taxotere side effects

Thanks for all the congrats and well wishes ladies. Now post day 6 of last chemo and doing ok. Some se's but tolerable so not going to complain too much yet. It's just the sheer exhaustion of it now. Legs and arms feel like lead and ache horribly when I try and do anything. I did get outside on day 4 and do lots of hiking which totally pooped me out but was worth it. I know this coming week will suck and I accept that cause then it will only get better and better after!

Wishing for minimal SE's for all you ladies and that someone makes you smile today. Xox

Tax or the steroids give me heartburn. I use OTC Zantac twice a day. Seems to help.

fight4two- DON'T stop taking your antibiotics. Carrying an infection into surgery would be very dangerous. If you think the pain is a Se of the antibiotic- tell your Dr and he can switch you to another one. Good luck with your surgery.

Sherylb - I am sorry about your joint pains they can be very bad. A hot pad works the best I found. The pulsing in your head and the rest of your body is a SE of the chemo. It happens on and off throughout your whole treatment. I always joked I could take my pulse without using any fingers on a pulse point!!

Susan- I hope you have fewer SE's with the Taxotere than the Taxol, but I had terrible joint pain with Taxotere. I suppose we are all different, and it may have the opposite effect for you - fingers crossed!!!

carlads - many have a bad headache only on the first chemo, also Zofran for nausea carries a headache warning.  I used it for the first chemo, had a very bad headache, and it did not work for me so I switched to the second line anti-emetic Compazine, which worked well.  I never had a headache for the other five tx that was nearly as bad as that first one.

ziffy - some people have to take heatburn preventing meds all through chemo - sometimes more than one med.  Ask about getting them in your pre-meds as well.  Chemotherapeutic agents cause soft tissue irritation so often this is a chemo-specific side effect that goes away when you are done with tx.  You may also want to take the heartburn meds all the way through, or just take them close to tx time.

MsW - keep in mind that side effects are cumulative - you will be more tired with each tx if you are like most of us!  I had Taxotears daily - all day - for quite a while, that particular can take about 6-8 weeks from final chemo to dissipate.

thinking of you Blondie .... how many to go of Tax left ?

Carlads, how you doing ? I had really bad dried nose, it was peeling on the inside...everyone thought I was picking my nose, it was just horrible (sorry tmi) lol....it gets better as the first week goes on , then it starts all over again with the next treatment.

Dry skin is normal, my hands peeled, I looked like a snake shedding its skin, just moisturise lots and lots just like you're drinking lots and lots !!

Moisturise your feet too...are you icing  ? the second cycle of Tax i had severe neuropathy in my feet, struggled to walk and then my feet started peeling.....only now.... ( had my last tax on the 12th Dec) is my feet becoming normal that I just need to moisturise (peeling has stopped but they are very dry)

Hands recovered fully, nice new skin except my nails as they are growing out, 3 have come off...the others are on there way off too..... it doesn't hurt, just looks horrible as I'm so use to wearing nail polish

Hope your headaches have eased .

I can not remember who on this site talked about taking probiotics, I was thinking it was SpecialK but am not sure.  I was wondering if you took a certain brand and where you got them or if all probiotics are about the same.  I do not know that much about them but I have always had stomach issues and it was worse when taking Tax.  My onco said I could take probiotics but I did not ask what he recommended.  Does anyone have a certain kind that they like and has worked well for them?  I want something I can take everyday even when I am not taking treatment.  Thanks.

Wow, this issue with the dry nose!  It sounds kind of silly compared to other things but for me, Neosporin does the trick. More recently I have found that saline nasal spray helps, especially at bedtime. I don't wake up quite as bad as I did before I stated using it. It sounds crazy but my nose actually runs less when I use it 2-3 times during the day.

So many big and little issues with these powerful chemo meds. It seems like we are all hanging in there pretty darn well!  It it wonderful to have this place to exchange information and encourage each other. Thanks to all and best wishes for healing and recovery. The second half went so much faster than the first! I am still on my steroid high from Monday but that was my last session. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be feeling really, really good!  Then comes radiation... (sigh) but I feel pretty sure the chemo was the worst part.

Elizabeth

Hi everyone. I rarely post but have been lurking since Oct 2012.



A strange thing happened today during infusion .. the 4th of 6 TCH tx. I was about 5 minutes into the taxotere infusion when I got flushed, experienced sharp chest pain and started gasping for air. All symptoms subsided within 15-20 once tx was stopped. Vital signs also returned to normal.



Dr and nurses said I had a reaction to the chemo, and that it usually happens during the 1st or 2nd tx. Was given steroid, benadryl, and something else I can't recall at the moment then tax was resumed at a slower rate - 3 hr period vs 1 hr. I didn't experience any more breathing problems but I was still freaked out about it the rest of the afternoon.



Has this happened to anyone else?

Madhatter, I had horrible reaction dayS after, not that. Mine was just skin rash, swelling, etc and they wouldn't allow me to take it anymore.  I'm surprised they continued.  hmmmm

madhatter - this is more common than you think, it did not happen to me personally, but has happened to others on the TCH and triple positive thread.

Hi all,

Funny the nose thing has come up. I have been having the dry nose with small sores and thought in light of everything else it was inconsequential. Now it seems much more common. I was trying to figure out how to irrigate with the baking soda/salt/water rinse that I am using on my mouth, but don't think I want to aspirate the baking soda stuff LOL. I use neosporin and my blistex all nautral moisturizer on q-tip too. It is tolerable except I look like a two year old who has just discovered the hole in their nose, can you say finger up the nose?? lol

I have read that picking one's nose is the most common past time of people while driving. Start looking at fellow drivers at stop lights. I have a friend who noticed a guy picking his nose as they stopped at a serious of stop lights. Finally on the 3rd one she rolled down her window and yelled out, "did you get it honey?" Too funny.

sheryl

Sheryl

MadHatter - I had the experience you were talking about with the breathing, racing heart and felt really funny.  It was my first treatment though and they had started the Tax, it was fine for a little while and then all of a sudden, I had my husband get the nurse and she stopped the drip immediately and the symptoms went away as fast as they came on.  She talked to the doctor and they gave me Benadryl, and slowed the drip, but gradually increased it and I have not had a problem since.  When I get the treatment the whole process takes about 3+ hours, depending but I do think they give the Tax at a slower rate all of the time for me anyway.

Websister - We do have a Costco in Omaha so I will look for the probiotics you mentioned.  I have some that are outdated.  I took them for a long time after I had been hospitalized with diverticulitus which has been about 3 years so I need to get some new ones.  Do the ones you mentioned need to be refrigerated?  The ones I have that are outdated need to be kept in the frig and some of the others I have looked at you need to take 3 a day and need to be kept in the frig also.  I would really like to find some that do not need refrigeration and you can take once a day but if yours work well, that is the main thing I care about.  Thanks for your response.

websister - I do eat yogurt every day, or almost every day, it is something I really like and usually have it for breakfast, buttermilk is something I could never, ever drink, I can use it to bake with but to drink, well that is a different story.  I am glad to hear that the pills do not need to be refrigerated and taking 2 a day will be easy enough so I am going to go and look for them when I can get to Omaha the next time.  Thanks

Thanks for the laugh Sheryl!  If you do want something to irrigate your sinuses, pick up a neti pot.  They work wonders during allergy season.  It comes with packets of salt so you can mix up the perfect solution to use.  The first time or two it feels really weird but you get use to it very quickly.  

SpecialK... LOVE your MO's analogy!  

Yes it is .  But we can't be expected to remember everything, and I think that salad bars and sushi are the biggest things to avoid, though you should try to avoid other raw veggies too.  It won't last long though, and who can resist cole slaw, it's one of my favorites!