Side effects after completing Taxol/Carbo treatment

lori26

joan60 said:

pain
After I finished chemo the first time I felt good until one month later when body aches, nerothaphy, weak legs kicked in. My Dr. put me on Neurontin which helped. It would take my upper body strength to push me up out of a chair and several steps to get moving. If I rode in a car for mare than 20 minutes I was stiff, my husband jokingly said if he walks any slower he will fall over. The good news it will get better. I've been 6 months out and very few body aches and have gone back to the gym. I just started carbo/taxol and am hoping I don't have the pains and weakness as before. My eyelashes and eyebrows fell out after chemo, too. They also are back so they do grow back fast.

Stay healthy and I hope your pain goes away soon.
Joan

neuropathy
i finished cistplatin/carbo/taxol in august. my hair, head, eyebrows, etc began to grow back before the last treatment. and then lost a lot of eyelashes in maybe october. heard it was normal, but still very scary. for me the worst part of this all was losing my hair. and for the last couple of months i have had horrible neuropathy in my fingers. they keep me up at night with throbbing pain. my doc has put me on 900 mgs of neurotin, but so far it really doesn't seem to help.

childofthestars

lori26 said:

neuropathy
i finished cistplatin/carbo/taxol in august. my hair, head, eyebrows, etc began to grow back before the last treatment. and then lost a lot of eyelashes in maybe october. heard it was normal, but still very scary. for me the worst part of this all was losing my hair. and for the last couple of months i have had horrible neuropathy in my fingers. they keep me up at night with throbbing pain. my doc has put me on 900 mgs of neurotin, but so far it really doesn't seem to help.

Lori26
It's a real bummer isn't it! You get thru chemo THEN suffer these awful effects afterwards!!!! I'm really struggling at the moment, the joint pains are getting worse and coupled with the hot flushes my sleep is terrible. It's really impacting on my life and making me feel really miserable
M x

anicca

lori26 said:

neuropathy
i finished cistplatin/carbo/taxol in august. my hair, head, eyebrows, etc began to grow back before the last treatment. and then lost a lot of eyelashes in maybe october. heard it was normal, but still very scary. for me the worst part of this all was losing my hair. and for the last couple of months i have had horrible neuropathy in my fingers. they keep me up at night with throbbing pain. my doc has put me on 900 mgs of neurotin, but so far it really doesn't seem to help.

Something to try
I didn't have pain in my fingers, though they got superficially numb. I did have terrible stabbing pains in my feet after my second carbo/taxol treatment. My NP told me to take 50mg B6 and 250mg Magnesium daily, and that helped right away. You could ask your doctor or NP if it's OK for you to try it. I asked for Neurontin as a sleep aid (long story about that,) and was refused. Recently I googled it and saw one report that said it isn't particularly effective for treating chemo induced peripheral neuropathy.

carolenk

Platinum side effects
My understanding is that you are experiencing the side effects of the carboplatin chemo. My oncology nurse called it "bone pain." The platinum affects the bone marrow and that is also how the white blood cell count is lowered while on carboplatin.

I paid for the Moss Report to get the latest research on my type of cancer (papillary serous stage IIIc grade 3 with peritoneal carcinomatosis diagnosed 8/10) because I wanted to know EVERYTHING out there that might help me besides chemo. The Moss Report listed a product called "Biost" made by Standard Process as being beneficial. I have taken this supplement (made out of raw veal bone meal) 6/day with meals since starting on the same chemo that you are on. I also take other supplements to treat/prevent neuropathy and for general wellness. I also see a doctor who prescribed EDTA (chelation therapy) to remove the platinum from my bones after it has finished doing it's job. AND I am using high-dose ascorbic acid IVs 3 times/week to prevent platinum resistance.

I realize that I cannot compare my situation with your situation because I have only had 4 carboplatin treatments. However, I have no bone pain at all. The oncologist stopped using Taxol because I had "brain poisoning" from massive tumor die-off (after 2 Taxol treatments) and thinks I don't need Taxol at this time.

My hair fell out from the Taxol but since I am only on the carboplatin now, it is growing back and I only get mild fatigue and a few days of poor appetite after chemo. No other side effects. I had some mild neuropathy in the past but 300 mg alpha lipoic acid keeps that away.

Time will tell how I do (CA-125 is now 13.2 down from 17,000 in October 2010) although I already feel like a long-term survivor (it's just a matter of time because I can call myself that).

Best wishes,

Carolen

tani92163

Joint and muscle pain post chemo
Hi Childofthestars

I'm having the same problems, my last chemo treatment was April 2010, and Herceptin treatments ended in Dec of 2010. About 4 months ago my feet started to ache and than a month later my knees, hips and wrists, and now my muscle ache so bad it's difficult to sleep. I am a occupational therapy assistant and I work with elementary school aged children, I can barely get up from the floor after working with them for only 15 minutes. A month ago my family doctor prescribed Cymbalta, I'm taking 2-30mg pills a day. It has helped a bit, I'm not as hobbled when I get home. Before the meds I couldn't even stand to cook dinner let alone cleanup. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts June of 2009. I had a bilateral mastectomy in December of 2009. I am now 47 and some days I feel like I'm 75. I hope everything works out for you, good luck, Tani

gdpawel

Peripheral Neuropathy
There are three major groups of nerves in the human body.

1. The peripheral nerves that carry information to and from the limbs.

2. The nerves that supply the bowels and other internal organs.

3. The nerves of the head which connect to the ears, eyes, taste buds, etc.

Nerves in any or all of these major groups can be affected by certain chemotherapy drugs.

Nerves are vulnerable to many kinds of damage. They can be damaged by certain cancers. This may be caused by the cancer cells producing a particular kind of biological agent that interferes with the function of the nerves.

Sometimes, they can be damaged by drugs used in chemotherapy treatment. The chemotherapy drugs that most likely cause nerve damage are the vinca alkaloids, platinum drugs and the taxanes. These drugs have the potential of interfering with nerve function.

You may notice symptoms in different areas of your body depending on which groups of nerves are affected.

Symptoms in the hands and feet happen when peripheral nerve damage happens. The first sign of nerve damage is usually a feeling of tingling and numbness like what you experience when your foot goes to sleep after you've been sitting for a long time in an uncomfortable position.

If the problem progresses further, it often produces weakness of the muscles, resulting in loss of strength at the wrist or the ankle. You will notice difficulty in doing up buttons and picking up coins. You may notice that you will tend to trip while walking up stairs or dragging your feet and tend to have a wide-based gait. In severe cases, the weakness may be so severe that you will need a wheelchair.

When the nerves in the bowel are affected, constipation is the earliest sign. In a few people, the abdomen becomes bloated with a distended bowel that is basically paralyzed.

Some of the nerves in the head can also be affected. Platinum drugs can affect the auditory nerve and cause loss of hearing and tinnitus(ringing in the ears). Vision can very occasionally be affected.

A lot depends on how quickly your cancer treatment can be stopped. Sometimes the need for treatment is more urgent then the residual nerve damage. Sometimes, the balance between benefit from the drug and the side effect of nerve damage is more finely balanced.

Once treatment has been stopped, recovery is usually slow. It may take months to get even partial improvement and often there will be some residual impairment, either a motor weakness or a sensory numbness or both. Recovery is slower in the feet and legs than in the hands and arms.

There is no specific treatment that enhances nerve recovery. There are no drugs that will directly stimulate nerve regeneration or recovery. If you have severe and prolonged pain, then the pain may require narcotics often combined with antidepressants. In some cases, certain types of anticonvulsants would be helpful.

Treatment options are subjects that you should discuss with your doctor, so you have accurate expectations of potential benefits and side effects.

Chemotherapy drugs that can cause neuropathy. NCI lists these as most likely to do so:

Cisplatinum (Platinol)
Carboplatin (Paraplatin)
Vincristine (Oncovin)
Vinblastine (Velban)
Etoposide/VP-16 (VePesid)
Cytarabine (Cytosar, Ara-C)
Hexamethylmelamine (Hexalen)
Suramin
Paclitaxel (Taxol) and Docetaxel (Taxotere)
Other medications reported to contribute to neuropathy include oxaliplatin (Eloxatin), gemcitibine (Gemzar) and thalidomide (Thalomid).

childofthestars

tani92163 said:

Joint and muscle pain post chemo
Hi Childofthestars

I'm having the same problems, my last chemo treatment was April 2010, and Herceptin treatments ended in Dec of 2010. About 4 months ago my feet started to ache and than a month later my knees, hips and wrists, and now my muscle ache so bad it's difficult to sleep. I am a occupational therapy assistant and I work with elementary school aged children, I can barely get up from the floor after working with them for only 15 minutes. A month ago my family doctor prescribed Cymbalta, I'm taking 2-30mg pills a day. It has helped a bit, I'm not as hobbled when I get home. Before the meds I couldn't even stand to cook dinner let alone cleanup. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts June of 2009. I had a bilateral mastectomy in December of 2009. I am now 47 and some days I feel like I'm 75. I hope everything works out for you, good luck, Tani

TANI
Hi Tani
Doesn't joint pain just SUCK!! I exercise and swim about 3-4 times a week and I feel almost pain free for an hour or so after and then pains return so I think that adreneline is obviously a good thing as it relieves the pain albeit short term - wouldn't it b nice to find a drug that could do this with NO adverse side effects!
((Hugs))
Michelle x

Tethys41

childofthestars said:

TANI
Hi Tani
Doesn't joint pain just SUCK!! I exercise and swim about 3-4 times a week and I feel almost pain free for an hour or so after and then pains return so I think that adreneline is obviously a good thing as it relieves the pain albeit short term - wouldn't it b nice to find a drug that could do this with NO adverse side effects!
((Hugs))
Michelle x

Thyroid
Michelle,
I recommend you read the following book:
"Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms If My Lab Results Are Normal?" by Dr. Kharrazian. This book discusses the autoimmune condition you mentioned you have, and how to treat the condition, rather than taking just thyroid hormone, which does not solve the problem. As soon as I got onto his plan, my muscle and joint pain disappeared.

childofthestars

Tethys41 said:

Thyroid
Michelle,
I recommend you read the following book:
"Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms If My Lab Results Are Normal?" by Dr. Kharrazian. This book discusses the autoimmune condition you mentioned you have, and how to treat the condition, rather than taking just thyroid hormone, which does not solve the problem. As soon as I got onto his plan, my muscle and joint pain disappeared.

Tethys41
Thanks for that, i will order book from Amazon today and keep you posted.
Michelle x

ppett

After Taxol

Good Morning Childofthestars...  I just joined this site today and read your story.  I completed my last Taxol treatment 6 weeks ago today and I too am 46 years old.  Your description above describes ME exactly... including the aches and pains in the joints and feet, and my eyelashes and eyebrows seemed to fall out AFTER the treatments were over.  UGH   But I experienced relatively few side effects during the actual treatments.   I have described my aches and pains to others exactly as you have described it above.. feels like I have just done a rigorous workout after not having gone to the gym in months!    I see that I am not alone and just wondered how long it takes before these symptoms go away?  I am achy all the time and hoping my eyelashes come back soon!    I have a little hair growth but feel like it's moving very slowly.   Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated! 

childofthestars

ppett said:

After Taxol

Good Morning Childofthestars...  I just joined this site today and read your story.  I completed my last Taxol treatment 6 weeks ago today and I too am 46 years old.  Your description above describes ME exactly... including the aches and pains in the joints and feet, and my eyelashes and eyebrows seemed to fall out AFTER the treatments were over.  UGH   But I experienced relatively few side effects during the actual treatments.   I have described my aches and pains to others exactly as you have described it above.. feels like I have just done a rigorous workout after not having gone to the gym in months!    I see that I am not alone and just wondered how long it takes before these symptoms go away?  I am achy all the time and hoping my eyelashes come back soon!    I have a little hair growth but feel like it's moving very slowly.   Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated! 

Life after chemo

Hi ppett 

I don't know wether you noticed the date of my messages but it was back at the beginning of 2011!  However, what I can tell you is that things DO get better ) the achy feeling did eventually go after a couple of months but the joint pains just got worse & worse. In the end I realised it was due to being put into the menopause - I was suffering all the symptoms of menopause but unfortunately I seemed to be suffering them threefold!  My surgery had put me into menopause & I know that there are docs out there that believe surgically induced menopause symptoms can b quite drastic . Anyway after about 2 years of debilitating joint pain & hot flushes I took the 'radical' decision to go on Premarin (HRT) my breast doc was Not happy but it literally changed my life overnight!  Of note I had bc in 2010 (tripple negative) and was re-diagnosed with this again about 5 weeks ago and have just undergone surgery!  I'm BRCA1 +ve. 

Anyway what I am trying to say is that things DO get better although you may need a little bit of help getting there!  

Apart from my recent cancer outing I am fit & well with minimal achy joints, very few hot flushes lovely mid length hair & lovely eyebrows lol!!!!! 

Hope this helps. 

Michelle x 

HAVEFAITH65

Severe Neuropathy

I just joined the group today and just looking for a lil support regarding my severe neuropathy.  I went through 2 different phases of chemo for triple negative breast cancer.  I received 4 treatments of adriamycin and cytoxan followed by 12 weekly doses of taxol with carboplatin every 3 weeks.  I finished chemo the end of May and then did 33 treatments of radiation.  I completed everything the end of July.  I have developed a severe case of neuropathy which seems to have gotten worse after chemo was done.  I am trying to find some relief but there just doesn't seem to be much.  I have taken gabapentin and lyrica but after realizing they were not working, I quit taking them.  Also, I have realized that I don't have much strength throughout my entire body.  Just looking for advice on what others have found that has worked or what things you have experienced.

dsings

Yes, a few weeks after my

Yes, a few weeks after my last treatment I started having pain in my buttocks.  I wakes me up all night long and I use an arthritis pain gel to get some relief.  Hoping this goes away with time.  It's 7 months now.