anyone else with these side effects

rinaina · 08-07-2006, 11:57 AM

I made one post on this and I am appreciative for everyone's support but I would love to hear from anyone who has actually had the same side effects that I have had to my chemo which consisted of 4 treatments over 12 weeks time of Adriamycin and Cytoxen. The side effects were as follows:

second week after treetment....fevers for about 5 days with headaches

problems with severe dry eyes that led to corneal abrasions and changes in the surface of the corneas

styes

rashes on upper chest, upper back and sporadic ones here and there

mouth sores, burning tongue and ulcers on tongue

bone pain from Neulasta injections

extreme and I mean extreme fatigue

I would love to hear from you if you have experienced any of these side effects and how you managed them and how long they lasted after completing treatment. Also, how long did it take to feel well again after completing treatment? Thank you for your feedback. I look forward to getting responses.

Becky · 08-07-2006, 02:05 PM

I also had 4 dense dose taxol treatments after the AC ones so the fun never stopped.

However with AC I had dry skin and eyes - just terrible. Never needed to moisturize my skin until then. I bought a regular body lotion for the body but a top of the line night cream and day cream for my face (I still use it now almost 2 yrs later and I swear it makes my skin look younger). For the eyes, I used nothing but this got better within weeks (as taxol had its own list of side effects which were different than AC - except for the fatigue). I got mouth sores and started eatting yogurt and that helped. I also rinsed my mouth out alot with plain warm water.

Fatigue goes with the territory. Rest and nap as much as you can. Also, though, take small walks and build up to long walks. Its getting to be the right season and walking helps physically and mentally. You don't even have to convert to a power walker/runner - just a nice slow pace.

If you are still getting bone pain from Neulasta, the walking might help that too but taking some aspirin or ibuprofen may also help.

Eat well, lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Take care of your body - it has been through hell and now you need to help it come back and it will. You can trust on that.

Kindest regards

Becky

koolbreeze · 08-07-2006, 02:56 PM

Hi, I took 4 treatments of A/C and 12 of Taxol and Herceptin. Still on the Herceptin only after 10 months.

I did not experience the headaches, dry eyes, styes or rashes. I did however have extreme fatigue. Some days I could not stand up for more than 2 minutes at a time. All you can do is rest, rest, rest and then sleep. I would have to stop and sit down every time I tried to do anything. I was off work for about 1 year between the surgeries and chemo.

I also had mouth sores. Doctor gave me a script for some mouth rinse that was supposed to help but it didn't help me much. Lots of people have said it helped them though. I just tried to find things I could eat that did not aggravate the mouth sores. I ate a lot of jello and watermelon and drank water and luke warm tea.

Mostly unfortunately I just tried to gut through it all. I will say, the mouth sores go away pretty quickly once treatment ends. It took me a few months after treatment to even begin to get my strength back. I was concerned that the fatigue would never go away but it does.

Today, I have hair and strength and am back to work. Food tastes good again. So hang in there. Kool