Week 3 of Docetaxel Cycle

[tom67inMA]

I've been noticing a strange pattern in my chemo treatments. During the third week of each cycle, right around the time my blood counts are starting to recover, I get another wave of pain and fatigue. The nurse at the MO's office even warned me this might happen at a follow-up visit during the first cycle. Has this happened to anybody else?

There are several theories as to what might be causing this:

1) It's a symptom of my bone marrow coming back to life, similar to the side effects of Neulasta (which I'm not getting)

2) It's a result of me overdoing things during the second week of each cycle, after the first wave of side effects have worn off but before the body has had a chance to recover.

3) It's a side effect of getting a fresh shot of Xgeva in the middle of the cycle. This is definitely a contributing factor in this particular cycle.

Mostly, I'm feeling frustrated because I have good days and bad days and outside of the first week of each cycle it's really tough to predict which particular days will be good or bad.

[dlestercarlson]

I had 13 treatments every 3 weeks of Docetaxel last year, then went on a Chemo holiday for 5 months. Now I'm doing it again and have had my 4th Docetaxel treatment. I also get the Neulasta shot each time and the Xgeva injection every 3 months. I'd describe as being on a constant roller coaster of different health related problems. Fatigue always comes after the Chemo treatment usually about 2 to 3 days after the Neulasta injection and Chemo brain usually occurs every morning that I get up for ta litle while. Exercise helps every day with both my energy levels, the Chemo brain and keeping my body and bones strong. I take it a day at a time and try to use my good days to the fullest.

Good Luck to You

Dennis

[tom67inMA in reply to dlestercarlson]

Wow, 13 treatments?!? I'm coming up on #5 and dreading it. Let's hope there's a prolonged remission for both of us!

[dlestercarlson in reply to tom67inMA]

When I finally had the 13th treatment, I thought I may as well been dead. I'm glad I had a chemo holiday after the last one. I'm scheduled for another break after my next treatment.

[tallguy2]

I'm curious: why no Neulasta?

[tom67inMA in reply to tallguy2]

Not really sure, it never came up in discussion with the MO. Given what I know about it, I'm glad not to have to make another 2+ hour round trip the day after chemo to get a shot that would add more side effects to the experience. So far my counts have decisively rebounded well into the normal ranges just in time for the next cycle.

[Mathes72 in reply to tom67inMA]

The y have a on body device that is taped on body that injects nulasta the next day,27 hours later,I have had 12 on me last 2 chemos,works great

[tallguy2 in reply to Mathes72]

The on-body device is a real lifesaver. Boosts the White and t-cells big time.

[larry_dammit]

Slow down and be patient,this monster has been there a while and the chemo is killing it and you at the same time, take lots of naps and rest. You are not going to be able to do everything you did before. Fight this monster, eat what you can and have fun

[j-o-h-n in reply to larry_dammit]

dammit larry you're always right.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Sunday 02/24/2019 12:38 PM EST

[tom67inMA in reply to j-o-h-n]

Good advice, but I'm well known for resisting a rest

[Stegosaurus37]

I, also, found that good days and bad days were unpredictable on docetaxel. The docs told me there'd be a regular pattern of ups and downs but it didn't work that way for me. If you're having a bad day,try to look forward to the good ones.

[tom67inMA in reply to Stegosaurus37]

Happy to hear I'm not the only random responder! It's not completely random, as I certainly pushed myself to the limit yesterday. Sometimes I get away with it and have another good day, but not today, which had more of a crash and burn feeling to it. My next good day should be Wednesday when I'm high on dexamethasone at the start of cycle 5. I'll look forward to that

[Joelhirsch]

You need to give yourself plenty of rest. Doxytaxyl is brutal and each cycle gets a little harder. Just don’t push yourself. At all.

[tom67inMA in reply to Joelhirsch]

I have to partially disagree. Intelligently pushing myself to get a reasonable amount of exercise has been helping greatly with the symptoms, particularly mood and fatigue.

Yes it is getting harder with each cycle and I'm glad to learn it's not just me that happens to. I find I am resting more this cycle, and am generally not looking forward to cycle 5 which starts tomorrow.

I just rediscovered this clip from "Army of Darkness", and would love to be able to take my chemo and its side effects and say to the enemy inside me "How'd you like the taste of that?" (fast forward to about 3:30 to get to the part I'm talking about):

youtube.com/watch?v=oQ5z3u9...(Not working as expected?)