THRUSH AND TAXOTERE....PLEASE HELP

bethen

Hi Everyone

I feel like I can't take this anymore.  I have such bad thrush in my mouth and digestive tract that I can't even hold down water right now.  I am using Nystatin, but having a difficult time swallowing it, and the taste is disgusting, makes me just gag and heave.  Last Wed. I had number 4 or 6 Taxotere and Herceptin infusions, and everytime the thrush and mouth sores get worse, I am ready to give up on this.  I just want my life back.  I did Taxotere five years ago and did have thrush, but not to this degree, of course I was five years younger and maybe more naive.  I don't think I have it in me anymore for the last two treatments and the SE's of this thrush and pain.  Does anyone have any suggestions for the thrush, I think that for me it is the worst SE at this point.

Thanks

Betsy

BarbaraA

Ask your Onc for an anti-fungal that won't interfere w/Taxotere. I am subject to thrush normally and have basically changed my diet so I don't have to keep taking Diflucan. I know when you're doing chemo, it's hard to eat anything anyway so changing your diet is not an option but the Onc should be able to give you something to knock it out.

revkat

I had thrush badly with TC. The first round the on-call oncologist prescribed Nystatin and it was just as you describe -- gagging and heaving, and in my case, much crying. The next time I saw my onco I said "I cannot believe that Nystatin is the only thing you can give me for this and I think it is too much to expect someone going through chemo to swish and swallow something so disgusting." And I cried some more. End of story -- I left with a prescription for fluconazole -- a tablet. Worked great and without the icky stuff. Don't let them make you suffer with Nystatin! (just realized that fluconazole is the generic for Diflucan that Barbara mentioned.)

ktym

Betsy, hugs, boy I had the same problem.  I did both diflucan and nystatin S&S starting a day before the steroids started.  A few other things helped just as much.  I got 2 toothbrushes that I threw away and replaced after the thrush went away on each cycle.  After each time you use them wash them with 1:1 mixture of warm water and vinegar.  Make sure they thoroughly air dry before you use them again.  It helps kill the fungus off the brushes and keeps you from recolonizing yourself.  By alternating between 2 brushes it is easier to make sure they are thoroughly dry. Be careful of reusing water bottles glasses etc, anything that isn't drying out well and could be a source for recolonizing.  The other thing that helped was after brushing my teeth (and my tongue) but BEFORE the nystatin I used Oragel antiseptic mouth sore rinse.  It bubbles a lot and you don't want to use it if your mouth or tongue have open sore areas from the thrush, but, otherwise, it does cut through some of the white grunge so the nystatin can actually get into the tissues to do some good.  My onc told me the steroids are the culprit causing thrush not the chemo, so we cut down on the steroids as much as we dared.  It all helped. Didn't completely get rid of it, but, it did help.  The thrush is miserable, hope you get some relief.

Beach

Betsy,

I see you are from Toronto, as am I.  If you are being treated at Mt. Sinai or Princess Margaret both of their pharmacies have a mouthwash for thrush which was developed by a doctor.....and it works!  It's called "Blackstein Mouthwash #2" and your onc should know about it and be able to give you a prescription.  I had thrush in my mouth and throat last year and I found this to be the most effective.  Also, once it cleared up and right after subsequent tx, I gargled with baking soda and water, which helped to prevent it from coming back.  Hopefully you are able to get this and it gives you some relief....this is a nasty se!!!  Best to you!!

((( ))) Sandy

Kathy044

NIce to see  you had good support in Toronto Betsy. When I called up the chemo nurse to report that I had thrush I was told to have my family doctor have a look at it to make sure it was thrush - which took an extra day before I was able to start treatment. Arggg.

Anyway I loved the Nystatin, took away some of the pain (well at for 15 minutes at least) after each treatment and tasted better than the water and other food and drink I was trying to get in me. I wonder if the others taking Nystatin were taking the same thing? I was taking a generic oral suspension made by Ratiopharm Inc. Canada, for infants and children, The label says it contains sucrose. Anyway it worked.

I have another tip I would like to mention. When I told my family doctor that I was having digestive problems eating, she suggested I try plain yogurt (not the kind with live bacteria or pro biotics) to help adjust pH levels. She suggested getting the full fat yogurt because I needed the calories. I'd never liked plain yogurt in the past, but you know, this turned out to be one food that I was able to eat some of, and the smoothness made my mouth feel better, so that I was able to follow up with  other selected foods (like chicken) after and ended up having the yogurt at the start of each meal 3X a day. (Except for the three days with hospital meals, but that's another story - oh and the hospital provided Nystatin those days so I had some of mine own left over to head off the beginning of thrush during the next two chemos)

Kathy