Anyone on just Taxotere and Cytoxan?
Comments
-
Co-ask: same question as Leta17's. I'm on the same regimen as Leta. She and I are about the same age (I'm 40 but going on 41 in a couple of weeks). I've had 2 treatments so far. A tad less energetic this time on day 3. Would like to know how bad the "cumulative" effect of 6 rounds of TC treatment can be...
0 -
Thanks Liz for the information... I am glad I wasn't the only on experiencing that trouble I had yesterday... Now for the nuelasta shot.... Took the first shot today and I am anticipation BONE Pain... keeping my finger crossed through....
Talk you later girls ... Feel Good.!
Donna
0 -
Ariesrottlie - have you tried taking Claritin for bone pain? If you search on BC.org or on Google, you'll see lots of posts about it. I took it the day of the Neulasta shot and for four days after and I never had any bone pain. Good luck.
Sherri
0 -
After initially getting 3 treatments of FEC, I had my first of 3 Taxotere treatments 9 days ago, and I am finally feeling well again. I, too, was given Benedryl with the chemo drug. I didn't have a reaction at the time, but the next day, after my Neulasta shot, I had unbelievable bone pain. I also was so short of breath that I could not go up the stairs without gasping for breath. I had nasty heartburn and digestive trouble. My mouth felt raw, and the inside of my nose hurt. Also, my nose continues to run clear all the time. Anybody else having nasal drip problem???
Oh, this sounds like a horrible rant, but I thought it was a tough treatment!! But when I saw my onc a week out from this treatment, my white count was right where it should be. I have to say this: "I can't wait to be done with chemo treatments!!!" Sending my best to all of you!
0 -
HI all,
I'm sure this has been asked before but is there a really good OTC medicine to take for an acidy stomach? Tums don't help at all and I even tried taking a compazine and that didn't help either. I haven't had a problem with heartburn during my treatments, so I'm not sure what is the best thing to take.
Thanks for any suggestions -
Bev, I think I have had a runny nose through all of my treatments, I think I read somewhere it because of nose hairs falling out (yuck!), don't know if it's true but I always have to have tissues in my pocket. I hope you start to feel better soon. You'll be through with your treatments before you know it! It really does go by fast. Good luck!
Liz
0 -
Prilosec works really well.
0 -
Ezscriiibe -
Thanks so much for the reply - I will give it a try!
0 -
PepcidAC works very well also. Water gave me indigestion and I already had acid reflux, so I really did depend on something to take the heartburn away. Pepcid comes in pills or chewables. It says to only take one, but I always took at least two. That always seemed to do the trick.
You ladies are right about keeping the constipation at bay. I also ate FiberOne cereal every morning and used the Benefiber. After the first tx, when the constipation hit, I knew I would never let it get bad again.
I also rinsed my mouth with Biotene and used the Biotene toothpaste and I never had a mouth sore during tx. I also ate ice chips while I was getting the tx. There are so many things you can do to keep the SEs away. At least all of them but fatigue. For my last tx, I asked my Med Onc for a sleep aid and she gave me Ambien. I started taking it on the night after the 48 hr wait to flush the drugs from your system. It helped so much, I was so much better it was amazing.
Remember, it is alright to live in a chemical induced world during chemo. You have to do what it takes to get through it.
Good luck to everyone. You are amazing ladies and I know it is hard, but you are fighting for your life and it is worth all of this to make it through.
Hugs to everyone,
Juannelle
0 -
Ladies who are just starting chemo - heed Juanelle's (one-L) advice! I followed all of her tips when I first started TC and had very few side effects. Thanks Juanelle once again.
Sherri
0 -
Sherri, so good to hear from you. You are so welcome, I am glad that I could help you. There are just so many things that will help, you just don't know what all to do in the beginning. They skim over the SEs, but don't tell you what to really do to avoid the ones that you can.
Thank goodness for this site, it has been such a help, I don't think I could have made it without it.
Juannelle
0 -
Juanelle - did you do the ice for your finger and toe nails? I did and my nails are totally fine. In fact, they've never been nicer. Had they been like this before, I would have never done the UV gell nails. For those of you just starting TC, I highly recommend putting ice on your finger and toe nails during the Taxotere infusion.
Sherri
0 -
Sherri, no I didn't do the ice on my fingers and toes. My nails have done OK, but are now beginning to peel and I am trying to keep them short. They are pink at the top of the nail bed and white at the bottom. Since I am 9 weeks PFS you can see a white line for each chemo. They have ridges in them, but are growing. I think all that will have to grow off and then they will probably be fine. At least that is what I am hopping anyway. I did keep them painted the whole time I was going through chemo. They say that if you have only 4 tcs then your nails are not too damaged. Like everything else, it will just take time.
Juannelle
0 -
sugar77 and one-L - Did you both do 4 tx of TC or 6? faithfulc and I are on 6 tx of TC and we each have 2 down....0
-
Leta - Juannelle and I each did TC x4.
Sherri
0 -
Sherri- OMG! I did remember reading you post about the ice... I forgot.. I also have gels on my nail.. Next treatment I will do the ice... I hope I didn' t mess up.... Juanelle, Thank you for all the tips.... Amazing.
Bev- nice to meet you. Thank you for the info about the runny nose.. I will look out for that... I guess it is because of hair loss in the nostrils. I do agree with you "Can't wait till the chemo treatment is Over"
1 down 3 to go.
Feel well, and enjoy your weekend.
Donna
0 -
Okay, next subject:
Skin tags.
Most of you younger women may not even need to address this, but the fact is that as one ages, skin tags begin to appear in the most unlikely places.
I don't have many, but the ones I do have annoy me.
One is just below my sentinel node biopsy scar. To be honest, I'm pretty pissed that the surgeon did not just simply go ahead and remove the damn thing when he was there taking out the node.
But I digress.
I seem to have heard or read somewhere that one of the things that chemo can do is eliminate those pesky skin tags.
I know this is a very very personal question, but, has anyone found that to be true?
0 -
michele, when I was about to start chemo, I asked my Med Onc, it it would take care of any skin damage I had on other parts of my body. She said no it would not. I thought since the chemo would go after fast growing cells, that it just made sense to me. So I didn't expect much for skin improvements. However, during chemo, I had several scabs come up where I knew I had not hit or scratched. There were several on my hands and some on my back. I am a red head and have very light skin, so I do believe that it does correct some skin problems, but I am not sure about the skin tags.
Donna, be sure to post your SES here, there are so many that we can help you with. Some you will figure out on your own. I always took my nausea meds all the chemo day and the next. I was never nauseous. Keep your self really clean on your bottom, using wipes or squirt bottles with water. You will be glad that you did. You may know all this already but trust me it works. I never had a mouth sore or a rash on my bottom. Some of this is so simple, but makes a lot of difference on your recovery between chemos. I also ate a peanut butter sandwich while they were flushing the port before chemo. It coats your mouth and then you don't get that metalic taste.
Hoping everyone has a great weekend.
Juannelle
0 -
Hi Girls... Day 2 after chemo day 1 after nuelasta.... So far so good.... I took my claritan, walked my mile....I only had a little joint pain in the ball and sockit in the hip area.
Miralax is working. Thank god and so for no Nausea.
Be well enjoy the weekend.
Donna
0 -
Donna - that's good...really try to keep up the walking as it will help a lot with fatigue and with your immune system.
Sherri
0 -
Day 3 after chemo... feel foggy head, shaky and weak.... Maybe because I didn't sleep to well... The shower took enough out of me ... I guess I will try to walk later.. Just feel a little sore but no bad bone pain...
Thank goodness. Miralax working.... Maybe need something for belching....I have been doing that alot...
Feel good,
Donna
0 -
Donna - days 3-5 I eased off a bit with the walking on my treadmill. I figured I needed those days to heal. Just listen to your body.
Sherri
0 -
This is going to be a very weird question, but it does concern me.
Last night I was awoken by my little Yorkie licking on my feet.
Now, I'm not a fan of dogs licking. Whenever he tries I shoo him away. But I was asleep and my foot was outside the blanket.
I was in a panic because I'm worried that he can get poisoned from my chemo!
Is that a realistic fear?
From now on I will try to wear socks on my feet when I go to bed, but it still concerned me.
0 -
Michele, I don't really know the answer to your question, but I wouldn't think it would hurt the dog. In my own world, I think you really only need to be careful having sex and swapping bodily fluids.
donna, you are probably coming down off the roids high. I know day 3 was when I started feeling the effects of the chemo and started having flu like symptoms. This will last for several days, then you should start feeling better. I usually started really feeling good on about the 7th day from chemo. Each tx will be a little different, so you can never get into a routine with it. Do keep walking, I think you will feel better in the long run.
Juannelle
0 -
Michele: I think dogs will not lick things that are bad for them. They have an instinct for these things. Don't be afraid to ask questions here. You can be weird, if you like. I think cancer is pretty weird!
Juannelle: You and I had almost the same schedule of chemo s/e's: First 3 days were okay, flu like symptoms from day 4 to 10, and the the rest of the days until next chemo were good. I had it every 21 days for 6 rounds,
Its been 20 days since final round and my legs and feet are heavy. My fingertips are still tingly. I am looking forward to the day I do not feel like an invalid.
Brenda
0 -
So the tingly fingertips are a SE also.... Toes also??? WOW... It's like you ate to much salt. or something..
Today day 4 after chemo... I do feel better then yesterday.. Yesterday didn't have any energy...Aches, neck pain... just feeling yuk... Today I walked a mile.. and the smell is still coming out of me....Took my claritan.... And doing what I need to do.
I am going to run by work,,, Maybe next week I'll go back a few hours. I just hope I can handle it.
Feel good today ladies. TTUL
Donna
0 -
Hi Ladies,
As some of you know, I was not allowed to have my final chemo session because my Onc felt I had suffered severe nerve and muscle damage as a result of the Taxotere. He instead scheduled me with a Neuorologist which I seen today.
His results were both muscle and nerve damage as a direct result of Taxotere.I feel like a human pin cushion, he stuck me with needles in my feet,legs,arms,back, neck. Then also did the shock ( electricity ? ) test on the nerves from feet up to my arms. He is having me wait for a week and then do some more blood test ( he said it could show a false positive if done today after all the testing I had done ) he is looking to see to what extent the damage is and if it is reverible. He perscribed Neurotin ( ? ) to take until I see him again in 4 weeks.
This might sound silly, but I was happy to have someone validate the pain I have been experiencing because when I would tell my Onc all he said is "maybe you are pampering yourself too much". I knew I wasn't but it pissed me off to think he THOUGHT that.
I guess now it is a wait and see thing.
Praying all of you are doing well and getting stronger and healthier by the day.
Peace and Blessings~
0 -
Hey, catori, sorry you are having to go through all that. The elecricity test is a nerve conduction test. They can determine how quickly your nerves are processing up and down the "nerve chain" with that. Sometimes there is only a minor delay. Sometimes a major one.
Neurotin should help you out, but just a tip: they start you out on the lowest possible dose. I had mine raised over a six-month period to almost triple what my initial does was. Don't be afraid to let him know if the dose is not working. They can go quite a bit higher without much of a problem.
0 -
catori, i am still angry at your onc for saying that to you. i'm very sorry to hear about the muscle and nerve damage. at least you know you weren't 'making it up,' but you shouldn't have to go through this to get validation. i'm sending healing thoughts your way. i hope everything turns out to be temporary.0
-
Michele, you are right to be concerned about your dog licking. My surgeon actually had just finished up chemo treatments herself a couple of months prior to my surgery. So she was a wealth of first hand information. I had mentioned that I had two dogs and she told me they would want to lick on my head, and my feet but to not let them because they may get sick.
I finished up my last treatment January 25 and I am feeling pretty good. It did have an accumulative effect for me. I had 6 treatments 3 weeks apart. The first one wasn't so bad but each one got a little worse. I had problems with fatigue, mouth sores, terrible metalic taste in my mouth and towards the end of my treatments my nails turned purple and then black. They felt like they had been hit with a hammer. I also had a lot of acid reflux that continued even after finishing my treatment. I mentioned it to my surgeon a couple of weeks ago and she told me to eat yogurt every day for two weeks. It started helping within a couple of days. She said the chemo drugs kills the good bacteria in your stomach and makes it harder for your body to digest food properly. The yogurt replaces the bacteria. It may help during treatment as well. It sure couldn't hurt.
I have developed a couple of new side effects since finishing treatments. My feet and legs have started swelling. And all of the muscles in my legs ache all of the time. My onc says it is a side effect of the taxotere and should go away within 6 months.
My nails have grown about a third of their way out and they look good at the base. Nice, pink, healthy looking. Everything beyond the new growth has turned loose from the nail bed and still looks pretty gross. But at least they don't hurt anymore.
I think overall I had a pretty positive experience. I have heard much worse stories. Still waiting for the hair to come back. I don't care if it comes back curly or straight, pink or purple. I just want some hair!!
-- Ann
0 -
Ann - congrats on your last treatment. That was the day of my BMX... A month later started my chemo. 1 down and 3 to go.... I wish you well and hope your se with your legs and feet get better....My fingers are starting to bother me with the tingles........ What are we to do...
'Everyone you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Feel good.....
Donna
0
