Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
Comments
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Wendyspet, if your looking for macncheese in a box that's "organic", try Annie's brand. Our big grocery stores carry it, as well as natural food stores.
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DonnaD001 - I had my BMX on 11/1/10 and did not start chemo until 2/17/11, I would not worry too much about your extra week. My MO was not overly concerned about the delay for me. It was caused by surgical complications (5 surgeries) and they wanted as complete healing as possible before beginning.
Christean - Be watchful with your Hgb. Mine stair-stepped downward through chemo. It would drop and then improve, then drop a little lower on the next. It took quite a while to return to normal, which for me is slightly anemic!
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Hi everyone,
Day 6 after my first TCH and I am feeling pretty miserable. The funny taste started on day 3 but is better now, although not gone. Exhaustion hit on Day 4 and 5; I slept most of day 4 and part of 5. Very bad constipation the entire week and today, day 6 I seem to have the opposite problem. I was in pain the whole day with stomach cramps. This is so discourgaging. I can't see going through 4 months of this....
Anyone with suggestions about how to relieve painful stomach cramps?
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I am 3 weeks into tch... will be doing it for a year... Ginger snaps and ginger ale are working well for me!! I also take other stuff... umm emend steroids and 2 others as needed... but the ginger has worked great on my tummy troubles!!
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Thank you Laurie. I don't have gingerale at home for now but will make sure to get some tomorrow. Will look for ginger snaps as well since most food no longer look appealing.
May your SE's remain minimal during the length of your treatment...
Amelie
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Dear Amelie Rose and others with GI issues,
I also had constipation and then diarrhea. After the first TCH infusion I learned the hard way the routine. I took stool softener for the first 6-7 days and ate lots of berries (blueberries can be a natural laxative) and I would put them in the oatmeal since I could not handle the taste if I ate them alone. Also took Mer lax, a tasteless powder you can put in water or juice to decrease constipation. I then switched the fruit routine when I started having diarrhea and ate bananas, rice potatoes, ie constipating foods. Oct said if diarrhea too bad then take immodium.
Stomach cramps may be caused by gas . However I noticed that after Neulasta shot I had rib pain which seemed like abdominal pain. I did not even realize it at first that it was my ribs. But it hurt a lot when I coughed or even breathed. Apparently neulasta impacts the "flat bones" sometimes. I took Claritin which worked for the bone pain and decreased abdominal pain I felt for the first week after the infusion. Ask your onc about all of this butI learned about the claritin helping pain from other people on the list.
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Amelie!
Your symptoms are EXACTLY how my SE's were during my whole treatment. I think the GI issues were the worst for me as I felt labor with my son was a lot less painful than gas and constipation. Please be careful with the Big D. I had it pretty bad the week after my first tx and had to go back to the clinic and have fluids. Nothing tasted good and water tasted like very very bad canned beer so I got dehydrated. It was my own fault I should have just chugged it down. From there on out I made sure I drank tons of coconut water which tasted better to me than water after my treatments.
Also, when my taste buds returned I went a little crazy on the food. The week after my tx I had NO appetite and would lose 11 pounds. I would go in for my shot and the NP would say To try and gain what I would lose. That was music to my ears as I love to eat. Well, the first time she said that I went a little crazy at The Melting Pot and PAID for it dearly. OMG...thought the gas pain was off the chart. I think chemo messes with your bowels and all that food was a big shock to my system, I still have problems eating big meals or really rich foods.
Also, if you do not mind I have an amazing recipe for Black Bean soup that helped me during the Big C days. Let me know if you would like it. Take care.0 -
If water isn't tasting great, try cold water and use a straw to suck it down. The straw helped me get it past my tongue and down the hatch.
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Amelie, after my first treatment I had the same reaction, but it was bearable. Second time around was a lot worse! Food tastes terrible for about two weeks, and I find that sweet is better than salty. I have been eating power bars just to get protein becuase all other sources of protein are not edible right now.
My onc told me to take Prilosec twice a day and that is helping the stomach issues (same for me, one extreme to the other). She also said, use immodium and stool softners as needed. You will start feeling better this next week probably and feel pretty good before your next one.
As far as eating, try using plastic flatware and rinsing your mouth with baking soda before you eat. That helps a little bit. It seems like the blander the food, the easier it is to tolerate. I think that drinking water really helps also. I try to get at least 100 oz during the day and continue through the night with my 24 oz cup. I agree that it is easier to drink through a straw.
I hope you start feeling better soon.
Tiger_blood, I would love to have your black bean soup recipe. Maybe beans would be a good alternative for protein.
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Ladies I would caution you on eating high fiber foods (bean soup) when you are in the Big D stage, it will make it worse. Eat fiber in the Big C stage and low fiber, bland, BRAT during Big D.
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Amelie_Rose I'm reading your post and you sound like you are having exactly the same reaction I had. GI problems were my worst SEs throughout TCH. I quickly learned to start using Miralax the day before each chemo until things started moving normally (usually by day 5) and then stop because I had terrible diarrhea/severe cramping from day 6-10 during every cycle. My cramping was not caused by gas and the MO tried everything but ultimately could not resolve the terrible cramping during those days. Essentially, if I ate anything solid at all, my GI tract would react by cramping. I ended up resorting to a liquid/soft diet (cream of wheat, mashed potatoes, Ensure, Smoothies) for those 4 days so I could tolerate it and then I would wake up on day 11 and everything would be ok again. You might be having the same issue I had and if so, I'm sorry because it was awful. If it's as severe as what I had, trust me that it will run it's course in 4 to 5 days but you will stop cramping so much if you avoid solid foods on those days. As awful as it was, once I figured it out, it was a lot easier to manage on the remaining cycles. I hope it saves you a lot of grief!0
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Amelie_Rose - re the cramping - I had it after my last few tx's. It was the WORST part. Not necessarily big D OR big C, just those horrible intenstinal cramping. Very very painful. When I pushed the doctor to do SOMETHING, they prescribed me a pill called Bentyl, which is a muscle relaxant that is sometimes used for IBS (which I have never had). It eased the cramps within 15 minutes. I only took it a few times but it REALLY REALLY helped. If you cannot get relief, please ask if you can have this drug. It made a huge difference for me. Those cramps are BRUTAL!
Amy0 -
I find it so interesting how individual our reactions can be to the same stuff. I found salty more tolerable than sweet. I was ok if there was barely a whiff of sweetness. But what might have been normal sweetness became overwhelming--nasty even. Salty just tasted normal which was a treat when everything tasted abnormal.
Looking back, it really is temporary, although I know it doesn't feel that way when you're in the thick of it. You just do what you gotta do to get through and don't stress too much about not eating perfectly when it's bad. It'll get better and then you can get back on track.0 -
Hello Ladies -
Did anyone use Boost High Protein drinks during chemo? Also, how about pudding?
Thanks, again, for everyone's input. It's so informative!
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DonnaD001--I tried pudding but, referring to above post, I found pre-made stuff to be too sweet and didn't have it in me to make it from scratch. The mere thought of Boost makes me wanna gag! Couldn't do it. If you can handle either, go for it.
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Don't know Boost, but for my 95g daily protein, I added Whey Factors protein powder to milk. That's twice my normal protein intake, so I had to resort to protein drink. I'd get 15g protein in an 8oz milk with my supplements in the morn, and another 15g for brunch.
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Don't know Boost, but for my 95g daily protein, I added Whey Factors protein powder to milk. That's twice my normal protein intake, so I had to resort to protein drink. I'd get 15g protein in an 8oz milk with my supplements in the morn, and another 15g for brunch.
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DonnaD001 - your signature line does not include whether or not you are ER+ but I think I read someplace that Boost is soy based. I know there are conflicting opinions about soy intake for ER+ people, just wanted you to consider that.
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If you put your daily intake of food into Fitday.com it will give you the total grams of protein. They add up higher than I thought. The online version is free (with ads). They also have a version available to purchase.0
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What does ER+ stand for? (I've got lots of questions for my onc. this Thursday, which this is one of them.)
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Is the brand name "Whey Factors"? I need at least 60 g of protein daily on my current dietary program. It's tough to get that much in daily. Anything to help!
Thanks!
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ER+ stands for Estrogen positive tumor. You should find out (listed in your pathology report) what the biology of your tumor is. PR stands for progesterone. If your tumor is ER+ they usually give you some kind of endocrine treatment. Not sure what they do if you are only PR+
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Donna - ER stands for estrogen receptor, as lago said tumors that are ER+ have receptors on their surface for estrogen. For these tumors estrogen stimulates them and that isn't good. That is why we have anti-estrogen therapy like tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (arimidex, femara others).0
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I too was put off by anything sweet. Ketchup and Miracle Whip were horrid-they tasted like someone had dumped the sugar bowl in them. I was a total sugar and cola freak before my DX. Now I can;t stand the stuff-hoping to remain true to that. Will be all the better for it. I am 1 month PFC and haven't really tried any of the foods that haven't tasted right for so long. Figure that will be 1 positive from this whole experience. bad part is I have developed a toatl bread addiction. When nothing else tasted right cheap canned biscuits or Crescent rolls were my go-tos.
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Ladies, Thank you all so much for your input and support. Reading all your posts was like receiving so many hugs. I have great family support and good friends but no one understands better than those who've walked in your shoes... AmylsStrong, I will definitely mentioned the cramping during my next visit. I don't have a past history of GI issues so this is not a welcome development. My tummy seems to have settled somewhat today, but left in its wake utter and total exhaustion. I slept most of the day, woke up a few times only to go back to sleep again. Hopefully I'll have more energy and better appetite to start the week. Tomorrow will be 8 days since my treatment and I would pay dearly never to have to relive this past week ever again, however....
I have made note of all your suggestions: using a straw to drink water, eating a soft, bland diet if I have cramps, keeping up with the fluids and being pro-active about the big C before treatment. Miralax seems to come up a lot as a suggestion. I am also keeping a journal of my SE's so I can be better prepared next time.
Tiger_Blood, I would love to have your bean soup recipe. Thank you. Bean is good for RBC and, just like SpecialK, I have always been slightly anemic, so I am hoping to build up my reserve once I start feeling better before my next treatment two weeks from now.
I hope you are all doing well and wish you a good week free of SE's and worries.
Amelie
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For my nausea I got crystalized ginger to suck on. It worked real well for me. Going to have to get ginger snaps this week since tx #2 is on Wednesday. Gnger ale also helped. I ate a lot of yogrt, applesauce, and pudding on the days everything tasted awful. Also added lemon t my water and per thedoctor drank gatorade also. My onc told me to take colace the night before my treatments and continue as needed. So the big C wasn't as big a deal as the big D with somach cramps. Ugh....
Hope everyone has a great SE free week.
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SpecialK thanks for the heads up. I saw this group but it looked like it was old dating back to 2007. I would love to be a part of this sisterhood. I am starting SAVI partial radiation Wednesday for 6 days. Two days later port will be placed and TCH chemo 6x every 3 weeks on August 24. I will be going back through and reading all of your posts. Peace and calm stomachs to all.
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Donna - yes, the brand name is Whey Factors, but there are others out there. I looked for no soy, no chemical additives. It comes in chocolate and vanilla. I'm not much for chocolate, and I liked the vanilla. I've seen others that are vitamin fortified, no flavoring, etc. Natural foods place would be my first bet.
It won't add fiber, since no animal product does, and I was trying for 25g fiber daily, as well. Fiber I get from beans, oatmeal, protein bars (high in calories, but got both protein and fiber - again, look out for the soy).0 -
musicalmom - glad you found us! Sorry you have to be in the club, but the people on this thread are very experienced and knowledgeable, so it is a good place to be.
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Here's the recipe for my black bean soup. It is a bit on the flavorful side so omit the jalapeño if you can not take the heat.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño chile with seeds, divided
2 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped green onions
Crumbled feta cheese
print a shopping list for this recipe
preparation
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Mix in cumin and 1 teaspoon jalapeño. Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer 3 cups of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer soup until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon jalapeño, if desired.
Ladle soup into bowls. Pass cilantro, green onions, and feta cheese0
