Allergic to carboplatinum

Have been taking carboplatinum, herceptin, and taxotere since 11/4and yesterday I had a bad allergic reaction to the carboplatinum. Has this ever happened to anyone and, if so, what did your doc replace it with. Will be mtg with onc next week to discuss what to do but was wondering if anyone out there had had this problem. Any insights or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much

Hi,
what kind of reaction did you have???
el

Cathy,

I have on weekly taxol/carboplatin/herceptin since 11/7 and no problems at all. Are you doing weekly & what reaction did you have?

I was doing herceptin/taxotere/carboplatinum weekly and over the last few weeks I noticed when the carbo went in I would feel a little strange. Then my hands started itching and turning bright red for a couple of weeks and, finally, this last time, my face blew up like a balloon and my whole body was red and splotchy. Then I started to get very hot and then got chills and shaking. They immediately stopped the infusion of carbo and everything went back to normal in about 15 minutes so, unfortunately, I guess that is the end of it for me. Just wondering if anyone else had ever had this experience and what they took in carbo's place. My onc is going to discuss options when I got back next week. Am very disappointed because I just got a good PET scan and am sure carbo had a lot to do with it. It's always something with this disease it seems.

El - please look at my response to Kitty for my exact reactions to the carbo. Has this ever happened to you? Appreciate any info anyone has.
Thanks

Hi Cathy,
yeah, that's the reaction I was looking for. You can no longer take the drug because of the risk of going into shock. DON'T PANIC. I had to go off of it and nothing took it's place, I was very worried. But my counts continued to stay normal and continued with taxotere/herceptin. I had bones mets and after a few months on just the tax/her combo, all my tumors disappeared. A PET scan and subsequent MRI's, CT's & bone scans show me NED. I have been off all chemo & herceptin since Sept. (tried herceptin again in dec, had bad reaction) so I'm flying solo right now (very very nervous). But just got tumor markers back and they continue to not only be normal, but continue to go down. I know everyone is different and we all respond unequally, but I hope this give you some confidence.
el

Very glad to hear that you are doing so well. But am curious to know about your reaction to the herceptin that caused you to have to go off that, too. Appreciate any info.

I have been on massive doses of prednisone since feb of last year and am on my third attempt to wean off the meds. Prednisone causes fluid retention and herceptin can have the same effect. So my onc took me off the herceptin because of fluid around my heart. Wants to wait until i'm off the steroids then will hopefully begin herceptin again. That way it will be easier to monitor me. I have severe pulmonary problems due to treatment and herceptin may be making it worse, but dr's can't tell yet due to other drugs.
el

Cathy,

What premeds were you getting? I get decadron, kitrell, benadryl & tagamet before each treatment to prevent allergic reactions...so far..so good. Would these help in your case or are you taking these as well?

Cathy,

The same thing happened to me. I was on the taxotere/carbo/herceptin since the end of June then all of a sudden in the middle of NOv. I had an allergic reaction--felt "spacey", blood pressure dropped a lot, got hives on my chest.In fusion was stopped that day.

But, I still received it the following week. My onc. increased my steroids to 40 mg. the day before , then still 10 mg. as premeds before treatment. THen, the week after she decreased it to 20 mg. day before because I had a lot of side effects. I did not have any more reactions.
I was nervous about still getting it but I'm glad I was able to.

BLessings and Hugs,

Linda in MI.

I was on taxotere carbo herceptin for a year. Initially, I too started having red itchy hands and actually developed hives. I think at one point I got short of breath too. But I wanted to stay on the carbo because I too was having a good response. So this is what we did, the doc slightly lowered the dose, diluted it in more fluid. I took claritin an hour before chemo and he gave me the decadron for the taxotere IV an hour before the carbo. All these things worked and I stopped having the hives and was able to stay on carbo for another 8 months.

Hi Rose: Do you have neuropathy in your hands and feet? If so how do you deal with it? I have only had 5 treatments of Taxol, carbo, Herceptin and already am having burning in my hands. Hugs, Sandy

Hi Sandy

I do have a neuropathy but it is from chemo 10 years ago. The taxol you are now getting is most likely the culprit. I found a year of taxotere didn't make my neuropathy worse. I guess that was lucky. I hear that VItamin B6 is supposed to help. I asked my onc about it but he wasn't overly impressed. I think I am going to give it a try anyway. some people I know use neurontin and have had good success.

I wish you the best. I know the neuropathy with taxol is rough.

Kitty - odd that you should ask about my premeds because I usually always take zofran,decadron & benedryl before each session and I don't recall noticing that the benedryl was going in. When it is going in I always get that "other-worldly" feeling for the duration and I didn't notice it last week. Am definitely checking the record when I go in tomorrow. Was gratified to read that Rose continued to take carbo in a diluted version -- maybe I can do the same. You always hat to stop taking something that has been helping but sometimes we have to. Thanks for your interest.

Hi Rose: I do take B6 and Glutamine Powder (3x's a day) I think it helps. I asked about the neurotin and my oncologist said it doesn't work!! He wasn't impressed either. Oh well, I am sure if I really pushed it I could get it. I don't like taking pills against the immune system so I don't push it. Thanks for you reponse. Hugs, Sandy

Eleanor - Just got back from doc visit and chemo and he has decided to do as your doc did -- will only take herceptin and taxotere for awhile and see how I do on that. He thought my reaction was too severe to start up the carbo again, but if need be, he said there were other drugs we could consider but that we would just do the two for the time being. Am so glad I heard from you so I wouldn't be too nervous leaving the carbo behind. Hope I am as successful as you have been. Thanks much for your support.

I too am on taxol/carbo/herceptin. This is 4th week, no sides from carbo...but, my onc has me taking dexamethisone and benedryl 25 mg. 1-2 hours before infusion. So far, works well with me. ask doc.