Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin

Omaz

zlota - Taxotere can cause fluid retention, herceptin can affect your heart which can lead to fluid retention in the ankles.  Please point this out to your onc tomorrow, or even call today.

Anniemomofthree

So, with the fluids, do the onco ever prescribe diuretics?

Omaz

As far as I know they do sometimes and sometimes they do help.

Iamstronger

I have had echocardiogram every  3 months.  I had my last echo on 12/10 and my last herceptin on 01/07.  I will then have my final echo in June.

lago

zlota I have been complaining about fluid retention since round 2. It got so bad this time I couldn't zip up my booties. I had no ankles. My onc finally agreed to give me a very low does of a diuretic for 1 month only. I lost 7-8lbs in 2 days after only taking 2 doses (1/2 a pill each time). I can now see my ankles bones/veins in my arms and my stomach is no longer distended.

Nail thing still sucks for me. I'm now 1 month out. I will be seeing my dermatologist today (waiting for them to fit me in) because of what happened to my finger this weekend. Here a picture.  Yes it hurts like hell too. Others are still draining including my toe. Never got brown lines.

----------------------------------

Anniemomofthree

OUCH!!!!!!  I could not imagine that in my brain.  You have helped so many people by warning to use ice. Thank you!  I will send some wishes towards a quick recovery.  It looks so painful...poor thing!!!!!

lago

Annie it does hurt like hell but it hurt worse yesterday and it didn't look as bad… actually looks worse than the picture now but my appointment is in 2 hours. Just need to remove all the nail polish before a go. What a PITA.

I really don't like to "scare" people into doing things but icing the fingers seem so minor. This is rare to get it this bad. So far I have only run into one other person on this forum that has it like this.

IowaSue45

I have to share, I had fluid retention about a week after my last chemo my ankle and feet were huge, I took a pic. with my phone I wish I could upload on here they were big. I took diuretic for 2 weeks it helped right away. 2 months out from chemo and I still feel swelling all over and I still have the extra weight I gained : (

Pollyagain

I am new to the board, although I have been lurking for some time, this is my first post. 

I had a MUGA Scan, CT scan and port placement on Friday.  This coming Thursday I have an appt with my Oncologist followed by chemo if everything is Go.  I am a wreck worrying about the results of the scans.  That's just the way I am. an imaginative worrier, and think I will feel much better when I actually get started on treatment.  It will be the TCH x 6  once every three weeks.  I am so grateful for everyone who posts about the side effects.  I am just short of terrified. 

Omaz

Pollyagain - It is scary to start chemo and to wait for results.  Imaginative worrying, yes, been there and done that!!  When all this started for me I kept a notebook of things and when I found myself worrying about something I would write it down so I didn't have to keep thinking about it.  Also during chemo the notebook was very helpful to track symptoms so I could compare timing of side effects and select the best medication if needed.  Please look into icing your fingers and toes during the taxotere infusions.  I used insulated lunchsacks and frozen peas.  Not everyone gets nail problems with tax but they can possibly be avoided altogether with the icing.  Please come back and tell us how it goes!!!  This group has been great and it such a good source of information for managing the chemotherapy experience.

Here is a link about the nails and frozen glove (docetaxel=taxotere, onycholysis =nail problems):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15994152?dopt=Citation

IowaSue45

Omaz- that is an excellent idea to write down everything even feelings, that is why the message board is so helpful, journaling is great stress release.

Polly I wish you all the best, try not to worry excessively it will not be helpful to your well being.

Has anyone heard of a new treatment for her2 beside herceptin?

dragonfly1

After all the fear of starting TCH, I finally jumped in today! I dreaded the first day of chemo and it turned out to be fine. Thank you everyone for encouraging the port-good move for sure as it is going to make life a lot easier.

My DH was with me for this one and they told me the first one would be really slow to check for reactions. So after checking my blood levels, I had Herceptin first x 90 minutes. Then an infusion of Decadron steroid and Aloxi anti-nausea meds. Then Taxotere x 1 hour and Carboplatin x 1 hour. No reaction!!! I just ended up tired and with a headache (but that's normal for me as I get migraines all the time). I'm being told to take the Decadron steroids for the next two days as well as Compazine tonight and tomorrow. Then I have the Compazine as well as Zofran for nausea as needed. I'm going back for a neulasta shot on Thursday morning.

And now I'm home. I've had a bubble bath, eaten dinner as usual and feel tired but not too bad. I realize that the side effects may arrive in a few days but I'm so happy to finally be counting down the days to the end of chemo. I really do want to fight this with everything available and hopefully never have to do it again! 

Anniemomofthree

Yeah Dragonfly...what a successful day!  No reactions to meds is great!  Hang in there and do not forget to stay ahead of any nausea,  at first signs, take something.  You will do great. 1 down, 5 to go.  Rest, drink your water, and continue with the positive attitude! 

Omaz

dragonfly - Good news!  Do you get neulasta tomorrow?  If so, don't forget to take the claritin or zyrtec for a few days, its helps for some mysterious reason.

LisaGH

Hey Dragonfly- CONGRATS!

I have my first treatment tomorrow morning. Very scared. Started on premeds today. Glad to hear of your success. Hope I'll have as successful a day as you did! Thanks for sharing.

Anniemomofthree

Good Luck LisaGH!  You will do great...there are so many women that have gone before you!  You are in good company. 

Sweet dreams!

lago

dragonfly so glad your day went smoothly!

LisaGH good luck tomorrow. I'm sure you too will do fine.

Omaz

Good luck Lisa!

motherofpatient

IowaSue, it is called lapitinab - spelling may be off cause I can't read my own notes. Onc said it is is in trials caled ALTO Trials. One site is Peachtree Oncology in Atlanta on Howell Mill Road. Rignt now it is considered to be "dual blockcaiding" in future use and is not available outside of a clinical trial.

Because my daughter is triple positve and highly Er and Pr, I plan to bring this up again at her third chemo -I think there are  some genetic tests (MD Anderson 4-19-2010 overexpressing of micro RNA 21 Gene PTEN) that can tell if the herceptin is working. Also a study in Modern Pathology (19 Nov 2010) about the benefits of herceptin decreasing with the increase of tumor expression of ER.

Since the trial is available where she is getting treated, well, I just want to know if we should try this. Dr. Ballard did say that the combination increases the side effects.

nora_az

Dang when I dont log on for awhile there is a lot to catch up on!

Lago, Yeahhhh for the hair regrowth!  Love the Chia Pet statement. I cant wait till I am done and start sprouting again!  The facial hair can stay away though, that is one thing I havent missed!

dragonfly1

After TCH #1 yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible heartburn. I wasn't surprised by that but I also had sudden cold-like symptoms i.e. lots of sneezing, runny eyes, etc. Is this totally normal too? It's no big deal, just wondering if this comes with the territory?

nora_az

HI Dragonfly....

Yes, that is normal.

I have my 5th TCH on Friday. The first three of the treatments I thought I was getting a cold shortly afterwards and I was worried about it. A cold surely cant be good after getting chemo! Then I realized that's just the side effects. As much as they mimicked a real cold, I wasn't getting a cold. I even knew that was a SE but it just seemed so much like an honest to goodness cold!

Take care!

dragonfly1

nora_az: Thanks, that's a relief...it seemed like it had to be a side effect since it happened so quick but I wanted to check since I definitely didn't want a cold during chemo! Glad to hear that you only had it for the first 3-maybe I'll do the same as I adjust:)

lago

Dragonfly is your onc giving you anything for heartburn. Thisn is pretty common and can get really bad if left untreated.

Omaz

Dragonfly - I also got heartburn on the first treatment.  The onc nurse told me that for some people it is hard to tell the difference between heartburn and nausea and that if I took my anti-nausea meds regularly (promethazine) it would help.  I did that on round two and didn't have any more heartburn.  I had never had heartburn before chemo so it seemed plausible to me that I would be confused

lago

Omaz I didn't ever get the nausea. I did have acid reflux issues 3-4 years ago so I knew what heartburn was. Wonder what dragonfly has.

AmyIsStrong

I never had heartburn except ONCE late in one of my pregnancies.

But I had it TERRIBLY from chemo.  After the first chemo, I took an acid reducer (the 24 hour kind like pepcid or protonix or something) the day before chemo and throughout the first week, daily.  Then I didn't even get it. What a relief.  Heartburn HURTS - I had no idea. Taught me to be nicer to DH when he gets it - i always shrugged it off like it was no big deal when he had it before. Oops.

imatthew

my wife has had heartburn about for about 3-4 days after each infusion, but she's been able to get by with tums for relief.

Omaz

I had a lot of nausea and my heartburn didn't hurt so much as being uncomfortable, so the misunderstood nausea probably fit for me.

nora_az

I have had zero nausea and zero heartburn. I haven't exactly felt like eating the first 5 days after chemo but it wasn't because of nausea it was because of a total lack of appetite and food just sounding revolting to me. Strange to not be able to put a finger on it. It's weird to have no appetite without having nausea.