Symptoms getting worse after end of taxol chemo?

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Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
edited May 2020 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
Symptoms getting worse after end of taxol chemo?
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  • Marmotka
    Marmotka Member Posts: 26
    edited May 2020

    Hi everyone, I've gone through 4 rounds of AC and then 12 weekly taxol in a neoadjuvant setting. I'm relatively young (43) and remained very active during chemo. My side effects were very manageable the whole time. I never got bone or muscle pain or headaches while on taxol except AFTER my last treatment!

    I thought I would immediately feel better after I was done with chemo but it seems it's just getting worse and worse each day. I'm 3 weeks out and I never felt as bad throughout my treatment. My MO wants me to start tamoxifen right away (before surgery and radiation) but I am so out of it now that I don't want to add another layer.

    Have any of you started feeling worse after treatment? How long did it take to recover?

    Thanks!

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

    Yes,more & more tired. It took me about 6 months to feel better.

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  • Ingerp
    Ingerp Member Posts: 2,624
    edited May 2020

    I bounced back pretty quickly but did not have AC. FWIW, a lot of women don't start Tamoxifen/an AI until after surgery and rads. Can you push back a little on starting until your body has recovered a bit more?

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  • mightlybird01
    mightlybird01 Member Posts: 217
    edited May 2020

    I was 49 and also pretty much breezed through treatment. I was very active the whole time. And yes, like you I felt worst after chemo ended. About 3 weeks out it started with body aches. I have decided that this is as long as the steroids took to wear out of my body. Then I started feeling aches and pains again. Some of which I had before (shoulder) but were masked during chemo due to being on steroids. This general body ache was rather mild but still worse than during chemo. I had surgery (mastectomy) 4 weeks after final chemo. I had to heal from that. All in all it took about 5 months to feel normal again for me.

    I think what you are describing is totally normal. I can't speak to the Tamoxifen. I was triple negative and don't have to take that. I would probably start it right away as you will have to adjust to that either way. So may as well start now and have peace of mind to have done anything you can to prevent it from coming back.

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  • MountainMia
    MountainMia Member Posts: 1,307
    edited May 2020

    I had 4 rounds of AC and did pretty well through them. A couple weeks after the last, fatigue set in, taking me to the point that my legs would buckle under me, and I couldn't catch my breath. It didn't last long, about 3 weeks from start to finish. (And then I was much more normally fatigued, but not incapacitated.) So I'm guessing what you're feeling is very normal.

    Good luck.

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  • Marmotka
    Marmotka Member Posts: 26
    edited May 2020

    Thanks ladies! I feel much better knowing it's nothing unexpected and maybe quite normal. I am surprised my MO didn't discuss this possibility with me. I'm talking to her again at the end of the month but will be meeting the breast surgeon in the meantime - BC is all she does. It'll be an opportunity for a second opinion on starting the tamoxifen early, and also make that decision depending on whether the surgery is delayed because of Covid-19.

    Thanks again for taking the time.

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