Anyone on just Taxotere and Cytoxan?
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Well, just finished my second steroid pill and my 3 liters of water prepping for my 2nd chemo infusion tomorrow AM.
I took one extra senokot-S tonight and the Tylenol PM to help me sleep.
I TRIED putting a scarf on, I really really did. But it FEELS creepy and is FEELS like it is creeping around on my skull.
I think I'm gonna have to pass on scarves and keep going Scalp Commando. I do have baseball caps if it gets too chilly, but so far it hasn't.
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Hi Sugar,
I finished TC on August 7th, and this picture was taken a week before Christmas. I stopped wearing a scarf/wig sometime in November, as soon as you couldn't see my scalp anymore. It funny, but my eyelashes didn't fall out till after I was all done with chemo! I admit, my hair did grow back faster than I thought it would. Hope you're does too!
- Lois
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Lois - I guess I just have to be a little more patient. Sounds like it takes a bit of time (more than 4 weeks) for it to fill in around the scalp. I've heard others say they lost eyelashes and brows after chemo was done. How long after did your's come out? I still have my brows (they're thinning a bit) and my bottom lashes are very thinned. So far (knock on wood) the top lashes seem intact but I know that can change. BTW - check the GTA get together thread. We're now looking at April 6th.
Sherri
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Michele - rock on!! We are with you..go commando girlfriend!!
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So today was my final TC and I went out with a bang. Soon after the Taxotere was dripping I started to have an allergic reaction. The nurses and onc couldn't believe that my reaction - they say they typically show at TX1 and TX2. It was scary but after pumping benadryl and more steroids they restarted the Taxotere BUT I am done. Yippee! I know that the next week will be hard. The tiredness and eye weeping has been cumulatively worse, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Get a short respite before radiations and hysterectomy.
Hope all is well with you all.
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bbd - congratulations on finishing TC. You never know...this one might not be as bad.
This is week four since my last TC treatment and I can say the eye weeping has stopped and the eyelid twitching that has been my worst SE is almost gone. Hang in there!Sherri
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Congrats on all who finish their rounds of chemo and are doing well.. I went to onco today for blood work levels are good and all good for round 2 next Thurs... This week has been hell with mother nature coming and making my inside of my ovaries and uterus feel like they are ready to explode. Like they are sprained or something /... Any one else have this,.? They said to switch motrin or aleve. Tonight I am taking a pain pilll. That;s how bads its been... And tomorrow I go for a fill...... Go figure... If anyone can help with the stomach issue I would appreciate...
Feel good EVERYONE..... You are all in my prayers.
Donna
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Ladies,
I finished my treatments in October 09. My hair is now about 1 1/2 inches long.....long enough to spike all over, all my lashes and brows are back
Hair went from red to jet black and is now wavy.Your hair will come back, just be patient. Biotin works wonders with making it come in faster and thicker.
Donna, try sipping ginger tea. Ginger is a natural stomach settler, and if you get some with chamomile in it, it will calm those "decadron jitters" a little too.
Good luck ladies, keep your chin up!
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After having very few SE's thus far (1/2 way), I woke up this morning, day 8, with some strange things!! My ears, palms, knees, elbows and butt cheeks, were all red hot and itchy! My one palm hurt like I stuck it on a frying pan!!...Went in to get looked at and was given Benedryl which cleared it right up and will take some more tonight...My onc wasn't in today, but the one I saw didn't think it had to do with my chemo, she thought it was dermititis (sp?) or an alergic reaction to something in my house?? Not so sure..we shall see....I also was diagnosed with Strep Throat...the thrush cleared up but was still left with a raw throat, so on antibiotics. Slept most of the day b/c of Benedryl, but overall feeling better now than how I started the day!!
Those who experienced nuropathy...do the symptoms above sound like what you experienced?? the Dr. I saw today, was adamant that it wasn't nuropathy...and the benedryl did have an immediate affect...but still very strange!
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leta17 my experience with 'sudden' allergies wasn't due to chemo (which I am finally starting on the 25th!) but to a compromised immune system many years ago. I had systemic candida -- from thrush in the mouth down to the colon -- and it takes out your white cells, among other things. I was suddenly allergic to so many things I hadn't been before. Even walking down the detergent aisle at the supermarket made me break out in hives.
So, I'm wondering if a lowered immune response due to chemo could cause the same thing? They were called 'transient' allergies, I think, and did clear up as I got better. Still had the original allergies though
Be well everyone and have a great weekend.
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could be your antibiotics for strep darlin. Things you were never allergic to in your life can suddenly become allergies at any given moment, even without chemo.
neuropathy in my hands and feet started with tingling and burning..... My feet felt like they were on fire at times. Now I just don't feel my fingers anymore. My feet have gotten some feeling back, but not all of it. Onc says it will probably get better over time, but I won't ever get it all back, so pay close attention......and insist they back off a little if you start to experience these problems.
Along the way, the skin peeled off entirely from my hands, but they didn't itch and never turned red, just very dry. Onc said it was from the taxotere and recommended lanolin.
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Leta:
About a week after my 1st T/C (Nov 5th) I decided I would clean my shower and used a cleaner have used for years. Didn't wear gloves and within an hour both my hands were red with welts and itchy. Learned that lesson....started using gloves for any cleaning I did. I do agree that even products that we have never had problems using can become an irritant to us, just the same as medicines can create an allergic reaction after having used them for years.
I have neuropathy in hands and feet, worse in feet especially at night. Each tx the tingling/burning sensation became more noticeable....a cumulative effect, I've learned. Some evenings are not as painful as others, so I'm hoping that means that this will heal eventually.
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teemee, pamalajo and pslam121 - Thanks for the information!!! I have been taking Nystatin for Thrush, that is the only med I was taking, besides what was infused a week prior. It does seem more like an allergic reaction but I can't seem to figure out what the trigger was. The antibiotics were taken after the incident, so I ruled that out...hmmm, will have to see if it happens again, I wrote down everything I ate, used, and medicine taken, so if it comes back, we will compare notes to see if there is a common denominator.
I do feel like a new person today though...sore throat only a hint of it left, my ears aren't ringing, nose is unclogged, and only my palms are a little sore. I guess the added benedryl and antibiotics did their thing...we shall see what is next on this roller coaster!!
Take care ladies, I don't know what I would do without this!!!
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Sugar77,
I finished chemo(T&C) one year ago this february,and 2 weeks ago i finally broke down and got my first p.c haircut.It was down on my collar,but it didn't come back in as thick as it used to be,that's why i had let it grow,hoping it would get thicker and so i'd have a "comb over" on the back where it was really thin.
My hairdresser gave me a good cut,so it looks fuller,even though it's short and i like short.
Here's a b4 picture front and back:
Kathi
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I'm 13mos PC and i still have neuropathy in hands and feet.Not as bad as it was,but still there.In the beginning it felt like i had walked through fire and then shattered glass,and was 24/7 thing.Now my feet feel ok most of the time,especially as long as i'm moving around,but when i sit in my recliner,with the foot rest up,it's still uncomfortable to the point of if i fall asleep,i don't sleep very long as it wakes me up.I've tried different positions on the chair and none of them help.Fortunately though when i'm in bed they don't bother me as much.
Now my right arm and hand is still giving me a lot of problems and most of the time i have to wear a brace on my wrist,it's not carpal tunnel,they think it's from the removal of the lymph nodes,17 removed,3 positive.Just trying to learn to live with it.Sure cuts into things i want and like to do though.
Kathi
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Kathi, are these pictures before chemo or before your haircut? Your hair looks nice, btw.
I am 5 weeks post chemo and now my thigh muscles are aching. I have a hard time getting up from a lying down or sitting down position. I feel like an invalid! Pain pills and muscle relaxants do a good job of making me feel better, but they also make me drowsy, and I don't want to sleep all day!
Brenda
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Kathi,
Love the hair
Mine is still short but I think I am going to keep it this way. I kinda like spiking it up all over.As for neuropathy, it sucks. My feet burned so much it would take my breath. Thankfully most of that has stopped. I find if I sit at my desk all day with my feet on the floor, they start to burn again....so I prop them up a while and it's better. I can't feel my fingers. AT ALL. This has led to a huge case of the droppsies. I drop everything. Slid my coat off the other day like I used to and was thinking I'd catch it as it slid off my hands, and flop........it landed on the floor. The upshot is, I can hold a scorching cup of coffee and not care......there's a downside there too, but we are thinking positive.
You never know, maybe someday they will come up with a fix for this. I had several lymph nodes removed from my right side as well, and the lymphodema is bad, but not as bad as that sock under the pit feeling. I think my brain is getting used to it now though. I don't notice it so much anymore.
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Brenda,the pictures are after Chemo,actually they were taken the end of january this year and i had it cut almost 2 weeks ago.My 9 yr old GS took the pictures,so i'll have to have him take some new ones,now that it's cut.
I had had a total knee replacement 2 mos b4 i found out i had bc,then a month later i was having a bilateral mastectomy,so it was a very bad year and a half for me.The knee is doing great now.In fact i spent over 3 hours out in the garden today weeding,and so far so good.We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks for the compliments on the hair.
Kathi
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Kathi: The pix you posted of your hair look lovely. I'll be so happy to have that much hair again. When I complained about my baldness to my grandson, he said, "Well, you are STILL Grandma!!!" Touched my heart! I have just one Taxotere chemo treatment left on March 31. Yeah!!! I am managing OK, but my onc has been concerned with my shortness of breath. I have difficulty climbing stairs now. I had an echo done of my heart yesterday and am anxious to get the results. I have been told that heart damage is a possibility, so I hope that this is only temporary!!
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Emegram,sorry to hear about the shortness of breath.Did you have just T&C or did they add Adrimycin to it also?? I was supposed to have the A(adrimycin) but they tested my heart first and the left ventrical was a little slow,so they ditched the "A ",as it can cause heart damage.They re-did my heart test after i finished chemo,had an ekg,stress test,and something else that i can't remember the name of now.So as you can see,i still have "chemo brain "as well.My heart is fine also,thank goodness.
Kathi
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Kathi: I had three rounds of FEC (one of these drugs is the equivilent to Adrimycin. Now I've been getting T&C. Have had two rounds - with one left to go on March 31. I do have concerns about my heart, so I will await the results of the echo that I had. Before I started any of this, I had the heart tests, and it was fine. I can't wait to put all of this behind me. Glad you are doing well.
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Hey BossyRenee,
I went to the dentist about the teeth and jaw pain; he told me that all the fillings that he put in before my BC, two fell straight out! LOL...he is taken care of me a little bit at a time, giving good advice about jaw pain (he's had experience with cancer patients).
The twitching subsides about a week after chemo, which was just a weird feeling...
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Hi All,
Well today I finished my 4th & final round of T/C. So happy to be done, looking forward to spring & the flowers
(and hair growth). I too have been having right eye twitching for weeks now- so annoying. Didn't realize it was a side effect. hope it goes away soon.
Take care all.
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Yay, alkum22! Glad you are done and can start enjoying the spring! I hope your eye twitching goes away soon. I'm about to start 4 rounds of TC, so it's good to hear from someone finishing up on a positive note. 0
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Alkum - contrats on finishing!! I, too, had the very annoying eye twitching (both eyes). I'm now 5 weeks PFC and the eye twitching has just started to subside this week. If you look at previous posts on this thread, you'll see my countless posts complaining about it...lol So, there is hope!
horsedoc - good luck with your treatment. If you're new to this thread, I would encourage you to read back to some of the previous screens because you'll get a lot of tips to help manage side effects. Drink lots of water and let us know you you are doing!
Sherri
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Sherri: What's the "F" in your PFC?
Bev: Your grandson is so sweet. Good luck with the echo.
BTW I just joined an eyelash study. It's a study to see how a product helps people who have gone through chemo and have lost their eyelashes.I will get Latisse for free for a whole year and they will pay me for the times I visit them! Wish me luck!
Take care...
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Brenda - Lucky you. I asked me onc for a prescription for Latisse and he said "not now" and that was basically it. I'm so curious how it works. The "f" is Post Final Chemo (PFC)
Sherri
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thanks Sherri! I will definitely read back through the old posts. And start drinking lots of water, the doc and nurses told me that too!
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HorseDoc
I finished TC (x4) on Jan 7th and learned so much from these ladies....tips that really helped me were having things on hand for after-chemo....plastic utensils (silverware enhances the metallic taste some people have), bland foods (applesauce, oatmeal, pudding) some spicy stuff, in case your one of the ones that can tolerate spicy...dill pickles---I discovered they helped with my nausea when it was not bad enough for meds but enough to be annoying. Gatorade and Vitamin Water was also easier to drink than juices/soft drinks. Basically have enough different, easy things to choose from until you find what works for you best. I was alone after two of my treatments and not able to cook so single-serving sizes were a big help.
Everyone is affected differently by chemo, so be sure and let your Onc know side effects you are having --- please don't suffer. I broke out with fever blisters after my first one and didn't really think of it as being a big deal, just mentioned it after the other problems I was having...and Onc Nurse said "Oh, No, we don't want you having fever blisters" they called in Acyclivor that I had to take every day til thru the end of my treatments. Also get some Biotene mouth rinse and start using it every day....helps prevent mouth irritations and protect teeth. Chemo does a number on everything! I'll probably think of more later......and there was a really good list on BCO, that's where alot of my help came from....Best wishes to you, take care....
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Horsedoc - you might also want to think about taking Claritin along with the Neulasta shot, of you're getting it. I read about doing that here on this thread and I really didn't have any bone pain to speak about. I took it the day of the shot and for the next four days after. Also, try to get lots of fiber for the first day or two because the Zofron causes constipation. My nurses put my finger and toe nails on ice during the Taxotere infusion and I had absolutely no problems at all with my nails. I also chomped on ice chips during Taxotere and I think that helped with the metallic taste and taste bud problems and I never had any mouth sores.
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