Hi @leelee1
I was prescribed Dense Dosing for my breast cancer treatment. Although it gets it over sooner, I think it’s not without its challenges for some. Im just trying to navigate the experts advice and know they must be doing it for good reason! We’re all individuals and it’s all so complex, but as long as they are targeting ‘the baddies’ in the best way they can then I think we have little choice but to go for it!
I’ve just spent the night in A & E with a high temperature, on a drip and having IV antibiotics. Ironically it seems an underlying infection and the Filgrastim boosted my neutrophils from 1.4 to 8, so the jabs have given a helping hand after all and prevented sepsis, was probably the kick in the pants I I needed to show me that they are there for a reason. So I’m now facing my last of 5 injections today with a different attitude.
I declined to stay in the germ ridden hospital, so now doing a very good impression of being totally wiped out on the sofa! Always learning:slightly_smiling_face:
The fact that you jumped up to 8 really does show the point of those injections doesn’t it.
Even though you got to spend a night in casa NHS, I’m glad that you got seen, got the meds that you needed, and are home now.
Rest up and ‘enjoy’ that last dose lol, like you say it’s there for a reason! xx
Sorry to hear you have been so poorly and can understand your reason for not staying in hospital. I used to mask all the time, I still do at the GP as there is always someone in there coughing like mad and I just don’t want to catch anything. I’m on Exemestame which can put you at risk of infection due to white blood count.
I hope you feel better soon and that if you don’t please call your helpline again.
Hello,
Today marked my twelfth (and final) weekly dalliance with paclitaxel. Next week, I begin my hotly anticipated rhumba with fortnightly EC. I welcome any advice on what folks have done to navigate this.
Take care folks,
Mags x
Good luck with your EC @Mags3, another venture into the unknown! It’s certainly clear how different we all are with our reactions and coping mechanisms. A lot of people seem to be experiencing joint and bone pain with the paxols, maybe a bad batch!
I had a bit of nausea with EC but there was always a cocktail of antisickness on hand.
Wishing everyone a smooth weekend
My joint and muscle pain started on day 3 and began to get better from day 5 onwards. It’s just over a week and my first day without painkillers. I found co-codamol was the only thing to touch it at its worst.
Hi Mags, I’m doing this the other way round, so far had 1/3 EC, my experience has been slight tiredness from day 3 and brain fog, a bit bunged up for 3 days which cleared itself without needing to take anything, lower back pain 1 day from Filgristim injections 2 paracetomol did the trick, the only thing that has got me down is my hair started falling out yesterday (day 15).
Hi @mags3 congratulations on getting through the pax, I’m now starting mine.
For EC I found the brain fog lasted a good week to 10 days after end of steroids (lifting after around day 4 or 5). Tiredness/down on early days post steroids. Constipation, then the other around days 4 - 6, fuzzy mouth, so mouth wash all the way through, and after first few days of nausea, then randomly throughout. Sounds rubbish but all manageable with goody bag items.
Oh and the filgrastim injection aches…
But as you can see we’ve all had different experiences, so I hope you have it easy xx
Hi there! Thanks for getting back to me everyone. My experience with paclitaxol has been…some bone/ muscle aches and limb weakness at about week 6 (walking in the afternoon and yoga has helped) and that has been recurring infrequently since, I’ve had a mild cold for about 4 weeks as well. My hair also went in about week 4. I’ve been pretty consistent with nail oil ( aloe vera oil and Mavala) and massages thoroughout, but latterly, my fingernails and toenails have become super sensitive and a red dot has appeared under the middle nail bed, and in yesterday’s treatment, my guy took a look at them said, ‘Yep, they’ll go with the EC’. I think at the beginning, I would have showed him that middle red dot again, but yesterday, I belly laughed. Have a good Saturday.
Hi Mags I’m currently on a weekly Paclitaxol number 6 next time, up to now have had no bone pain just red blotchy face after the first one and a sore undercarriage. I also have EC after 3, 1 every 3 weeks. X
Hope everyone is having a good day and if you are a mum, you are being spoiled rotten.
Just jumping on the forum looking for help, and ideas to treat anal fissures.
I finished 4 x EC last Friday and due to start 4 x Docetaxil on Friday but the 4 day constipation from meds has left me with anal fissures and by god I’m in agony. I almost fainted during the week with the pain when I went to the bathroom
I am eating healthy, fruit veg meat etc, no junk, trying to drink lots. Using anusol cream but it’s not helping.
I really need to get on top of this before my next chemo as I am worried it could get infected and prevent treatment. Any pointers would be welcome……and sorry for the subject at breakfast time
@fimac1 I think this one definitely needs a call to your team. As you say you don’t want to get any infection on top…
They may be able to get you some proper numbing/antiseptic cream to use?
In the meantime I have found that Andrex Fresh & Soothe ‘wet wipes’ are nice and cooling (flushable), although unsure if they will sting?
Germoline may help or seecyour GP as they will give you something to use and to make it easier to go to the toilet so it hurts less. I had this in 2018 and couldn’t sit or walk it was so bad in 2024.
Anosol, baby bum wipes and suppositorys were my best pals after botty block each round of chemo found starting senokot 4 days after infusion did help a lot after first round left it feeling like a backwards pine cone was trying to exit hope that helps if you try Shi xx
@Shi Thank you. No blockage now. Just the fissure….backwards pinecone was thinking it felt like passing a hedgehog but I think I prefer your description.
Do check with your team too to ensure no infection hedgehog it was our meesh on Oct17 thread who gave us all tutorial on bum buttering as we called it, honestly most of us on Oct17 gang didn’t know if our bums were coming or going luckily all of us on Oct17 gang had toilet humour and decided to have a giggle about it but that was our gang, we had a tune a day on there and tried to dance our way through as best we could, we found music lifted us Hope your bum settles soon Shi xx
Ironically it seems an underlying infection and the Filgrastim boosted my neutrophils from 1.4 to 8, so the jabs have given a helping hand after all and prevented sepsis, was probably the kick in the pants I I needed to show me that they are there for a reason.
So I’m now facing my last of 5 injections today with a different attitude.
Always learning:slightly_smiling_face:
do let your team know 
Shi xx
hope that helps if you try 
was thinking it felt like passing a hedgehog but I think I prefer your description. 
it was our meesh on Oct17 thread who gave us all tutorial on bum buttering 
