Perjeta & antibiotic BAD SE, help please

sweetp6217

So, I tried to post a message on a really old thread about perjeta side effects, but got no reply. Here goes. I'm currently on day 8 of my second of six TCHP cycles/infusions. After the first, I had more than a week of big D and Imodium wasn't really helping. I lost 1.5 days of work which really puts me in a bind since I'm out of sick days.

I already thought of just going on short term leave (for up to six months if necessary) but it won't work out for me. Our hours were cut something major and I'm lucky to get 24 hours work in a week. Leave will only give me 60% of pay. So, 60% of 24 hours is like working 2 days out of the week. Who can live on that as a bread winner?

Anyway, I told my hemo/oncologist that I wasn't going to be able to go forward with Perjeta as planned (for a year). My doctor got amnesia (I still have his handwritten notes) and said that Perjeta was for 6 infusions, not a year. I received a prescription for Lomotil that I picked up after the D stopped the first time. So he told me to get ahead of it and start taking Lomotil and imodium (alternately) before it starts. I did, but a couple slipped through but I was fine after the AM. He said keep taking it until you think it's all done or I haven't gone for a couple of days. I did stop and today I had 8 watery Ds, all the while trying to drink as much water as I could. NO fever. I started up again with the lomotil and imodium, but I am concerned now.

It seems like the mornings are when I pay for whatever I ate (braty or conservative). For the first round, I went totally braty diet for over 10 days and that got REALLY old. Just to keep water appetizing, I have to buy ice to keep it cold. I also drink juice without added sugar, but sparingly. I plan on continuing on (for days) with Lomotil and imodium to see what will happen. In addition, I ended up getting a prescription for an infection that it treated well in 4 days, but it's a 10 day regimen and they told me not to stop. Guess what one of the (rare) worst SE is of Keflex? Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. It also says to try to avoid narcotics or anti-diarrhea medications since it can make the D worse. Really? Even if this is true, the SE with this antibiotic can last for MONTHS. I'd pull my hair out if it hadn't already been all cut off.

Sorry for the rambling, but I don't want to get hooked on the Lomotil or use it endlessly. Can anyone relate?

P.S. I'm not looking for medical advice, just wanting to know if someone else has been or is in the same boat.