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Some aches and pains with Herceptin are just par for the course..
Yes, I usually feel yucky for at least 24 hours following infusion...and I have felt this way for the past 6 years using Herceptin on and off..but yes, I have lived over 6 years with mets and now over 8 since Dx, and credit Herceptin to bringing me back from the literal brink of death, time and time again, so to me, it is a small price to pay. Like Al, mentioned..., I would stay away from tylenol, try one or two liquid Advil gel tabs if YOU must..but best thing, is just to sleep it off--AVOID BENADRYL at all costs as it is specifically designed to dampen the immune system at the time when you MOST desperately need to rev it up...
Also, it may help to schedule your Herceptin infusion around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and walk a few a miles right after taking it or go to the gym to be sure you circulate it deep into every crevis of your system..., If you take it in the afternoon, then, the worst of the fevers and bone pains should start around 10:00pm and continue through the night, so just try to go to sleep and sleep it off. I also find making a big pot of chicken soup or deer bone soup very helpful to keep the body hydrated afterwards and to flush everything through...try adding lots of cilantro to the chicken soup and leeks and potatoes to the deer soup..yummm delicious..plus is very comforting...drink lots of fluids as well, I also find herbal tea soothing...I prefer echinecea or green tea, but some folks find camomille very relaxing...whatever works for you. Also, sound meditation or deep breathing just before sleep is good...but try to keep the fever going as long as you can...adding plenty of warm blankets on top so you sweat, that is very beneficial to your whole body. If herceptin is taken without pre-meds, it is quite common to run a fever just under 102 F for even 8 to 14 hours, waking the next morning once the fever breaks to find that you feel better than you have in a while. Increase your zinc in take, as your body is depleting your stores building your immune response to the herceptin and be sure to eat a lot of protein to build up your body at this time.
Taking Herceptin regularly can really give your whole system a work-out, so be kind to yourself when you take it to give your body its best chance to make the most of it--afterall, you have just injected yourself with --in some cases --as much as $7,000 worth of liquid Herceptin GOLD..smile...so, USE IT WISELY!!! I usually arrange my schedule so that I don't have to work the next day. I find working till noon on Thursday and taking my serum her-2 and other tumor markers at 2:00pm followed at 2:15pm by the Herceptin infusion, very good as I can then take Friday off from work--always a little treat-- and then have the rest of the Weekend to fully rest and recover. Again, remember, herceptin is taking a toll on your WHOLE body as one way it is theorized to work is by tagging your cells that are over-expressing her-2 so that now your immune system can "see" those cells now marked as "other" and start taking them out, one by one. The reason this process is often followed by diarrhea is because the dead tumor debris has to now be evacuated from the body...this part of the process may hit about 3 days after infusion...about 7 days out, if you are on a 3 or 6 -week regimen, you will suddenly feel tired all of the sudden, this is because in many of us, so much effort has been made to build up our white blood immune cells to go after the tagged Herceptin cells, that then our red cells start to lag behind, making us feel winded, tired, and sometimes, even sleepy...best advice...listen to your body at this time and rest...build those RBC's back up with some concord grape or beet juice and remember to ZINC, ZINC, ZINC, for good energy and high lymphs... After a few years...wink.., trust me..smile..., you'll get the hang of it..smile..
My very best to you, Gina Popp
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