Help!

Still Verticle...my sister in Nova Scotia got extremely ill (like you) on chemo and they had to review how much they were giving her and in fact, they had her weight wrong and were giving her too much for her body size.  It almost killed her.  Once they altred the dose, she managed....just a thought..?

Also, typically even if you are sick, it isn't for the whole time.  Often for a few days after chemo and then you get better between cycles.  But, as Linda wrote above, let your doctor know how sick you are.  Good luck.  I hope you feel better soon.

Still verticle...how are you feeling today?

Those are the worst days after chemo. hopefully you start feeling good and you will. believe me you will. Let your DR know how poorly you are feeling. Let them know everything.

Since you have sores in your mouth always use an straw to drink .

Hugs

Sheila

StillVerticle, are you really throwing up?  You keep saying "barf".  You should not be nauseous, much less throwing up, especially on Taxotere & Cytoxan.  If you are vomiting, you do need to talk to your onco about a good anti-nausea drug.

revkat and I went through Taxotere & Cytoxan at the same time.  As I'm sure she would tell you, there were a bunch of us who all stuck together and leaned on each other via the Taxotere & Cytoxan thread.

Quit saying you are "old".  I was 56 when I had chemo (2008).  My oncologists (both of 'em) said one reason why they thought I should get chemo (besides my Oncotype score of 26) was the fact that I was "young".  I don't think it's any tougher on women in their mid-50's than on younger women.

But, chemo is different for every one of us.  The most important thing is to try to stay flexible.  Although you can sometimes predict what will happen during round #2 based on what you experienced in round #1, that's not always how things happen.  Being "out of it", sleeping all day, feeling like cr*p, aching all over, not having an appetite for anything... those are all pretty typical when someone is on chemo.  You are being infused with two highly toxic drugs, because you have cancer (or at least your docs are worried there's a chance you already have cancer cells in other organs of your body). 

This is not easy for anyone.  The people who boast that they "worked throughout chemo" are bragging.  Read between the lines -- they took off work the day of their infusion, and half of the next day, and then they worked at home for 2 days while they fought the worst of the bone and muscle pain, and yes the diarrhea and mouth sores made it hard to work so they "took it easy" on the job...  I think there were very few people who didn't change their lives at all during chemo.  Our docs sometimes give us the best side of things because they don't want us anticipating problems that we aren't going to have.

I really do think it would help you to lurk awhile on the Taxotere and Cytoxan thread, where you will find women going through exactly the same thing at the same time.  But, I won't suggest that, because you are perfectly welcome to read or post wherever you want on these boards. 

otter 

Aw, yuk!  Beergirl, you never mentioned the throwing-up-in-your-son's-car part before, did you???

I had an anti-nausea drug (Zofran) and an antihistamine (Zyrtec or Zantac, they traded off), along with Decadron (dexamethasone), as pre-med infusions before every TC treatment.  The Zyrtec (H1 blocker) and Zantac (H2 blocker) didn't make me sleepy like Benadryl would.  Some days, I'd have enjoyed the nap.  My day-after-chemo pattern included a very slight yucky feeling -- not really nausea, more like queasiness.  My onco distinguished between "queasy", which she didn't worry about, from "nauseous", which she treated.

The thing that made me the most uncomfortable during the week after each TC infusion was indigestion/gastric reflux.  It was horrible.  Until we got that under control (with OTC Prilosec), I was miserable.  The severe indigestion contributed to almost-nausea, lack of appetite, diarrhea, ... a whole host of things.

Call your onco, if you haven't done so already. 

otter 

Stillverticle:  You may be having some kind of allergic reaction to the chemo.  I was allergic to Cytoxan, and had a horrible hives reaction after my third treatment.  Hugely swollen all over, covered with raised welts and hives, and unbearable itching.  I was prescribed prednisone.  For my last treatment they only gave me the Taxotere, and that was administered very slowly.  If it is not an allergy, then they may be able to try some other anti-emetics to control the nausea and vomiting.  I did not have either of those throughout my treatments, but I was exhausted!  Many days could not even get out of my chair to get a glass of water.  I would just sit there waiting for someone to come home and do it for me.  It was bad.  I got the benadryl, decadron, and emend.  Also got the neulasta shot the day after chemo (which resulted in some bone pain).

I've also heard of women who worked throughout their chemo, and I don't know how they did it.  I was out on disability for 7 months following my surgery due to some complications (infection) and the chemo.  The fatigue was debilitating.  But everyone reacts differently.  I did have some good days, too.  Every day was different for me.

I'm sure your onc has some alternatives for you.  Please don't give up on the chemo yet.  Hugs to you.