Hi Jay2014…I had FEC-T Mar to Jul 2012 and hope some of this may help, although I would stress that SEs are unique to everyone…this short novel is just my personal experience!!!
The 1st TAX hit me quite hard, but my Onc said that was because I still had FEC, particularly the ‘E’ bit in my system, that the body needs time to adjust to the change of chemo regime and that all my SEs were ‘common’!!! I coped with FEC really well.
The flushed face is down to combination of TAX and steroids and will ease, although it may take a few days. Bit old-fashioned and definitely not attractive, but I slapped a bit of calamine lotion on and took an anti-histamine which helped loads,
Side effects, personal to me, included major bone aches and pains on days 5 - 7, however this may have been exacerbated by the GCSF white blood cell boosting injections. I had oral thrush and mouth ulcers on days 5 - 10, mild cystitis days 7 - 10, mild diarrhoea days 9 - 11, small nose bleeds from day 8 - 15, red patches between my fingers on and off (not painful), sore nails on and off, feet painful to walk on days 5 - 10, and virtually no taste (or everything tasted vile!) from day 3 - 14. All unpleasant, but manageable with paracetamol, ibuprofen, cranberry juice, barley water, immodium, nystan (prescribed) for thrush, gelclair for ulcers and doublebase cream for hands and feet! Soaking hands and feet in cold water helped too. My nails slightly discoloured, so I cut them very short and wore clear basecoat as the tips became tender and made using my hands uncomfortable. They also had little black dots on them. Lost a few bits of fingernails up to 6 weeks post chemo; all long and strong again 4 months later. You san see that I kept a diary…
Onc said to pre-empt SEs for TAX 2…which in her experience was likely to be ‘easier’…don’t think she’s ever had chemo lol…you could start taking painkillers now in case you get the aches and pains, which can be debilitating (hit by a truck is one way I could describe them). Up to you obviously.
HOWEVER…TAX 2 was MUCH better . Started taking painkillers on day 3, but didn’t really need them much at all, and stopped on day 6 as aches and pains very minor.
The biggest issue was fatigue but guess that’s the same for everyone…it’s just that I’m a fit, healthy, busy person who hadn’t had a day off sick for 30 years, so becoming SLOW was a shock to the system!!! However I completed the Race for Life in a very respectable 60 mins a year after chemo finished…
As I said, this is very personal to me, and I’m sure others will have different experiences, but hopefully forewarned is forearmed?
There is a real split of opinion, in chemo units and on this forum, on the issue of whether to wear dark nail varnish or not! For every ‘I used dark nail varnish’ there will be a ‘I didn’t use dark nail varnish’ and every outcome is likely to be different despite wearing dark nail varnish or not! As TAX affects everyone differently no-one can safely say how it will be for you. To be honest I would just go with what feels right for you, as there doesn’t appear to be any decent research available. Taking extra care of your hands and nails is the best idea. Dark nail varnish may mask underlying infection and using nail varnish remover may not be helpful to fragile nails.
My cousin, a Consultant Dermatologist, offers this advice “You may notice nail discolouration (particularly on taxanes) as the nail root cells are killed by the chemotherapy. These dead cells push out as new cells are produced, leaving the discolouration. The effect of chemotherapy affects keratin production, the protein that gives nails their strength and rigidity, which can cause brittle nails. sometimes the nail may separate from the nail bed. There is growing evidence that wearing ‘ice gloves’ or immersing finger tips in iced water during infusion may help to limit damage, as the chemotherapy is the most ‘toxic’ to cells during administration.” Not sure if ice gloves are available in the UK; however you could ask to immerse your fingers in iced water at the start of treatment? Worth asking.
All the very best for the rest of your treatment…hope some of this helps, and be kind to yourself 
xx