TCHP (Hell??!!!)

SunnyMama7

Dear Knowledgeable,

I had my first Chemo on May 2, a week ago and I`m still feeling LOUSY.

I got hit right away with nausea; Saturday the Neulasta pain made it`s debut, just to be followed by the"D" on Sunday and more nausea, fatigue and weakness during the week.

I`m unable to eat, and I`m starting to worry. ( How on earth i`m going to make it for the next round?!!) Taking Zofran and Compazin.

I`m a Teacher and I was planning to go back to work after taking off 3 days. Am I the only one in this situation? My MO says he usually doesn't see that much nausea under TCHP. Feeling inadequate and frustrated. Any thoughts?

Moderators

Hello, SunnyMama, and welcome to Breastcancer.org!

We're sorry that you're dealing with this side effect, but we're glad you found such a wonderful community for information and support. We hope someone will be by shortly to weigh in with their experiences and advice. In the meantime, you can find some good tips to reduce your nausea on the main Breastcancer.org site's side effect page on Nausea.

We hope this helps! Look forward to hear more from you soon!

The Mods

DiagnosisDisruption

I had TCHP x 6 and I teach at an elementary school. I had chemo on Tuesday, was back to work Monday for the first three chemos, then Tuesday through Tuesday for the last three (although I think I was bored once and went back a day earlier.)

I had awesome premeds. The Zofran drip lasted three days. I would not start my Zofran pills until Thursday night and kept taking them all weekend. I was a teeny bit nauseous but not enough I would tingle or throw up. For Nuelasta, I took Claritan every day. I also usually have allergies so this was no big deal. Bonus, zero allergies during summer season! I kept eating, kept drinking, kept napping, kept walking, even when I didn't feel like. I basically zombied out for a week.

While I did go back to work a week after infusion, co-workers really helped me out. I still felt like I was walking through cotton. They would remind me where I needed to be, when, handing me my radio as we went. I would constantly forget stuff - like the word "pencil". I basically floated through five months of chemo and have no idea what went on around me. I came home and would go to bed. It would get better the week before infusion and then start over. Keep a side effect or "feelings" journal. It was fairly consistent.

I am a year out exactly from my last chemo and all is mostly normal for me. Still working on getting back the stamina, but I'm a bit of an overachiever and figured it should have been back an hour after my last infusion. Dur. I am about 75%, headed toward 90% January 2020. Bonus: No Evidence of Disease!

hapa

Sunny - are you getting steroids? I agree with your MO that sounds like a lot of nausea and I did not have it nearly that bad on TCHP.

SunnyMama7

I'm getting steroids at night the day before, with the prep meds and the morning after.

Nausea unset was soon as they gave me the Carboplatin.

I also took the Claritin throughout the week.

Today I finally woke up feeling almost like myself, I think I was just taken aback that it takes a good week to be back on track.

Fairchild

Please call your oncologist. I was on the same chemo, and my oncologist said only about 25% of his patients can work on this, and then only if they have a really supportive boss. I didn't work on it-- I was just too sick. Nausea and vomiting. My doc said to call him if I vomited even once, so I called right away. He saw me a week later, and by then I thought I might be dying. I've never felt so sick. Lots of pain. He lowered the dose he was giving me, loaded me up with nausea meds, and put me on pain meds at a pretty high level. It was hard, but I got through it. The changes in dose and extra meds really helped. Still, I lost about 40 lbs during the 6 rounds. You will be able to do it, but ask for all the help you need, including from your doctor. Praying for you!

Beesy_The_Other_One

Sunny,

Not disputing anything said above (and I would call your oncologist because of the severity of the symptoms), but by far my worst experience was after the first TCHP and I learned later they gave me a "loading dose." Don't know if everyone gets this, but the theory behind that is the tumor has never been exposed to chemo and you get a lot of bang for your buck, so to speak. The other five rounds were better. Diarrhea was by far the worst for me the first round, and the only time I had any nausea (really, queasiness, in fairness) was the first round also. They had told me the effects could be cumulative, so even my husband, other family and friends wondered what I'd be like by six, but that wasn't the case at all. I always describe it as if my body realized it was being poisoned and it fought back a little harder.

Hoping things pick up for you,

Beesy

Gonnabeatthis

I’m on TCHP now (5 of 6 coming up Tuesday). I am fortunate I don’t have to work through the treatment. I’ve suffered from nausea and diarrhea every cycle so far, some lasting 4-5 days to a week and a half. I also got a loading dose on my first chemo and it was my second and fourth rounds where I had more prolonged symptoms. My third round was my easiest so far. My oncologist told me to schedule my nausea meds (I have 3 different ones) for every 6-8 hours beginning the day following my treatment for 3-4 days. (she told me it’s okay to take all three of them throughout the day - if the first one doesn’t work, take the second type even if it’s only been 2 hours). I started doing that during the second week of symptoms last time and it worked. The trick is to start taking them before you start to feel nauseas. I’m going to start this on Wednesday next week - I hope I have an easier time!

Good luck!