Severe pain after first Carbo/Taxol infusion?

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Nancy1141
Nancy1141 Member Posts: 1
in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
My mother has had stage IV Uterine Cancer since 2002. She made it this far after a course of hormone therapy drugs that she took for 5 years, and she remained in a "holding pattern" until about 3 months ago.
At this point, her oncologist felt he wanted to be more aggressive with the treatment, and scheduled a course of chemotherapy which began 2 weeks ago. After my mother had the 5 hour infusion, she felt fine. She went to lunch afterward, and went about her normal activities. The second day, about mid afternoon, she began to feel weak and retreated to bed. That night she was extremely cold and slept with an electric blanket set as high as it would go. Then, beginning the 3rd day after the chemo, she was incapacitated by overwhelming pain. She described it as beginning at the base of her neck, going down her spine, wrapping around her sides, and shooting down to her feet. She was alternating Advil with Aleve--per nurse's instructions, but it didn't help, and I picked up an emergency prescription for narcotics to see her through.
The pain continued for almost 10 days! My mother is already saying that if this is what is going to happen every time, she is unwilling to continue with the chemotherapy treatments. While I have absolutely no problem with any decision she makes regarding her treatment...after all, it is HER BODY, she can do what she wants. I DO think that there could possibly be other issues that could have contributed to the pain. She DID have a bad kidney infection as well, which can cause quite a bit of pain. She is not accepting that the kidney infection had any part in the experience. (She is extremely stubborn).
Anyway, after all my investigating, I see that most people who experience pain after the chemotherapy treatments, say that it subsides after the 4th day. I just feel that my mother needs to discuss all of this with her doctor at her upcoming appountment, and see if there is another plan for managing her pain. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

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  • daisy366
    daisy366 Member Posts: 1,458 Member
    #2
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    Nancy
    I never experienced anything like this. I did experience sensitivity/allergic reaction of carboplatin and had to take some steroids to control reaction.

    This situation is definitely something to discuss with the doctor. Seems like the kidney infection definitely could have contributed. Hopefully that is resolved by now. There may be other chemo drugs that can be substituted.

    Keep us posted here. Best wishes. Mary Ann
  • jazzy1
    jazzy1 Member Posts: 1,379
    #3
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    daisy366 said:

    Nancy
    I never experienced anything like this. I did experience sensitivity/allergic reaction of carboplatin and had to take some steroids to control reaction.

    This situation is definitely something to discuss with the doctor. Seems like the kidney infection definitely could have contributed. Hopefully that is resolved by now. There may be other chemo drugs that can be substituted.

    Keep us posted here. Best wishes. Mary Ann

    Nancy
    I was on the same drug regiment as your mom, but my pain lasted possibly up to 4-5 days only. As the chemo continued it became more intensive with pain, but still only last 4-5 days. FYI chemo is cumulative!

    My suggestion, get a call to her doc and even ask one of the chemo nurses what they might suggest, as don't think this is "normal". If nothing else, they can confirm what might be wrong instead of guessing yourself.

    Hugs,
    Jan
  • norma2
    norma2 Member Posts: 479
    #4
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    I had pain in my legs for
    I had pain in my legs for about 2 weeks after each treatment with Carbol/Taxol. Hated the pain pills they made me constipated. I would sleep in my easy chair legs elevated. After the treatments the pain went away. Hope it is better for your Mom soon.
  • Songflower
    Songflower Member Posts: 608
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    norma2 said:

    I had pain in my legs for
    I had pain in my legs for about 2 weeks after each treatment with Carbol/Taxol. Hated the pain pills they made me constipated. I would sleep in my easy chair legs elevated. After the treatments the pain went away. Hope it is better for your Mom soon.

    Pain after Chemo
    I would get the pain your mother described but it did not go down my legs. It would hurt so much I would have to pull my head back and hold very still until it subsided. It would go down my spine. I asked my Gyn/Onc and she had another patient with it and sent her to a neurologist and he said it was neuropathy from the chemo. I am on weekly chemo now and got it for the first time last night and it was very light. I am already on medication for neuropathy. There are many things she can do for this pain; first she needs to talk to her Doctor about this. If she refuses call the Doctor yourself. Advil is not going to touch it. Also, taxol can cause temporary reactions. This can be burning pain. Sometimes I get pain from taxol sometimes not. It burns in my muscles and I could catagorize it as severe. Another oncologist told me that reactions to taxol come and go with the treatment. Having it for 10 days sounds like a severe reaction. There are other chemotherapy drugs your mother can use. I took taxol twice and it was so severe. I am on gemzar now and it is much easier to take. I like the weekly treatments; they are much easier to take. Please tell your mother not to give up. There are many chemo drugs she can take and many pain medications she can take. She may have to see a pain management specialist. my pain specialist told me "I have a treasure chest of medication to help you cope with this." And she does. Sometimes they even put a port in that carries morphine to the spine and helps you so much.

    Let us know how she does. Let us know how you do!
    Diane

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