Has anyone else had a reaction to Taxotere??

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Went for chemotherapy today and had a reaction, have to go back next week for another shot.

Has anyone else had this and what happened?

Thanks

Jaynexx

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Hi Jane

I replied on the 1st Chemo 21st Jan thread but to be honest it was only saying that I’ve heard of the odd person having a reaction. I’m sure someone on one of the threads mentioned that they witnessed a woman having a reaction which was slight breathlessness and fainting, I think if my memory serves me well (it hasn’t been lately :-((, they took her to a side room and she went home shortly after that and returned the week after for her treatment.

Hope this has helped a little.

Take care

Krissy xx

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Thanks for that Krissy, i think it will be fine next time jsut got a shock.

Jayne xxx

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Yes I had a bad reaction to it - I went into anaphylactic shock. It is not that uncommon - especially if they are running the Tax in too quickly. They gave me large doses of antihistamines to take to counteract it and upped the steroid dose.
It was a dreadful experience but they can do something about it.
Good luck!

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Hi I had bad Taxotere side effects so we decided to switch to weekly Taxol and I went into anaphylactic shock so… we went back to Taxotere and I went into anaphylactic shock !! that was after 2 taxotere sessions ! so I had to call it quits with the taxanes and have 2 CMF to complete my 8 chemo sessions. All very disappointing and I hope hope hope that it will be ok in the long run cause I was due to have 4 x tax and only got 2 into me.

msmolly is right they can up the steroids to get it into you but the steriods were probably the cause of my side effects and it was agreed that it wasn’t a workable solution for me. I am unfortunate in this regard and it is not the norm so I am sure you will be fine.

Good luck - will be thinking of you xxx

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Thanks for that, i hope next week it will be fine when they give me the extra drugs.

Good to know i am not th eonly one.

Jayne xxx

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YESSSSSSS,was awful. Same as msmolly, shock etc. I too only had 2 out of the 4 taxotare, but that was a combination of the shock and the fact that it didnt seem to be working very well anyway - so for me chemo abandoned and forward to surgery, i did manage 4 x ac which worked very well for me. I do wish that I had the full 8 chemos tho, feel a bit short changed - but that was nearly 2 years ago now, so is getting easier.

Good luck.
x

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Hi Jaynre

I had a reaction the first time, was terrible. After antihistamine and a 10 minute breather, the drip was turned back on and all was well. Nurses reassured me it didn’t mean I would have worse side effects and the Side effects were okay. 2nd time, I had the same reaction but it was ever so severe dispite having some extra meds. Took about an hour for the stars to go from before my eyes. The nurses warned me they would try once more but if I reacted again they would stop and not administer and that I would have to see my oncologist before having more chemo. Luckily (I think!) when the drip was restarted I was fine. I was really ill that time though and when I did next see my onc she changed me to taxol for my last 2 chemo’s. Aparently to have a reaction isn’t unusual, it can happen the 1st time only or on one of the later administrations. The chemo nurses told me it was less usual for someone to have the reaction twice. It was horrid and scary. I couldn’t breath and felt a red hot heat. I wouldn’t like to try it again.
Best of luck, hope next time is a walk in the park
Love L x

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Thanks for your advice ladies and that was one of the things i wondered if the side effects were worse.

Yes not a very nice feeling and it happened so quick, must say the nurses were amazing went form noone around to 4 of them working on me. They are so good at the job, it really makes you realise how safe you feel with them.

Many thanks again and fingers crossed it will be fine next time.

LOL Jayne xxx

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i started my chemo in June 08.
I started with fec which i coped resonably well with, then i was put on to taxotere.

3 days after getting taxotere i was in agony with bone pain top to bottom. this lasted until about 2 days before my next lot of taxotere. i was given gabapentine for the pain but that didn’t help it just gave me severe diahorrea. i am now nearly 2 years since my first chemo and I still have bone pain but not as bad as being on that type of chemo.
However the pain has stopped me from returning to work. i can’t walk for long and often stumble and have fell, i need someone with me when i go out.
strong painkillers make me like a zombie or so spaced out i have to go to bed and they don’t stop the pain.

is anyone else still suffering from chemo?

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I had 6 rounds of taxotere starting in June 08. Although I didn’t have anything like an allergic reaction I did seem to suffer every side effect going. the ones they told me about (hair loss, weak nails/nails dropping off) and the ones they didn’t tell me about (oedema, runny nose, diarreah, stomach cramps, bone pain, watery eyes, fatigue and the list goes on). But on the plus side, it did its job, it shrunk my tumour down and I am here today to remember it all.

Good luck, it won’t be forever.

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Thanks for that.

LOL Jayne xxx