Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Hi Everyone. I didn't realize this thread was here. I had my first TCH last week. I still have 5 more to go. I'm looking forward to posting here and learning more about this chemo and the side effects. I haven't had any major effects, just a few minor ones. Bad taste in my mouth, loose bowel movements that finally stopped on day 8 and a drippy nose.
Best of luck to all of you ladies with your treatments.
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God Bless you Carolyn. I hope you have a fantastic time with your grandsons this evening. Sorry you LAST tx is giving you fits, but maybe getting sick faster means you will be over it faster. Stay on that man of yours and his ticker!!! He is probably trying not to worry you - MEN!Good luck on the tests your doc wants to run.
Prayers. Lisa
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Welcome my2boys!
This is a GREAT thread. There is a lot to be learned from these ladies. I have my first TCH 13 days ago.
What were/are your anti-nausea meds? I never threw up, but I had a persistant gaggy feeling for the first 8 days.
Lisa
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Carolyn I am so glad you are done. I will take my last tx on Tuesday. We have walked together and I wanted you to know you have been a blessing to me. Today I feel so rotten that I can't imagine one more dose. My body is sooo tired. I think the earlier sick is just our bodies are worn out through all this. I was surprised to be told no flowers in the hospital as the water that turns green you know well it has a lot of bacteria in it. I can understand the fish tanks too, but the animals?? Outside of maybe cats that could scratch and they carry a lot of bacteria. I wouldn't have known what to do without my little Jack Russell. He has been such a God send to me. Ordinarily they are hiper big time, but on my down days he would just lay next to me and put a paw on me to let me know he was there for me. On my good days he goes back to his old self. I meet with the plastic surgeon on Monday, get the blood work take the Decrodron then Tuesday meet with the onc then the big TCH blast. On Wednesday I go back for the shot and a bag of fluids so it is going to be hard to get through all that. Just going to the store on days like today just wipe me out big time. I pray you have a mild SE this time but just remember every day is one less you will have to do again. My love is with you...
Lisa I first began with Zofran and it kept me with the nausea feeling. Then they switched me to Emend plus they put aloxi in my TCH and it keeps me going without the nausea. Be sure to tell them your having the nausea problem and they will tweek your dose and meds to keep you comfortable.
For those of you with watery eyes..did you put in eye drops? Did they help? Did the onc tell you to see an eye dr. for possiable clogged tear ducts? Mine are driving me nuts. The bloody nose finally went away, but will probably come back.
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Cupcake;
God bless your steadfast little heart! You are just kicking heinie and taking names all over the place.
The eye thing is a crazy-maker. Believe it or not, three months out from my last tx, my eyes are still driving me straight to the insane asylum. I have dry eye anyway, which I'm constantly using eye drops for. But with the chemo, I've been tempted to start drizzling WD40 into my eyes! When I had the runny eyes that were tearing and dry at the same time (figure that one out, ladies!), I told the doc and they wrote me for these funky drops that have antibiotic and dexamethasone in them. Those helped me over the hump a lot. But just so you know, your mucus membranes (like your eyes, VJ, and nose) take awhile to get their act back together. I'm trying to think of the name of those eye drops, and my brain isn't working. But the drops did. Maybe you can get something like that. Good luck.
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Hi Everyone,
Doc offerred to put in a PICC line- but I really dont want another one. I had one May-August and ended up in the hospital for 9 days when it developed a staph infection. Since I only have herceptin every 3 weeks, I was hoping to avoid another one or a regular port. I am going to overload on water the dat before next time AND insist on one of two nurses who can usually hit my veins (my ONC said she would back me up on insisting on them LOL- and she is one feisty little lady!)
Kristy
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Thanks Shel, my gosh you are so funny and make me laugh. WD40? My husband even got a chuckle out of that one. When I see him on Tuesday I will ask for something. Carolyn is probably down today so we need to remember her in our prayers. Here in California we have one day sunshine and one day rain and when that barometer moves up and down it plays havic with my arthritis, but outside of that and some sun today I am going out with hubby for a nice big BBQ dinner. Sort of like my last meal for a few days...well one that will taste good anyway. You all enjoy the rest of the weekend and chat with you later...
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But Cupcake.
Don't...I repeat DON'T...put WD40 in your eyes. I think the name of that stuff was Tobracin or Topracin. The one with the p looks more right. It really works. I'm liking the more stormy looking weather here. If it rains here, it snows in Utah. That means a thicker base for me and my friends come January.
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Hi guys,
I have Lotamax drops for my eyes after seeing an occuloplastic surgeon. It's a steroid and evidently since steroids can make your eyes prone to infection -- it's good that with long term use (which since August 7 would qualify!!!) that there are drops that include antibiotics. I'm to go back again in 3 weeks to see if anything is clogged but theory is that if your eyes are really dry then the ducts above the outside corner of your eyes make extra tears that overflow like emotional tears or when there's a log in your eye. ;-) Bottom line - he thinks the problem is over active tear production rather than scar tissue in the ducts which can require surgery to repair.. I'm hoping he settles on that at next visit otherwise he's "threatening" to put a canula down the little hole at the corner of the eye and irrigate to see how the plumbing drain is working -- that doesn't sound like fun.
The real tearing occurs when I'm in the wind. Is yours all the time, Brenda? Shelby?
Oh, and the crazy eye twitching he said is also a response to the dry eye irritation. I feel like my circuits are shorting.
Love,
Bethany
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Bethany;
Mine have stopped the daily twitching. Now they just do it like they always have, when I'm overly tired. Now, pretty much, the only time I get the excessive tearing is when walking into the wind. Mine are just sooooo dry all the time. I can almost hear them creaking open and shut when I blink.
Shelby
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I used to use Tobramycin or Tobrex for my eyes and I didn't think that maybe that would help now but I will be asking when I go in this week for the big tx.
Cupcake I know you have to be ready to get that last tx behind you. I have my fifth one this Thursday and like you I am eating all of my favs since things will taste so yucky for a couple of weeks. I am hoping I don't have to get any blood since I am so freaked out about it.
Carolyn I am so sorry you are having such a hard time. I will be keeping you in my prayers.
Kristy anne I don't know how you have handled being stuck soooo many times. I would not make it without my port. I am new here so I don't know but have you had a port? I can see where I would not want a picc line but I forget I even have a port. I hope you get the right nurses. From now on tell them everytime they miss your vein you get to try on them. That may make them more inclined to get it right. haha
Well, I am off no nap since the iron I am taking is making me sick as a dog. I hope all of you have a great week
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Beth mine tears all the time. At night they just burn and feels better with them shut...of course a little hard to watch TV that way.
Shel you are funny of course I wouldn't I just thought it just funny. I wrote down the Topracin and will throw it at the onc on Tuesday. Gotta get some relief. Your hair is looking good. Mine is starting to come in..looks like a butch hair cut...sticks straight up, but I am at a point too of wanting my hair back and being tired of hats and scarfs.
Traci why are you freakin out on the blood work?
Kristy I have a port and each time it is easy going in I thank God I had it put in through all this. I am a hard draw and even on my blood work before my TCH treatment they butcher me up. I give them 5 times then tell them , "you are so done!" I got the names on each hospital which does the best and I will call early to see if their on call that day. Just to tell them I am a hard draw and give me a senior blood draw person (don't know how to spell their professional name) However they do until the first one or two mess up. At that point." told you so,"just doesn't give me any comfort.
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Hi Lisa1964. My anti-nausea meds were Emend and Zofran. I had slight nausea, but nothing to complain about. It went away by day 3. The intestinal trouble started around that time and stayed with me for a good 5 days or so. Since then I've had a healthy appetite and feel much better. I hope that this is as bad as it gets. I'm told each treatment is different.
I still have my hair, but it will probably be out by the end of the week.....sigh.
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Traci1970 I also had problems with my red blood cell count and they had just stopped giving the shot for it. They said the new data out said it intervered with the cure. Any way they ley me go for a while to see if my counts would come up...I also took iron but found out the part of my red blood count that was down had nothing to do with iron so it did not help. I ended up with the blood transfusion. I was so scared to do it, but immediatly I started feeling so much better. A friend went with me and she never thought I was pale until I started getting the blood and she watched my skin turn pink. That has been about 7 weeks ago and I have had no problems so far. It helped so much! I hope that helps some!
CaseyDoodle thanks for the encouragement with Dr. Simpson. I love her and feel I am in good hands but it is so nice to hear of someone else that has been through surgery with her. How was your recovery? I just came from your beautiful mountains!! I think we missed peek by a few days as the leaves were falling so much. It was still very pretty.
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my2boys: I am about to have my 5th tx out of 6 of TCH and it has gone really well for me, same se's that you are having, I have had the whole time. It really hasn't gotten any worse . . . no better either . . . but at least not worse!!! I wish the best for you. Lauren
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I don't understand my body under chemo - has anyone else had sudden vomiting? It's happened to me once day 6 and once day 14 (today).
I've not felt at all nauseous all day. Therefore I'm not using anti-nausea medication.
I eat something then go to the bathroom and have some diarrhea.
In the midst of that I get suddenly really nauseous and up comes what I just ate and I'm not in a position to turn around. The first time I had eaten only rice so it wasn't an irritating food.
Afterwards, I feel fine - again no nausea.
Is my only recourse to carry a barf bag just in case? I've never had it come out both ends at once - even when I got food poisoning on a trip I managed to get everything in the toilet. This is really inconvenient. Tonight I was dining with colleagues - fortunately at the hotel restraurant and fortunately the bathroom was right near the elevator. I had to clean up as well as possible, duck in the elevator (unfortunately not empty) and go up to my room to change everything except my socks and bra before returning to the table.
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Wow Blue that must be a bummer not knowing when the bomb is going to go off. You are not eating salads right? Nothing fresh? It only happened once and that was a salad which I was told not to eat while I was on chemo. Let me tell ya I didn't need a second warning.
Well here goes...back in tomorrow for blood work and start the steroids...so if I don't come on for awhile, like Carolyn, you KNOW where I am...have a good week guys and God Bless our troops..Remember Veterans Day on Tuesday...
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Blue, I would call my doctor in your position. I don't think the explosive stuff, at day 14, is normal. You may have picked up a bug or something.
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Bluedasher: Yes it happened to me. It was on day 7 of both my treatments so far. No warning just out of the blue sudden vomiting and then feel fine. Thank goodness I was home both times and made it to bathroom. No diarrhea though. Strange isn't it. I now know I need to be preparred for day 7. And ate no salad or anything out of ordinary.
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lfasano44 - Thank you for your post. It is VERY encouraging to hear that I might not have more SE next time around.
Bluedasher - I felt a sudden episode coming on once last week after brushing my teeth and I made myself lay down and swallow hard until it passed. Other than that.....nothing. How are you feeling today?
Cupcake7 - This is the first I am hearing about salads/nothing fresh. Both episodes of diarrhea I had were right after eating a freshly made salad with dinner. What about fresh fruit...... oranges/banana/apples? I hope that this is the cause of my intestinal problems because I would gladly trade my salads for a calm belly. I've lost too much weight already.
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my2boys: I was told not to eat salads or skins of fresh fruits cause they have bacteria on them. Most people, us included before Chemo, don't have a problem as their bodies can ward off any stuff on them, but we can't at our weakened stage. Also with our stomach and intestine cells being hurt with the chemo we cannot handle roughage as before. Try leaving off the salad and see if it doesn't clear up the problem. Their may be some that say oh that doesn't bother me, but remember we all react differently with our SE and you just might be sensitive to salads as I am.
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Anyone suffering from end-of-chemo grumpiness and depression. All my end-of-chemo life changes that I planned for four months are not happening. People around me are not interested in change, I am gaining weight (I think I am eating to combat fatigue) instead of losing it, walking for long periods of time is difficult, I have problems sleeping, little of my own work is getting done, people still tell me horrifying cancer stories, I don't want to attend events without my own hair, I still have to go to the hospital for H., etc.
How to create new friendships/ new work relationships I find most difficult. It is hard to trust again after some people just dissappeared, others tell me those terrible stories, and I look strange without my own hair, which I will not have back for four or five months.
How are others dealing with this situation? I would like to start making some changes before radiation starts in three weeks.
Thanks,
Jo Anne
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Good morning all -
Hi and welcome to my2boys and Lauren - my2boys, your side effects sound much like mine - no huge problems, just general crappy annoyances. I hope that's as bad as it gets for you. Good luck as you continue tx.
Brenda: Good luck tomorrow as you get your LAST tx!!!! You've had a long, hard time, and I'm so happy for you as you finish. Your Jack Russell sounds so cute - I was never prohibited from being around my animals either - they really do seem to know when you feel bad and are so loving then (even the cat who urinated upon my hairpiece hung out with me when I "took to my bed.")
Traci: My hemoglobin got down to 8.4, and I refused transfusion and Arasept - and my counts came back up on their own after chemo. The women who get the transfusions all speak really highly of the results, but it just freaked me out too much. My onc nurses made me come in every week for awhile for bloodwork but stopped when it started to improve. Good luck - I remember hanging on to a grocery cart just to make it around the store and even having to sit down to walk out to the kitchen. It will improve - do what's best for you.
bluedasher: Oh, your night in the ER sounds terrible - and your "both ends" gastric problems even worse! After tx #2, I had one horrible night like that - I knew my husband was truly a good man when he hauled my dirty clothes out to the washing machine for me. I think I had a bug because several family members were also sick, but the chemo intensified my reaction. But it's not normal - get it checked!
Jo Anne, I think finishing chemo is like any life-changing event - we expect everything to change, and in this case, get better, but instead. . . life goes on, good and bad. Do you have a Wellness Center in your town? Ours offers yoga, cooking classes, etc. plus support classes. I really want to try the yoga, but Monday nights are bad for me.
Everybody have a great Monday. Take care of yourselves! My husband's boss gave us tickets to Monday Night Football tonight (go Cardinals!), so look for me - I'll wave!
Sue
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My doctor told me no salads and no unpeeled raw fruit or vegetables during the time when my white count was low (almost zero neutrophils) last week. I haven't gotten any global instruction to avoid them at other times. My white cells are normal now. But I haven't been eating salad even now because I have still been having diarrhea off and on. One time it was plain rice and the other time it was soup. It seems to be related to the diarrhea rather than what I just ate.
I'm sure that it isn't an infection because each time the vomiting was an isolated incident. I'm handling food fine today so far and yesterday was fine execpt that one time. I even felt fine right after. Not like when I had food poisoning and I kept heaving even when nothing was left.
I'm wondering - last night I had just taken immodium and I can't remember if that was true the other time. Maybe I'm reacting to the immodium. Maybe I shouldn't take immodium when I have diarrhea just after eating.
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Thanks Cupcake7. I will definitely eliminate the salads. In fact, except for bananas, I'll lay off the fresh fruit for a while too. It would sure be nice to have one less SE.
bludasher, have you tried sipping some gatorade? My nurse had me drink it last week when the intestinal problems were at their worst. It really helped me. Also, plain vanilla yogurt and bananas. They suggested jello too, but I only had one small bowl full.....left me feeling hungry.
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Jo Anne;
YES YES YES. Everything you're feeling is NORMAL. I was depressed, fearful and full of rage when I finished. Though I'm obsessive about my weight and fitness, overall I gained over 5 pounds from chemo, and I felt (feel) like a blob. Upon finishing tx's, I had a reprise of all the "Why me? I must be getting sent to my room without supper by the Almighty" feelings and surges of fears about recurrences that I had when I was first diagnosed. Throughout treatments, I'd been seeing a counselor who works with cancer patients. Apparently, this is a very common reaction. She actually called it "post traumatic stress syndrome". Like when you're first diagnosed, you're too busy dealing with appointments, biopsies, etc. to get all depressed. And then you do chemo, and you're almost too physically sick to get depressed. Now you're on your way back up physically, and the emotional garbage surfaces. Sound familiar? I am dealing with it by doing "normal" things every day that don't have to do with cancer. I guess we all have to find a new "normal", don't we? There's no magic formula, and I don't think that you'll wake up one morning and POOF the bad feelings will be gone. But I do think that every day you'll feel incrementally better. And about exercise, my doctor told me it would take a good six months to get completely back to where you were before chemo. So welcome to the club. Now our side effects are in our heads, which are a little more complex to deal with than just taking an antinausea pill.
If you need to scream, I can be your sounding board. I've been to hell and back and hell and back (repeat ad nauseum). It's good to have someone to scream at. You can pm me if you don't want to scare the hell out of the newbies:)
Shelby
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Hi Ladies,
Had my first TCH tx on Wednesday of last week. Had an allergic reaction to the taxotere (severe spasms and cramps in my spine) which caused them to give me more steriods and then finally ativan IV to get ithe Taxotere in me. Since then I have been having terrible muscle pains, especially in my back, it got really bad on Saturday and seems to be easing up a little. Dr. had told me I'd have some muscle pain and could take vicoedine, that's not helping much. Any suggestions for reliving the achiness? I'm normally pretty tough when it comes to pain, but this is kicking my butt. Is it the dreaded steriod crash or do you think I have this to look forward to thorughout treatment. All of your experience is invaluable. THANKS
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my2boys, I haven't had any problems eating so far today. I'm staying away from heavy roughage foods (mainly salad) but otherwise able to eat normally.
It is Day 15 and I feel pretty normal. No signs that my hair is getting ready to leave - no tingling, no itching. Maybe I'll keep it until after TX 2? It is lying on my head a bit different than usual - maybe my scalp isn't making as much oil.
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Blue your hair goes on tx #2. Have you cut it short? Less trauma that way I think, was for me, but still cried when I reached up and pulled some out. I know this is going to sound bazaar and wacked out, but remember the first pregnancy and you just couldn't wait to get in the maternity clothes and after 8 months you couldn't wait to get out of them? Well I was all cool with the hair loss and getting in the sister hood was sort of an initiation. Now I WANT my hair back! I'm like one posted I'm tired of hats, scarfs, and wigs.
Cali its the steroids and yes you can be sure you will deal with the SE every time if you are showing signs now. My gosh today I took my 2 steroids before treatment tomorrow and tried to bake a pumpkin pie. NOT a good idea. I wished you would see my kitchen for all the things I was throwing after dropping a full soda all over the floor and cabinet, the cord to the mixer kept coming off and dropping in the mixture, dumped the whole bottle of Cinnamon in the mixture instead of 3 tbs. I mean the whole bottle lid and all! If anyone could look in the window I swear they would think they needed to take me off to a padded room. It was awful. I need to lock myself away when taking them. Last time I had road rage being late to the tx. DO NOT be behind an old lady that is late for an appointment on steroids! Not a good idea.
Thanks Sue I am so happy this will be over. I am SO done. I will keep your words in my heart Shell for when I am done. I can totally see all the appointments and things to deal with makes you put the deep feelings on the back burner. You really put it on the line. I know today is the steroids and by Thursday when I am off them I will crash on Friday...this has been my pattern, but at least the rage will be gone. You are so good to bring this information in here.
Jap my own daughter deserted me and that really hurt, but I just take it as she couldn't handle me being so sick. That is ok I forgive her. My only sister too and the rest of my family. I just would sit here and wonder why are they ignoring me. I am facing the worst crisis in my life and when I reach out they are not there. But if you look around you the ones that were are you very true friends.
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Cali, maybe you could ask your doctor if you could take Aleve for the muscle pain. I have bursitis in my shoulder and the treatment of it has been off and on due to surgery and chemo for the cancer. The vicoden wasn't touching the pain. I called my GP (who takes care of the bursitis) and he said some people don't get much effect for vicoden so he prescribed something stronger. But before I picked it up I took some Aleve to try to prevent bone pain from the Napogen. That really worked for my shoulder.
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