hi all - day 4 post TAX 4 and mouth yuk and just generally yuk!!!
when will the energy levels ever come back i ask??
its so beautiful outside but i dont feel part of it.
hope you all getting on ok.
claire
Hi claire, chin up, it wont be long before you have gone through the list of ses and if anything like me you have been pretty much the same each cylcle, i am currently 5 of 6 tax my last one due on the royal wedding day, so i wont forget that will i,
i usually start picking up a bit round about day 7-8 if lucky, its horrible but you just have to go with the flow dont you.
anyway all the very best to you, keep smiling, it wont be long now
(((((hugs))))) liz xxx
thanks liz for good wishes
yes - a memorable royal wedding day it will be for you
claire
Good morning tax ladies, I have been advised that the tax I am about to start may cause problems with constipation or possibly the opposite, anyone have any advice on the best thing to take for either?
Pumpkin
Good morning Pumpkin, I had dreadful, painful constipation (followed by piles - ouch!) with Tax 1 despite taking the Sodium Docusate capsules I’d been given, so for Tax 2 my onc prescribed me some Laxido sachets. They worked really well. You do need to drink a lot of extra water as well as the sachets need that to work.
I also ate a lot more fruit (fresh and dried) in the few days before and after Tax 2 as well and I think that helped.
Jane xxx
i have struggled with constipation with TAX but i think i learned to mange it - i had 4 TAX and it was definately worse with the first one because i didn’t take anything.
i found that taking 2 senna tablets at night starting the evening BEFORE TAX and continuing each evening until whenever i felt able to do so, post tax really helped.
im afraid the constipation gave way to the opposite after a few days each time.
i also drank lots of fluids and ate fruit
i use anusol and sudocrem as i suffer with piles too
not nice i know but honest and hopefully of help to you.
claire
Thanks for the tips, isn’t it great what we are reduced to talking about with this bloody disease!!! i’ll start taking something before it and hope that helps. Any other advice anyone can think of about managing tax would be appreciated, already had some good pointers from the wonderful women on this site, want to try to be as prepared as I can, probably in some vain effort to pretend to myself I have some control. lol
pumpkin x
hi pumpkin,
hopefully your ses wont be too bad, mine have been quite hard to contend with,
day after tax, start feeling flu like, glands up and sore, like mumps,
day 3,4,5,6, really, really achy, unable to function pretty much spend most of these days in bed, mouth horrendous, no taste, thrush, ulcers,
day 7,8,9, start picking up a bit, but take it easy, one day at a time, i have found the further into the regime the harder it has become, i have 1 left of a 6 regime,
i have also noticed arms and legs feel like lead, really heavy and weird
tell your onc if you are really suffering the dose can be reduced pretty much in most cases i think,
i havent really suffered with piles (not yet anyway),constipation or diahoerria
check your temperature daily, i have taken tramadol for pain relief, paracetamol isnt such a good idea because this can mask a temp
please dont get worried after reading all of this, you may not be affected, but if you are anything like me i like to be informed in advance any less is then a bonus,
all the very best, keep us posted on how you are,
love liz xxx
Thanks everyone, I will keep you posted on how I get on, fingers crossed it won’t be to bad.
Pumpkin x
Hi all,
Once again I am posting after a long gap due to being in hospital. Another bout of neutropenic sepsis but this time it was nearly fatal and I spent several days in intensive care - truly very frightening! In the end it was the Hickman line that was the source of the primary infection and that’s been removed. I am at home now but I’m so weak that at the moment I can only get about with the aid of two walking sticks, although my physio says I should be able to wean myself off them in 3/4 weeks.
As a result of everything that has happened my oncologist thinks it will be best to stop chemotherapy now. I’ve had 6 out of 8 and as it was insurance rather than treating further cancer she’s happy to stop as the risks of me continuing now hugely outweigh the benefits. They are going to bring my rads forward and starting me on probably tamoxifen pretty much straight away. I am so relieved not to be facing any more chemo as these last few weeks have been hell - I’ve spent more time in hospital than out of it! I had an immune disorder to begin with and it’s felt that this was a bigger problem than was first allowed for, even though I got through 4 AC with very few problems by comparison.
Hey ho - at least I’m home now and I don’t have to have any more chemo!
I really hope that none of you have to go through the same thing. Wishing you all many healing thoughts!
Nymeria xx
Hi nymeria,
i am so glad for you that your onc has decided against any more chemo,
you must be relieved,
i trust that you will gradually re-gain your strength, just take it steady and give yourself time.
best wishes, liz xx
Nymeria, you have had an awful time, I bet you are relieved no more chemos. x hopefully you will feel much better soon ready for rads. sending you a hug. Ness xxx
Nymeria
sorry to hear that you have been so poorly -hoping that you will be feeling lots better soon
claire
Nymeria - so sorry to hear about your awful experience…sending you many best wishes to feel better xx
Nymeria! That must have been very frightening for you! I hope you will recover quickly from that ordeal. No more chemo must be a relief for you.
My last TAX due tomorrow pending bloods. I have been on anti biotics so many times for high temperature. My latest lot were given for a bladder infection as I have all the symptons but my wee was clear. i am feeling decidedly edgy about going ahead with chemo as I always have a temp day 4-10 and end up in hospital. The onc seemed disinterested yesterday and said they would go ahead if I was on anti biotics but after Nymeria’s experience I think I will be asking for lots of reassurance. Hope everyone has managed to enjoy this lovely sunshine SE’s permitting. x
for those of you who are post last TAX can anyone tell me when i can expect my sense of taste to come back - i am worried i will never taste anything ever again!! everything tastes yuk and even very strong minty toothpaste is barely tasting
claire
Hi Claire
I had my last Tax on 11th February and got my full tastebuds back after about 5 - 6 weeks … It improved by the day, but it took a while before I actually regained my sense of taste completely. Hopefully you will get yours back sooner 
Hi ladies. so sorry some of you are having a hellish time with your tax. I just had my first one yesterday and woke up this morning with my facing looking like big tomatoe!! bright red!! has anyone else experienced this and will it go away? Think it might be the steroids?. Still feeling quite normal at the moment apart from that, waiting for the tax truck to arrive any day now!
Pumpkin x
Just back from a few days away.
Hope you are feeling much better Nymeria - definitely not worth risking another lot of Tax.
Claire - regarding taste. I am now 5 and a half weeks post last Tax and taste is much better, but not entirely normal.
Pumpkin - steroids give you that lovely red glow and it will go away after a few days. However after that had gone, I developed a Tax related rash on my cheeks which eventually turned brown. There seems to be no end to the the weird things that happen as more minor SEs.
Best wishes all. Stella xx
Thanks for all the kind wishes everyone!
It has been nothing short of a nightmare and I’m pleased that it’s all over. I’m hoping to see my onc next week to talk about where we go from here on a more formal basis.
Meanwhile, some advice please.
Docetaxel’s parting gift to me is that it’s going to see off more than half my fingernails. Any advice on looking after my hands and disguising the missing nails until they grow back?
Nymeria xx