What do you take when you feel like poop?

[jml]

Hi Friends~

Cycle 2 of PHT was 6 days ago, which means I'm now in full flourish of SE's. First came the GI issues & the Big D, tongue feels like it's coated in paste, now mouth feels like I took a giant culp of HOT coffee and then took a bite of bubbling cheese pizza, and of course the rash all over my torso that I looks like I'm wearing a textured, pink onesie. And of course the headache & fatigue.
I basically feel awful from the tip of my tongue to the tops of my toe nails.
Trying to stay hydrated & have put myself in isolation from the world and its little bugs. Advil helps a little, but I just want to sleep. I don't want to take an Ambien or an Ativan and Oxy seems like overkill. Benadryl for the itchy rash sometimes makes me more agitated than sleepy.
I wish I could just get knocked out with a frying pan.
But I hold on to the fact that the body is resilient, that this too shall pass, in a few days the SE's will subside & I'll feel human again, but currently I just feel like poo.

Any suggestions?

Thank you my friends~

Keeping the Faith,

Jessica

[NEDenise]

Jessica,
I'm so sorry that you feel so bad.
I have absolutely no experience with what you're going through...but you have my sympathy, if that helps at all.

I wonder...
>is there something besides Benedryl they could give you for the rash...something less likely to cause that agitated feeling?

>why don't you want to take ativan? sleep is important, and if you feel as badly as it sounds, it may be the only relief from all the discomfort

I'm hoping and praying that the SEs subside soon, and that those BC cells are feeling even worse than you are!
with love,
Denise

[karen z]

Ask your doctor about clonazepam- for both sleep and during the day to take the edge off. It can't hurt to ask (she might suggest something else).

With as bad as you are feeling are you eligible for a medical prescription for something sold legally in other states? Just asking. It would seem like you are a good candidate unless there are complications with that.

[KDR]

My dear Jessica,
I had a reaction to an antibiotic and there was nothing that could quell it until I was sent to the dermatologist and got Clobex spray. Please ask about this right away.
Hydrate with water and some Pedialyte, 1 cup for every episode of The Unwanted.
For sleep, I combine 1 mg. Ativan and 1 mg. Klonopin.
Can you do acupuncture?
I'm here if you need to talk.
Warm hugs,
Karen

[Joanne S]

Hi Jessica, Aww I hate to hear you're suffering with these nasty SEs. I imagine with all you've been through you'd know if you have thrush? Have you tried eating real yogurt (not the processed ones they sell at the grocery store---real yogurt, like Greek yogurt)? Orange juice seemed to help me when I had the mouth paste thingy going on. Yep, atta girl keep the liquids going. You're probably only taking 400mg Advil (Motrin), You might consider taking 600mg or request a Rx for 800 mg Motrin and/or you might try Tylenol if you dont want to take the other meds you mentioned. And be sure take your Advil (Motrin) with a little food so it doesn't upset your stomach. For quite a while I was taking Mortin and Aspirin together and felt it was helping me - until I read up on it and realized they should not be taken together. The rash sounds horrible - hope it's not itchy or buring. Besides looking bad, if it's not bothering you, I would wait it out and let it clear itself up. Maybe try an Aveno bath or a little OTC cortisone cream. Hoping these yucky nasty SEs dimish quickly. Keep us posted. Jessica, You remain in my daily prayers! Huge hugs, Joanne

[ElaineM]

I hope you feel better soon.
Have you tried tea tree oil toothpaste or mouthwash for the mouth issues? It is refreshing and anti bacterial.

[jaykay]

Biotene mouthwash, gel and toothpaste. Doesn't burn and is soothing. Magic mouthwash by prescription if you have really bad mouth sores.

For the big D, I wish I had the answer. Imodium was like taking a placebo for me, got a prescription for lomotil, which is better but still not perfect. The BRAT diet gets tired pretty fast, but my nurse told me to eliminate dairy, veggies, fruit until it subsided.

I know you're on a totally different protocol - I'm on TCH, but the taxotere is really evil. My onc ended up reducing the dosage and it did help. Was only miserable for a week instead of 2 :-).

As everyone else has said, sleep is important, don't fight it.

Best

Janis

[KsGal]

You just cannot catch a break on this regimen, can you. Ugh! Im so sorry you aren't feeling well.
For the sludge feeling in the mouth, I tried hydrogen peroxide mixed half and half with water as a rinse and spit. It did help some, but nothing took away that burned, raw feeling you are talking about. I used the Ulcerease to kind of numb it up and tried to eat that way.
The only thing I can think of that you can try for sleep off the top of my head is melatonin, as you are not wanting to do the Ativan. Like most things, it works for some and not for others. I started doing some self hypnosis CDs that actually work for me. Maybe you could look into that? I ordered mine on Amazon, and surprisingly they actually do work most of the time. Also, like KDR mentioned, acupuncture might help a lot of your symptoms, if it is something you feel like you could try.
Lots of prayers headed your way....and big cyber hugs. I sure hope you are feeling better soon.

[Kim in CA]

Jessica,

You sure have been through alot. I certainly can relate to what you are going through, as I too am experienceing similar SE's from the Taxotere. In fact, I am going to take a little Taxotere break, and try to let my body recover a bit.

It has been 9 days since my last weekly Taxotere and I'm still not bouncing back yet. I have the awful rash too, but it is only on my face, making me look rather scarey, so the only place I go is to my treatments.

I wish I knew of something that would work for us, but I think it will just take some time . I got my first Perjeta infusion yesterday, and I'm hoping that along with the Herceptin, my liver mets won't progress while I take this little break.

Sending you sympathetic cyber hugs, Your partner in pain.....Kim

PS: I do find that taking melatonin before bedtime does help me sleep better.

[SoCalGal]

When I was on chemo, I used Ativan during the tough days to sleep thru as much as possible. Not sure why you don't want to take it but I wouldn't be too concerned with dependency, getting thru tx with as little suffering as possible is not a bad thing...there are other antihistamines if Benadryl bugs you. Or you can try oatmeal bathes - many remedies for chicken pox work well for itchy rashes. And theres always the reminder that if you feel this bad, so do the cancer cells! Stay strong. Feel better soon....