L-Glutamine

[Lolly]

Pam,
So sorry you're having to deal with the bone mets, but it is very possible that the Navelbine/Herceptin combo WILL be effective where the Taxotere wasn't, many here have reported that after one combo didn't work for them another did. Keep your hopes alive, I know it's hard when you feel you're running out of time. When I started Navelbine/Herceptin for skin & lymph mets, I also had other involvement that we simply didn't want to waste time trying to confirm, and it was hard to believe the treatment was working when it made me feel worse! But long story short, it did work well for me, and I hope you will do well on it.

I had a lot of stomach discomfort also when I was on Herceptin/Navelbine, but I took Pepcid AC on my doctor's advice as my trouble seemed to be rooted in too much acid production. However that's not to say L-Glutamine isn't appropriate for your particular side effects, but be sure and talk to your doctor if you take any thing while on chemo, some supplements are ok and some, not. I found a good site with a lot of information about glutamine, hope it helps.

The muscle aches and pains(and fever) I took care of with Tylenol, my nurses would give me a couple during treatment and I would take it at home for a couple of days also.

I'm sure some others will have advice for you, take care and don't despair.

Hugs,
Lolly

[pam]

Thank you for all your responses. I had my 2nd navelbine/herceptin treatment today. The onc. office said they didn't know about l-glutamine, but said i could try if I want to. I already take pepcid daily. This kind of stomach ache/cramp isn't like heartburn or nausea and I'm sure it's from the navelbine. I also take zometa. Thanks for the website for l-glut. There is sounds like it's helpful for stomach, but i didn't see it reference p. neuropathy. I had that with taxotere. Thank you for your encouragement and any help you can give.

[Lisa]

Pam,
I had stomach issues my first few weeks with Navelbine. Part of those were the severe constipation in caused. I went through several kinds of laxatives, some Rx, none of which helped much. Finally, I started drinking Traditional Medicine's "Smooth Move" tea when I needed it. Also, because of stomach aches and nausea at first, I used ginger candies to suck on which helped. In addition, some people on Navelbine have sensitivities to gluten. So I quit eating wheat products and switched to rice and other gluten-free grains. I don't know what helped, but after a few weeks, my stomach was no longer an issue.

Love and light,

Lisa