First Treatment of A/C Was Horrible-Does it Get Any Better?

SBB123
SBB123 Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I had my first A/C treatment last week. My doctor and the chemo nurses were convinced that due to my age, overall health and positive attitude the treatments would be a breeze. Quite frankly, so did I !! WRONG!!! It was horrible. the drugs they gave me to prevent nausea gave me such a bad headache that it made me feel nauseous! I wake up in the middle of the night nauseous. I have periods of time where a wave takes over and I feel foggy. I was such a mess the day after treatment that when I showed up for work the next day my secretarial staff sent me home telling me I looked green (and believe me I felt it!!)Please tell me it can only get better??? My brother (who happens to be an oncologist) swears that the first treatment is the hardest because your body is getting adjusted. Quite frankly, I don't believe him!!! Curious to hear from the survivors out there that have been through the course! No sugar coating please! I need to mentally prepare myself for the next treatment which is less than a week away.
Thank you!
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Comments

  • mmontero38
    mmontero38 Member Posts: 1,510
    I had 8 rounds of
    I had 8 rounds of adriamycin/cytoxan and 5FU which is the CAF cocktail. First time they gave me a double dose then I had 6 more doses every 3 weeks. I honestly didn't feel too bad until the end. Everyone says that it builds up in your body and I tend to agree. They gave me Anzamet for the nausea and it helped somewhat until the last 2 treatments. I am hoping that yours do not get too bad. Good luck to you and hugs, Lili
  • ladybug22
    ladybug22 Member Posts: 646

    I had 8 rounds of
    I had 8 rounds of adriamycin/cytoxan and 5FU which is the CAF cocktail. First time they gave me a double dose then I had 6 more doses every 3 weeks. I honestly didn't feel too bad until the end. Everyone says that it builds up in your body and I tend to agree. They gave me Anzamet for the nausea and it helped somewhat until the last 2 treatments. I am hoping that yours do not get too bad. Good luck to you and hugs, Lili

    Please take one day at a
    Please take one day at a time you will make it and this to will pass.
  • Joycelouise
    Joycelouise Member Posts: 482
    Perhaps you should check
    Perhaps you should check into your anti nauseau meds for the trouble. There are many different ones and you can change. Not that chemo is a breeze, but it might be more doable with a few adjustments. Best wishes - Love, Joyce
  • muse23
    muse23 Member Posts: 15
    chemo effects
    Hi,
    I know just what you mean. Been there and survived. The addition of Emend, very strong anti nausea drug was immensely helpful. I don't know why it wasn't part of the regime in the beginning. I suffered unnecessarily. Ask you doc abut this.
    The steroids got me too. Life was a puddle for the first of the 2 weeks in between treatments. AC for 2 months and then Taxol for 2 months.
    One day at a time. Sometimes, one hour at a time. Use your friends and family to comfort you. But know that your inner strength and body's natural ability to heal itself will engage.
    Hang in there!!!:)
    Vicki
  • SBB123
    SBB123 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks For the Support & Input
    I appreciate the support and wisdom from all! I am on the "wonder drug" Emend unfortunately I get such a migraine from the Emend that I actually feel nauseous. Quite disappointing because everyone I talk to raves about its effectiveness. I am going to talk to my doc about tweaking or adding something to counteract the side effects of the anti-nausea drugs.
  • deemarie100
    deemarie100 Member Posts: 14
    muse23 said:

    chemo effects
    Hi,
    I know just what you mean. Been there and survived. The addition of Emend, very strong anti nausea drug was immensely helpful. I don't know why it wasn't part of the regime in the beginning. I suffered unnecessarily. Ask you doc abut this.
    The steroids got me too. Life was a puddle for the first of the 2 weeks in between treatments. AC for 2 months and then Taxol for 2 months.
    One day at a time. Sometimes, one hour at a time. Use your friends and family to comfort you. But know that your inner strength and body's natural ability to heal itself will engage.
    Hang in there!!!:)
    Vicki

    wow
    things will get only better not worse,Keep a positive atitude. I had my first treatment and I was fine,that amend medication is great,only one downfall I keep losing weight and I do eat. My dr told me because of the chemo. I have not lost my hair ,but i am not my hair just a joke lol lol lol . The only problem I am having is getting help. I went to the salvation army and they told me that because I get 10 over the limit I would not be able to get a food basket for thankkgiving so I guess I will eat oddle of noodle,went to socail service and they said I could get 12 dollars worth hey I appreciate that. I will not give up my fight to beat this .Dont look back concentrate on the moment to move forward. Have a good bless day.
  • nancyh1314
    nancyh1314 Member Posts: 11
    SBB123 said:

    Thanks For the Support & Input
    I appreciate the support and wisdom from all! I am on the "wonder drug" Emend unfortunately I get such a migraine from the Emend that I actually feel nauseous. Quite disappointing because everyone I talk to raves about its effectiveness. I am going to talk to my doc about tweaking or adding something to counteract the side effects of the anti-nausea drugs.

    Chemo nausea
    My initial treatment consisted of four infusions of Adriamycin and Cytoxan scheduled 3 weeks apart. I also had quite a bit of nausea. I was on 3 drugs that helped control it : Emend, Zofran, and Compazine. The different drugs were taken at different times to control ongoing nausea as well as break-through nausea. I kept a daily journal of the times I was taking the drugs and the effects (or lack of positive effects) on my well-being. Just a few notes each day so I could discuss with the chemo nurse and my doctor and adjust if necessary. (It helped to identify a problem I was having with Decadron, the 'anti-allergic-reaction' drug).

    I had a heavy, fuzzy head right after the first treatment of Adriamycin/Cytoxan. And it did develop into a headache that varied in degree and lasted several days. In checking back on my notes, I did not experience the headache issue after the 2nd, 3rd or 4th treatments. I also tried to go back to work a couple of days after the first treatment, felt very sick and had to bail out. I experienced much more fatigue after the first treatment and had to be alert to the fuzzy head signalling it's time to rest. But I did not feel overtly fatigued until it was too late. And, of course, fatigue leads to more nausea. So, if you can, rest even when you are not really tired which is probably an unusual thing for you to do. Good luck in finding the right combination of drugs.
  • mjfromtx
    mjfromtx Member Posts: 49

    Chemo nausea
    My initial treatment consisted of four infusions of Adriamycin and Cytoxan scheduled 3 weeks apart. I also had quite a bit of nausea. I was on 3 drugs that helped control it : Emend, Zofran, and Compazine. The different drugs were taken at different times to control ongoing nausea as well as break-through nausea. I kept a daily journal of the times I was taking the drugs and the effects (or lack of positive effects) on my well-being. Just a few notes each day so I could discuss with the chemo nurse and my doctor and adjust if necessary. (It helped to identify a problem I was having with Decadron, the 'anti-allergic-reaction' drug).

    I had a heavy, fuzzy head right after the first treatment of Adriamycin/Cytoxan. And it did develop into a headache that varied in degree and lasted several days. In checking back on my notes, I did not experience the headache issue after the 2nd, 3rd or 4th treatments. I also tried to go back to work a couple of days after the first treatment, felt very sick and had to bail out. I experienced much more fatigue after the first treatment and had to be alert to the fuzzy head signalling it's time to rest. But I did not feel overtly fatigued until it was too late. And, of course, fatigue leads to more nausea. So, if you can, rest even when you are not really tired which is probably an unusual thing for you to do. Good luck in finding the right combination of drugs.

    1st Treatment
    I just got done with my 1st treatment of A/C and Taxetere or TAC. I had lots of trouble with nausea. I tried Emend which helped the first two days I took it. I tried Compazine which did nothing, tried Zophan and it worked sometimes sometimes not, and then took Phenagran. It took away the nausea but also made me very sleepy. It makes the brain stop sending signals that your stomach is nauseated. You must not work, drive, or do anything while taking this drug as I was out for several hours but when I woke up I was nausea free for the rest of the day. Like others on here I was forced to cut back on work the first week of chemo because of side effects and fatigue so I am planning my work schedule to take off the week right after chemo to recover fully before returning to work. I have found that I really need to pace myself because my body just won't let me do anything if I am so tired. Best wishes for the next round. My next round is this Thursday. I am working closely with my chemo nurses to be sure I have all the meds and supplements I need to get through it. I also had problems with dehydration so they are setting me up to come in for fluids twice after the chemo treatments to get ahead of that issue as well. I find that if I speak up and keep asking questions I am heard and get my needs met! Best wishes to you. MJ
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    I always wondered....
    What your brother said....all these 'healthy' cells that were dying along with the cancer cells...I wondered if that was a trouble on the first one.

    I found, in all of this, water was my best friend. I would drink up to 4 quarts of water the day before, the day of, and the day after infusion, and insisted upon a hydration bag after the chemo...it took longer, I had to pee ALOT, but it made it easier.

    I had every side effect in the book...I wondered if it partially was that I had chemo for rectal cancer just 6 months earlier. I tried every anti-nausea drug they had, nothing worked. I found that ginger ale helped alot.

    Hugs, Kathi
  • deemarie100
    deemarie100 Member Posts: 14
    greeting
    sometimes i feel so down and out, I am stage 4 breast cancer it came back only in my lung,does anyone know of the survivor rate for this kind of cancer, i would really like to see my future grandchildren,thank God it has gone know were else in my body.I go for my second chemo on the 22th so far so good,just somewhat sad. I know I have to keep positive,and I am giving it my best shot keep me up in prayer
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member

    greeting
    sometimes i feel so down and out, I am stage 4 breast cancer it came back only in my lung,does anyone know of the survivor rate for this kind of cancer, i would really like to see my future grandchildren,thank God it has gone know were else in my body.I go for my second chemo on the 22th so far so good,just somewhat sad. I know I have to keep positive,and I am giving it my best shot keep me up in prayer

    I do not know...but
    I don't rely on statistics very often. Mainly because, by the stats, I should be on the other side already (I was given 6 months to live, 3 1/2 years ago). And, unless I didn't get the e-mail....

    No one can promise you anything about the future. We all know that in our heart of hearts. I will probably never see my grandchildren, not because of my survival, but because my one daughter died, and my other is disabled. I'm not sure I want the responsibility on her that having children brings.

    That said, I am thankful for every day I have. I think that being faced with a menace like cancer, we find the best in things around us. Sure, I have my dark moments, but I also have my times of light and laughter...

    Big, warm hugs to you....sorry for the philosopical discussion. I will keep you in my prayers.

    Hugs, Kathi
  • deemarie100
    deemarie100 Member Posts: 14
    KathiM said:

    I do not know...but
    I don't rely on statistics very often. Mainly because, by the stats, I should be on the other side already (I was given 6 months to live, 3 1/2 years ago). And, unless I didn't get the e-mail....

    No one can promise you anything about the future. We all know that in our heart of hearts. I will probably never see my grandchildren, not because of my survival, but because my one daughter died, and my other is disabled. I'm not sure I want the responsibility on her that having children brings.

    That said, I am thankful for every day I have. I think that being faced with a menace like cancer, we find the best in things around us. Sure, I have my dark moments, but I also have my times of light and laughter...

    Big, warm hugs to you....sorry for the philosopical discussion. I will keep you in my prayers.

    Hugs, Kathi

    thank u
    u have given me hope,are u on any kind of special diet and any medicine? U are a gem thank u. God works miracle
  • Irishwhispers
    Irishwhispers Member Posts: 96
    A/C aka Red Demon
    Hugs to you SBB
    I am walking into my 3rd treatment of A/C this week, but what I wanted to share with you is ... Yes, I had the Mother of all Headaches right after my first treatment.. as the infusion progressed, my head felt like it was turning into concrete, and by the time I returned home, I had the worst "Headache" that ever hit this planet!

    When I called the Oncologist they told me to take 2 Hydrocodones .. it took the edge of the pain , but it took almost 23 hours for it to subside completely...

    When I was back for the second treatment, they had told me to take a hydro before my treatment, IT HELPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and take one when I got home.

    They also told me that if the headache did get as bad as the first round of Chemo to let them know .. and the thrid one they would give me something different during treatment.. due to the fact that the two suspects that could be causing the headace was either the Decodron(Sp?).. the steroid,and/or the Emend..and anti-nausea med they give during the infusion as well as I take in pill form for 2 days after treatment. Sooooo you might want to ask your Infusion Nurse..what else are they giving you besides adriamycin and cytoxin.

    The nausea issue, I take Ativan which does help alot. Also, if your antinausea isnt working let them know, there are several others that work well, from what I hear.!!

    Love,
    Trish
  • Joycelouise
    Joycelouise Member Posts: 482

    A/C aka Red Demon
    Hugs to you SBB
    I am walking into my 3rd treatment of A/C this week, but what I wanted to share with you is ... Yes, I had the Mother of all Headaches right after my first treatment.. as the infusion progressed, my head felt like it was turning into concrete, and by the time I returned home, I had the worst "Headache" that ever hit this planet!

    When I called the Oncologist they told me to take 2 Hydrocodones .. it took the edge of the pain , but it took almost 23 hours for it to subside completely...

    When I was back for the second treatment, they had told me to take a hydro before my treatment, IT HELPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and take one when I got home.

    They also told me that if the headache did get as bad as the first round of Chemo to let them know .. and the thrid one they would give me something different during treatment.. due to the fact that the two suspects that could be causing the headace was either the Decodron(Sp?).. the steroid,and/or the Emend..and anti-nausea med they give during the infusion as well as I take in pill form for 2 days after treatment. Sooooo you might want to ask your Infusion Nurse..what else are they giving you besides adriamycin and cytoxin.

    The nausea issue, I take Ativan which does help alot. Also, if your antinausea isnt working let them know, there are several others that work well, from what I hear.!!

    Love,
    Trish

    Just a heads up, Trish. You
    Just a heads up, Trish. You mention taking Ativan for nausea. Ativan is an anti-anxiety drug. It may help a lot for nausea, but it will also relax you. I took it (and loved it) when I felt overwhelmed. I hear it can be cumulative and it may feel necessary to up the dosage to get the same effect. I am not sure about this. I just wanted you to know in case you didn't. Be careful driving, etc. But, all that being said, an ativan before chemo helps the medicine go down, no doubt! I certainly wish you an easy time of it this round. Lots of love, Joyce
  • Irishwhispers
    Irishwhispers Member Posts: 96

    Just a heads up, Trish. You
    Just a heads up, Trish. You mention taking Ativan for nausea. Ativan is an anti-anxiety drug. It may help a lot for nausea, but it will also relax you. I took it (and loved it) when I felt overwhelmed. I hear it can be cumulative and it may feel necessary to up the dosage to get the same effect. I am not sure about this. I just wanted you to know in case you didn't. Be careful driving, etc. But, all that being said, an ativan before chemo helps the medicine go down, no doubt! I certainly wish you an easy time of it this round. Lots of love, Joyce

    Ativan
    Thanks Joyce!! I always enjoy reading your writings/posts
    It is on my script bottle as well, nausea/anxiety
    I only take it when necessary I dont take it before treatment however they do give it to me during my infusion as long as I am not driving though,but I take hydrocodone before the infusion and after.

    Bunches of Hugs!

    Trish
  • Joycelouise
    Joycelouise Member Posts: 482

    Ativan
    Thanks Joyce!! I always enjoy reading your writings/posts
    It is on my script bottle as well, nausea/anxiety
    I only take it when necessary I dont take it before treatment however they do give it to me during my infusion as long as I am not driving though,but I take hydrocodone before the infusion and after.

    Bunches of Hugs!

    Trish

    Good, I am glad that you
    Good, I am glad that you already knew about the anti-anxiety aspects. I am now out of my original prescription of Ativan. As I go forward, post TX, I am grateful to the times that Ativan took the edge off.
    Hugs back, love Joyce
  • SBB123
    SBB123 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks-2nd Treatment down
    Hey Triash thanks for you advice. I will definatley talk to my talk about your suggested tweaks. This week they gave me firocit it is a migrained med which has caffeine, acetaminefine and barbituates. It dulled the head ache a drop but I got so dizzy it was horrpicle. I also felt more nauseous! I eneded up taking Activan as well. Activan is great-but you do need to be careful-as conitnued cnonsistent use can end up in addcition. I work with adoelscents (I am a Chile psychologist) and this is often their drug of choice!

    I am feeling a little better today after yesterday's ttreatment=-mor like a motorcycle ran over me rather than a mack truck!!!

    I can't thank all of you enough for the great advice, support and encouragement-2 treamtents over-6 to go!

    Best,
    SBB123
  • deemarie100
    deemarie100 Member Posts: 14
    greetinjg
    KathiM are u on any special vitamins or have u change your eating habits.?
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member

    greetinjg
    KathiM are u on any special vitamins or have u change your eating habits.?

    Not really...
    I am taking Tamoxifen, and calcium supplements for my osteoporosis (another present from the cancer beast, lol!). And a multivitamin with iron.

    From my rectal cancer, I needed to change my diet to one similar to an IBS diet. VERY little red meat, restricted dairy (gives me gas, and other things...). LOTS of bright colored fruits and vegies...I now eat sweet potatoes (high in beta carotene) in place of regular potatoes, for one example. Pretty much the diet I learned in school...rofl. I do occasionally 'sin' with fast food, but not often. My one vise is coffee, but I have cut it way back (caffeine).

    I keep my fluid intake up. Not necessarily water, just all fluids. Otherwise, my plumbing backs up...(blush).

    Hugs, Kathi
  • deemarie100
    deemarie100 Member Posts: 14
    greeting
    thank u Kathi m . I will try that. I will not eat anymore red meat,damn and I am a chef ,Retired. Have a great day and a even bettwer tommorow