing total to 9 TCH infusions. Who else on here has had that many *(or more), and what have been any side effects that came on BEYOND 6 that were not there the first 6.
Thanks!
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hi all, we just had our first consultation with our ONC after my wife started TCH last week. Her blood levels were all normal except for vitamin D. She now has a prescription for a mega-dose which she needs to take every week for a while.
Has anyone else had this experience? I found one article that cited a study showing that most women on chemo are vitamin D deficient.
http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/low-vitamin-d-complicates-breast-cancer/
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I found out my D levels were low in Fall 09. Got the mega dose of prescription D then switched to over the counter D. My onc just had my D tested again because my bone density test showed I have osteopenia and was perimenopausal till chemopause. She also put me on Calcium supplements as well.
But you will find most people living up north have low D.
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hello everyone. Here is another fun piece of info I just learned today. During my PET scan they found a nodule on my thyroid. No relation the the bc but my ENT did do a needle biopsy on Tues and come to find out I now have just been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. Amazing huh. My plastice surgeon yesterday during my last TE fill, asked "Who did I piss off?" We both laughed about it. I told him I really would like to know so I could apoligize. LOL One good thing the thyroid cancer is the slowest growing so I can finish all my chemo treatments and than have surgery to remove my thyroid. Amazing what life throws at you. At least if I had to have cancer in another part of my body it is a very curable and treatable part. Go for my next treatment on Weds 2 of 6 will be down before Christmas.
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lexylooloo - Sheesh! I know at least 3 women who had thyroid cancer over 20 years ago so at least you got one that is as you say very curable! Take care, best wishes for tx2.0
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Lexyloohoo My mom had "abnormal cells" that would have turned into cancer if she didn't have her thyroid removed. I was a sophomore in college. I'm 49 now… mom is 73 and never had another scare with cancer.
Now stop kicking Ghaudi's puppy will ya!
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I a happy to report that I had my last Herceptin yesterday.
And today happens to be my 1 year cancerversary.
Next up - deporting and exchange!
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Yea stlcardsfan!
I was supposed to have my port out today but I have bronchitis so they pushed it back to next Tuesday...
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