Claritin?

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etnasgrl
etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
edited March 2020 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

Hi ladies!
A little info on me first.....Feb 13th, I was diagnosed with a new primary in my left breast, (which WAS my non-cancer breast), Stage 1 ER-/PR-/Her2+
I have my lumpectomy Monday morning, so I don't know lymph node involvement just yet, although hoping for node negative of course! (I will have a BIL mastectomy once treatment is complete.) My tumor is very small, under 8mm, which is why we are moving forward with lumpectomy first.
I am starting chemo in March. According to my surgical oncologist, it will be Taxol. And also Herceptin, since it's Her2+
Once the pathology from the lumpectomy is in, I will meet with my medical oncologist to discuss it all and move forward with treatment.

Okay, so I've been doing as much research as I can and talking with lots of survivors I know in support groups. Some say they took Claritin from the first day of chemo and stayed on it the entire cycle. Others say they only took it during Neulasta. I need some thoughts on this, please. Take it the entire cycle of chemo or just during Neulasta?

Nerdy


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  • YesIamaDragon
    YesIamaDragon Member Posts: 363
    edited February 2020

    I just took it for a few days around each neulasta. I didn't have any of the bone pain people complain about. I don't think it helped with the Herceptin drippy nose though :D

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited February 2020

    etna - I took it specifically to counter the bone & muscle aches of Neulasta, but all the recommendations I saw said it helped to get it in your body & up to speed. I started it the day before chemo with my steroid pill (2 days before neulasta) and continued for 4 or 5 days after Neulasta. Be sure you are taking regular Claritin and not the "D".

    That said, no one can explain why it works. It just does for many of us.

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  • Maddy83f
    Maddy83f Member Posts: 84
    edited February 2020

    Etna, I decided to just start taking Claritin every day because it was just easier to add it every day than to try and keep track of which days to take/not take. I have not had any bone pain at all.

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  • etnasgrl
    etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
    edited February 2020

    Thanks so much for the replies, I so appreciate it!

    When out running errands today, I picked up 2 boxes of Claritin, (Not the D kind, lol!), so I am prepared. I just like to have my ducks in a row......although, this second round has my ducks scattered all over the place. *smh*

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  • AngieB92
    AngieB92 Member Posts: 323
    edited February 2020

    I was taking Claritin every day anyway for allergies so I just kept on taking it. I had very minimal bone pain from the Neulesta. I fished chemo on 12/31 and still take Claritin daily

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  • Mariadelpilar
    Mariadelpilar Member Posts: 65
    edited February 2020

    Hi, my oncologist recommends that I start on the Claritin the day after the chemo infusion and take it for 10 days along with Benadryl at night. I still had some bone pain after my first infusion even though I was taking both. My dr lowered my dosage from 6 to 4 ml. She said that it would not make a difference in the effectiveness. The reduction on the day after shot really made a difference. I did not have bone pain the last couple of rounds!!! Talk to your dr. About the possibility of reducing the dosage if you experience bone pain. It worked for me!

    image

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  • Cricketdog
    Cricketdog Member Posts: 57
    edited March 2020

    I took Claritin three days before and after the Neulasta the first round and it did very little to help me. I was in tremendous pain from my lower back to the tops of my feet. The second round, I took Zyrtec and the side effects weren’t quite as bad - no stabbing pain but still a lot of deep bone pain. My ankles feel like they will shatter at any moment. The doctor prescribed some opioids for pain. I have only taken a few so I can sleep. The pain usually subsides in about three days for me.

    Hope either Claritin or Zyrtec work for you!

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