Had my Herceptin/Zometa infusion

[Chelee]

yesterday. (Flu shot too.) My regular chemo nurse wasn't there darn it, so I had some new one that seemed so unsure of herself...kind of worried me. She kept jabbing at me till I had her get the head nurse that got me set-up in one try. But we got it in my hand and I managed to get my loading dose of Hercepting & Zometa.

I felt very tired after that yesterday...extremely. But came home to rest. But the strange thing is I woke up this morning around 5:30 AM and I was shaking and shivering...my teeth were actually chattering. I could not get warm and just layed there under my blankets freezing for two hours till I had to get up. I'm fine now..but don't know if it was from the Herceptin or Zometa...maybe the combination of? Anyone else ever had this problem?

Also I'm having extreme lower and upper back pain. It's just killing me! I've taken my pain pills and it hasn't helped at all. Is this from the Zometa I will assume? If so...will it go away soon...I can't take it. I'm so misrable right now.

Chelee

[Mary Anne in TX]

Hey Chelee, remember to drink tons of water! Back pain may go away with enough water! Mine always did! Glad you got #1 done! ma

[StephN]

Dear Chelee -
So bummed to get home and see you have another go-round with this darn disease. You have been very good about your followups, and it does pay to stay on it.

About your "shaking chills." That is what happened to me with my loading dose of Herceptin and others have reported the same. This is mentioned in the possible side effects and seems to occur fairly often. I only had this with the loading dose, but I thought I NEVER would get warm! Used heating pad, drank hot tea and put on 2 pairs of socks!

As for the back pain, this could be the Zometa. I don't believe I could attribute such pains to Herceptin in my case. But I did have some joint discomfort from the Zometa. That pain should lessen fairly quickly. I think I took Aleve and that was all I needed to get those pains "under the radar."

Within a couple of days your body should be able to handle this first blast of treatment. Also, remember that sometimes pains can be a sign that the drugs are working at the tumor sites.

[Gerri]

Hi Chelee,

Zometa can give you flu-like symptoms, including fever. The day after my first infusion I felt a little achy and my knee was hurting more than usual. I made myself walk (for exercise) and ended up limping. My knee got progressively worse and after about 5 days it swelled up more than twice its size and I had to have fluid drained. My onc, surgeon and orthopedic surgeon did not think the Zometa caused it. I saw a rheumatologist a few weeks later who was pretty sure it was related to the Zometa - I tend to agree with him due to the timing. The good news is that I have had two more infusions and haven't had any side effects. As for the chills, Herceptin always gave me chills - even between infusions. I could never get warm; it seemed to come from the inside and even lots of blankets did not help.

I hope you are feeling better soon.

[Rich66]

Are you gals getting Zometa for bone mets?

[Ellie F]

Good question Rich, I know Chelee is but wondered about others
Ellie

[Gerri]

When I switched from Tamoxifen to Femara I asked for a baseline bone scan to check my bone density (since AIs tend to cause bone loss). I was told that I already had osteopenia of the lumbar spine. My onc wanted to start me on Actonal but I had read about the benefits of Zometa and Femara so I requested to add Zometa. She agreed to let me give it a try. I changed oncs in Jan of 09 and my new onc approved of the combo.

[Laurel]

Chelee,

I am so sorry you had a rough go with the IV and then the infusion. I am betting the back pain is from the Zometa, which I hear gets better with each infusion. Of course, you must have been very stressed as well, so I suppose the pain could be exacerbated by the tension.

Praying you get immediate relief from all discomfort.

[Becky]

Dear Chelee

I started Zometa after I was already 4 months into Herceptin. When I received my first Zometa, of course it was also with a Herceptin treatment but the next day, I had flu-like symptoms (like Gerri said) but I actually had a fever of 101. You probably did too. I promise you this symptom will never happen again. Also, I had bone aches and so does my mom when she gets her Zometa.

Hang in there baby. You're doing good and the Zometa symptoms will get less intense.

Love and hugs

[ElaineM]

What an experience !! I hope you are feeling better now.

[StephN]

Hi -
Rich, I was getting Zometa for a "shadow" and as preventative once I finished my chemos for liver mets. I took it for quite a long time on the every 3 week basis! It did toughen up my bones.

Chelee - I note that you also got a FLU SHOT, which can also cause some mild flu-like symptoms. I think you just had an overload yesterday with all three things at once.

[WolverineFan]

Chelee...pay not attention to my other post. I didn't see that you posted something new. I hate to hear that the IV didn't go well, that's always miserable, but do appreciate the update. I've also had chills while on Herceptin.

Take care and keep us posted.

Hayley

[Chelee]

I don't remember waking up freezing the 1st time I did Herceptin...but that was over 3 yrs ago....maybe I just don't remember it? But I see several here have experienced it. I read a couple of the older Herceptin threads and it was mentioned. It must be due to the larger loading dose as Becky said. I'm glad to hear it won't happen again...that was awful.

Rich66, Yes...I got Zometa for bone mets. It looks like I should of been getting it at least 2 yrs ago.

As to the upper & lower back pain it most likely was Zometa...I was beyond misrable yesterday. But I had my port placement yesterday and they gave me some good drugs while I was on the table. Those drugs got rid of the pain...temporarly anyway. But today it's much better thank goodness & almost completely gone. Now today it's this port that's killing me...I swear it's always something in cancerland.

Chelee

[Jackie07]

Chelee,

Did I read that you have recurrence on your chest wall? If you (or anybody else) do, you might want to contact Jeanette about this trial.

Recurrent Chest Wall Cancer after Mastectomy -
New Breast Cancer Clinical Trial



If you are experiencing breast cancer with recurrence to the chest wall (RCW) or know someone who is, you may be interested in this clinical trial, the DIGNITY Study. Researchers are conducting the trial to determine the effectiveness of a novel investigational drug used in combination with heat therapy for the treatment of recurrent chest wall cancer (RCW).

To participate in this trial, patients will:
- Have a documented recurrence of breast cancer on the chest wall (or its overlying skin)
- And have had: a mastectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy

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My daughter had a problem with the Zometa giving her pain and the next time they gave her a steriod prior to the Zometa and it worked wonderful! So ask about it and hopefully it'll help you too!