Taxotere effects....

[~Bellydancer~]

Just wondering if people could share their experience with taxotere. I am starting in on Feb 4/08 and would like to have a heads up. I was on FEC and experienced major Nausea and fatigue. Out for a week with it. They are telling me that it is more muscle ache and tingling in fingers, minimal nausea. What have you had???

[Mary Jo]

HI Michelle,

I was on Taxol and knows that different from taxotere but in the same family. I handled the taxol pretty well. Only some leg aches initially and then they put me on neurontin 5 days before a chemo treatment and it helped. Other than that I handled taxol fine and functioned quite normally.

Hope taxotere treats you kindly.

Mary Jo

[Jean]

Hi There,
I had TCH...
Well, you will more than likely loose your hair. Yes, there is muscle ache
but it is doable..I took Alieve for the joint pain (mostly in legs) I would
also keep a pillow under my legs. I also found warm baths soothing.
As far as nauesa, make sure you take your meds even if you feel great.
My mistake was I did not think I needed them since I was feeling fine
and then two days later it caught me and once the nauesa takes hold it is difficult to get control. So take your meds even if you feel nothing.
You may have to take steriods and the side effects are water weight gain, and keeping you a bit buzzed...I had trouble sleeping on those days.
I ended up taking a mild sleeping pill Sonata...which helped. I had to take the steriods the day before - day of treatment and day after.
I found that day of teatment was fine and the next day was a normal day. After two days I would feel the kick from the treatment. Therefore, since I was working I would book my treatments on Thur. and this way I had the weekend to rebound, if Monday I was not up to it I would work at home. Most often by Monday I was feeling better. Mostly drained and tired over the weekend. The treatments are cumulative in nature so halfway through treatment I think that was the hardest, by then you are on the home stretch. Some take vit. B6 to avoid neuropathy (you may or may not have this reaction) I did have neuropathy at the very end of treatment. I was surprised since it occured after my last treatment.
It has taken a year to feel better. But I still have some neuropathy in my toes. Your finger nails will become brittle...some of the ladies had put
frozen packs on their fingers to avoid problems (I did not) ...I also did not have any issues with my fingers.

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to reach out to me.
You will do fine as you will be prepared for treatment. Eat healthy
and flush your body with water during treatment. Wishing you luck.

Hugs,
Jean

[LOPSIDED]

I Did Taxotere For 3 Months. My Hair Actually Started To Grow Back While I Was On Taxotere. I Did Have Some Joint Pain. My Doctor Gave Me Hydrocodone, That Worked Fine For Me. My Last 3 Treatments, My Eyes Started Tearing. As Soon As I Stopped Taxotere, My Eyes Quit Tearing. I Felt It Was Very Tolerable. I Hope It Works Well For You, I Also Had Some Fatigue, But Not Too Bad.

[Lori R]

I am currently on a Taxotere / Herceptin "cocktail". I have completed 3 sessions and am scheduled for my 4th session next week. (3 week schedule)

I have found the side effects to be very manageable.

Of course, hair loss. I have about 20% of my original volume.

I too take the Chemo on Thursday and have energy on Friday. I find that Sunday is my lowest energy day. By going to bed early on Sunday I am able to function at work on Monday.

My mouth seems to want to break out in sores but by using Tom's natural tooth paste and rinsing with baking soda, I haven't had a sore break through.

All in all....my experience with Taxotere has not been bad.

[Madge]

Michelle-

I had Taxotere prior to having FEC, and found it a "walk in the park" compared to the FEC. Day 3 after treatment seemed to be the worst--I discoverd this pattern after after co-workers pointed it out to me--this was typically the day I said "O.K. I'm not coming to work today. I think I'm going to sleep in." I was still able to take my children to/from school each day--and other than day 3, not so bad.
I will tell you that the mental/cognitive side effects were far greater than the physical side effects. My friends called Taxotere my "stupid" drug---difficulty counting, concentrating, etc. It got to be quite comical--my children leared to laugh at it as well.
Fear not though.....it is temporary---I'm now sharp as a tack!

So, best of luck to you. If you survived FEC, this is a piece of cake...and if you're not blonde already, enjoy being to be one temporarily.
Hope this helps!

[Madge]

O.K. Perhaps all the Taxotere has not cleared my brain. What I meant to say is "if you are not already a blond, enjoy being one temporarily". Again, best wishes for the next step in your treatment.
And by the way, I have been very proud to be a blond for many years and sent quite a bit of $$ to maintain such lovely locks. Now my hair is coming back in ---dark as my eyebrows. I think I like it!