Herceptin

[BonnieT]

Hello !!
Sorry I haven't been on this site for awhile , busy with kids !!
The first thing I would do is see a cardiologist. They specialize in the heart. Mine put be on Coreg. 6.25mg twice a day and Cozaar 25 mg once a day, and I stopped herceptin for 2 months. I also put myself on 150 mg Coq10 found at many health stores. My Cardiologist doesn't really believe it does much but my MUGA has been steadily going up !!!! He also did an ECHO so he could look at my heart and there was no heart damage.After 2 months off of hercpetin my Muga was back in the low 50's.
I then talked to my Oncologist about taking herceptin weekly instead of every 3 weeks.Which allows you to take a smaller dose every time but it equals the 3 week dose.
It is a pain going every week but it really made a difference.When I started my MUGA went down to about 47% but they let me keep taking it because I didn't have any heart side effects like swelling in the ankles or being really tired.This is why I think it is really important to see a Cardiologist. I started out slowly with the COQ10 50mg once a day and then 100, and now I take 150 mg a day. But I know people on this site take more.
I now take herceptin weekly and have a MUGA every 2 months and see my Cardiologist and Oncologist after the MUGA.
I will be taking Herceptin until the end of August, My Oncologist added two months for the 2 months I missed for a total of one year.
my last MUGA was 53% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope this helps, keep me posted !!!!
God Bless
BonnieT

[Carol.hope]

Hi Bonnie. Thanks for the good news! It really does help to know you're doing well. I've been taking CoQ10 (300 mgs/day), plus some other heart-supportive supplements my naturopath recommended. I'll check out those meds you took and look for a cardiologist. I did well on the weekly Herceptin at 117 mg, (with Taxol) although the hassle factor looms.

Thanks so much for your support, and best of luck to you. - Carol