TNBC's that are on Carboplatin and Taxotere?

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Titan- Thank You and Amen!

    Puddin' 

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  • swiftbird
    swiftbird Member Posts: 177
    edited April 2010

    puddingirl84, I read that one of dex's side effects is specifically "worsening of diabetes." I wonder if they can put you on an alternative for your next round? I take it only the two days after my treatment ~ but I don't have your blood sugar issues so not fair to compare.  But the fagitue SE is interesting; I thought it was all from either neulasta shot or chemo. So many moving parts to think about, hard to differentiate one from the other sometimes. So frustrating. Scary you lost so much weight so fast. Wow. Thinking happy thoughts for you. 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Hi all- I spoke too soon last time about light at the end of the tunnel. At approximately 10:00pm last night the SE from the neulasta shot kicked in. All I can say is, that is probably why God started to let me see some light. The pain literally kicked my ass for a solid 12 hours. It could have been a scene from Rosemary's Baby. It kicked me in my tailbone for 12 hours exactly, like it was on a timer.Thump! Thump! All night long! Needless to say I did not sleep last night, even after taking the xanax. It was worse than being in labor. When it got tired of kicking my ass it stopped, just suddenly stopped. I would describe this experience as truly demonic. I thought I was near death, for sure. So we are fighting breastcancer, trying to tolerate chemo, and now this, new thing. I thought this was supposed to be the "good" medicine. 

    I did manage to go in for my counts and hydration today. The sun felt good on my face. They told me my counts are stable, but my potassium is a little low. I guess I'm happy I don't need to be transfused. I did say to them, "If I am so stable, then why is it I still feel like crap?" I'm sitting here wondering what's going to come next. Maybe I should be positive, isn't that what people say to you when they can't think of anything else to say?

    Puddin' 

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  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited April 2010

    Pudding...not going to tell you to be positive because that Nuelasta shot SUCKS!  And  you have every right to whine about it..I know I did.....!   I had to endure 24 hours of pain from that thing; hopefully you won't have any more pain....but I just knew every time I got that stupid thing what was going to happen a few hours later....

    As you can tell I still freak out about that shot and it has been almost 6 months! 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Titan- They really should have told me how severe the pain was going to be. I might have been able to prepare myself maybe? Nope. There was no getting prepared for that SOB!!!! I'm still sort of ticked off about it. 

    I got my taste buds back, but I was so greedy that I ate hot soup before it cooled off and scorched my tongue. So I have given up and just decided to eat oatmeal forever. It is a waste of money to buy food if you can't taste it. 

    PS:What are you supposed to do while the shot is running it's course? Can you get drunk? Isn't this what the medical marijuana is supposed to be for? If the pain becomes unbearable next time I will drive myself to the ER and let them drug me.

    Puddin' 

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  • Carolina59
    Carolina59 Member Posts: 232
    edited April 2010

    Hi Puddin',

    I was treated with taxotere, carboplatin (and Herceptin) 2 1/2 years ago. I was not given Emend for my 1st tx, and I lost 10 lbs. in a week. I called the dr. every day to say the anti-nausea meds were not working. (They did finally prescribe THC--the active ingredient in marijuana. I didn't take it bec. a friend gave me the real thing, and I felt like I could control the dose better that way. More on this later.)

    Anyway, I finally went to the cancer ctr. after a week--I felt like a waif in my clothes, even my shoes felt too big--and my infusion nurse took one empathic look at me and I started crying. She gave me hydration and I felt better almost immediately. Thereafter they gave me Amend, and I went in for hydration after every tx.

    I had the Neulasta shot after every tx. I didn't have a hard time with it, but I was told that taking Claritin the day before, the day of, and the day after can help with bone pain and other SE's. I never needed it.

    I found out (on bc.org) that the reason I was crashing emotionally (into an abyss) after every tx was because I was going off the decodron too abruptly. Unfortunately I didn't read this until after my 4th tx, but I was much better after txs 5 & 6, when I weaned off more slowly. I don't know if you can do this since it mucks up your blood sugar levels.

    The marijuana was the only thing that alleviated the feeling 3-6 days post tx that I was VIBRATING from the chemicals (or whatever). I felt like a tuning fork that just kept vibrating. No other med alleviated this symptom.

    I see no one has posted to this thread in a while. I hope you're all doing okay. 

    Best, Carolina

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  • Sugar77
    Sugar77 Member Posts: 2,138
    edited April 2010

    Puddin' - I had the Neulasta shot 24 hours after each round of Taxotere/Cytoxan. I learned about taking Claritan (the allergy medicine) for bone pain, here on one of the threads.  Anyway, I asked my Onc and he was fine with me taking it. I took Claritan on the day of the needle and for the next four days (one pill per day) each round and never had any bone pain.  I had a prescription for Tylenol 3's for the pain and never needed to take any.  If you Google "Neulasta+bone pain"...you'll find a lot of comments from cancer patients who have tried it. All the best!

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  • yellow
    yellow Member Posts: 15
    edited April 2010

    Hi,

    im 32 and diagnosed with stage3c tnbc. My oncologist put me on carbo/ taxol every 3rd week but everyweek on taxol. when i would get taxol alone i was fine no problem what so ever but both together i would get sick that would last about 3days being the worst and week to get back to normal.  During that worst time i would not want to drink anything at all water was the worst thing. I would get constipated. lost all my hair. my tumor was huge 7cm but i responded so well they all were amazed. good luck!

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Hi all- I hope you guys have missed me. I am just coming out of my chemo coma. Second was on April 15th. No Neulasta pain yet this time, but saw a little blood in my urine the first couple of days. Covering onc called in Bactrim which I never had to use because it cleared up by itself. Took the Emend again this time. Absolutely no nausea. Just the feeling of being drained and washed out and not being able to stand up for more than 10 minutes. For seven days! I think it is the coming down off the Dex. It's like crashing. Last time I do remember feeling a lot better after going in for hydration and CBC. I am going in tomorrow. My daughter, who lives in Massachusetts, told me yesterday that she thinks I am having a pity party for myself and that I should snap out of it. I just want someone to hold me while I cry for about an hour. Then I'll feel better. 

    I need lots of hugs everybody.  

    Puddin' 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Carolina59- I'm still here. I'm just sick as hell from this chemo!!!!!!  I've got 4 more to go, and I'm not feeling very encouraged right now. My onc flatly refused to write me a script for medical mj. And it's legal here. What's up with that?

    Puddin' 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Hi all-My daughter now calls it self-loathing. Because I am trying to laugh by making fun of myself.

    My youngest granddaughter turns 4 on Sunday and I am afraid for her and my daughter-in-law's family to lay eyes on me. My right eye started twitching, my hair has only come half-way out, I lost 12 pounds again. I think I look like a real life boogey man. She will probably cry when she sees me and say Mommy! What's happened to Grammy? Why does Grammy look so funny? Oddly enough, that made me laugh. I've lost it, right?

    Puddin' 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Why do you think you have to wait one whole week to go in for hydration? Why can't you go sooner? Why do you have to suffer for a whole week?

    I know what I'm supposed to do. Stay positive.

    Puddin' 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Hi all= I did go in for hydration on Friday and my blood pressure was 80/60, So I am not just sitting here making up stuff, regarding how crappy I feel. After hydration bp went up to 115/72. That's scary isn't it? So I am not whining after all.

    But the the good news is I had lamb chops and a fruit salad for supper tonight, and a bottle of water. I have until May 6th to enjoy this "rise". 

     Puddin' 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Hi all- My son took me out for brunch Sunday afternoon and I noticed that the pancakes and eggs and sausage tasted very bitter even with the syrup all over. 

    What it is I am discovering is the chemo burns the tastebuds. They do rejuvenate quite rapidly but are delicate, so you can't eat foods that are too high in temperature, because the buds burn off quickly once again. I couldn't eat my meal today. It was a result of eating sliced chicken breast that I had heated too high, the day before. The hunger for food as I am in this "rising" phase is so strong that I am not careful. So be careful with soups and hot tea. Even some foods that you think are just lukewarm, might be too high of a temp for those delicate taste buds.

    It's like I'm trying to get in all the good tastes before May 6th comes, and being foolish about it. Maybe I'm just trying to hold on to any kind of quality of life.

    I might just have to switch to cold salads and ice chips for a while.

    The remainder of my hair fell out Sunday morning at 3:00am.

    I did go and see my granddaughter on her 4th birthday and she ran and jumped in my arms when she saw me.

    Puddin' 

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  • ColKel59
    ColKel59 Member Posts: 4
    edited April 2010

    Hey Puddin' - it sounds like we're going through much of the same stuff at almost the same time.  I had my first Taxotere/Carboplatin treatment on April 16th along with the Neulasta shot on the 17th.  I felt pretty good through the weekend until Monday morning when I felt like I'd been kicked numerous times by a horse.  A BIG horse.  And all over the place!  I had taken Claritin-D to help combat the soreness but it didn't seem to help.  This is my second time going through this but that Neulasta this time is not fun but they say it is a really good drug.  By that Thursday, my patient navigator Sharon called to see how I was doing.  I told her what a miserable 3 days I'd had so she had me come in to see the nurse practitioner that afternoon.  I couldn't stop crying the whole time I talked to her and also to my oncologist.  They ended up prescribing an antidepressant, Celexa.  I have never been on antidepressants in my life so it should be interesting.  I just started taking it yesterday.  And today, the first real noticeable strands of my hair started coming out.  I have a friend coming over this weekend to give my dog his spring shave-down, and guess who else is getting a shave too?  Me!  Hang in there, friend..... "this too shall pass". 

    Julie 

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  • ColKel59
    ColKel59 Member Posts: 4
    edited April 2010

    Sorry - I'm trying to get my updated profile info to post.  Here was my original post:

    Hey Puddin' - it sounds like we're going through much of the same stuff at almost the same time.  I had my first Taxotere/Carboplatin treatment on April 16th along with the Neulasta shot on the 17th.  I felt pretty good through the weekend until Monday morning when I felt like I'd been kicked numerous times by a horse.  A BIG horse.  And all over the place!  I had taken Claritin-D to help combat the soreness but it didn't seem to help.  This is my second time going through this but that Neulasta this time is not fun but they say it is a really good drug.  By that Thursday, my patient navigator Sharon called to see how I was doing.  I told her what a miserable 3 days I'd had so she had me come in to see the nurse practitioner that afternoon.  I couldn't stop crying the whole time I talked to her and also to my oncologist.  They ended up prescribing an antidepressant, Celexa.  I have never been on antidepressants in my life so it should be interesting.  I just started taking it yesterday.  And today, the first real noticeable strands of my hair started coming out.  I have a friend coming over this weekend to give my dog his spring shave-down, and guess who else is getting a shave too?  Me!  Hang in there, friend..... "this too shall pass". 

    Julie 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited April 2010

    Hey ColKel59- It's nice meeting you. 

    The last couple of days have been medically uneventful. My appetite is back in full force, but I am very careful about hot foods. Don't want to burn my tongue the last couple of days before my next chemo. I am looking forward to having my Mothers Day meal on the 5th instead of the 9th, because chemo is on the 6th. I focus on good tasting food now because that's all I have to enjoy.

    No hair, side effects of treatment, fighting off depression. This is my third battle.

    The phone wakes me on Thursday the 29th.It is my uncle from New York. He tells me that my baby sister, the love of my life, who is 44 years old has died in her sleep. My heart feels like it is going to explode. I was supposed to die before her. The autopsy hasn't found anything yet. I just don't understand any of this. 

    Puddin' 

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  • puddingirl84
    puddingirl84 Member Posts: 120
    edited May 2010

    Hi all- My baby sister. I think I would describe her as the gift my mom left me when she died suddenly two years ago. "Baby Sis" was found in the same bed that my mother died in. It's like Mommy came to get her. She had lived with Mommy all her life never marrying or having children. She was 44 years old. 

    The year my mom died in 2008 I spent every weekend and holiday with her. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge holding hands on it's 125th birthday. We saw the July 4th fireworks on the West side of NYC last year. We took beautiful pictures of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. We saw the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. We went to mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral and lit candles for all our loved who have passed on. I'll never forget the afternoon at Madame Toussaud's.Then there was Lord and Taylor, Macy's, and everything in between. We would fight about her wreckless spending, because I wanted the money to last for her as long as possible so that she could retain some independence.

    My time spent with her was always magical. Almost like it was too good to be true. The weather was always nice, we never had to wait too long for a train or a cab. Everything was perfect when we were together. That's why I believed her to be the gift that Mommy left me. I don't think she quite understood the seriousness of my multiple breast cancers, but she tried her best. I tried to prepare her for life just in case this disease took me, so I would give her little pearls of wisdom everytime I spoke to her. We were planning a vacation to Montreal after my last chemo to celebrate.

    We never got the chance to get to her favorite candy store, My Sweet Heaven, last year. She had a serious sweet tooth. And I would fuss at her for not eating enough vegetables.

    Why? Why? Why? I had just come to terms with my disease and probably having to fight it for the remainder of my life, but that was because I had her to look forward to. Her pure, unconditional love is something I will never experience ever again. I want to wake up from this very bad dream.

    How will I get thru my third chemo and her funeral this month? I actually have two chemos this month.  

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