Question: Pre-meds for Taxol Chemo

Taxol
I start 4 treatments on the 6 of june .I was told I get my meds just before the treatmnet my treatment will last 3 hours they will give me meds to take care of the side effects but they still want to do it slow.I will also be getting Herceptin which takes 30 min for it. it is for my Her2 receptor. I wish you good luck and lots of hugs......

allergic reaction
Taxol has a high rate of allergic reaction. It's not to the drug - but the solvent they put it in to allow is to be infused through IV. The meds I had before the 4 Taxol treatments I had changed each time because I had terrible reactions to it. We finally got it right on the 4th treatment and everything went fine - no reaction.

The only thing I ever took at home before I got there was Benedryl. Once there I got IV steroids and more Benedryl. They also slowed down the infusion to where it took almost 7 hours by the last treatment. It was okay though - with that much Benedryl in my system I slept through most of it.

The side effects of Taxol were much different for me. It was much easier than A/C. I did suffer some neuropathy in my fingers and toes that went away eventually. I did have about 36 hours of pretty nasty bone and muscle pain about a day after each treatment. I ended up using some pain killers (viocdan left over from my surgery) to deal with it. I started with Advil but it didn't really work.

Good luck with your treatments!

Taxol
I had taxol 12 times. The gave me pepcid (anti-nausea), decradon (steroid) and benedryl just before starting the taxol. I didn't have to take anything before or after. The did the drip slowly at first then kicked it up a little each week. 5 hours the first week just under 3 the last few.
Every one is different. I didn't have much of a reaction to this except being really tired and a little achy.
All the best!
Cindy

PS - also the eyebrows, eye lashes fell out. Some tingling in fingers and toes but gone now.

Rague said:

12 weekly Taxol
I did 12 weekly Taxol and did not have to take anything the day before infusion. Immediately before infusion I would take a Ondansetron (Zofran) and then one every 8 hrs for 2 days - also took 2 Dex on days 2, 3 & 4 post Chemo. Before infusion, I was given via IV Pepcid, Dexamethasone, and Benadryl. The Benadryl would 'knock me out' within seconds of it starting and wake up shortly before the Taxol was some. I always had a bed for Taxol as the reclinners were very comfortable when awake but when asleep. Also the bed room were entirely enclosed with glass actoss the from so it was easier to keep it warm in thee - I got very cold all the time and would have several heated blankets.

Remember we are all different and our Drs' are also different.

Susan

I think I had the same treatment as you
I did 4 AC then 4 Taxol every 2 weeks. For the Taxol I took Dexamethasone the night before and the morning of the treatment. I don't remember the exact dosage but it was 4 xs the dosage I took during the AC treatments. I was definitely hyper (understatement!) the night before the treatment and for a day after. As a matter of fact, the day of and the day after, I didn't feel much different at all...kind of like 'did they relly give me something?' The Taxol drip took 3 hours. The very first time I felt flushed and overheated for a few minutes...kind of like intense hot flashes...every 20 mins or so. Then that stopped. I was given Zofran, an anti nasuea drug, to take but never needed it.

I went for a neulasta shot the day after treatment. The 3rd day after treatment the bone pain set in. That was very intense for me. I took Oxydondone for that. I also experienced intense depression on days 3 and 4, would sob the "why mes" at the drop of a hat on those days. But by day 5 I was fine. That was really weird. I think it was the sudden decrease in the steroids actually that caused that so if you aren't taking those megadoses of steroids you probabaly won't experience that.

As for the cumulative effects, I lost the rest of my eyelashes and eyebrows...not a hair to be seen. But do not despair because your lashes grow back fast when you are done with treatments! I also experienced neuropathy in my fingers and my feet. My nails got weird looking, curvy, but didn't fall out. 3 months post Taxol, they are pretty much normal again. So again, don't despair, it's only for a short time.

One thing I remember is that the 2 doctors who saw me differed in their way to treat Taxol. My main onc who oversaw the treatemnts recommended the steroids, but the day after when I went for the neulasta shot, I saw a different doctor. He said that they don't usually do the megadose of steroids anymore. Almost like he was saying that my main doctor was going about this a little old fashioned. So if you aren't taking the mega steroids before that's something new they are doing. Hope this helps

LoveBabyJesus said:

THANK YOU!
Thank you guys for your input. Once again, you have helped me.

I am somewhat happy about not taking all those steroids. Two side effects I don't want to deal with are nausea/vomiting and constipation.

I get bone pains from nuelesta. Can't imagine the combo with taxol, hmmmm...I'll try to stay positive.

Thank you for your responses.

Unless your Dr has lready
Unless your Dr has lready told you that you will be getting Neulasta with Taxol you may not be - I didn't Did with A/C but not Taxol. But then I never got pain with either.

Susan

I had my 4 taxol treatments
I had my 4 taxol treatments in February and march. I was given the 10 steroid pills to take, 5 the night before and the other 5 the morning of treatment. It went well for me. I was a little wired. The infusion time was longer bit not to bad. Taxol was so much easier for me. It was a cake walk compared to A/C

Suzi

Taxol
I had 4 Taxols (every 2 weeks) - I got anti-nausea, steroids, and benadryl via IV prior to the actual Taxol. My infusion generally took about 6-7 hours because I always had an allergic reaction (intense itching) and they had to stop and give me more benadryl and then wait for that to kick in before continuing. Linda

dbhadra said:

I had 12 weekly Taxol treatments
Pre-meds were Benadryl, Emend and steriods. They started me on 10 mg of steriods and then cut to 5 mg after a few weeks since I was not sleeping and eating constantly and super hyper. After that it went smoothly; I did not have Neulasta with the Taxol. I also did not lose all my hair, just thinning.

Compared to the FEC I am doing now, Taxol was a lot easier for me. Of course, we're all different and have different reactions.

Best of luck with your treatments.

You can do it!

Laura

through the I-V
All the meds I received with Taxol were given through the I-V just prior to the chemo itself. First Benadryl (for possible allergic reaction), next Pepcid (for possible upset stomach), and finally Decadron (to help the body cope with the chemo). Because they wanted these things in my system for 30 minutes before the Taxol, I received my Herceptin (for HER2+) next and then Taxol. I took no oral medication and was not given the Neulasta shots. Though our experiences may vary a little, the doctors had the same goal in mind - to help make the chemo more tolerable.

For the first 2 weeks, I barely slept and when I told my onc, he immediately cut the Decadron in half (from 20mg to 10mg). Right away I started getting 4-5 hours each night, making the whole process much better. He said they cannot eliminate the steroid altogether.

To all who are about to begin chemotherapy, best wishes. It's not all roses, but it is do-able. ALWAYS keep in mind the reason you're doing this. God bless us all.
Marsha