Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
Comments
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Don't have a runny nose yet, but man, I am battling bloody noses. I am trying to be so careful when I blow my nose because it turns into a bloody nose. And they are pretty bad. No more fever and 7 days out, not lost any hair yet. I am having, to quote Sheldon, "digestive issues" but it's the bone pain and fatigue bothering me the most. Tylenol helps; I wake and it's not bad (but there) and as the day goes on, the pain gets worse, whether I am walking or not. Hoping it starts ebbing this weekend. Planning on staying home today; bloody nose twice already this am, bordering the D train, fatigue and pain. Think just staying home and resting will be a good idea.
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vicki - glad you are able to stay home today and give yourself some TLC. Hugs! BTW, I had slight blood one time in my Kleenex but the moisturizer in the nose seemed to prevent any further problems...have you tried that trick yet? I would guess the bloody nose is from the nose lining breaking down from chemo and getting dry (like you get mouth sores, maybe?). Conjecture on my part, only.
Oh - and others on this thread said running a vaporizor and/or using a saline nasal spray helped them.
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The bloody nose is also exacerbated by the drop in platelet count - it is harder for the blood to clot and that combined with the soft tissue irritation will cause them to happen. I used Aquaphor - found it less greasy feeling than Vaseline.
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dance and specialk, thank you for the suggestion. I will put some cream inside several times today. I wonder if using my nettipot would help also? Anyone know?
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UGH I had nose bleeds every day while on chemo - I am now 5 weeks PFC and they started tapering off about 2 weeks ago. So annoying. I used Vaseline, smeared it on with a Qtip. It helped but it didn't make them stop. The neti pot scares me so I can't help you there LOL
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For what it's worth my onc sent me to an ENT doc for my bloody nose and he said do not use the saline nose sprays they are actually more drying. I didnt lime him ery much so j didnt ask why saline is more
drying since that doesnt make sense to me but there ya go. He said the
Vaseline/Aquaphor route is much more effective.0 -
Note to self: proofread your posts when typing on your iPhone ;-D
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I would think the salt is the problem with the saline nose spray. I always had cracks in my nose and at the corners of the nostrils - so salt would have stung like a bad boy!
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Duh. Totally makes sense Special K!
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Oucho! I never tried the saline spray either, just heard it as a suggestion. I too am afraid of the neti pot. LOL I actually would be concerned about it more from an infection standpoint, since it gets way up in there.
Excellent point about the low platelet Special K. BTW, hemoglobin dropped to 8 yesterday, but I'm hanging in there. Unless I become super sympomatic, I think I'll be able to eek by and recover, since last week was my last chemo. Thank you SOOO much for all of your advice on transfusions!!!
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Vickilind, I used aquaphor. If you use the nettie pot, you must use Sterile water! Don't use it out of the tap when your counts are low. Infection city! Also a vaporizor helped me.
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Thanks for the advice on sterile h2o, Moon. I love my netti pot. Only get about two colds a year, but using that has lowered the duration of my last 2 colds. And dance, I don't really think the water goes up that high; mostly just to the junction where the nasal passages meet. It feels so weird to put water in the left nostril and have it comeout the right. But effective.0
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Vickilind, all I can say is google it...definitely use sterile water!
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dance - glad to help - I agree, try to hang in on the hemoglobin front now that chemo is in the rear-view mirror! I did the same, and the counts came back up gradually on their own with extra protein and spinach!
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Has anyone had problems with swelling? I cannot remember if I have seen anyone say or not. My left ankle is swollen up to where you cannot even tell where my ankle/leg meets. I know I had some swelling last time and they said it was normal with TC. What should I be on the look out for?
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mt - I had a lot of swelling after tx#3 - had to go on a diuretic. Let your MO know.
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I too went on a diuretic. Ended up going back on it because the ESD (estrogen sucking drug) is causing swelling too. I'm on a very low dose. I take half a pill. Actually when my NP called in the prescription the pharmacist argued that 1/2 a pill wouldn't be enough. My NP didn't have the time to argue with her so it actually says to take a full pill. Technically I'm getting 2 months refill at a time. Great since my insurance doesn't allow more than a month at a time.
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No swelling. D-train is gone (thank you imodium) but my tongue feels weird. No taste issues, but just weird. Bone pain seems to be ebbing also. Don't have too much to complain about really. If I had taken my med earlier yesterday, I could have put in a half day at work, but hey....
lago, smooth.....
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lago - I am doing exactly the same thing with my diuretic- the pharmacy only carried the whole pill dosage, so mine actually says to cut it in half on the label. There was a merry-go-round of phone calls at the beginning though to get a new scrip because it did not occur to anybody that half of the big pill was the dose I needed!
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Vicki are you taking anything for the bone pain? Is it from the Neulasta? I took Claritin, sometimes Motrin and when they didn't work I broke out the Vicodin. All of them worked pretty well at various times, took the pain down from "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh this hurts"
to "ok its not too bad anymore." That was back in 2006. This time nothing worked so my onc switched from Neulasta to Neupogen. Really helped with the bone pain, was down to where I only needed some Tylenol. Unfortunately the Neupogen made me come down with a really weird SE called Sweet's Syndrome but it is REALLY REALLY rare and most likely would not happen to you. I'm just lucky My tongue felt weird this time too, which led to some yucky taste issues. Fun!
Glad you are feeling better!
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Yeah I get swelling of feet and ankles too put your feet up, call the mo . Haven't had to take diuretics yet though.
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relda, I have been taking OTC extra strength tylenol for the bone pain. Wed was the worst day; felt like I was 80! I have vicodin and oxy but am loathe to take them because I HATE the way they make me feel in my head. The pain today is wayyyy better. The tylenol did help a lot and made it possible for me to make it through the day. And yes, I am getting the Neulasta shot. My MO does that with all her chemo patients as a preventative. All things considered (like that show), I am doing pretty well. Already feel like I'm on the tail end of SE's. Will be interesting to see if I lose my hair. My daughter, who did my mohawk, said, "Mom, since you are ready to lose it and not even worried about it, you probably won't". No signs yet and I am a week out.
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vicki - the good news is that the first Neulasta is usually the worst. The initial expansion of bone marrow causes alot of pain. Take Claritin (just the regular kind, not the D) the day of your shot and for several days after. The next shot won't be as bad. Glad you are feeling better! Love the pink mohawk...wish I had the guts!
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Vickie, take the claritan next time. It helps tremendously. Take the day of treatment and continue for about a week. there is a study in progress to prove this. Also, .losing my hair took about four weeks, right after my second tx.
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Thanks moonflwr I will do that. And thanks for the time frame regarding the hair. Not really worried about it, but time frames are always a good idea.
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The ladies are right, the Claritin really helps. Try it and see how you do. If you are not getting any relief and you don't want to bring in the big guns, you might want to think about talking to your onc about switching to Neupogen. It's more of a pain in the sense that instead of one shot its one shot a day for 7-10 days, but you will get immediate relief from your literal pain - my bone pain disappeared when I took it.
As far as the hair loss goes, both times mine started exactly 14 days after the first treatment. Like clockwork! At the first sign we broke out my husbands beard trimmer and shaved it all off. This time we did a Mohawk as well, it was fun. Your scalp will start to feel sore before the hair starts to go. It's a weird feeling, some find it more painful than others, but it's almost a relief to shave it all off as the sore feeling goes away once your hair goes away lol.0 -
relda, I think my bone pain was from the Neulasta shot; that is a big SE for it. And if I were to put the pain on a scale from 1 - 10, mine was between 7 and 8. Like most women, have a really high pain tolerance and really dislike taking meds. Think I'll be okay. And as for the hair, whatever happens, happens. It is ONLY hair.
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Well the MO's nurse acts like it is no big deal just a side effect and to put my legs up. Will do that but when do I get worried!?! I hate when they don't act like something is a big deal cause at some point is a big deal! LOL
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mt4ever, it is frustrating. They deal with this all day, every day and I think sometimes forget that for US, it is the biggest, most all-consuming thing in our lives. Every little nick, scratch, low-grade fever or swollen ankle is enormous for us. Maybe try to call back later, after you've elevated for a bit? Maybe you'll get a different nurse. 0
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Exactly. It grows back, mine came back just like it was before. Ans besides you look awesome with the Mohawk I'm sure you will look just as great bald! FYI, I found a great head covering for the summer - they're the doo rag thingies they wear on Survivor, they're called Buffs. Great lightweight stretchy material that keeps your head cool and wicks off moisture. They have great colors and patterns and they are cheaper than scarves. They also come with an instruction manual with lots of different ideas on how to wear them. I ordered 6 and they are all I wear. They are awesome! http://www.buffusa.com/
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