Chemotherapy Side Effects - HELP

nudgie -

Chemo treats everyone differently. The symptoms you have described sound like typical side effects. It is interesting to see your docs using oxaliplatin as a prophylactic chemo regime for stage 2. That treatment, however, does seem to be becoming more common. Back inthe day, there was NO chemo for stage 2.

I urge you to discuss your symptoms with your doctor. S/he may change your dosage, my eliminate the oxaliplatin from your chemo regime, or may feel that the benefits outweigh the symptoms you are experiencing.

Most importantly, remember that you are the person who is in control of your treatment. You have final veto authority and you have the option to seek out a second and third opinion if you are not satisfied with what you are being told. I wouldn't say your doc is playing a guessing game - s/he knows that chemo treats everyone differently, but may be unaware of how the chemo is treating you. You need to make your doc aware of what is going on so that you can work together to find the best treatment for you.

Keeping you in my prayers.

- SpongeBob

Hi Nudgie:

Well, the good news is that all those side effects go away. Someday they'll be a distant memory. For now, yup, it's not the greatest feeling. I was a stage II who took adjuvant chemo, the good ol' FOLFOX. I had most of the symptoms you mentioned below plus a few. So let me give you an itemized list of how I dealt with it, other than just grin and bear it:

- Finger tingling - This is classic Oxaliplatin peripheral nuropathy. My onc recommended 200mg of B6 vitamin daily, which seemed to help. You probably also have cold sensitivity too. I had to wear gloves to cut veggies from the fridge.


- Burning in chest - hmmm, didn't have a lot of this myself. Could be some sort of anxiety related symptoms. Would be a good one to ask your onc about.

- Throat discomfort - #2 classic oxaliplatin cold sensitivity. I couldn't even drink room temp water w/o upsetting my throat. So, it's time to nurture the inner herbal tea drinker

- Body tingling - Didn't experience this one.

- Jaw pain - This is a common one, I think it has to do with Oxaliplatin too.

- Muscle aches - I had this, but generally found it helpful to get some mild exercise when I could.

- Got real flush (red) on face & neck only - aha! I had this big time. In my case, it was due to the steroids that's in the nausea drug Decadrone (sp?). I hated the idea of taking steroids so much that I opted out of the nausea drug and chose to throw up instead. That clear the hot flashes and glowing face immediately.

- Breathing changes (no shortness of breath)- didn't notice this myself.

- Chest discomfort (sometimes tightness)- Another good one to talk to your onc about. Again, what I found is that exercise really really really helps with general state of wellness.

- Tiredness - Fatigue is the most common chemo side-effects. So, while tired, just sleep. Keep in mind that you need your immune system and your immune system only rebuild when you're sleeping. So when you're tired, that's your body trying to tell you something. Don't fight it. Grab a nap any time of the day when you need it and if it's possible.


- Headaches (sometimes) - Probably because you're not sleeping well?

- Sleep only 4-5 hours a night - yup, that's the steroids doing its thing. Again, I found the idea of no sleep, low resistance so terrifying that I just told them to take me off the steroids. You didn't mention sever nausea, which means that the nausea drugs are keeping nausea away pretty well. So you have to decide what's the lesser of 2 evils - throwing up or taking steroids and can't sleep.

- Now that you know my history my question is: Do the side effects of this Regime get worse with each treatment or basically stay the same?

The nuropathy gets worse with more treatments. At some point your body will say "enough". You will know when that happens. Mine happened on the 8th round. But then there are some nice surprises too - I ate like a horse and quickly gained back all the weight I lost....unfotunately some of that chemo fat is still with me. Then again, I take not wasting away on chemo as a personal triumph. So fat is good

Best of luck to you and keep us posted on your progress.

Cheers,
JADot

Hi!!
My side effects include fatigue, neuropathy (like electric shocks with cold things with hands and throat), nose bleeds, and severe stomach cramps. My onc said the stomach cramps are very rare, but he has seen it with this drug combination. To be honest with you...this chemo regiment has been hell for me. This Tuesday I will receive number 4. I am sick a lot, and the stomach cramps are incredible. My first bout with this lasted for 8 hours. I also had vomitting with the cramps. Gross!!!!!! I now have medication to help with the cramps. My blood counts are great, though. Everybody reacts differently to chemo. I know some people that sailed through oxlaiplatin with few problems. I also know others that had a rough time like me. Cancer sucks. Good luck. My prayers and thoughts are with you so you can endure this chemo. Terri