Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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debiann I did my over 30 minutes with no meds and no SE.
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I 'declined' the benadryl once I was on herceptin-only. I figured if i was allergic, we would know it already. They offered it in pill form (prior to starting the IV) and I just said "I'm going to decline that" and they said ok. That way I could drive myself.
They offered it each time, and each time I declined. Worked out very well.My onc insisted on 90 min. I was the one who wanted it sped up (this was before the idea that slower=less SEs). I had some muscle and joint stiffness while on Herceptin (a little slow getting up after sitting a while) and I could smell the drug in my urine for the few days after treatment (sorry if TMI) but no other SEs for me. I was just so thrilled to be done the TCH part, that nothing really got to me at that point.
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I'm with the 90 minute group for herceptin only. I also had it given over 30 minutes one time & had lots of bone pain. My only SEs were sometimes a low grade headache for a day or two and sometimes a runny nose. No benedryl for me either, but I did ask for extra fluids.
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I've had a few H-only infusions (30 mins) and haven't noticed any SEs.
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Hi all - I haven't posted on this thread for quite some time but I do keep up in the posts. I've completed 4 out of 6 TCH infusions and I noticed after the third infusion that my hair is beginning to grow back. Not enough to go without a hat or scarf but it's noticeable. I've read this is not uncommon with Taxol but how common is this with TCH? Just wondering...
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Wizard my hair did start to grow back while doing treatment. Not sure when since I was convinced it wasn't going to come back at all but it was before treatment ended. More common than you think.
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Hi Everyone: Great news-aw the MO nurses today and my Oncotype score already came back and it was an 11 so I was given the option of TH for 12 straight weeks or TCH. I decided to go with TH as the MO thought the added benefit of TCH wouldn't be there for me and the toxicity would be higher. Will have its own set of side effects but at least it will be finished sooner. Thanks for all the great advice. BTW, my MO said no to cold caps-apparently believes the chemo needs to penetrate everything.
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April my MO doesn't support cold caps either. Taxol doesn't have the same risks that Taxotere has with hair. Also if you are only getting the one chemo agent (herceptin is not chemo) it's less toxic. Also getting weekly doses is less damaging to your body so you should be OK… but yeah the hair will still fall out but it will grow back.
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Blownaway - now that you are just Herceptin, couldn't you move to a local center and just see the Arthur Anderson MO, every few months? If you did that, you could look for one that does the CBC right then. You could be out of there in about the same time it takes to drive to AA I have a friend who uses Johns Hopkins for his MO, but says if he does chemo again, they have agreed he can do that at a local center, so he doesn't have to drive the hour to Hopkins.
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through my 5 th treatment...boy oh boy does this one zap me of my energy for about 4 days. Hate laying around...blahhhhhhh....every other get bone infusions.....then I lay around for about 10 days......I am not a good patient....lol
Alas....Effexor is helping !!!!!!!!
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Thinking of you Susan. Hope the SE's subside soon.
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knmtwins - I did get changed to the MD Anderson closer to my home. My onco would not let me so when I had my last appointment with him and he wasn't there, I asked the fill in doc and she was more than happy to let me switch. I asked her if she thought there would be a problem and she just shrugged. At this point, I'm having my daily rads and infusions neat my home but every 3 months I will have to drive into Houston to the medical center to see my onco, do labs and since I'm there anyway, I'll go ahead and do an infusion the same day. I can live with that...0 -
Had my first Herceptin only infusion today and surprisingly, I had more anxiety than when I was doing TCH. I think my body was not believing that there would not be the same awful side effects. So far so good. For those of you who experienced bone pain, when does it happen?
I asked my MO to do a 90 minute infusion to avoid any se, but he convinced me to try the 30 minutes. I think that man could sell me the Brooklyn Bridge, lol. He said its his job to get me back to my normal life as soon as possible and he didn't want to see me sitting in the infusion chair longer than necessary.
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BlownAway - glad you were able to switch. I drove to the Med Center for all my infusions but I did my radiation at MDA Katy. So much easier.
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Debiann - I definitely relate to you. It took me the first three Herceptin onlys for my subconscious to get the message that it wasn't going to hurt me. Give yourself a little time, and you will stop feeling that way.
Congrats on being up to the Herceptin-only part. It is MUCH easier!
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I get occasional bone pain, occasional headache and a constant runny nose but that is about it with Herceptin only. I have had Herceptin only since June!
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Debiann - I am doing it over 60 minutes without any negative SE's. I started at 90 and they said try 60 but also told me that if I thought I needed to go back to 90 just say and they would do it that way. I now have done two at 60 minutes and have nothing different than the 90 minute ones. I have an on and off runny nose and I believe that is all.
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I switched in June to 60 minutes and got rid of a fuzzy head feeling I had and leg aches and pains. But remember not everyone gets symptoms or the same ones. I still have a very runny watery nose. If I don't take claritin in am, it would just drip like a faucet.
Counting down till 11/26 only five more H's to go. It does end.
V
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kthelien - you just described my herceptin only symptoms exactly.
I think I posted on this board about my ring fingernail pain last week or earlier this week. The ring fingernail on the other hand started d hurting a few days later. Well, 7-8 weeks after my last TCH infusion my nails are turning loose!
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Blownaway that stinks but just to let you know eventhough my nails started lifting during chemo they got worse PFC. Eventually it stops but they have to go through the process.
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lago - Did your nails come completely off? If so, how many did you lose?
Just in the last 2 weeks or so, I've lost the rest of my lower lashes and most of my brow hairs. This morning I can just barely see in my makeup mirror (x17) very fine hairs growing on lower lids and brows. So I guess it's good news and bad news.
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I never did lose any fingernails. I had at least 2-3 toenails fall off and one that had to be removed. The lifting started with my toes after the 1st or 2nd tx. Fingers started much later. I have photos but they are pretty gross. I had a really bad case of it according to my dermatologist.
Try not to put stress on your finger nail beds. Don't press on the nails, bang your fingers etc. It will make things worse.
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I am a newbie, having had my first TCH 10 days ago. So far the only significant SE's are ongoing diarrhea and a low-grade headache ... I have been hesitant to take anything for the diarrhea, feel like I am expelling toxins or something. So I am sticking pretty close to home, but hope MO has some words of wisdom for me for next time. I really appreciate these forums, and especially this TCH thread. Greetings to all.
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armamp95 I wouldn't ignore the diarrhea. You can become dehydrated and that isn't a good thing. Also note that this is your first treatment. Next time you will probably get diarrhea again but a little bit worse. With each treatment it can get a little bit worse so after a few more treatments this could be a real problem. Treat per your doctors orders but be careful not to over treat or you will have the opposite problem.
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MO added Perjeta to my cocktail and the GI tract SE's are worse like he told me. I usually back to normal after day 5 post chemo. It's not going to happen for this 4th round.
What do you take for gassy tummy pain & acid reflux? Watermelon did help with my acid reflux but it's out of season now. Gassy tummy pain worsen at night, I could hear gargling sound all night. Bad big D too. I take Zantac, Zofran at day, Phenergan at night, Immodium , and peptic bismol. I still manage to drink and eat even though it's less portion.What work for you ladies?
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I went on prilosec during chemo, really helped my acid reflux.
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blownaway- all of my fingernails lifted about a month after my last chemo treatment. I chose to put gels on them to keep them from completely falling off and it helped. I think having them thicker and heavier is what helped. It was the best decision I made as I can't imagine how it would be to have no fingernails. Still had to be careful with picking things up and got use to using the pads of my fingers more than my nails. I went to a good nail tech that used good product and was very gentle and careful when doing my nails.
Pangtidor-I took 2 Gas X twice a day and a Zantac twice a day which seemed to help me a lot!
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thank you Debiann and kthielen. Will try them.
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pangtidor for acid reflux you should ask your MO. I started with Prilosuck but that never works for me. Then they had me on protonix. Eventually I had to add Carafate Solution. Another OTC you can ask about is Gaviscon. My gastroenterologist recommended that and I use it occasionally when I get it now.
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I took Omerapole (probably misspelled) every night, and drank Mylanta straight from the bottle when I needed a little something else. Sometimes at work I chewed Gaviscon tablets.0
