AC Chemo

lynae23 · May 2017

Hello,

I have finished 12 weekly rounds of taxol and had my first does of AC last Weds May 3rd. I got the neulasta shot on Thurs and have been very achy, foggy headed and just feel like crap every since. I attempted to go to work Friday and today but I only made it half days. I wanted to ask what your experiences were with AC if you also had taxol first? I got back on May 17th for my 2nd dose of AC and go bi-weekly until June 14th and then I am DONE!! The hardest thing with taxol was the fatigue, but I am finding the AC has definitely kicked my butt and I am wondering when/if I will feel better before my next dose. I know we are all different but hearing other experiences will help me get to the finish line! Thanks so much!

notanisland · May 2017

Hi lynae23, I won't start AC chemo til May 18 (4 rounds biweekly) followed by Taxol (12 rounds weekly) so I have nothing to share - yet. You might want to check the following Topics: Starting Chemo May 2017, Starting Chemo May 2017, April 2017 Chemo and even Starting Chemotherapy March 2017. Hope you find encouragement and reassurance in the many types of experiences these generous women are willing to share. I know their stories have helped me to prepare. Though no two people have the exact same SEs, someone's will be similar to yours and at least you'll know you're not alone.

Kicks · May 2017

Can't give you an idea. We are each so unique.

I did 4 DD A/C neoadjuvant and it never slowed me down at all. Weekly Taxol adjuvant was the opposite - utterly and completely EXHAUSTED the entire 12 weeks. It did start getting better in the 2nd week after last Taxol (when I started Rads).

Castigame · May 2017

I just finished 4DD AC as adjuvant chemo. About to get 4DD taxol.next.tuesday. here are consensus about DD AC

First week you are likely to feel crap. I dont see anyone unless they are superherores can work. Even drinking water was hard. First week flushing w water is a must. I found splitting claritin dosage in halves minimized calritin side effects (more fatigue, headache and blurry vision) i also found i lilked epsom salt scrub made neulasta bone pain less painful

Second week, my appetetie is 70% no pain. I have no issue w moderate exercise. You must keep active for the second wk at least.

Just my two cents, AC are very strong drugs to beat bleep out of cancer cells. Please watch out for any heart related issues. Make deliberate effort to walk slow this even includes getting up in the morning.

I was 30 pound plus overweight before AC and lost 15 pounds after 4 DD. If I can do it anyone can.

DodgersGirl · May 2017

I have had 3 rounds of DD AC. I get my chemo on Wednesdays every other week. I find I am ok Wednesday and Thursday. By Friday afternoon I am tired and can't keep my eyes opened or focused so no using phones or tablets. I drink a ton of water for the first 48 hours to flush out the toxins. I rinse my mouth with water, salt, baking soda after eating. I take my 2 anti-nausea meds religiously thru Saturday else I feel like crap. I eat every 2-3 hours once the SE kick in (Friday) and I drink ginger tea or diet ginger ale. Sleep when I can and try to sleep at night as long as I can (easier said than done)

By Sunday I am much better. Each day after that improves.

So I miss work Wednesday for infusion and Friday after chemo. Working the rest of the 2 weeks then repeat.

Best of luck with your AC.

jrow7 · May 2017

I've had two AC so far, I go in for my 3rd this Thursday. I'll do Taxol + Herceptin afterwards so we aren't in the same situation but I figured I'd share anyways since I think I have a "good" story.

Day of AC I feel like my head is "thick" and feels horribly hung-over. Nausea and heartburn kick in around evening time. (My nurse is going to give me more fluid this week and see if that helps with the head complaint).

For the next couple of days I take anti-nausea med, dexamethasone, Claritin, and Zantac then I drop the steroid and keep going with the other ones. I hydrate as best I can and nap or just lay low. Appetite takes a few days to come back but until then I just eat when I feel I can handle it.

This last round wasn't as bad as the first, I made sure to keep sipping ice cold liquids or chew ice while the nurse administered the AC and I didn't have as many mouth sores and didn't feel like I had burned my whole mouth on something. I also started taking Claritin the day of so I didn't have too much bone pain - sternal pain but no hip/spine pain.

My last AC was on a Wednesday so I took Thursday and Friday off. I worked the following Monday, Tuesday, took Wednesday off, worked Thursday then went to Drill Friday through Sunday. I would say I'm back to myself 100% around day 9-10.

I wish you all the best in your treatment!

shelabela · May 2017

Lynea23,

We are just about on the exact same timeline. I had 12 weeks of taxol with herceptin and perjeta every 3 weeks. I had my first AC on May first and will be done June 12.

Here is how my week went. I worked Tue-thurs and was home Friday... I felt like death. the pain and the "fog" was so bad I am not sure I even remember the day. Tuesday when my nuelasta discharged I did not have any bone pain that day. I have kept taking the claritin as well as pepcid. I was given Dex to take for 3 days after chemo as well as as pill called Emend. I took those as well as a compazine till Friday. I did not have nausea at all this time. I ate very small meals to keep something in my tummy. I drank so much I thought for sure I would float.

So fast forward to now., I have a cold that sucks. My back hurts so bad that I would swear I just had my back surgery again. I have a constant headache, and I am so tired that I go to bed by 730 every night and sleep til 1 or so when my pain med wears off then I am up to take a lorazapam and go back to bed. I then sleep till about 630.

I have also developed this weird feeling in my foot. Its not really a tingling but sort of like a shaking feeling. and only in the right side of my foot. I swear that my bed feels like it shaking from it.

Do you have a surgery date set or anything after chemo?

lynae23 · May 2017

Thank you all very much for your replies. I had my AC last Weds, Neulasta on Thurs and was down pretty much Friday afternoon through today (Tuesday). I thought I was doing better then last night I had chills and was freezing for a couple of hours, I could not get warm. I ran a low grade fever. Then of course the hot flashes hit and then I got a sever headache. I FINALLY feel more human now and hope that I will continue to feel well until my next chemo next Weds (in a week). We shall see. I just keep telling myself I ONLY have 3 left..I have been doing this for 14 weeks!!! I can do it...

I had a sonogram 2 weeks ago and it showed my mass has shrunk to half the size. It also showed my lymph nodes all looked normal, where before they did not. That was a blessing.

I am scheduled to have a double mastectomy July 11th. I chose to do this because I do not want to ever have to worry or go through this again. Since I am only 41, the doctors recommended it as well. I will not know about radiation until surgery when they test the sentinel lymph node. If it is negative, they will put in expanders and then we wait a week to find out what the pathology report is. If it is negative, we will do reconstruction in about 4-6 weeks. Then all this will hopefully be over that is my prayer. I wish you all the best as well. It is so great having this forum to read what everyone else goes through and it really helps to know what to expect. Even though we are all different, we still go through a lot of similar things.

shelabela · May 2017

I am scheduled for a bi-laterel mastectomy July 19th.

PowerpuffinSF2017 · May 2017

That's great to hear Kicks. If you don't mind me asking, did you lose your hair/did you use cold cap? Thank you.

AC Chemo

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