Abraxane
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Ladies,
I am on three weeks of abraxane/herceptin one week off at a lower dose. I have to go back to work (I am a teacher) because I will run out of sick days. I am going back next week. Has anyone worked full time on this? I am very nervous. I am fatigued, get shaky, and my legs are weak. I also get bloody noses. Any tricks to handle this? Thanks in advance!
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Lisa, I worked during chemo, however, my infusions were weekly on Monday’s, so I only worked Tues-Fri. SE’s were manageable but I very careful to avoid getting sick from coworkers. For the bloody nose, I recommend Ayr nasal gel nightly to help with the dryness.
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I have been working full time on Abraxane for over 6 months. I try not to schedule important meetings or presentations the few days every cycle that I am really pounded (I am on a different dosing schedule - every 3 weeks.). It is an easier schedule to manage with work only needing to be out for an afternoon every 3 weeks. I get infusion Fri afternoon, last appointment and have the weekend to rest before going back to work. Also, the body is less forgiving missing sleep. It doesn’t have enough time to repair itself with any sleep deficit. I have insomnia and struggle with that one but notice a huge difference in my body aches, neuropathy, etc when I do actually get sufficient sleep. Saline spray for nose bleeds. I use every morning and evening and it keeps my nose bleeds away although my nasal passages are super dry.
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I worked too, although I used Uber to drive to work (1 hour drive) if I needed it. If you do Friday infusions like JFL it's doable and you can rest over the weekend. I had weekly doses for 5 1/2 mos. Wishing all ladies on A-train the best of luck.
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JFL, How was your first scan after Abraxane and are the TM's falling? You must be doing quite well if you are on your sixth month. Thanks for the saline spray advice, I went and got some today and also bought Claritin for the nose drip.
Lalady, going to PM you.
Robin
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Hi Robin! I have high hopes that Abraxane will continue to help you. Any luck on convincing the doctor to give you the transfusion?
My first PET at the three month mark was good, shrinking lesions in my liver and only a few small areas with mild metabolic activity. The 6 month PET recently showed even lower metabolic activity but in a slightly larger area. I just had a my MO appointment on Friday and we decided to keep me on Abraxane for now but watch carefully. He said it could have been a scan overread . . . or that I am starting to become resistant. My tumor markers, AST/ALT, bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase have all been continuing to decrease on Abraxane. In the past, the alkaline phosphatase has tracked my progression even when the other levels did not and my alkaline phosphatase is low for me. Hoping that is a good sign but not banking on anything. I am going to try to stay on Abraxane at least until I do Y90. After that, I am not sure. The cumulative side effects are something I am weighing as well. I don't know how much is too much with the neuropathy.
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JFL, I am please to say that Abraxane is still working for me. TM"S are continuing to lower and even dropped 74 points after my week off of no chemo. I pray I can get at least 6 months out of it. Glad to say red blood cells came up, so no need for a transfusion.
Have you acquired any neuropathy or are you just worried about it. I am going to start icing my fingers and toes due to a recommendation from my second opinion at Vandy.
Im glad your doing good it makes me smile.
Robin
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Robin, I do have neuropathy, the worst of it in my feet, but it is still manageable. I take daily vitamin B complex sublingual drops which seems to make a huge difference. I initially started taking them on the worst days each cycle but now take them nearly every day. I also try to remain active and try to work out when I can, even if I can't handle much and don't exercise as much as I did when I began Abraxane. I heard that exercise helps neuropathy (even though it can be hard to get oneself to move!) so I try to barrel through it. I work full time and take 4 flights of stairs to my office as well. I have continued to wear high heels at work but have noticed lately I have to be more and more careful and not walk my usual fast pace to prevent the occasional wobble or stumble. I notice the neuropathy gets worse when I get a lack of sleep, which is shamefully often for me, and improves when I get a good night's sleep. You should definitely look into icing. I have heard great things about it. If I weren't doing the cold caps on my head, I would look into it.
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B vitamins help my neuropathy, too. I wanted to pop in and mention GABA Calm for neuropathy also. I get it at Amazon. I put two tablets under my tongue to dissolve when I go to bed, and I take one before I leave for chemo in the morning. This totally gets my onc's approval, btw. She prescribed gabapentin when my neuropathy got to the scary level, but I could NOT take that-- made me feel horrid and besides I was worried about the potential effects on brain synapses, so I asked her if I could try GABA instead. She was all for it. It helps me sleep and I do believe it's holding down the neuropathy. It is much improved from where it was last fall.
I'm a Taxol gal, as you can see, but I follow along here because Abraxane is so similar. Back to lurking, LOL.
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hi, has anyone have nail problems during Abraxane treatment? How do you treat the them? My cousin was on low dose abraxane and xeloda combo, because of side effects on nails she has to pause Abraxane for a few months. Now it’s been about a month since she shopped Abraxane (still xeloda), her nails are not getting better - smell funny, fluid coming under nails, a couple ones are falling.
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Hi,
I had the exact thing happen when I was on taxatore which is in the same family as abraxane. I am now on abraxane and am getting shellac mancures hoping to protect them. Unfortunately, it is one of the side effects of the taxanes. She should be careful when doing chores and wear gloves when cleaning, doing dishes, ect.
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Maybe you want to try tea tree oil for your nails. When I was on Texotere, which is one of Taxanes, my Onc prescribed using tea tree oil on nails everyday. I bought one small bottle with a brush in the cap just like nail polish from a health food store. Applied daily several times to my finger and toe nails, and my nails remain healthy throughout six treatments of Texotere. Later I gave the tea tree oil to a friend going through various chemo treatments, she claimed that tea tree oil helped her nails too.
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kidmanliang, yes, I had nail problems too, sounds like there’s an infection under the nail. I took some antibiotics prescribed by the MDA skin specialist, used gloves when cleaning and taped my nails (not around my fingertips but over the nail knuckle to knuckle) so I wouldn’t catch the tips on anything. I lost most of one nail and the others healed.
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Kidmanliang, I haven't had the nail issue yet but my doctor asks me about my nails when he is deciding whether to keep me on the drug. It is a more serious issue and one that kicks in later. I hope she can get some relief.
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Has anyone iced the fingers and toes to avoid neuropathy and did it work?
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Robin, I'm on a taxane and I have been icing weekly for 14 months. I do think it helps.
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lulubee, thanks I will start doing it this week treatment #5
Robin
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Thank you so much for all of the information and suggestions! Cling, do you mind sharing the brand of the tea tree oil? Illimae, she pets her cats very often, and I will try to stop her from doing that without gloves.
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There are many tea tree oil brands, my Onc just prescribed the tea tree oil to protect the nails. However, I found Jason tea tree oil has the small bottle with a brush just like a regular nail polish. That’s what I used on my fingers and toes as many times as I can remember everyday. The results for 2 past chemos are no infections and no breaking nail.
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@Cling, thank you
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Does anyone get weak legs from abraxane? I get shaky too when I try to do clean the house. I am supposed to go back to work Friday (teacher). I am worried. Also, is 2 weeks on and one week off effective? Thanks.
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lisajo, I get weak legs on Abraxane but part of it was due to low red blood cells. I had a blood transfusion yesterday and noticed a big difference. Are you red cells good?
Robin
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No they are not. He doesn't want to give me a transfusion quite yet. This is my off week, so next week I am going to insist. This is ridiculous. I don't feel like I have much QOL! Glad you got a transfusion and feel better.
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Lisajo, My MO didn't want to give me a transfusion a few weeks ago because my low numbers didn't meant the criteria for a transfusion. I had to get so bad that she finally ordered the transfusion. I really don't see what the big deal is in getting blood when you are low in red cells and are symptomatic. I do hope you feel better and get the transfusion. My hemocrit was 25 yesterday before transfusion.
Hang in there. This is a good drug.
Robin
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Lisa, my legs do get weak. Not like a fatigued muscle but more like the electricity isn't fully making its way down to my legs. They are half plugged in. For me, it is part of the neuropathy.
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I also keep getting bloody noses. Does that happen to anyone? And yesterday I noticed a small area on my chin is numb. I looked it up and it scared me to death. Possible brain mets? If I pinch it it hurts-it is not numb like the dentist office numb. I am a mess. I live on the computer.
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Lisajo6
I also am getting bloody noses. I've tried saline sprays and 'Ayr', it's saline gel that I've put in my nose with a q-tip....helps a little. I've also heard of using Afrin, but haven't tried it yet. I also have had some numb areas on my chin that come and go. I've mentioned that to my oncologist and he doesn't seem concerned. I think it is a side effect of the Abraxane. I've just had my Abraxane dose decreased due to neuropathy in my fingers tips and low neutrophils on the 3 week of the 4 week cycles x2.
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Thank you for responding. I feel better that I am not alone with these weird symptoms. Of course I have sinus issues too. I ordered something online for my nose. I will you know if it works.
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Lisajo, I also have the bloody noses and have been sneezing a lot. I take claritin and use a saline spray.
KPW3, where do you buy the Ayr?
Robin
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Robin, I've found 'Ayr' at the local drug store, actually, I think it was Target and bought it another time at the pharmacy at the hospital. I have also been using Claritin and have tried guaifenesin.
Kim
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