Hi all
I’m probably being impatient but how blommin’ long does it take for the tax truck to leave town? I had my first tax 8 days ago and I still feel grim. I foolishly imagined the fatigue would involve reclining graciously on a day bed in a silk nightdress (not that I’ve got either) being hand-fed peeled grapes for a couple of days. The reality has been moving from bed to sofa and back again in crumpled sweaty pyjamas and if I so much as load the washing machine feeling absolutely flat out knackered. Things have improved v slightly but I was really hoping that I’d be able to have a bath without needing to lie down afterwards by day 8! How long did it take others to start feeling semi-human again after tax?
Thanks
Della
Hi Della
Sorry you are feeling rough - know exactly what you mean about moving from bed to sofa!!
I have my tax on a Monday, start feeling rough on the Wednesday and start feeling better the following Wednesday so you should be improving any day soon hopefully!!
I have my last one tomorrow 
Jane
Hi Della
Its a pretty large truck this tax one eh… I had my 1st tax on wednesday 30th may so im now day 11 and feel human, yesterday I managed to go to the local shops and last night spent about 45 mins at our local carnival/funfair could have stayed longer but didnt want to over do it.
This is such an individual treatment though that people do recover differently, some ladies dont even get hit !!!
Good luck, rest up and dont over do things
Janice xx
Good luck for your last tax 2morrow Jane… well done you !!! I have 2 more to go , just getting over the first still but willing the time to pass for the next one so that I only have 1 left… how weird is that lol 
Take care Janice x
Thanks Jane and Janice. It’s reassuring to hear that the truck should be on it’s way shortly. Good luck to both of you for your forthcoming treatments and seeing the light at the end of the chemo tunnel
D x
Hi Della
For me the TAX was hell
On earth with the 2nd worse than the 1st and the 3rd worst of all. The good news though was that I had my last one on 18th Nov, went back to work on 5th dec and was back to normal by the beginning of Jan. rest when you need to and don’t be too hard on yourself
Lx
I remember the Tax truck!!! (Although Id describe it more as a tank!) It was HELL for me too!
It used to take me 5-6 days to get over FEC and I naiivly expected the same with taxotere. WRONG!!! I would say it took me about 10 days to get over each one. And I usually ended each 10 days with a blaze of Tax trots!!! Thats when I felt it had finally done its damage and was leaving me!!!
My 2nd one was worse than my 1st. I remember on day 4 after it waking up and dreading even opening my eyes and having to turn over to get up out of bed to go to the loo. It took me ages to do but once Id done it I was so relieved that I didnt have to do it again for several hours. The rest of the day was spent just lying in bed with my eyes closed waiting for the "heat " to go out of it.
My BCN used to phone me 1 week after each chemo and after hearing how bad the 2nd one was, she spoke to the consultant and they gave me a reducing dose of the steroids to take over several days, rather than just stopping them suddenly, with the 3rd one. And it really helped.
Have a word with your BCN /doctors.
Wishing you all the very best with your last 2
Mandy xxx
I agree with mandy, the steroids can be just as damaging with tax if you come off too quickly. My onc did the same and mandy’s right, it def helps. I’ve had quite a lot of chemo and I’d say tax was def one of the worst ones. Hang in there, it supposedly has very good results - lots of luck for your last 2 x
I wish I could say something different from the last few posts Della, but I called it the ‘Dreaded Docetaxel’ - the one with the sting in its tail! The 1st one seemed to be ok on the day and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my dinner stayed down that evening, unlike my first couple of FECs
Oh, how innocent I was thinking that this first one of my change of chemo cocktail was going to be easy-peasy! For the day before and a couple of days after my new cocktail regime I had to take steroids to alleviate some of the side-effects, except that as soon as the steroids wear off the ‘sting-in-the-tail’ takes effect – and how! Every part of my body ached and I was doing a very good impression of ’Old Father Time’ as even negotiating the stairs was a major exertion! My head ached, my stomach ached and the pain in my fingernails was excruciating, especially when I washed my hands! Everything was too much effort. In fact, a couple of days after I felt so weak and tearful that I phoned the hospital to find out if what I felt was ‘normal’. Yes was the answer which made me feel better to know, but didn’t make the sheer tiredness and misery go away.
Then, to add insult to injury my eyelashes and eyebrows that had stayed with me throughout FEC decided to throw the towel in once I went onto Docetaxel and abandoned me!!!
Docetaxel is cruel, and it’s effect on your nails takes a long, long time to get out of your system. Take my advice and keep them protected with a clear nail varnish and look after your skin and drink plenty. The neuropathy in my feet was awful at the time - a case of my feet killing me.
Things do get better eventually, but it is a long and slow journey, but eventually the dreaded docetaxel will wave you goodbye so hang on in there - you will eventually come out the other side just like some of us here.
Be patient if you can
Mazzalou xxx
i completed 6 tax and carboplatin in feb and i was fine for the first couple of days byt from day3 to day 10 i was really pants… i had chemo on a thurs… started to go downhill on sta night by monday morning i couldnt managed the stairs and ususlly ended up crawling from bed to loo and back again… felt faint, breathless and had palpitations if i did anything more strenous than turning over in bed… i usually stayed in bed from mon to wed when i was able to venture back down stairs… and was still pretty ropey til the weekend… slowly got better by the following weekend and had a good few days before getting swamped again.
my finger nails are also damaged but this didnt happen until after no 5 which is when my lashes and eye brows started to fall out too… my toenails and arm hairs fell out around 10 weeks after my last chemo… and still have pains in finger tips and soles of my feet from the peripheral neuropathy but not everybody suffers with that.
good luck and well done for even attempting the washing… i couldnt face it at all during treatment so my BF or mum were on hand to help out.
Lxx
I had taxotere back in 2006. It worked very effectively against my rapidly spreading IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer) but within a week of the first dose I was in hospital with septicema, the result of nosediving neutrophils. Last year, when the cancer got into my liver, my onc offered me taxotere again. I said that I would take it if absolutely necessary, but asked if there were any other options. He offered me weekly taxol and, although having to go to the hospial every week instead of every 3 weeks is time consuming, this seems to be working without being quite so damaging. My nails are a mess, my finger ends and toes are sore, hair is gone and I need regular naps - but my liver is a whole lot better and I can still do normal things, which is so much better than taxotere.
I may end up having to take taxotere again, but I’m so pleased that I chose weekly taxol instead.
Love, Lynn
Many thanks all for your responses. I’m sorry to hear how grotty you’ve all felt on taxotere but relieved that I’m not alone.
I may have to have another 3 x taxotere (dependant on scan next month) so not looking forward to the culmulative aspect but now I have some idea what to expect I will definitely give up on any heroics like trying to load the washing machine!
I will ask about the possiblity of a reducing dose of steroids - thanks for the advice.
Lynn - glad to hear that taxol is helping and you’re able to have some kind of normality.
Again, thanks all!
D x
Hang on in there. It does get better but keeps stinging for months. ( little toenail went last week) I finished in December and like pregnancy it is a distant memory. I am still tired easily yet can’t sleep. I ache all over… But that is Letrazole. I am however still here and that is what counts for me. It is a cruel but effective drug for many people. Listen to your body and rest. It needs it to recover from the poisoning.
I so hope you find the yuck gets better I found each dose was less upsetting but I did have it reduced after number one. Many people find they have to have less intense dosage for medical reasons. It is better to have this than stop too early.
The truck went for me about five days before the next session then four days on the second and then three on the third!!
Fingers crossed for you
Cackles