Cytoxan Taxotere Chemo Ladies- May 2017

Hi am on the same schedule with fec- d had one chemo next one may 31. I haven't done cold capping =aasume I will lose my hair have ordered a wig and bought some cute scarves. Had nausea for 9-10 days following chemo although I ate and drank fine. I took olanzapine until yesterday now controlling it by eating frequently...the toughest side effect was coming off steroids I think I will ask my Onc if I can either taper or eliminate steroids.

rdsm, no cold capping. The do it yourself was too much for us, and the Paxman system won't be at Baylor until June or July. Will just have to take my chances.

On the positive side, I've had no nausea, and had spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner with no ill effects

Hi, just did mine May 12. Felt tired the most and did it on a Friday so I can rest over the weekend. Threw me off the wall by Monday and was at work with chaos around me because we are starting on a new electronic medical recorder at work. Felt more fatigue which decreased by Friday. The Neulasta really did hit me but took Zyrtec as my physician told me to and the Zofran for 3 days. Had constipation now diarrhea. My taste buds had this metallic taste and nothing taste the same. There was a point that I did think about not continuing this treatment but 2 of my co workers that are younger than me and are taking AC as well, every week told me to hang in there! It will get better and this weekend, felt more like myself again. I will leave my taste bud as is, as long as my head can think straight lol!

Hi everyone,

I too am dealing wiith CT. I started last Wednesday, so 6th day for me today. I have the numb tongue, and sort of burning tongue at times. No taste at all for anything. And I am not even a bit hungry. I ate 2 scrambled eggs today plus a flax seed muffin for roughage so I don't get constipation.

I do get a bit lightheaded, and pretty much continuous nausea, but not yet a problem. No actual vomitting just the queezy feeling.

I am trying to exercise each day, it was pretty hard today, but did it. I have almost no joint or bone pain so far. the neulesta injection was Thursday, so I heard it is 7-8 days after for the worSt pain, and I am taking the Claritin. Good luck everyone, I sure hope we are spared the worst of the SE.

I also am using the dignicap and so far no hair loss either. But I think that is early for that as well. I am still afraid to wash my hair for fear it will start the loss.

Hi, everyone! I will be receiving cytoxan and taxotere -- four rounds, every three weeks. My first infusion is scheduled for June 2nd, so I'm a little behind, but I wanted to reach out since you all are receiving the same treatments.

Welcome Rukoni, I hope your chemo is SE free

Irwells50, I know what you mean, my lower back is pretty sore, unless I stand. I wonder if we can take pain meds. I have some 600 Motran I could take, but they didn't tell me what to take for pain, just to call them with any problems and when they called me today, I wasn't hurting quite so bad. I can probably make it till tomorrow I hate to bother them after hours.

My tastebuds are better today, too just on again off again queasy feeling. But nothing to really be concerned about. It didn't stop me from eating today. I ate more today than I have any day after my chemo.

Hi I'm on the same chemo regimen, 4 rounds every 3 weeks. My first was 5/9/17. As I've written a couple of posts on "Starting Chemo in May 2017" thread, I've been battling with lots of pain, excruciating ones. Motrin works a bit but not as good as Tramadol. Lately, it'a always the left side of my upper back, feels like a pinched nerve or something, very sharp and intense. About a week ago, it was my back and I couldn't even walk. Then I found out it may have been because of Neulasta. I read that "bone is trying to expand," it felt exactly like that!!! No one warned me about that or instructed me to start taking Claritin. I read it and found out about it here on this board. With the pain med, I'm ok and struggling but working. Just yesterday my hair started to shed. I did CC but I was told it's natural for hair to shed after 2 weeks. It still is shedding at alarming rate and definitely thinning. I have thick long curly hair so people may not notice, but it is scary and hurtful to me. Hopefully it's worth keep doing CC from the next round on 5/30/17.

Thanks Rebamacfan123 for the tips. I will try them out!

Thanks VLevic for your input. I hired a Penguin Cold Capper for my first chemo and we did everything by the book. My hair started shedding exactly 2 weeks after my first chemo and though I do still have hair, it has thinned significantly. I've been wearing scarves. I've heard when your hair is long and thick, the scalp may not get cold enough to save a lot of hair, it would work better for people with fine, thinner hair. Also, Taxotere is the most challenging to CC. But I've also heard and read about people who lost most of their hair even though they used CC, they said their hair grew back quickly than they thought it would. I still have 3 more rounds of chemo, now that my hair is super thin, CC'd better work....but if it keeps shedding like this, I may end up with very little hair, if not bold. Would it still be worth a try?

I am at just over the two week mark after my first (of four) TC chemo. I've been feeling good, still have my hair (fingers crossed the cold caps are working), and can't wait to get this all behind me. Just yesterday I started feeling lightheaded and a bit out of breath. I think these are signs of anemia. But I was surprised it would start now -- I imagined that the rhythm of this was that you feel lousy seek one, better week two, and pretty good week three. Has anyone else had symptoms that didn't start until three?

Hello ladies, sorry to meet you all under such not fun circs. Isn't this whole experience just crazy? What a whirlwind all this has been! One minute I'm preoccupied with work and family and just the average day to day stuff like "Hmmm, I wonder what I should make for dinner tonight?" and the next I'm getting this scary diagnosis, surgery, chemo...My head is still spinning. Still here though and we are going to get through this!

Had my first TC treatment on May 2. I was super hyper from the steroids the day before, day of, and day after. Then came the Neulasta shot. Started feeling achey with flu-like symptoms that kept getting progressively worse until day 6 when I had a fever up to 101.5 so off to the ER I went. Also developed "chemo rash" around my neck. They gave me stronger pain meds, an antibiotic, some benadryl, and later that day I was a lot better. May 23 was chemo #2. This time, I made sure I took the Neulasta cocktail the day before the shot. 1 Zyrtec, 1 benadryl, and a 500 mg tablet of Extra Strength Tylenol. Still had achey flu-like symptoms for the first week but they were not nearly as bad.

I am also cold-capping. My hair was so thick and long that I had originally cut it short to about 5 inches but then was paranoid that I would have a big bald spot in the middle of my head because of the thickness so, contrary to PCC recommendations, I had it buzzed to about 1 inch all over. It's totally working and, although I have lost some hair, I dont have a single bald spot and my hair is still very thick all over on day 30. It's painful the first few minutes of each cap exchange but then gets better. It's also a tedious and expensive process, but I figure I am saving thousands in future hair transplants if I don't do this and end up with bald spots! I am also using Elastogel mitts and slippers and so far no nail changes or neuropathy.

Figured I'd jump on here. Had first TC on May 9 and second treatment yesterday. Two down two to go. Feel better today than I did day after first treatment. Issues after first treatment were just nausea for three days but managed with meds. Taste bud issues, lack of sleep from the steroids and severe back pain/spasms from the Neulasta shot that happened five days after shot. My onco said that was my bone marrow making all those white blood cells. My blood counts were awesome he said week after first treatment that he said I don't even have to have them checked after this one as he expects my body to react same way. Am taking the Claritin this time and hoping to avoid the spasm again. Hair started shedding day 14 after first treatment. I had to have it shaved as it was more traumatic having it fall out the way it was. Stay strong ladies!

Angeliq- Yes the back spasm were just so unbelievably painful and unexpected. I thought maybe some bone pain but that was a shocker. Mine lasted about 18 hours. I couldn't sleep and only could explain to my husband that it was just as painful if not worse than labor pains. Hoping not as bad this go around.

Hello all! I am on this ride with all of you too! The fear in the unknown is really the worst. After reading on these boards and having a friend go through chemo ahead of me, I thought I was prepared for everything. My first chemo was 5/24. It was a long journey to get to that spot so I was mixed with fear and relief. The Benadryl had me so out of it and I was so worriedly about getting my hands and feet iced that I hardly had time to react to the fact they had started the chemo. The waiting for which side effect would hit was the worst! I was a bit queasy but never took more meds. My mouth was sore a few days and the Mylanta/liquid Benadryl really helped. I took Claritan and Naproxen but still had bad back and bone pain a few days. Haircut short, bloodwork yesterday was good, so now more waiting for hair to fall out and whatever tomorrow will bring! Have a wonderful Friday!

MomAngel - The anti-nausea medication that I received during the infusion worked well. No nausea at all. My onco nurse suggested that I take the prescribed Zofran the night of chemo and the next morning, just in case. I had no nausea during or after the infusion.