Taxol question

I didn't have nose bleeds but I did get sores inside my nose. It stayed dry and hurt some, I just used some spray and it helped. As for the blues part, I don't remember feeling down on Taxol. During A/C I was a mess and during Rads I was a basket case though.

I have just enough of nosebleeds every morning to be very annoying.Humidifier and saline nasal spray helps some, but I think I would like to know more about the gel.

Kimber--maybe two things going on for you. My nose has been bleeding a bit the last couple of days, too and I haven't had taxol since 2003! The humidity is so low right now, unusually so for the South, and the air is dry and cold. My nose lining has had trouble adjusting to this artic air. I've increased the humidity in the house (by boiling water) and I seem better.

Kimber-

I've now done 8 of 12 Taxols. After the first Taxol I hardly felt anything and I remember being really disappointed after number 3 that I was feeling so bad. I was afraid that it would just continue getting worse. Well, when I started thinking about it, I realized that it probably takes about 3 weeks for the effects of the Taxol to leave our bodies. So even though we are getting a 1/3 dose each week, we still have the Taxol from 2 weeks ago and 1 week ago in our bodies affecting us. Our bodies aren't getting the "full dose" until the third Taxol. This is just my own private reasoning, but it did seem to make sense with how I felt. I haven't felt any worse after the third or fourth Taxol. It goes up and down each time- maybe related to how much I work or rest. It doesn't seem to be cumulative in my case.

And the nose!!! That has been a real plague for me! My nose gets clogged up absolutely constantly with bloody, crusty gunk that drives me crazy! Whatever comes out of my nose is always bloody but I have only had a few real "bloody noses". It seems to me that it is only the top layer of skin inside the nose that is raw and is constantly trying to make a scab. Sorry if this is way TMI.... Anyway, I generally wake up in the morning with both nostrils completely clogged and breathing through my mouth. This is, for sure, my most irritating SE, but it hasn't gotten any worse after the first few weeks. 

I remember after 3 treatments thinking it was going SO slowly and that I would never get through it. Well, all of a sudden I had done 8 and I can now see the end of the tunnel. You'll see, now that you are in the swing of things, those treatment days will just sneak up on you and seem to fly by! 

Kimber...I finished 12 weeks of Taxol two weeks ago.   I never had a bloody nose, but my nose was often very dry and sometimes was so plugged up that I had to breathe through my mouth (mainly at night).  I used Afrin nasal spray and it worked to open up the plugged feeling and, at least temporarily, relieved the dryness. 

I found that consistently on Day 3 after TX I felt really down.  I didn't experience this on AC and am normally not a "down" person.  It was so consistent that I attribute it to the Taxol.  I didn't take anything for it because it normally passed after that day or so.  I might add that Day 3 was also the day I was most tired...so perhaps the tiredness contributed to feeling down. 

Patty

Kimber ...funny thing happened to me my nurse was in on her weekly visit..."So any ses to report?"...bam nose bleed ,right in front of her !!I had one more after that this was while i was on AC.

Treatment blues oooh yeea ...if i remember correctly about day 4 after chemo ...the floodgates opened and very blue and teary...put it down to roid crash !!

ml c

I have daily nosebleeds along with night congestion.  It started with the first Taxol.  I am three weeks from my last Taxol.  My onc says it is not concerning unless the nosebleeds do not stop after a few minutes.  Ug.  It is sooo annoying.

I get the bloody nose as well. My onc said saline spray was fine to use and my naturopath gave me a cream that I use with a little q-tip. It all helps tremendously.

Not sure if this helps, but even with major exercise there are days the week after treatment that I am down. I am not going to use the word depressed...don't want to give that any energy

But I started attibuting it to the chemo. I keep a journal, and I started noticing that the clouds always lifted after a few days. So I keep those pages marked to remind myself that these feelings pass and are not "me", but the drugs. I only have 2 treatments left, almost didn't get chemo this week with my counts being so low and I am just ignoring all se's as much as I can...HANG IN THERE!!!!     

Don't discount the "late midwinter" factor either.  This is a time of year that people in normal life are affected by lack of sunlight and get depressed.

I haven't had any depression or fog throughout treatment.  I could be jinxing myself here.  Now, I do seriously drag on Days 3 and 4 of Taxol.  Wouldn't call it depression but sure don't do anything with any enthusiasm.  Also quite achy in my knees and shin bones.

I did notice that I am super sensitive to sugar in the morning.  My building had a get-together for residents the other day and all I had was orange juice and a small slice of very sweet coffee cake.  I went into a major sugar crash.  Fortunately, was able to eat enough protein to stabelize my system prior to the Skype interview for some consulting work I had later.

I also think it helps that I was post menopausal going in so have less hormonal havoc.  BTW - you guys will all be missing the PMS in your 40s fun, so there is a silver lining here.

As for the achiness, well I am normally aching from some sports injury anyway.  Nothing from the whole BC experience has hurt nearly as much as my injured shoulder did a year ago.  Right now my butt and thighs are aching from the hills I cycled yesterday.  I wasn't able to do them with AC, and was thrilled yesterday when I could.

I will have my last Taxol in something like 7 weeks.....itchy to be done right now.

Right now, have to watch being blue.....but blue language as I am doing my first project in Office 2007 and nothing works as I think it should.  At least not the big project coming right up after this one!