Doxetaxel

hi kym

hope your going ok and not too much aces and pains. I've just had the fligastim injection to boost my neutrophils. So far not TOO bad. But it's only day 2 ha ha ha 

jenny 

Hi Melanie. 

Hope it's not too painful for you now. I've been told the hair will grow back. 

Thanks Kym. 

Hope tis all resolved for you now. How scary for you

jenny 

Thanks Tracey. That's helpful. I think it's better to know what to expect. Especially the shortness of breath. Otherwise I'd be thinking I was having a heart attack 

Hi Jenny,

I wish I'd seen your post earlier on.

I was in hospital a couple of weeks ago as they were worried about my shortness of breath, tight chest and the swelling. They thought it was my heart.

At least we did the full check and all is okay and now the swelling is going down each day, so have my chest symptoms disappeared.

I had lymphatic drainage massage, did it myself in the shower each day as well and even tried antihistimines to bring down the swelling. I dont know if it helped.

cheers,

Kym

Hi Jenny,

Hah! Oncologists dont like discussing side effects very much I notice, also they are different for everyone I suppose. As long as the drug is working.

I am 7 weeks out from my last dose of Docetaxel and I was surprised at the swelling all over my body so late in the piece. Steroids are prescribed to prevent it but it didnt seem to work for me. Finally, the fluid is starting to move now and I am more mobile again.

I also had shortness of breath and tightness in the chest with the swelling, but this all came after I finished chemo.

The body aches and muscle spasms were the worst and I couldnt sleep at night. I was prescribed endone to help with that. Bliss!!! Or as someone said panadol every 4 hours without a break.

I kept a diary of each day so I could compare symptoms and prepare for each dose. It hit me on day 3 until day 8 - slept a lot. I am about to lose my big toe nails as they are so badly damaged, but used ice gloves during chemo for my fingernails and had them painted each week to protect them. They seem to have survived okay.

You are halfway there with the chemo. Try and look forward to the end and saying goodbye to it all - I know easier said than done. I also planned for celebratory dinners with my girlfriends for after the end date. I just had to wear sandals to dinner for my fat feet!!

All the best,

Kym

Hi Jenny

I think I am on a similar programme to you, I have just finished 3 rounds of FEC and had my first Doxetaxel. Felt great whilst on the steroids, today feel achy but not as bad as I was expecting. Not sure what to expect really, will see how it goes, good luck x

Oops, if you look under chemotherapy in posts

Hi Jenny,

congrats on getting thru the FEC, you've done so well. Sounds like your program is similar to mine. So here's what I found:

GOOD points - no nausea, taste buds came back, hair started to grow back slowly!!!YAY!!!

not so good points - muscle/joint/bone pain (needed strong pain killers for this), took about 6 weeks after last dose to start regaining strength, fluid retention made me breathless & fast heart rate (this was scary but improved rapidly as I lost the fluid).

the not so good stuff can be worked around if you plan ahead.  Don't push yourself physically & rest up when your body tells you. Hope all goes well for you, Tracey ??

Ps - if you type in Docetaxal in the search line next to Posts, you'll find what other ladies think too ??