Chemo side effects - advice appreciated
 

Hi,

This is Rachel posting. I've done 4 rounds of TCH and I got some side-effects from this round of chemo that aren't getting better.

I got red blotches on my cheeks for which my oncologist prescribed Clyndmicin. Now, the blotches have faded a little bit but now my skin is very tender and the area around my eyes looks wrinkled.

I also have almost constant stomach muscle spasms. I've tried taking extra Magnesium which sometimes helps. I do take a muscle relaxant at night which helps slow the spasms down so I can sleep. But, I can't take the muscle relaxant during the day as I need to be able to drive safely.

Any advice or experience anyone can share?

Thank you,

Rachel

Re: Chemo side effects - advice appreciated
 

I've never had the stomach spasms except for bowel related but I do know the chemo can do weird things to our skin. I've never heard of clydmicin but I do know skin can get very dry and you may want to ask your dr. about a mild lotion too. Wish I could help. It seems the side effects are harder to deal with than the chemo. Hang in there.

Re: Chemo side effects - advice appreciated
 

After chemo #4 is when I started to notice SEs too. Sorry yours are so miserable. I got pustules on the skin of my face and arms around 11 days post chemo. I looked awful---like a teen with bad acne. It would settle down in time for the next chemo. I didn't get stomach spasms but I got back/neck spasms. They started on day six post chemo and lasted to day 11....then the eye twitching. I am nine days past my FINAL chemo now and with the arrival of every SE, I am saying---for the FINAL time. Hang in there, you are almost done.

Re: Chemo side effects - advice appreciated
 

Did the spasm begin after you'd taken the antibiotic? It always gives me stomach problems. One thing I've learned is that antibiotics would wipe out the good bacteria in the gut and cause digestion problems.

Have you talked to your oncologist's office? I used to call the oncology nurse for every problem I was having. They'd always give me helpful advice, including one time to receive IV antibiotic right away for cellulitis caused by insect bites.

http://www.drugs.com/clindamycin.html

Hope you will feel better soon.

Re: Chemo side effects - advice appreciated
 

Rachel, you might ask them to slow down the administration of your chemo. It really made a huge difference to me to double the time. It wouldn't hurt to try it. Good luck on your problem solving.