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Weekly Taxol group

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Comments

  • Skigirl72
    Skigirl72 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2013

    My SEs have been pretty much the same for the 2 txs so far. I have stronger aches and pains this week compared to last. But the timing of everything has been the same for me and just as Soteria205 has described.

  • martha323
    martha323 Member Posts: 17
    edited April 2013

    5thsib - Wow! Congratulations on finishing your Taxol - I hope you celebrated!!

    PBrain - many thanks for your encouragng post about how well you feel! I have a ways to go before finishing weekly Taxol - 3/12 so far...

    No headache this weekend like last weekend - nurse thought I might have had a virus since I had a low grade fever as well .. so far so good despite some hip, back, and hand achiness from time to time ... oh yeah, a couple of days of fatigue and two or three days where Miralax and a stool softener keep my gut happy. Definitley better than AC ... I was thinking that the headache could have been from light sensitivity -

    Best wishes to all for a weekend with minimal SEs .. Hugs and prayers, Martha

  • bcfree2013
    bcfree2013 Member Posts: 19
    edited April 2013

    I also had strong muscle and bone pains on day #3 and #4, and didn't sleep well at night. But I am feeling much better now. Taxol #2 on Monday.

    Wish everyone minimal SEs~~~

  • Sandy65
    Sandy65 Member Posts: 80
    edited April 2013

    Thanks skigirl72, martha323 & bcfree2013,

    I appreciate the input girls. I feel better today but yesterday was a bear. Probably accelerated with my fibro, arthritis & bursitis. It really sucks to only be 47 and have all these health issues already. Hope you all have a great weekend with low se's.

    Take care,

    Sandy

  • mareluna
    mareluna Member Posts: 275
    edited April 2013

    Hi,

    I noticed SE were cummalative. After my 6th treatment I was more fatigued. My tastebuds went down the tubes. I  started feeling better after chemos ended. My onc told me i'd start feeling more like myself about 2 months post chemo. I do feel better except that i hurt from the surgery. I am almost 10 weeks post bmx and direct to implant. I at last feel better from that. I am 11 days post oomph. That hurts but getting better. So I am feeling more like myself. I think the neuropathy is a bit better. I am planning to celebrate when I go to water Country next month. LOL  So ladies there is life after chemo and surgeries.

  • Sandy65
    Sandy65 Member Posts: 80
    edited April 2013

    Can't wait to start feeling better. Thanks for the uplifting outlook.

    Take care,

    Sandy

  • 5thSib
    5thSib Member Posts: 119
    edited April 2013

    Sandy65 -- I did notice that my SE's intensified some toward the end of my treatments. All in all though so much more tolerable than A/C.



    Feeling kind of crappy this weekend from Thursday's treatment but I'm telling myself that next weekend I'm going to feel good since treatments are over. Yea! Neuropathy is bad right now so glad to hear from others that it should soon get better.



    My hair is getting thicker every day if seems. My 9 year old granddaughter was willing to see me without something on my head for the first time yesterday. She felt under my hat a few weeks ago but still couldn't bear to look. She was ok with it but said she would rather me put the hat back on. You know I used to worry a lot with my hair and how it looked. I think I will have a different attitude about it when it grows back out.

  • Sandy65
    Sandy65 Member Posts: 80
    edited April 2013

    5thSib,

    Thanks for your input. I am glad you are done with yours. I still have 10 more to go. I am strong willed though. I hope mine don't get much worse. I wish you all the best.

    Take care,

    Sandy

  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 74
    edited April 2013

    5thsib: are you DD or weekly? How many txs? I am glad you are nearly done. I have 3/4 DD taxol left and I am done, with #2 this Wednesday. Getting there!

  • adagio
    adagio Member Posts: 713
    edited April 2013

    ywheels - I have lost my eye lashes - I am so sad - oh well - they will grow back. So that was 6 weeks after my last taxol!!!

  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 74
    edited April 2013

    Adagio: Oh man do I hate hearing that! How many Taxol did you do? DD or weekly? I can't remember. I am DDx4 after DDx4 with AC. So far, my lashes and brows are still here. I have Taxol #2 Wednesday. I hope they come back quick for you!

  • mareluna
    mareluna Member Posts: 275
    edited April 2013

    Darn on the eyelashes. I lost mine during taxol and my brows too. Ended chemo dec 26th. Saw I had brows and lashes on Valantine's day. Oh btw the real kicker is that they may all fall out again several times before you get them back to stay. I found that out on the Hair discussion.

  • adagio
    adagio Member Posts: 713
    edited April 2013

    mareluna - I didn't know that about the lashes falling out several times - that's a bummer. Oh well - not much we can do about it now.

  • mareluna
    mareluna Member Posts: 275
    edited April 2013

    Adagio as long as my hair stays I will be ok. I wear glasses. But the brows go a few times to from what I read. I think it's something about pre chemo lashes and brows each recycle hairs at different times. They are not supposed to all go at once. Chemo throws them out of whack so they have to get back to the normal recycling. I can't explain it right.

  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 74
    edited April 2013

    Mareluna and adagio: well is all just sucks!!!!! I like my lashes, almost more than my hair!!!! Fake eye lashes I guess, which will be just another pain in the ass!!!!!

  • adagio
    adagio Member Posts: 713
    edited April 2013

    ywheels - I liked my eyelashes almost more than my hair - but having said that I miss them both so much!! I am glad that my lashes and brows stayed as long as they did. We will survive!!

  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 74
    edited April 2013

    Adagio: yes surviving is the key word. And we will!

  • colt45
    colt45 Member Posts: 383
    edited April 2013

    My wife is doing good. Done with 10 Taxol treatments. She ices toes and fingers with frozen peas and everyone was laughing about it---but she has the best looking nails in the place. She also uses Tea Tree Oil and white vinegar. She has 1 thumbnail with a little tear, so she wrapped it with a bandaid to protect it, but overall pretty good so far.

  • Skigirl72
    Skigirl72 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2013

    Taxol #3 done. I am a little anemic and my count dropped a bit. Not as bad as with AC so I am thankful for that. Bitched a bit about the hot flashes but the IV benadryl made me not care about anything for a while. LOL She did say just to take something for sleep and I at least will get through the night. They are not worried about any allergic reactions anymore so it was a quick day. In at 9 and we were out at 12:30. Glad the days there are getting quicker...

  • Sandy65
    Sandy65 Member Posts: 80
    edited April 2013

    Skigirl72,

    Glad you got number 3 in. I do number 3 Wednesday. I am hoping my counts are good too. Some people don't like the benadryl but I don't mind. I usually get to take a nap while infusing so it works for me. I don't get many naps. Glad everything went well.

    Take care,

    Sandy

  • 5thSib
    5thSib Member Posts: 119
    edited April 2013

    Ywheels -- I had 12 weekly treatments.



    Mareluna -- what you described about the lash cycle is what I have read also. I lost my lashes and brows right after starting Taxol. I have some small white brows growing but no lashes yet. I just use black eyeliner pretty thick and its not that noticeable.

  • EmilysMom
    EmilysMom Member Posts: 42
    edited April 2013

    Ywheels, you and I are on the exact same days. I went at 9 today and out by 2...

    3rd of 12 weekly. Benadryl drives me nuts. I have to get up and walk around while they give it to me. Keep going.... We are 25 percent of the way through

    The taxol! Hooray!





    Anyone out there able to remind me what supplement for neuropathy besides B6/12?



    I thnk I read about glutamine but whe I mentioned it to RN today she as not heard of it.... Surprised.... I have a very advanced center in michigan.... Good treatment.

    Could someone tell me if that is more of a nail thing r a neuropathy thing?



    Also, my doc said already that if neuropathy continues to be so extreme already, they might bump down the dose of taxol.... Not sure how I feel about it cuz I want to do the most aggressive tx I can do in order to better my ancestry for staying on this planet....



    Thoughts from anyone n a similar situation?



    Thanks....

    God, this tough but soooooo much easier than AC.

    Anyone till doing AC, hang on... There IS light at the end of the tunnel.



    Peace,

    C

    Aka: Emily's mom

  • Sandy65
    Sandy65 Member Posts: 80
    edited April 2013

    EmilysMom,

    I am just getting ready for taxol #3 on Wednesday. After taxol #1 the doc told me if my neuropathy doesnt come and go but stays constant the she would stop the taxol after number three an reassess the situation. Luckily it seems to be coming and going so far. I think some of it was residual from ac yet or hoping anyway. Hope this helps. Take care!

  • Skigirl72
    Skigirl72 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2013

    emilysmom- Glutamine was right. Get the powder. 30 grams daily (15 in am, 15 in pm). I drink a shake that had 3g in it already so I am holding off till I feel something weird. Most of the stuff I've asked my MO about had been 'new' to them. I'm not sure that is entirely true. So, I read on here what others are doing and I google it to death. Then I go in and say "so I started taking glutamine for neuropathy, That's ok right?" and see where that takes me. I get better results that way. I think when dealing with the medical community about natural supplements and vitamins it is a crap shoot. They focus so much on pharmacy meds to keep things at bay. They forget there is a whole bunch of things that can help.

  • EmilysMom
    EmilysMom Member Posts: 42
    edited April 2013

    Thanks ski girl....

    And btw, even though I am getting the same steroid as I was with my AC, I totally know what u mean about the steroids making u crazy andot sleeping. Maybe it was someone else,but I think u said it. The last two weeks of Taxol, on night one, i slept like three hours, which then,made my days really crazy.



    What do u out the powder glutamine in? I will find a way to get some today. I think my ONC would have heard of it,but the NP seems less aware of it. Funny thing, my chemo nurse sems to know the sot about this kind of stuff, and for the exact reason u cited. She has so many people coming in with ideas they catch o places like this, and she hears and shres lots. Unfortunately she was out sick yesterday so I asked the RN her placing her for the day but she hadn't heard of it.



    I have a sister who had BC and she is writing a ook about alternative therapies, so I get a lot of opinion from her as well. Unfortunately, my sisters book will in trounce chemo as something she didn't and doesn't eleven in, as well as radiation, it i aspect of her case was advanced as mine .... Lobular invasive with 12 odes large and filled, she might feel otherwise.

    Still, I will take her up on MOST of her ideas for supplements.



    If I her of some that aren't listed on here, I will post. Many are post BC TX, so OT ready yet.



    Hope everyone has a great day!!!

    Sun is finally peaking out in michigan.

    Operative word..l peaking. Yet, I will take it. :)

  • martha323
    martha323 Member Posts: 17
    edited April 2013

    Greetings all - So glad that many of you mentioned the SEs from weekly Taxol.

    I have tx on Thursdays. With #1 I had aches on the weekend and felt somewhat tired.  After #2 I had a bad headache starting Friday and it lasted until Monday morning. (Tylenol didn't touch it - yuck!). I also had a low grade fever for about four days, the expected aches and joint pain over the weekend as well as more pronouced fatigue. The nurse thought I might have had a virus. With both 1 and 2 I felt remarkably better (more energy, more appetite) on Tuesday and Wednesday!

    So after #3 last Thursday I didn't have a headache, but developed a 100.6 fever on Saturday evening and the MO on call said to go to the ER. Fever disappeared by the time I got to the ER and hasn't come back - all tests ok - hemoglobin had dropped to "8 and change" from 9.6 two days before. The fatigue on Sunday and yesterday was - well, I shouldn't have even tried to get off the couch except to pee! And now today I feel much much better!

    So each time I have felt different SEs over the weekend and then I feel better by Tuesday Smile. What will happen this time Surprised? Could the anemia be making the fatigue worse? Hemoglobin has dropped each week ....

    Has anyone else had can't-move-from-the couch-fatigue for a couple of days? I see my MO every other week and luckily I see him this Thursday before #4! I've been very lucky and haven't had any fever or illness since starting with AC in late January.

    Best wishes to all for a good week with minimal SEs! Hugs, Martha

  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 74
    edited April 2013

    I have Taxol#2 (of 4 DD) tomorrow. My cold congestion crud seems to be slowly getting better so I hope that makes the SE's a bit better this time around. I am going to ask for an rx sleep med as benedryl, and other OTC are not helping. I'd like a slow release, mild non-habit forrming. Any suggestions?

    I am not looking forward to it but after tomorrow I will have 2 more then be totally done. (I do not have to have rads.) Fingers crossed SE's are okay.

    Best to everyone!

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Member Posts: 942
    edited April 2013

    Martha~~Are you getting weekly Taxol? Low RBC can definitely give you that can't-get-off-the-couch feeling! Our red blood cells carry oxygen, so when we become anemic we aren't getting the oxygen we need, hence, the shortness of breath or debilitating fatigue.



    I dealt with that especially during AC, but I still have fatigue with Taxol.



    Blessings

    Paula

  • Sandy65
    Sandy65 Member Posts: 80
    edited April 2013

    I have had worse se's with each tx. This #2 tx has me concerned as the muscle joint pains are hanging on. I go for number 3 tomorrow. My fatigue is horendous. Still working if that is what you call it. Doze off at my desk a lot. Had to go take an hour nap today in my vehicle and that was at 8:30. I dozed off at my desk from 6-8:30 and finally went and took a nap.

    YWheels, are u sure your congestion isn't from the taxol? I thought it was a fluke that with both my taxol tx's I felt really congested. I head and chest congestion but I found some articles on the web saying that taxol can cause this. It happened to me twice right after each tx and then went away as fast as it came.

    Have a good night!

    Sandy

  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 74
    edited April 2013

    SAndy: It is possible but the cold started right after my last AC tx. I had a low grade fever so I got a five-day anti-biotic.It has hung through Taxol #1 but has gotten better. There has been a bad cold crud thing going around and many of my friends had it and it lasted nearly 4 weeks. My counts have been very good so it wasn't related to that. I had not read about the TAxol causing congestion. I'll ask my MO tomorrow. Are you DD? How many taxol treatments do you have total?

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