Taxotere/Cytoxan starting February 2012.

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  • ColdenMom
    ColdenMom Member Posts: 114
    edited February 2012

    Shera - even though I had that reaction they responded before it got really bad. I knew something was not right and my husband saw it on my face. They they reacted quick, which was good. My day was long yesterday but kind of what I was anticipating. I arrived at 8:15am for blood work, 8:30am I had my tissue expanders filled, 9:00 I saw my oncologist and 10:15 infusion. At around 10:45am they started premeds and told me the infusion would take about 3-3.5 hours. I finished up right at 3:15 - it took longer because of my reaction and they really slowed the drip of Taxotere and watched closely for SE. But I was good after the IV steroid.



    I was fine the remainder of last night, if anything I was tired because I woke up at 3am and never went back to sleep. I think I was just anxious about my first infusion. I was a little tight from the tissue expansion last night so I took Tylenol PM and slept until 8:30am!!! I am up and moving around this morning. I took my supplements, oral steroid and Claritan. Now drinking water.



    I'm gals to hear that everyone else is doing good too... It's all of our positive energy! Silvia - wow still 50% of your hair!!! Nice! Doesn't the leg hair stink...?!? I had to shave the entire time I wen through ABVD 9 years ago... Weird.



    Have a good day all!

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  • AnnTop
    AnnTop Member Posts: 70
    edited February 2012

    Gobucks, you are more than welcome here. I'm so sorry about your hospital stay. A week after my first TX, I developed a 101.4 fever on a Friday night (during BC nadir) and was terrified I'd have to go to the ER. In my case I was lucky -- I had no other symptoms and the MO phoned in an antibiotic RX to my pharmacy, and after taking Tylenol, the fever went away. But I did have to take the Nuelasta shot after TX 2 (2 weeks ago). Took Claritin the day of and day after the shot and had no significant SEs from it, and got no fever spike this time around. Hope you get to go home soon, if you're not already there.

    Silvia, another place to add information -- like your TX schedule -- is in the signature line of your profile. The December 2011 TC group did this, and it made it lots easier to know when folks were going in for their next TX.

    Best to everyone!

    Ann

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  • Kim48
    Kim48 Member Posts: 73
    edited February 2012

    Go bucks,



    Welcome to our group. There are so many caring people here. You are not alone.



    I hope you are doing better and your counts are up. Keep us posted.



    Kim :)

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  • firstcall
    firstcall Member Posts: 499
    edited February 2012

    gobucks...thank you for posting.  I hope you are doing well and that your white count rises soon.  Your side effect is my biggest fear with this treatment.  Its not common, but talk to me about common.  Please keep us posted.

    I've been up since 1 am with bone pain.  Its pretty intense.  I will be glad when this passes, for sure. 

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  • A_FIGHTER
    A_FIGHTER Member Posts: 109
    edited February 2012

    Hi Ladies,

    shera: Great choice! Thank you for the Vaseline advice.

    Coldenmom: So glad you pulled through and the reaction time was quick with nurses!

    Kim48: Thank you for sharing about the movie. I'm trying to find it! My girlfriend and I looked today On Demand - HBO Documentaries and it wasn't there. I have it in my Queue with Netflix, but no date on release.Yeah, your sons are coming!

    silviazara: How much Benadryl were you taking to sleep? I've been taken one. I have the gel tabs, but doesn't make me sleepy.

    silviazara, Coldenmom, & Mom2JJ: Thank you for sharing about your infusions.

    lmlola59: Have fun with your friends this weekend!

    gobucks: Welcome! I'm sending prayers & postive thoughts your way! I hope you are out of the hospital real soon so you can be with your family! 

    I made it through Boot Camp this week, YIPPEE!

    I noticed today I am losing more hair than usual (Day 11). It's not in clumps though. I'm still having SE's with face breakout & mouth. I have a sore on lower lip and two on tongue. Also, my gums are VERY sore on bottom. I have switched from my Sonicare toothbrush to a soft toothbrush and I am using Sensodyne toothpaste along with the Biotene mouthwash still. Early this morning I used warm water & salt. I called the nurse and she has called in the prescription mouthwash. She told me I need to swallow it. This takes care of any possible sores in esophagus too. Which I mentioned to her, I thought I had a minor sore throat, but perhaps it is sores in my throat. I pray this mouthwash works!!! I was so hoping NOT to have mouth issues...uugghh!! 

    Last night I went to listen to an author, Paula Holland De Long, speak. She is the author of What's Next After Cancer Treatment Ends?  A Self-Guided Lifebook for Living What Matters Most to You. She was a great speaker! She is offering a free telecall for Cancer patients and Survivors Tuesday, Feb. 28th, from 8-9 pm Eastern time. Here is the website where you can register. It's on the left handside of the page to register. www.whatsnextformylife.com

    Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend ladies,

    Hugs,

    Bonnie 

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  • silviazara
    silviazara Member Posts: 111
    edited February 2012

    Hello all, so much for the smooth sailing... I got a fever of 100 .. I am not sure if to take something.. Tylenol like Ann is saying? They said to call the office if thetemperature is over 100.5 and start antibiotics. Now this sucks. :-(((

     Bonnie I am not taking Benadryl to sleep, I have to take it the morning of my chemo. I took 25mg this time.

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  • ColdenMom
    ColdenMom Member Posts: 114
    edited February 2012

    Welcome Gobucks - I hope you begin to feel better and your counts go up! I'll be thinking of you!

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  • ColdenMom
    ColdenMom Member Posts: 114
    edited February 2012

    Bonnie - have you tried aloe for the mouth sores? I buy ultimate aloe through Market America but most health food stores and supplement stores sell it. It helps with healing for sure. I swish a shot in my mouth in the morning and swallow. I also add a shot of it to my water. Maybe it will help you. Has your fever broke?



    Silvia and Anntop - what is up with these fevers? I hope the go away for you quick!



    first call - sorry about the body aches! ;(



    Take care all,



    Kelly

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  • A_FIGHTER
    A_FIGHTER Member Posts: 109
    edited February 2012

    silviazara: Thank you for the clarification. I did double check with pharmacist today and said to take 50 mg to help sleep. Also, said Benadryl is what's in Tylenol PM. 

    Kelly: No, I haven't tried it...I will after I use the $150 bottle of prescription mouthwash I picked up today! BCBS did not cover this. I didn't see your post before going. As for my fever, it comes and goes. It doesn't interfere with my day. I just make sure when I feel as though I have a temp. I take it to see where I am at.

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  • shera
    shera Member Posts: 184
    edited February 2012
    What's up with taking Claritin before Nuelastic shot?
    I asked my chemo-nurse if its something I should do and she was puzzled by it.

    I have Aloe juice I swig each morning to help my stomach... good to know an extra swish can help the mouth too!

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  • mkgutierrez
    mkgutierrez Member Posts: 9
    edited February 2012

    Hello, fairly new here.  I just had my 2nd round of T/C yesterday.  I am doing okay other than being up in the middle of the night.  The worst SE for me last time was mouth sores and the bone pain from the shot.  I only work part-time, and have been taking some time off then working shorter days but more days per week when I don't have doctors appointments.  

    I am hoping I can stick around here and get to know you better.  

    Marlene 

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  • momof3boys
    momof3boys Member Posts: 896
    edited February 2012

    Hi Shera and All... If you're getting the Neulasta shot one day after your treatment, take one regular 24 hour Claritin, one day before your Neulasta shot (I take it as soon as I'm home from chemo). Continue taking it for 6-7 days, once per day after your Neulasta shot. It definitely works on cutting back the bone pain from the Neulasta shot. I don't know why more MO's don't know about it, but it's widely used on these boards. My MO thinks it works because Claritin helps with inflammation.

    Hope everyone is feeling good this weekend!

    I have my LAST TC tx on Friday, March 2nd YAY!

    You can do it!

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  • WaveWhisperer
    WaveWhisperer Member Posts: 898
    edited February 2012
    Shera, I follow the same Claritin regimen as Momof3Boys, and it does help. My MO said doctors aren't really sure why it works and, to date, there's no scientific evidence to back up its efficacy, but that many cancer patients swear by it. My MO said she and a fellow researcher wanted to conduct clinical trials on it, but they were stumped in coming up with a placebo for Claritin. At any rate, she said whatever helps, use it!
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  • WaveWhisperer
    WaveWhisperer Member Posts: 898
    edited February 2012

    Has anyone experienced weird feelings in their ears during all this? Both my ears feel like they are stuffed with cotton. It doesn't have anything to do with hearing. I can hear fine. It's just a weird sensation of their feeling stuffed full of cotton, liquid or something. It comes and goes, both ears at the same time.

    My MO checked my ears and said they were clear. She wondered whether it had something to do with ear hairs being gone along with hairs everywhere else..

    Small aggravation in the grand scheme of things... 

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  • Neli143727
    Neli143727 Member Posts: 86
    edited February 2012

    After 1st TC treatment on Monday I thought I was a "goner". This was rough. Did not expect anything like this. SE of all sorts and kind ( bone pain, upset stomach, nausea, constipation, painful mouth, lightheaded, head ache, weak, tired, sore throat, pimples on face , back and chest, and sadness). Today I am I am better. Was able to step out by my self, drove, had breakfast with friends etc.

    Gobuck, SO sorry!

    Mom2JJ what does Claritin do for you? I am glad the 2d time was better for you!

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  • silviazara
    silviazara Member Posts: 111
    edited February 2012

    Neli thats great you are feeling like yourself again!

    I had a very rough time yesterday (day after chemo). My temperature rised to 101.8F and I started antibiotics. Couldn't keep it down though... not even anti nauseous meds helped.. but I felt much better after.  ;-) I think next round I want to try Emend. Is it better than Zofran?

    My hubby shaved my head today. I was tired of picking up hair everywhere. I have muscle aches and basically feeling like having a cold just like the first time. I hope in few days it will pass. I wonder if I will need Neulasta with 3rd round as I ended up on antibiotics this time.

    Have a nice weekend everybody!

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  • Kim48
    Kim48 Member Posts: 73
    edited February 2012

    Neil, so sorry you had such a tough time. I'm glad you are feeling better.



    Silvia, So sorry about your hair. *hug*. It's tough.



    Welcome Marlene.



    I also take Claritan. I have tried Tylenol, Aleve and Advil for bone pain. Advil works best for me. Bone pain is no fun.



    Hope you can all enjoy your Sunday.



    Kim

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  • WaveWhisperer
    WaveWhisperer Member Posts: 898
    edited February 2012
    Silviazara, do ask that Emend be added to your pre-meds prior to your next infusion. The Zofran didn't completely do away with my nausea during the 1st treatment, so my MO added Emend for the next 3 infusions, and I've been fine ever since.
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  • silviazara
    silviazara Member Posts: 111
    edited February 2012

    WaveWhisperer - so how do you feel now after last chemo? It must be such a nice feeling!! Are you going to start radiation too?

    Yes I will ask for Emend. 1st time Zofran worked, but not with 2nd chemo so well.

    Kim - thanks! yes its tough, but at the same it was so nice to wash my head without hair everywhere.

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  • gobucks
    gobucks Member Posts: 18
    edited February 2012

    Hey everyone, I'm out of the hospital. They let me out late yesterday afternoon, after my counts started to rise. I was still neutropenic, but all of my counts were drastically rising, especially my band, which is the baby WBC. I feel sooooo much better. I'm still not allowed to go anywhere for a few days, but at least I'm home. Yay!

    On to you all.

    I had mouth sores and my mouth got allllll kinds of icky, sore and funky. It was getting hard to eat and talk. So, I the biotene toothpaste and mouth wash and it cleared it up. And I am prone to sores when I normally eat a lot of citrus. So I was really surprised at how well it worked.

    Now on to the nausea. I have the most pansy stomach ever! Seriously, I can get sick a lot. So I was honest with my onc about it and this is what he gives me, and it does the trick. And if he didn't give it too me, I would be in big trouble.

    Chemo day, during my infusion, they give me Aloxi, Emend, and Decadron. I know the emend stays in my body for 3 days. Then for 4 days following chemo, I take the Decadron. For 2 days I take 4 pills and for the last 2 days I take 2. All of that is for nausea and then they also gave me compazine and zofran to use as needed. I was happy that the infusion cocktail and steroids did most of the job.



    I hope this all helps. I love to help others. Oh, I also learned about headaches with this chemo regime. I had bad headaches with this chemo. I would say it was my worst se. Part of it can be the steroid, but it's also the Cytoxan. You can tell your nurse to slow the infusion down. That is what they are doing for me. It took about an hour for them to give me cytox and for my 2nd, they are going to slow it down to hour and fourty

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  • WaveWhisperer
    WaveWhisperer Member Posts: 898
    edited February 2012

    Silviazara, I was very relieved to finish my chemo treatments. Several people asked me if I was going to celebrate, but I really didn't feel like 'celebrating." This wasn't a joyous occasion, like an engagement, wedding or birth. It was more like the end of torture, or finally being released from jail. Don't get me wrong; I am VERY GLAD that it's over. Chemo has been a very rough ride.

    So far my side effects after infusion #4 have not lasted as long as those after earlier infusions. Infusion #3 was the hardest for me. It took me a good 12 days to feel "almost normal." My last infusion was  this past Tuesday. I was OK on Tuesday and Wednesday, but by noon Thursday I had the familiar feeling of being "hit by a bus." Frankly, yesterday was one of my lowest days ever. I was running a fever of 100.1, ached from head to toe and generally felt lousy. I stayed in bed all day long.

    However, I woke up feeling much better today and even went for a short walk. I'm hoping every day after this will be a "good day."

    And yes, I will start 6 weeks of radiation sometime in late March or early April. 

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  • Neli143727
    Neli143727 Member Posts: 86
    edited February 2012

    Dearest Ladies,

    Thank you for the tips and sympathy! It helps me.

    Silviazara, hugs for hair! I chopped mine off...

    Gobucks, glad you are home!

    Wavewhisper, I hope no more bad days for you!

    Bonnie, let me know what works for your mouth sores and sore throat. I have them too and I have hard time eating - it hurts. Thanks for the website! 

    Goodnight!

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  • Gayle56
    Gayle56 Member Posts: 277
    edited February 2012

    Neli - Sorry for all the SE's.  Hopefully the worst is over for this round.

    Silviazara -  I ran a fever for 2 days after TC #2.  My MO said sometimes you can run a fever as a reaction to the TC.  My WBC was fine the day before so he wasn't very concerned.  Two days of tylenol did the trick.  

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  • A_FIGHTER
    A_FIGHTER Member Posts: 109
    edited February 2012

    Good Morning,

    mkgutierrez: Welcome! Please stay, we would love for you to stick around Laughing

    Neli: Sorry to hear that your first infusion was so difficult. Are you still progressingly feeling better now? The mouthwash has worked it's wonders. No more mouth sores!!! Now if I can just figure out what to do about nose (sniffling, blood, dryness). You are more than welcome for the website!

    silviazara: Glad you're feeling better!

    gobucks: Yeah, Yippee, Wahoo, you're home! Glad to hear the Biotene Mouthwash is working for you. It didn't work  well for me and that's why I had to move on to the prescription mouthwash.

    firstcall, lmlola59, mthrdee, AEM47, DonnaDs, Ulightup, JoanQuilts, ymac16, mairimsita1: How are you doing? Thinking about you ladies!

    I'm still seeing more than usual hair loss (strands not clumps). My mouth is so much better! My face is finally clearing up. I did buy Seabreeze (blue color) and I use it more than once a day. The only other thing as I mentioned above is dealing with the nose SE's which MO said is very common. I plan on Boot Camp all this week as well. A week from Monday is #2 TX. Of course, now that face is clearing up...LOL. I will double check with MO if we plan on cutting back by steroids this time. The nurse is going to ask her when she is back in town, which is this Monday. I may just deal with what I had to as I really don't want any new syrprises second time around. Did some of you find you had the same SE's as you progressed through your treatments and/or did new SE's show up? 

    Enjoy the rest of your day,

    Bonnie  

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  • Mom2JJ
    Mom2JJ Member Posts: 77
    edited February 2012

    Neli, Claritin is suppose to eliminate or reduce the bone pain from the Neulasta shot. I stopped Claritin on the second day after my first TC (now knowing that I should have stayed on Claritin for 5-7 days) and had incredible back pain the next day. I am definitely staying on Claritin a full week this time.



    Where in VA are you located? I'm right outside of D.C.

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  • Ca7tko
    Ca7tko Member Posts: 2
    edited February 2012

    I've got to be honest-I've never posted on any forum of any kind but I think it's a great idea for women experiencing similar situations within similar timeframes. I'm 39 @ diagnosed 12/15. Had my bilateral mx jan 24 and just began my 1st of 4 rounds of TC 2 days ago. I'm a very active mother of 4 and I'm pleased with how fast my recovery from surgery was. I still feel great-but like a weird ticking timebomb waiting for the side effects to chemo to kick in!!!!! Anyone else feel like that? How long should this take? Thanks!

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  • Myleftboob
    Myleftboob Member Posts: 1,469
    edited February 2012

    Ca7tko

    This site is by far the best forum I have found for all info BC!  I don't post on this thread all that often because I'm only mildly PR+ (so midley the MO says its practically neutral) but do read here for information.  I post alot on the Feb thread though.  Having the same TX though, TCH X 4 and of course H X 12.  After MX December 14 I was pleasently surprised how well I sailed through recovery.  I'n now 9 days out from my 1st TX.  For me day 4 (counting TX Day) was my "down"day.  Flu like symptoms, really tired, just slept on and off when needed, ate very blandly.  Nausea was kept at bay from the meds though.  That lasted for about 24 hours then I started to feel more normal.  The worst SE was day 6 when I got major lower back pain and spasms.  This was from the Neulasta shot.  My bad for not taking the Claritan and assumed my perc's would cover me in case I had any bone pain, mabey I wouldn't right? WRONG!!  This will be the one thing I don't do for the next TX.  Been lucky with mouth issues too, Swishing with Club Soda and Biotene and it seems to be working so far.  Just stay on top of the stool softeners and for me Sennocot.  If I don't I pay and and fluids, fluids, and more fluids.  Keeps everything moving alot.  Dehydration is very very bad.

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  • lmlola59
    lmlola59 Member Posts: 146
    edited February 2012

    Hi all,

    Site has been very active since I was last on so I will try to catch up hope I don't leave anyone out .

    Welcome to Ca7tko ,and Gobucks and Marlene I am sure you will find some comfort on this thread. Gobucks so glad you are home and feeling better,this is an SE I am afraid of.

    Nell so sad you had such a bad reaction to your first TC maybe they can  try to do things a little different next time if you tell them how bad it was.Seems that different medications along with TC  can make a big difference for some.

    Silviazara scary about the fever but good you were able to catch it in time and get on an antibiotic before things got worse,going to try to be as carefull and proactive after reading this. Also really feel for you on the hair,not sure how i will handle this when it happens to me.

    Firstcall hope the bone pain has ceased for you if I do decide to get the Nalasta shot I have the Claritin just in case.Still on the fence with this after seeing so many getting the fevers.I am unclear on whether this is a SE more often if you don't get the shot or not. 

    Congrats Wavewhisperer,nice to see someone on the other side of this nightmare.

    Well everyone enjoy what is left of the weekend,I have been trying to have some fun on what I consider my last hooray.Have not made good progress on letting people know and I know when I do I am going to get greif from them that I didn't ,but to bad right now I don't really care.

    Well I am going to try to cook a few things to freeze and have on hand and start figuring out what to throw in my bag for Tuesday.

    Best to you all

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  • Myleftboob
    Myleftboob Member Posts: 1,469
    edited February 2012

    Hi All

    Just wanted to add a little edit.  I actually thought I was in the triple positive thread LOL!!  Oh well, I still read alot here and am obviously in the right place from a TX perspective!

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  • firstcall
    firstcall Member Posts: 499
    edited February 2012
    Greetings everyone.
    I hope your weekend is going well. I'm feeling pretty good today, after a fairly rough week. I would say that the bone pain was the most difficult part of the whole thing. Imlola59- thank you for your encouragement. I will say this, as bad as the bone pain was, I will definitely keep taking the neulasta. It is very important to keep the white cell count up, even if it's a difficult process. I do plan to try the Claritin next time. Little downside to the Claritin, and if it will help the bone pain, I would be grateful.
    One good thing about having the first treatment behind me is that I have a better idea what to expect now. I'm not looking forward to the next treatment, but I will not be deterred from this. I want to whip this beast.
    A Fighter - it looks like you're staying active. I've been running....not as fast. Hows the hair coming?
    My first treatment was a week ago yesterday, and it was a rough week. But I feel quite a bit better now. I'll have my WBC checked on Tuesday and until then I'm being very careful who I am around.
    Good luck to those of you who are having treatments this week. May your SE be minimal, and I look forward to knowing how you are doing.
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