Cytoxan and Taxotere

mgm42
mgm42 Member Posts: 491 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I had my first chemo yesterday with cytoxan and Taxotere. Straight CT cocktail. Had an allergic reaction , big time, to Taxotere, but received decardron and benedry to counteract it. Then proceeded on with treatment. Today I fell like a zombie. I'm here but I'm not here. My arms and legs feel like they each weigh a ton and my back aches. I'm burping, have no appetite, and feel like I may have the starts of diarrhea. Did any of you have these types of symptoms? I feel weird. No nausea so far, but I do have the starts of a scratchy throat. Plese let me know if you had these symptoms, so I won't feel like such a weirdo. Thanks. Marilynn

Comments

  • babs49242
    babs49242 Member Posts: 193
    #2
    Marilyn....Yep that is how I felt after treatments...It is a weird feeling..sometimes hard to desrcibe to those who have not had that wonderful cancer killing cocktail. The 3rd day you will feel awful..just heads up..then it starts to get better and by the time for the NEXT treatment you are on top of the world jest to get knock down again BUT for a worth cause. LIFE.
    Hang in there Sister we are here for you!
    hugs and soothing thoughts & touches.
    Cindie
  • mgm42
    mgm42 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #3
    babs49242 said:

    Marilyn....Yep that is how I felt after treatments...It is a weird feeling..sometimes hard to desrcibe to those who have not had that wonderful cancer killing cocktail. The 3rd day you will feel awful..just heads up..then it starts to get better and by the time for the NEXT treatment you are on top of the world jest to get knock down again BUT for a worth cause. LIFE.
    Hang in there Sister we are here for you!
    hugs and soothing thoughts & touches.
    Cindie

    Cindi, thanks so much. I was really feeling the lone ranger on this one. Everyone else seems to have Adriamycin in with their mix, so their side effects were a bit different. Today is day 1, two more to go. Now if the hiccups would go away. Thanks again. I really appreciate it. Marilynn
  • phoenixrising
    phoenixrising Member Posts: 1,508
    #4
    Marilyn, most people take the taxotere alone after AC so you could be getting some effects that are different. I had to take prednisone the day before, the day of and the day after my taxotere to prevent allergic rx. I hope they have insured you take your decadron on these days as well. It's the solvent in taxotere that causes the rx. It ticks me off that they don't use abraxane which doesn't use a solvent and is just as effective. Day 3 was the worse for me with the taxotere. I felt really weird and spacey but I lean that way anyways :)

    Please don't feel like a weirdo, on this stuff anything can happen. You were probably given a monograph of the drugs you are taking and the potential side effects. Some are expected and others you need to call about, make sure you do call if things get bad.

    Hang in girl, we are all rooting for you.
    Big Hug
    jan
  • survivor51
    survivor51 Member Posts: 276
    #5
    Marilyn,
    You definitely are not a weirdo...and one chemo down..hooray. The counteractive drugs they give you plus the nausea drug will make you feel tired. The scratchy throat sounds like an alergic reaction. Are you going today for the day after shot? Did they give you some pills before the chemo? Also, the Taxotere, did they give it a very slow drip? You have my phone number and I am here. Call your oncologist and tell the nurse what is going on. Also, drink plenty of water...even if you don't want to drink. I found that I could not drink anything sweet and the fruit juices gave me ulcers in the mouth. I stuck with water. You can have popcicles(sp)but I suggest sugar free. I found yogurt helped. But do call the oncologist to check about the scratchy throat. Angela
  • survivor51
    survivor51 Member Posts: 276
    #6
    survivor51 said:

    Marilyn,
    You definitely are not a weirdo...and one chemo down..hooray. The counteractive drugs they give you plus the nausea drug will make you feel tired. The scratchy throat sounds like an alergic reaction. Are you going today for the day after shot? Did they give you some pills before the chemo? Also, the Taxotere, did they give it a very slow drip? You have my phone number and I am here. Call your oncologist and tell the nurse what is going on. Also, drink plenty of water...even if you don't want to drink. I found that I could not drink anything sweet and the fruit juices gave me ulcers in the mouth. I stuck with water. You can have popcicles(sp)but I suggest sugar free. I found yogurt helped. But do call the oncologist to check about the scratchy throat. Angela

    Yes, there was a pill the day before, the day of, and the day after but I can't remember the name.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #7
    survivor51 said:

    Marilyn,
    You definitely are not a weirdo...and one chemo down..hooray. The counteractive drugs they give you plus the nausea drug will make you feel tired. The scratchy throat sounds like an alergic reaction. Are you going today for the day after shot? Did they give you some pills before the chemo? Also, the Taxotere, did they give it a very slow drip? You have my phone number and I am here. Call your oncologist and tell the nurse what is going on. Also, drink plenty of water...even if you don't want to drink. I found that I could not drink anything sweet and the fruit juices gave me ulcers in the mouth. I stuck with water. You can have popcicles(sp)but I suggest sugar free. I found yogurt helped. But do call the oncologist to check about the scratchy throat. Angela

    I agree with all this.....ramp up your WATER....I drank 4 quarts the day before, day of, day after infusion....peed like a racehorse, but REALLY cut the sides....

    I had a MAJOR reaction to Taxotere....they slowed the drip WAY DOWN....6 hours to infuse (nurse HATED me...had to stay...lol!). Also, the steroids for the anti-nausea may be making you feel wierd...

    Hey, one down, 4 (?) to go!!! YEA!!!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • survivor51
    survivor51 Member Posts: 276
    #8
    KathiM said:

    I agree with all this.....ramp up your WATER....I drank 4 quarts the day before, day of, day after infusion....peed like a racehorse, but REALLY cut the sides....

    I had a MAJOR reaction to Taxotere....they slowed the drip WAY DOWN....6 hours to infuse (nurse HATED me...had to stay...lol!). Also, the steroids for the anti-nausea may be making you feel wierd...

    Hey, one down, 4 (?) to go!!! YEA!!!

    Hugs, Kathi

    I'm proud of you and so sorry you have a reaction. My first time was a bit of a problem but after that is was fine. They adjusted the drugs. I'm here for you.
  • mgm42
    mgm42 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #9
    KathiM said:

    I agree with all this.....ramp up your WATER....I drank 4 quarts the day before, day of, day after infusion....peed like a racehorse, but REALLY cut the sides....

    I had a MAJOR reaction to Taxotere....they slowed the drip WAY DOWN....6 hours to infuse (nurse HATED me...had to stay...lol!). Also, the steroids for the anti-nausea may be making you feel wierd...

    Hey, one down, 4 (?) to go!!! YEA!!!

    Hugs, Kathi

    I had a major reaction also. I had pinging pains down my entire spine that increased in such intentisy that I thought my body was going to burst with pain. The gave a big dose of decadron plus benedryl. In about 30 minutes, they started me back on the drip very slowly, then gradually moved me back up to the normal drip. I'm taking two decardron the day before and the day after my next treatment. I'm taking in 2 - 3 litres of water along with popscyles and decaf tea. Coffee didn't taste so good this morning. I walk like I'm drunk. Oh well. One down, three more to go. Thanks for the encouragement.
  • RE
    RE Member Posts: 4,591 Member
    #10
    mgm42 said:

    I had a major reaction also. I had pinging pains down my entire spine that increased in such intentisy that I thought my body was going to burst with pain. The gave a big dose of decadron plus benedryl. In about 30 minutes, they started me back on the drip very slowly, then gradually moved me back up to the normal drip. I'm taking two decardron the day before and the day after my next treatment. I'm taking in 2 - 3 litres of water along with popscyles and decaf tea. Coffee didn't taste so good this morning. I walk like I'm drunk. Oh well. One down, three more to go. Thanks for the encouragement.

    Congrats on getting one chemo out of the way! I agree with others....DRINK LOTS OF FLUIDS! I always kept a glass of tea near me and my fam was always refilling it for me. I had may prob with the diarrhea my doc prescribed Lomotil and it helped a great deal. I too had a reaction while being hooked up to the chemo so they had to slow the drip way down and give me meds to ward off ther reaction. A little thing we did so I would always have contact with family at home was that we kept a walkie talkie with me and one downstairs. All i had to do was talk into it and help was on the way. It worked well cause they could take it with them if they stepped outside. Get lots of rest and know that you are on the road to recovery! Keeping you in my prayers!!!!

    Rena
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #11
    I am a little confused as to wether taxotere and taxol are the same. I take taxol and take 10 (!) decadron steriods the day before (talk about spacey and weepy). Also gave me a benadrol drip to counteract. Also my onc. told me taking vitamin B6 helps with side effects and so I take three a day. You see how the experienced responders write...you are one down. Keeping count of the chemo's that are OVER is a great way to keep up spirits. I am done with five out of eight. That figure goes through my mind at least once an hour, intruding on mundane thoughts. I almost get exited to go to chemo so I can say now it is one less. By the way, chemo can be dang boring. I bring my desktop computer with dvd movies to watch. I also try to make myself into a bit of a character in the chemo room to liven things up.
    Congratulations on finishing one. Oh, yeah, I count finishing one as the day I get the treatment. Even though the side effects are not over. That is because optimism is so powerful it will see you through the side effects.
    You are not alone!
    love,
    Joyce
  • phoenixrising
    phoenixrising Member Posts: 1,508
    #12
    unknown said:

    I am a little confused as to wether taxotere and taxol are the same. I take taxol and take 10 (!) decadron steriods the day before (talk about spacey and weepy). Also gave me a benadrol drip to counteract. Also my onc. told me taking vitamin B6 helps with side effects and so I take three a day. You see how the experienced responders write...you are one down. Keeping count of the chemo's that are OVER is a great way to keep up spirits. I am done with five out of eight. That figure goes through my mind at least once an hour, intruding on mundane thoughts. I almost get exited to go to chemo so I can say now it is one less. By the way, chemo can be dang boring. I bring my desktop computer with dvd movies to watch. I also try to make myself into a bit of a character in the chemo room to liven things up.
    Congratulations on finishing one. Oh, yeah, I count finishing one as the day I get the treatment. Even though the side effects are not over. That is because optimism is so powerful it will see you through the side effects.
    You are not alone!
    love,
    Joyce

    Hi Joyce, Taxotere is the brand name for docetaxol is from the needles of the european yew tree. Taxol is the brand name for paclitaxol which is from the bark of the western pacific yew tree.

    From my research there seems to be fewer side effects (or less severe) with taxotere, which is why I was happy to get it, till day 3 when it lit my bones and mouth on fire. Hope this helps.Hope you are taking decadron the day of and the day after your shot. At least that's how it went with me. It's just to prevent you from having an allergic rx to the solvent in the drug. Hope this has helped. And hope it goes smoothly for you.
    jan
  • mgm42
    mgm42 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #13
    phoenixrising said:

    Hi Joyce, Taxotere is the brand name for docetaxol is from the needles of the european yew tree. Taxol is the brand name for paclitaxol which is from the bark of the western pacific yew tree.

    From my research there seems to be fewer side effects (or less severe) with taxotere, which is why I was happy to get it, till day 3 when it lit my bones and mouth on fire. Hope this helps.Hope you are taking decadron the day of and the day after your shot. At least that's how it went with me. It's just to prevent you from having an allergic rx to the solvent in the drug. Hope this has helped. And hope it goes smoothly for you.
    jan

    Thanks, Jan. I sent you and email asking for a little more information. Hugs, Marilynn
  • Stormy8281
    Stormy8281 Member Posts: 24
    #14
    Marilyn,

    I hope you are feeling better after receiving your first treatment, and then experiencing the uncomfortable side effects. (I hope it doesn't last long.) My first is this Friday, so, if you don't mind, I'd like to check on you, and see how you are doing. My first 'cocktail' will be with Adriamycin and Cytoxan. Then after four treatments of that, I am to have Taxotere for another 4 week treatment. After that's all done, I'm having 6-7 weeks of radiation.

    Hopefully, you and I can get through this together.

    Lots of good wishes and prayers to you.

    Gale
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #15
    Hi Marilynn, yup chemo is fun, huh? I had 4 rounds of AC first and then 4 rounds of Taxol alone. But I do remember my legs feeling very heavy after the taxol and had quite a bit of bone pain for a few days after esp. in lower back, ankles, and hands. Hang in there. It seems like its will be forever till you're done but you will get there. And then you will have the peace of mind knowing that you did everything you could. Take care, Eileen
  • aklahn
    aklahn Member Posts: 3
    #16
    Stormy8281 said:

    Marilyn,

    I hope you are feeling better after receiving your first treatment, and then experiencing the uncomfortable side effects. (I hope it doesn't last long.) My first is this Friday, so, if you don't mind, I'd like to check on you, and see how you are doing. My first 'cocktail' will be with Adriamycin and Cytoxan. Then after four treatments of that, I am to have Taxotere for another 4 week treatment. After that's all done, I'm having 6-7 weeks of radiation.

    Hopefully, you and I can get through this together.

    Lots of good wishes and prayers to you.

    Gale

    Cytoxan and Taxotere First time Treatment
    I am going for first treatment this week with this CT cocktail. I only hope I do not have bad side effects. I am scared of having a reaction. If I do not take to the Taxotere they said they will give me some form of *rubicin. I heard this drug is really toxic to the heart. Thank you to all who have commented. This helps. I hope you all are doing well today.

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