Paclytaxol side effects?

[Snam]

[Elft63]

Hi I've just finished my chemo I had 6 sessions .. I suffered quite bad side affects .. Sweating, diahorrea , terrible joint pains especially my hips knees and ankles , peripheral neurapathy , hair loss, terrible fatigue .. But not everyone gets this , I was just unlucky , some people might only get one or two .. I hope I never ave to have taxol again .. Elaine

[Hidden]

Hi, its not clear if your on taxol as a single agent or combined with carboplatin. Also if your taxol is weekly for an hour or 3 weekly for 3 hours.

You will lose your hair in any case, joint pain and feeling sick is very common as is tingling in fingers and toes (neuropathy). Fatigue in that you want to stay in bed for a few days is also common. The other thing to watch out for is infection as your immune system is at a low so regular checks of your temp is important. Your red blood cells may also be affected in which case a blood transfusion is sometimes required. Its also good to keep an eye on your CA125 count as a decreasing figure indicates the Taxol is working. Hope this helps love Paul xx

[MargaretJ]

I had 3 weekly taxol/carbo for 5 hours at a time, 3 years ago with serious loss of feeling in hands & feet, bad joint pain, hair loss, nausea, constipation and exhaustion. I am currently on weekly taxol and side effects are fewer and less severe. Cold cap is preserving my hair, nausea controlled with meds, some joint & back pain. Fatigue is cumulative and I am getting repeated UTI's which are causing serious discomfort. Hope this helps!

M

[ANDE-Wales-UK]

Hi,

I am on weekly taxol, three weekly carbo, I have no side effects for first couple of days after, no hair loss as yet (using coldcap) on day four and five after my blood count is really low and im very shaky and tired , then I feel fine again, its all manageable at the moment, I do try and walk everyday I think that is helping me even when I feel rough I walk. I know weekly taxol is not always an option unless you are part of a trial, its worth asking thoughto try and minimise side effects, it is very time consuming though

Take care

Andrea x x

[nettieanne]

hi I have had to have taxol twice now in the past 4yrs ,both times my chemo regime was 5hrs once a wk. for 6 wks. . Both times I had nausea and diarrhoea with severe joint and muscle pain . The nausea and diarrhoea were controlled by medication ,but the joint pain and muscle pain wasn't controlled by anything despite taking extremely strong pain killers . when I asked my research nurse she said this is normal as taxol will attack the patients dominant side ,I am right handed ,so that explained why the pain was down my right side .it never affected my left side . The muscle pain was worse than the joint pain ,constant throbbing it felt like severe toothache pain in my thigh, it eased when I sat in a very hot bath for long periods or used a oaty heat bag the ones you put in the micro .Even now 2yrs on I am still affected by the muscle pain ,apparently this will never go now because I have had it to long .

sorry to be the bearer of bad news ,but its helpful to be aware of the facts .hope your side effects aren't as severe as mine xx

[Snoopy01]

Hi Elaine welll done fir getting through the six rounds it gets a bit tough towards the end esoecially doesnt it p, for so many reasons. 4 months after finishing Taxol/Carbo the only remaining side effect is toe numbness but it is going and a daily walk seems to help . The tiredness thing went very suddenly after about 2 -3 months post chemo.

One tip - i assume you had to have steroids before each round (?) so monitor your blood pressure as my GP said that can have a real impact on how you feel re the tiredness. Be kind to yourself I maybe naively exoected to feel back to normal immediately but it took a litte while - but so nice to feel human again !!

Alll the very best

Fiona

[citrine]

I used to feel like death for the few days following chemo. Nausea, dizzyness, diarrhoea, aches and pains. I knew I was going to lose my hair but that didn't bother me so much. It was one less thing to do each morning and I didn't have to shave my legs for ages. After the first cycle they gave me extra anti-sickness tablets which did help and also helped with the diarrhoea - gave me constipation instead

It was all worth it. I've been in remission since January 2012 and I like my new hair better than the old

Best of luck with your treatment.

Love Mary xx