Weekly Taxol group
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6cats,
I took gabapentin as part of treatment for a light case of shingles. I was interested to see if it would have an effect on the neuropathy I have in my feet from Taxol. It didn't do anything to reverse the neuropathy, and I had real problems with drowsiness when I took it. I fell asleep at the dinner table and at my computer. If it had helped the neuropathy, believe me, I'd have found a way around the drowsiness.
I had a similar experience with Cymbalta, which my oncologist said is one of the first-line treatments they recommend at Dana-Farber. It didn't touch the neuropathy, but I had severe night sweats (as in change your sleepwear night sweats) and really intense bad dreams. These are some powerful drugs. Or at least they were for me.
Of course, everyone reacts differently to medication. I hope one of these is helpful for you.
Ann
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Weekly Taxol - I am posting in hopes of encouraging someone somewhere who is starting weekly Taxol. I had infusion #7 of 12 today, came home and picked up right where I left off before going to the hospital. If I did not know I had been to chemo this morning I would not know a thing was any different than any other day. Slight headache. I know I am fortunate but Friday seems to be Taxol day at my hospital and except for some neuropathy and nail issues here and there, we women in the chemo fun party room are all getting through these 12 with relative ease....and laughing all the way which makes the time fly. Good luck out there. It's doable!!!
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thats alot of Taxol. I had IDC and 13 out of 24 nodes had cancer that were removed, (they removed all 24) I have 4 treatments of Taxol. Had my first 2 weeks ago. I go every other week. I wonder if thats enought. I staretd with AC for 4 treatments. All together 8 treatments. I have my second one this upcoming Thursday the 1st. Hopefully no cramps the second time around. I was in so much pain for 2 days later. AC for me was better I rather deal with being tired then those awfull pevlic cramps. Good luck to you with the rest of your treatments. I shouldnt be complaning I dont think I could do 18. Is this every week? Best of luck to you
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Rose,
You had what is called dose dense Taxol.
Those of us who had weekly Taxol had the chemo medication over 12 weeks. Please know that someone receiving 12 weekly infusions us not receiving the same amount each week that someone having dose dense Taxol is receiving. The cumulative amount is very close but the individual infusions are markedly different.
The weekly Taxol appears to be less toxic than the bi-weekly dose dense infusions.
I am also part of a study that is looking at Herceptin for patients that are Her2 low (often called Her2-, but actually on the low end but not a true Her2- which would be a zero.) I'm in the control group so I did not receive Herceptin. The study protocol required 12 weekly Taxol infusions in the arm of the study that I am a part of.
Study or not I would have opted for the weekly infusions.0 -
Hi,
I found Neurontin made my neurapathy worse. I was grumpy, sleepy and my hands and feet were no better and it seemed to extend up my legs and arms. I also had tried some anti depressant I think that knocked me out for 23 hours.
I just live with it. I find tramadol kind of took edge off so I could sleep. Good luck ladies .
Rose
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I just had my first round of four of taxol yesterday. Yikes I hope the cramps etc don't happen to me! Post menopausal (62) and used to have knock down drag out cramps when young.
Hoping for nothing! I'm still a little nauseated..but I was nauseated with AC the entire time..lost 13 pounds.
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Curlysue... Let's keep our fingers crossed that the camping doesnt start. I started cramping 2 days after my first does of Taxol that lasted 4 days getting weaker as the days passed. I get my second dose out of 4 this Thursday. I hope when I meet with my MO she can explain why this happens seeing this wants mentioned as a sidde affect. I'm hoping it doesnt start again they are painfull. KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED
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I'm 4 th day after first taxol. Having the cramps, aches in knee joints, shin pain, nausea and fatigue. I don't know which is worse.. The Ac or the taxol
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Hi Curlysue I'm sitting here at Dana Farba getting my second out of 4 TAXOL. I talked to my MO earlier she said it might come back. This is a symtom cramps cramps cramps. I will let you know if it does happen again. Shoulkd start again around Saturday if I do get them again. My MO also stated that it's very common in woman using Taxol. I'm going to try Aleve next time if it doesnt work, they gave soom pain killers to take. Keep our fingers crossed it doesnt happen to either of us again
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Just completed #6 of 12!! Happy Hump Day to me!!!
Curlysue50 -- I felt like you do... the first three weekly doses were definitely worse than AC! But, each time everything but the fatigue and brain fog have eased up some. The cramps were gone after the first 2. Nausea almost totally gone by #5. The most severe is knee and back pain... the knee pain is odd, because I had both knees replaced in December... how could an artificial knee hurt?!? I am totally puzzled by that SE.
Hopefully, things will ease up for you. Remember those that are Dose Dense (like rose2010) may experience things that are different than those of us that are weekly... Of course since we are all different its a crap shoot which SE each of us will get!! LOL
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No good news, it's Saturday around noon and the cramps are starting. Woke up with a huge headach too. Looks like cramps will be with me for the next 4 days. Only 2 more treaments and I'll be done with Taxoll for good. Was hoping not to cramp this time, oh well there's always next itme.
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I do have some good news my hair is growing back wee hee
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rose2010 -- I'm jealous! Taxol made my hair fall out again!
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Oh No!!!!! so its possible to loose it again? Just started getting used to my little stubbies, not looking forward to shaving my legs again went the whole summer with out having to shave legs or pits. Lol
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Omg tell me it won't fall out again! I have about 5mm but my hubs says it is getting thicker. I lost my eyebrows with Taxol and my eyelashes are almost gone but I see hope up on top!
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I lost all my lashes & brows by the time I finished taxol. Now 10 weeks out, they are completely back. They come in so quickly, you just look one day and there they are!
Paula0 -
My hair is growing back too (legs and underarms too) but I'm losing my lashes and brows. I have been getting a lot of shampoo in my eyes from my lack of brows lol. I hope the hair on my head stays! I have 6 weeks of chemo left, I would love to get a head start on a head of hair!
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Jenna~~My hair started coming back about 3 or 4 weeks into taxol, but it never really showed much progress. I lost lashes & brows towards the end of tx, but they came back suddenly about 8 weeks out. I'm 11 weeks pfc and finally have a GI JANE. The growth has started speeding up now. I think it takes a few weeks for the effects of chemo to wear off. Though some effects linger for awhile. Energy returns fairly quickly. As soon as I finished Taxol, I started getting a bit stronger each day.
Paula0 -
I am so concerned. On am on my 8th round of taxol and my abdomen is very swollen. Pain with palpitation on the left side when standing up, not with laying down. Occasional pain on my left side. No nausea, constipation or other GI symptoms. Can u get abdominal swelling with taxol. I also have not gained st. Since the beginning of this process. Appetite good. Very scared with abdominal swelling
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Jill, I don't know what it could be, but definitely call your doctor this morning!
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I concur, call the doctor. Hope it's nothing serious!
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Susaninicking, thank you Hun, I didn't think i was gona make it thought 18! started of with taxotere and cytoxan and that was too much for me so they switched me to taxol. I'm so glad to have only one taxol left. not looking forward to surgery and radiation but it has to be easier thand the chemo, at least i'm praying it is! I'm using the penquin cold caps which have saved my hair from falling out. Jillofloftus, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR DRINKIN G 64 oz of water daily after your chemo and flush that crap out of you. (Thats 2 giant 32 oz bottles ) My liver was not doing too good until i started drinking more water and i'm also on Prilosec and Raglan. 1000 mg daily of l-glutamine will curb neruopathy also. God bless you wonderfully brave women. I admire you all so much
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One question for the day... no three questions.
Does Taxol+Herception cause severe flatulance for anyone else but me? Or am I blaming it on chemo when I should be blaming it on fresh cucumbers?
Peripheral Neuropathy: How much Neurontin/Gabapentin are people taking? Do you find it helps? Does it reverse the neuropathy, or just keep it from progressing? I have 100mg tablets to take 3xdaily. I can increase as needed until I reach 12 a day. I have numbness in my fingers and toes and on 300mg, it doesn't seem to get worse, but also isn't getting better. My doc is anti-supplement, so I'm waiting to take the recommended supplements till I'm done with chemo.
Is there a "Herceptin Only" board that folks have found helpful? I'll be at that stage in about six weeks. I'm also looking for a good board that discusses cardiac effects.
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6cats,
I have permanent peripheral neuropathy from Taxol. Several years post treatment, I took nerontin/gabapentin and it didn't have any effect on my neuropathy. I also took Cymbalta, with the same result. The results may be different if you take them during treatment.
From what I understand, these drugs and others (Lyrica, nortriptyline) are more effective in treating neuropathic pain than numbness.
Good luck. I hope you find something that works for you.
Ann
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6cats and septembersong, a few months ago I overheard a conversation as I was standing in line for something. The conversation was about a clinical trial at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for relief of peripheral neuropathy. The people talking knew someone who had spent 10 days at the Mayo Clinic doing the trial, and they said he was helped. I just did a search and came up with a web page on the trial:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01347723
I have no idea what "scrambler therapy" is. Also, even though the name of the trial includes "peripheral neuropathy", it seems to be more oriented to pain. But - you might want to look into it further.
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AS i've mentioned before L-glutamine 1000 mg perday during treatment will prevent and sometimes reverse neuropathy...
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LeslieVilla - I used 30 grams (not mg) per day of L-glutamine, which is the amount suggested by my research and my chemo nurses. I'm really surprised that 100 mg would do anything for neuropathy! 6cats' oncologist won't let her take any supplements for her neuropathy, so she's looking for advice on what else she can do. I know some people have had their dosage of taxol reduced because of neuropathy; thankfully that wasn't necessary for me.
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Sorry thats 1000 MG per day i just correct my post.
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I started weekly Taxol on 8/5 (Monday) and today is 8/8 (Thursday). Although I took my Benadryl pills an hour before my scheduled chemo time as directed I developed chest tightness, red face and sweating within the first 10 minutes of my IV so they stopped, gave me an IV of Benadryl and was fine the rest of the time, though I had some restlessness. Slept for about an hour that afternoon and experienced the facial flushing and hot flash/night sweats several times that night.
Tuesday I developed some lower back pain which still comes and goes, and last night the IV site became pink and I experienced some tingling and numbness in that hand that came and went and is gone today. Now my stomach is a little "grumbly," but not sure if that's one of the SE or not. I also have a sore throat and since the EC have been experiencing alternating dry eyes/watery eyes. Of course, I'm tired now too!
I see my MO this afternoon for a follow-up following Taxol #1 but I'm hoping this is as bad as it gets SE-wise for Taxol other than the expected cumulative fatigue. At least I can say 1 down and 11 to go, right?
Good luck to all the ladies on here, and thank you for your insight and support. I'm ready to move on!
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aeryno- I had a systemic reaction to taxol after my 2nd treatment - same thing - tightness of chest, bright red face, rapid heart beat. Was not at all pleasant. Fortunately it only happened the once. Good luck with your next treatment!!
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