Diarrhea and cramping going on 7 days

Nursemom63

Hi

Had my first chemo Thursday Feb 8 lasted 6 hours. Herceptin/Perjeta then Taxotere and Carboplatin. Last Monday stomach pain processing to diarrhea. I put myself on probiotics. But the abdominal cramping and diarrhea continue. I can't live on Imodium. Can't go out any place unless I really plan ahead. Dr mentioned diarrhea but I didn't expect this much.

BellasMomToo

Your experience is pretty common. Keep in mind that your first dose of H&P should be much higher than your subsequent doses and since diarrhea is a SE of Perjeta, I think that's why it can be pretty bad after the first dose. I had really bad diarrhea after my first dose. So bad that I wore adult diapers for fear that I would have an accident. Imodium didn't work for me and I had to get a prescription from my MO to control the diarrhea.

After my 2nd dose of TCHP the diarrhea improved, but then the constipation started and I alternated between diarrhea/constipation. The Imodium helped, but it became a real balancing act between managing diarrhea and constipation. My MO recommended "Smooth Move" tea for the constipation. It taste like dirt, but it worked for me.

Hang in there.

mustlovepoodles

Nuremom, I had diarrhea from the first day of chemo. It was baaad at times. I did, in fact, live on Immodium for a while there. I'm a community health nurse, so I did home visits all over the state. I knew every gas station and McDonalds on I-75, I-20, and I-85. Not. Even. Kidding.

I had hoped it would get better after chemo was finished, but it did not. There were times that I barely made it to a bathroom. Finally, I saw a GI specialist. Colonoscopy didn't show anything unusual, thankfully, so he chalked it up to colitis brought on by the chemo. He put me on Welchol, an old cholesterol drug whose main side effect is constipation.

OMG! That stuff was a miracle. I went from having 8-12 loose stools a day to almost normal stools every other day. Only after the diarrhea was controlled did I understand the grip it had over my life. I took Welchol for about 9 months, until I didn't need it anymore. I still get occasional diarrhea, but I haven't needed to take anything for it in almost a year.

Best of luck to you. Diarrhea can be debilitating. Don't feel you have to go it alone.