Re febrile neutropenia ... round two
I had to go into hospital after I developed a high temp (39.9) after chemo 3 .... right at the end of the 3 week cycle. I was on FEC for the first 3 chemos and until then had felt really on top of thi...
Forum Discussion
The Claratyne (Loratadine) can be really helpful. I had Neulasta shots for my last two chemos ten years ago and couldn't understand WTF had happened when I went from taking two days off after chemo then going back to work to spending 5 days on the floor in the lounge room floor unable to walk. No-one warned me that could happen.
This time the same thing happened after my first round this year so I did some research and started taking Claratyne the day before chemo and continued for five days. It worked. I still got some nasty twinges in my sacrum on day 4-5 but nothing like the debilitating pain I'd had before. It's standard practice in some places so I can not understand why it isn't offered to everyone. My onc was fine with it, but hadn't recommended it because he thought bone pain was a rare event. Not from what I'm hearing now.
I think the bone pain from the boosters is underreported and, like many side effects, isn't given proper consideration. The Claratyne reduces what is called bone oedema. There have been some trials run in the UK--the results were inconclusive so perhaps that's why the process isn't widely adopted. There are no contraindications as far as I can find out, so it is well worth taking it. Marg