I found I ate like a horse on TAX - even in the middle of the night i would be downstairs for cornflakes. Mainly i think because i woke so early (about 4 am) and I wanted to get the dexa down me. i would then eat another breakfast at around 8…from then on I just grazed until a week after my chemo. The loss of taste made things worse too, as i felt I was always looking for something tasty. I have gaine abot 15lb and plan on getting back in the field with the dogs and losing weight from next week with Slimming World… although I have been told i cannot lose weight until after rads as they have measured me up already, but I’m sure I wont lose weight from my collarbone or mx site!
You will have to take your dexa on TAX. My chemo nurse even called to check each cycle as it is vital. you need to take 8mg x twice daily on the day prior to chemo, the day of and day after. you must take it. I was given extra to help with SE’s and though it worked and i sailed though TAX I resembled moonpig.com!!!
You will be fine ladies…forget the scary TAX stories…it’s gonna pass before you know it
Oh bummer, on taking steroids!, thought i could try it without? Is it possible then to loose weight on a diet, whilst taking steroids do you think? I’ll ask ONC on Mon. I’m just so depressed about the weight gain, but if starving myself isn’t gonna make any difference then I may as well eat and be depressed!!!
Jo X
Jo…check out Slimming World. You can eat large portions of jacket potato, pasta, rice or chicken, nice steak salads etc.
You will find you will be eating healthier and still satisfy your steroid induced appetite.
I know how you are feeling…I am only guessing how much weight I’ve gained to be honest - I am scared to get on the scales at this stage. I am planning on joining a group next wednesday. When I had my daughter my weight rocketed and I lost 4 stone on their diet in around 6 months with no real difficulty.
I imagine some of the weight we have gained will be fluid too…
now this weight business is bad news when I’m already a porky and need to lose a lot…hey ho…pheebster just sent a pm but muddled your name about - sorry - brain is mush again!!
I know a statistic of one (me!) is no statistic at all, but don’t take it as a given that you will gain weight on Taxotere
I didn’t get especially hungry and a sore mouth meant it was too painful to eat anyway a lot of the time. Over a course of 6, I only put on 3lbs, and I think this was mostly fluid. Didn’t want sweet things, could rarely finish a meal, etc, so you may be like me!
If you get offered ‘slow release’ dexamethasone, bite their hands off for it. You only have to take it once a day and the effect is much more controlled - and bearable. In fact, I was able to take it in this form just before I went to bed and then sleep like a log (altho’ they don’t recommend this, it worked for me - again, as I say, a statistic of one…!).
I put on 2 st during treatment with taxotere, but thankfully 4 months after finishing I am back to normal weight (pre chemo) although my body shape seems to have changed and I still have some fluid retention in my legs.
did you diet Peacock or did you find the weight came off naturally?
I have gained 21lb…i only got on the scales today. i thought it would be less than that. I am going to speak to oncologist about some water tablets too
I had very interesting response when I mentioned diuretics to onc; he said they are very reluctant to give them during chemo as they can cause some kind of chemical imbalance in the body. However, he didn’t say outright that they shouldn never be taken.
However, my GP had already given me some, so I tried them. I think they do help a bit, but bearing in mind the onc’s remarks, I didn’t take them on a daily basis - only when I needed to get some proper shoes on! Also, I have lymphoedema and diuretics can be a bit problematical with this complaint, so I think I ended up getting through maybe a fifth of what I was given.
I think that if you have already finished Taxotere and are on the way to getting it out of your system, they might be more keen to prescribe some.
Purple princess, I too lost weight on FEC - a lot!
I didn’t diet I’m ashamed to say, so it seems it came off by itself which I think was just fluid retention. When I went into hospital to have my mx on 12 Nov the weight of the bedcovers was so painful they had to put a cage over my feet!
I begged for some diuretics, but as Bahons says they really don’t like to give them. Anyway, I took them for 4 days (I even doubled the dose I was told to take), it got rid of the fluid for about a week then it all came back.
I had to go out and buy a huge sized pair of suede boots, the type that are ideal as slippers, so that I could go out!
Good luck with it, I’m sure it will come off like it did for me.
another taxotere veteran here! I had 4 Epirubicin/Cyclophosphamide and then 4 Taxotere, and finished mid December. Pheebster, I really sympathise with the heavy legs, but it will pass. One month afterwards mine were still bad, and I was getting fluid retention too, but they have improved immeasurably since. I now feel that I can walk normally again, so for me it took 7-8 weeks from the last dose.
In my case, the side effects definitely seemed cumulative, as Bahons said. The only exception to this was sore and red feet after the first tax, but I used lots of aqueous cream after that as a preventative, which seemed to work.
Hi this is my first posting. I’m on day 5 of my first taxotere after 3 FEC. Reading through this thread it seems that there is no one size fits all. We all react so differently. My knees started feeling like they were clicking out of joint on the 2nd day and I fell in the bath and couldn’t get out on day 3. I could barely walk at all yesterday day 4 but have to say my joints weren’t painful just non functioning. No sickness just a distaste for the sickly sweet smell of my own body which seems to pervade everything around week 1. The steroids have meant I’ve not had a full night’s sleep since I started taking them and I’m finding it hard to break the cycle.
I feel a bit achy today. Need a stick to get around but am hoping for some fresh air today. Do I have to be careful with my joints for the full time on Taxotere ? I had been going on my exercise bike and doing a 40 minute walk every day on FEC to keep the weight from increasing but wonder if I just need to stock up on DVDs for the next 2 months.
I had noticed the skin around my nails was yellow but thought it was because I’d had a curry the other night and dipped the naan bread in the sauce more than I thought!! Better hunt out that dark polish.
Oh Yikes’ got my first TAX tomorrow, so have taken my 8 steroids today so don’t expect to be able to sleep much especially as I’m in such a state about tomorrow!
Treated myself to a manicure yesterday and got some funky black nails to show for it!
Hope i don’t get joint malfunction on Tusday as i must drag myself to look good workshop!
Well let you know how it goes!
Jo X
Jo, best of luck for tomorrow, will read your post with interest as I’m up on Thursday - black nails sound funky! Take care and try to get some rest, when do you have to take the steroids - is it all in one go? love and hugs, Pat x
I painted my nails dark purple - very Goth! I did lose them in the end, but I think they may have held on for longer because of this!
The hospital where I was treated used ice mittens and slippers (sort of ‘cold cap’ for hands and feet, I think!). I believe some others will let you sit with your fingers in bowls of iced water.
As I said, my nails dropped off anyway in the end (there were well established new nails underneath, btw), but I seem, via the chilling effect, to have escaped any peripheral neuropathy, thank goodness.
I used dark nail polish too - in fact am still wearing it now nearly 8 weeks post chemo as my nails don’t feel quite right yet.
My hospital also used the frozen mittens, and in an effort to reduce mouth problems, I also sucked ice cubes during my tax sessions - not too pleasant, and needed a friend to spoon in the ice cubes (because my hands were in the mittens!), but only lasts an hour.
Hi Everyone, hope all well today. Had onc appt this morning and bloods were fine so start Tax Thursday. I’ve been given steroids to take day before, an injection which the district nurse will do the day after chemo, and some painkillers in case joints are painful. Still apprehensive but at least I’ve an idea what to expect, I forgot to ask the dr about sucking ice lollies when I have the chemo, will ring the ward to see if they have ice or should I bring my own. The nail thing is interesting, I have yellow nail syndrome (connected with my lung conditin, bronchiectasis) which means my nails are discoloured (a nasty yellow colour) and the nails have lifted from the nailbed already, they’re just attached at the base. I wonder if this means mine will just drop off?! Oh well, soon find out. Jo, hope you’re okay and that it went well. love and hugs, Pat x
Hi Everyone
My first TAX is on Friday providing my blood tests are okay I’ve had 2 sessions of chemo delayed already. I have not been given any steroids to take the day before - am getting a bit worried! I am having my blood tested on Weds as on Thurs I hope to have some dental work done -my front tooth broke off at the gum just over a week ago and the dentist glued it back as a temporary measure but it has come out again. I do not want to be months without a front tooth!! She is going to do a temporary crown which will not involve injections as the tooth is a dead one, but still the hosp says I have to have my blood checked before any treatment ahhhhhh!!!
Jo hope your first TAX was okay today and that you enjoy your Look Good Feel Better workshop tomorrow
Spent all morning crying in ONC’s office about TAX and terrified about a reaction that you can potentially get when it’s being administered but he calmed me down and the chemo nurses were fab and very reassuring and sat with me for ages making sure there was no nasty reaction and had the antidote to hand, and guess what NO REACTION!!! Hurrah I was over the moon. Hopes dashed slightly when they told me that it was more likely with 2nd dose. The next dose for me is on my birthday, oh joy, look forward to that then, not!
Well this is the first time I’ve been able to post on a chemo night, usually in bed throwing up by now on FEC so maybe this TAX isn’t so bad after all, I actually feel ok at the moment although my left foot is tingling slightly and my right knee aches a little, so we shall see, it’ a bit like waiting for the axe to fall, but again it’s the fear of the unknown, so hopefully it won’t b so scary next time!
Re Nails had a manicure on Saturday and got funky black cherry chutney colour, looks quite cool. Bought some nail oil from salon which i’m brushing on twice a day and massaging in to cuticle area, lets see what happens!
And Yes, I have 8 steroids to take, day before, day of chemo and day after, so no sleep for me then for the foreseeable future!!
Good look all you other TAX virgins starting this week, or soon, lets compare ailments!!
Jo X
Hi all, Jo how’s things going this morning? I think I’ll be in a state on Thursday but do have lorazepam which I’m def gonna take beforehand as the anticipation is just the worse thing for me. I know if there is a reaction it’s easily dealt with and being in a hospital, you couldn’t really be safer so, here’s hoping all goes well. Bought Black and Black Cherry nail polishes today, will put a base coat on to try and cut down on staining but then, if they’re gonna be worse than my yellow nails are now, it’s not really worth it, is it! Oh well, didn’t think of that. Are you also having an injection today? I’ve bought some heat patches just in case joints play up, I’ve used them before on my slightly arthritic leg and they work well. Anyhow, hope todays okay for you and for everyone else. Will check in later, love and hugs Pat x
