Docetaxel help please!!

Going through breast cancer treatment Chemotherapy
541

just to say i think TAX is sooooo tough - ive really struggled compared to FEC

Ive got my last chemo /last TAX scheduled for tomorrow - struggling to feel the relief that folk (not those on here) want me to feel cos i know the side effects from the TAX truck will hit again amnd when will i start to feel better? i dont feel “better” three weeeks on from the last TAX so if this is as good as it gets???

i still ache all over/have twitchy eyes/yuk nails/feel shattered and have bouts of constipation and the opposite and just want it to stop now please…

hugs to all of you and thanks for your continuig ongoing support and advice.

claire xxx

542

Little Angel, will be thinking of you. The 48 hours after can’t be enjoyed as we know what’s coming. Thankfully the last time for you. I’ve decided to go online in that time and order myself a few treats for when I finally emerge from the TAX fog. I haven’t bothered with myself for ages but now the end of TAX is nigh it is time for ME!
I hope se’s will be kinder this time, but if they are not, we are all here together locked into this nightmare. It’s gonna be great when we finally wake up.x

543

Hi . Had my last tax 11 days ago and am just starting to feel better. After tax 2 i didn’t feel better until the day before tax 3, I felt very cheated. I did celebrate with a glass if champagne on day 1 cos I was soooo relieved that I will not be returning to that awful chemo unit. The se have been a little kinder and I’ve not had the leg pains, rash on my face, sore feet, but I am very tired (but not sleeping well) and lack energy and motivation - but apart from that I can see the light at the end! Hang on in there just think how well you have done and look forward to not seeing that chemo unit again!

good luck for today
Rachel x

544

hi pinkrose,

CONGRATS on completing the dreaded tax regime, i have got my last one of 6, in 2 weeks time,

omg what a bummer, i feel like a bag of old s%^e,

and when you mention ses what ses lol,

anyway i wont be too far behind you, wishing you all the very best on the rest of your journey,

hope you are back to your oldself, even as we speak

love and best wishes LIZ XXX

545

been done for the last time!! and what a strange feeling that was walking out of the chemo unit - just numb- nurses lovely but dont want to go again .

seemed to be surrounded by ladies with reaccurrances today and that made me jittery but got to blot that out. wish i could master the art of positive thinking

hope you all ok with side effects - awaiting TAX truck to hit in next few days. oncologist said may take a while for me to get back to any sort of normal but it will come for all of us- hang on in there

hugs
claire

546

Well done Claire, hope the Ses are kind to you. As they improve this time, you’ll know you haven’t got to get poisoned again. Hooray.

Stella xx

547

hi everyone, well done claire on finishing, ive got one more to go, had 4 fec and 3 tax so far so cant wait for it to be over. had tax yesterday so waiting for the truck to hit, bliming steroids though, cant sleep so may resort to a sleeping tablet tonight to see if it makes any difference. lets hope the side effects are kind to us all. Ness x

548

Hi littleangel
so glad to hear you’ve had your last tax. I know what you mean about being surrounded by people with reoccurences - scary! I try to not think about that and think about my gran who had bc in her 40s and lived to be 84with no reoccurence. I’m 12 days ahead of you and starting to feel the fog clearing, the side effects have been kinder this time but I think my energy leveld will take a while to be back to normal especially as I’ve got 5 weeks of rads to go yet and an uplift and reduction on healthy breast. Anyway, planning a couple of holidays and days out with family over the next few months is helping me look forward.

Hope your ses are easier and the thought of no more poison keeps you going!

Nessp - 4 lots! - you are wonderwoman!!! Hope your ses are kinder too, you deserve that !

Rachelx

549

Managed my last Tax yesterday, but had a horrible weepy miserable week leading up. Now it’s in I’ll deal with the se’s but I too would like to know when the breathlessness and general lack of energy and motivation will lift. Stupid registrar asked if I was just unfit, hah how can I work at fitness building when I get very dizzy and rubber legged if walk too fast or up deep gradients, it’s been months now and all I get is it might be months, I’m worried it might be permanent.
Ah well out now to get shopping in as not be good for the next few days, good luck to all.

Pat

550

Hi Pat

I so understand what you have said about Tax. It is a horrid treatment and when I was going through it Jan/Feb this year I found it hard to consider it a positive treatment due to the horrendous side effects. However, I can assure you the side effects do subside. I am now 8 weeks since my last treatment and have also now finished rads and can say my energy levels are gradually increasing. I do know my limitations and certainly can’t do nearly as much as I would have done this time last year, but I expect this to gradually improve over the coming months. Please remember how much your body has been subjected to and be kind to yourself. Those who have not been through it could never contemplate how debilitating it is.

Take care over the next few days and look forward to the cloud lifting and the springtime bringing much better things!

Take care everyone…

551

Horrah for jaynek and her positive post!
Thank you.
Rachel

552

Hello all you tax ladies, i am relatively new to the site, have just recently been diagnosed with mets to my spine and am due to begin six cycles of tax shorlty. I have been reading all your posts to try to prepare myself and know what to expect, i know everyone is different but from what i can gather tax is very tough for most people. I had fec first time round and found it not toooo bad, but something tells me this is a whole other ball game!

Can any of you offer me some tips on things i should stock up on to make this a bit more manageable, ie; creams for sore hands and feet, effective painkillers etc, i would be very grateful for any advice.

Also i have been told to take my steroids late at night the evening before my chemo, is this normal, surely i will be up all night?

Pumpkin

553

See if you can get nail cooling to help with possible nail changes/problems. Can help hugely to avoid major problems according to the research.

554

Hi Pumpkin.

Sorry to hear you’re going to be on the TAX truck. I’ve finished my TAX last Monday and just starting to see the fog clearing. The side effects (for me) didn’t kick in until day 3. I found FEC more hard work that TAX!

Few things to stock up on:-

Foot cream - I read that tax can make your hands and feet sore, dry and flaky so I put on foot cream every morning and night. I did once get very sore feet, but they didn’t peel. Not sure this helped or not.

Painkillers - I had to take painkillers a few times for aching legs (from day 3 - 7), ibroprofen, but some people need stronger stuff - ask if you need it!

Mouthwash - is a good thing to get, difflam I think its called, as I had a sore mouth with tax1. Drink loads of water/flavoured water beforehand and afterwards to help flush things through.

Sweets - I had a really horrid taste in my mouth so had lots of sweets at hand - my fav sherbert lemons and cola cubes.

Food - stock up on easy things to prepare when you feel snackish (week 1 I could eat all day!) crackers and marmite were my favourite.

I took my steriods before 4pm so not to be awake all night and that seems to be the norm - so I’d check why you’ve been told to take them at night.

The thing which I have found difficult with TAX is the feeling of depression, no motivation, feeling miserable, angry, tense, anxious, annoyed with everyone (apart from the dog!). This is so not like me, so if you feel like this, don’t panic it passes!

Also worth a mention is, and you probably know this already, that everyone side effects seem to be different.

HOpe this helps a bit and doesn’t worry you.

All the v best

Rachel.x

555

stock up on senna tablets - i took two the night before TAX each time and thereafter until things got sorted cos it immediately bunged me up!!!

for the mouth ask for fluconazole tablets mfrom the hospital. i also had nystatin mouth suspensin/difflam and gel-clair 9 i would try anything!)

i find i only want to eat fruit and cheese pie on my worst days cos everything else tasted yukky or i could eat it cos my mouth was so sore.

waiting for se to hit - taken the last of my steroids - i always take them before 2 or 3pm in the hope of getting to sleep at night.

made the most of today before se hit and been to the shops to buy easter eggs for the kids.

hope you all ok

claire xx

556

I finished tax 3 weeks ago and feel done in. I didnt do to bad on tax all things considered just wondering if anyone else feels so tired after finishing tax. I put it down to not having steroids now.

557

Hello fellow TAXERS!! Hope you are all managing to enjoy the sunshine se’s permitting. I’m very on edge as there has been a sickness bug travelling around my grown up family this week. I’m armed with anti bac spray wipes and bleach and hoping for the best. I cuddled my baby grandson, changed nappy etc and he went down with it hours later so keeping my fingers crossed. Day 14 and the depression has lifted. Sore eyes, feet and hands and tiredness to contend with. Every day ticked off is a day nearer the finishing line!!x

558

Hatty, I feel the same. I think i feel OK and do things, but I run out of steam very quickly - now 4 weeks post TAX - doesn’t seem to be improving. Also muscle aches and mouth still not quite right.

Janipi, enjoy cuddling your grandson. Hope the bugs don’t get passed to you.

Stella xx

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Claire - hope the SEs don’t hit too hard.

560

Thanks all for the tips, i’ll start stocking up this week before I start next week. Dreading it!

Hope you are all well and having a good weekend.

Pumpkin