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Sevenbe's avatar
Sevenbe
Member
9 years ago

Docetaxel pain

Hi All, I'm about halfway through my chemo. I've finished 3 cycles of FEC and have just started on Docetaxel. I thought the Docetaxel was better at first, since I didn't seem to get any nausea (a relief after the FEC which made me feel very ill). But now I've started getting strong all over body aches and pains. Even my finger nails hurt. I'm taking panadol and ibuprofen and going swimming whenever I can (which seems to take the pressure off). But has anyone else had this? Any tips on managing the pain? Will it go away or am I just going to feel like this for the rest of my treatment time?
  • Ahh the Docetaxel Devil (as i called it) I too had FEC-D 3 rounds of each 21 days apart......I'm still having side effects from it 6 months on.....my big toenails just fell of last week!.....talk to your breast care nurse or chemo nurses, they will advise on best course of management....alot of rest worked for me, and I mean ALOT! walking around the house also eased the aches.....panadol regularly and sometime a stronger pain killer was in order....things usually settled after about day 10 for me....then it was almost time to be hit again! Wishing you all the best with the rest of your treatment
  • Thanks everyone. I've got myself some panadeine now and I'll try some naproxen too. Hopefully it'll pass after a few days, and I should be a bit better prepared for the next dose.
  • Comes and goes with each dose. I found just pacing around the house in the dead of night helped get me back to bed with some sleep.
  • Hi there, I had Docetaxel too and sorry it isn't nice at all. My symptoms were that of very bad flu, which stayed with me for the bad days in the cycle, panadol and ibuprofen what ever my stomach could stand. My finger nails went black and I lost 2 nails, since I finished treatment nails have come back not bad but it takes a while.  Sorry I couldnt give you any good news. Just take it day at a time and go for walks too when your able, your chemo nurse or breast care nurse are always there for you. All the best.
    Cheers Jen
  • I had the same for 4 cycles. Panadeine forte and naproxen period pain tablets took the pain away for me. Hope it eases up soon.
  • I had paclitaxol and had awful muscle and joint pain, so  swapping might not help. I just opted on panadol osteo and tramadol. Many  women need endone, I couldn't toletate it.
  • Hi Sevenbe, I had exactly the same type of very strong bone and body aches and pain after the first cycle of docetaxel.  Also had sore finger nails and toe nails which I thought was very weird.  My oncologist prescribed me panadeine forte which helped.  The second cycle was better but I had very severe fatigue and some nausea.  2 cycles was enough for me and I changed over to weekly paclitaxel which was much better.  I did get fatigue but not as bad as with docetaxel.  Why don't you check with your oncologist to see whether you can change to paclitaxel.  It is just as effective as docetaxel.  good luck x