Starting AC dose dense Monday - any tips?

ladies.

For those of you with the neulasta shot who also take Claritin. When do you take the Claritin?

Thanks!

Laura

I take it the morning I get the shot and take it for 5 days after and I have no side effects.  Funny thing though that my Oncologist never heard of Claritin being a good remedy for pain with this shot and none of the Oncology nurses ever heard of it for the Neulasta shot either, not even the Neulasta nurse who administered it to me the first time. I inject myself now.  However, I would not take any chances and not take it, better to be safe than sorry.

hi ladies!

how are you doing? anyone else feel their tumors have shrunk? i think mine has, i have had three dose dense AC treatments, one more to go and then 12 Taxol for me!

some of my nails are turning black, most of the hair on my head is gone, i have lost 10 pounds...please share your experiences!

*

I am on round 3 and have found it has gotten worse each time. I am actually hit the hardest the day of chemo. I have an hour or two and then I get a migraine and severe nausea. Luckily this round 3 I was able to just go right home and sleep. My doses are every 2 weeks for 4 rounds and can't wait to move onto Taxol, as they tell me it will be easier. I end up with nausea for 11 days and the shots cause bone pain and slight fever. My taste buds are off, the steroids keep me up, I get constipated. It is all no fun. With the first round I got thrush and mouth sores. My pharmacist suggested I suck on ice chips while chemo is delivered and it worked. I didn't get mouth sores round 2 and so far so good with round 3, although I'm only 5 days in. At this point I'm feeling blessed to get 3 good days before I go and do it again. Emotionally round 2 was tough because it was much harder. My hair started falling out Day 16 and I shaved it Day 17 which helped with tenderness. Remember every chemo journey and reaction can be different though. For me I'll be so glad to move on from AC.

Yes, it's over, and congrats!! I found Taxol so much easier and I did SIX of each. Just enjoy the day and be thankful that you are past AC. I will say that you will have about 5 days on your first Taxol round when you will have symptoms of both. (Don't schedule a computer upgrade for that time as I did.) Then, you should be past it all and on to the rest of your life.

Don't drown your smart either, as I did. You will be DONE by the end of the summer. Good times ahead.

Make sure you get out there when you can. Yes, you can do this! - Claire

No, it got better after about Day 5 so hang in there. I remember needing a nap during that time. Get out and walk if you can. That will help in two ways: 1) get you moving and 2) you will also sleep more deeply and oddly require less of it.

My red blood counts came up during Taxol to low normal and with it, my general energy. During the first round, you are still recovering from AC as well as the Taxol infusion. Good luck and feel better soon. - Claire

Laura - when I went through chemo, I had a slight sore throat and cough, but I got #3 AC. In fact, I coughed my way

through all of chemo, including Taxol. I became allergic to gluten/wheat during chemo and 4 years later, I am still allergic.

Yours sounds like it is a cold! My sister got the flu when she was on AC, and they postponed it. Sending my best wishes!!

Hey Laura, eosinophils are usually as result of allergies or asthma or a list of other stuff. There's a condition where your eos could just be high cause your bone marrow likes to make them. SEe this link:

www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/eosinophilia/basics/.../sym-20050752

thanks all for replying..Just waiting for my last AC. Onco also said the breast pain is normal and told me not to freak out. let's start a starting taxol in June 2016 group so we can stay in touch about our symptoms as we progress. I will look for the group next time.

Hi ladies.

I am finished with AC but the cough I had before the last AC turned bad with lots of green mucous coming out of nose and throat. Went to urgent care today to be tested for strep and they gave me antibiotic prescription even though I tested negative for strep. Just got back from urgent care and called the on call oncologist number to make sure I should take the antibiotics.

Anyone else take antibiotics while on chemo? I am supposed to start taxol soon!

Hugs.

Just wanted to say that I appreciate this thread. I start AC next week, so it is timely for me. I am a little different in that I have already done the Taxol part, so a little worried about extra fatigue from being already knocked down a bit from that. But if anyone has questions about that part I can help with, let me know. Can anyone say specifically which of the nausea meds they found worked best for them with AC? I think I have three prescriptions, a little unsure where to start and why I would want to switch, etc. I didn't need any of them during Taxol (which is good news) but am prepared to use them when I need them!