I went for my first IV chemo today doxorubicin pegylated liposomal. Unfortunately within 20 minutes I had an allergic reaction, tingling in the mouth, swelling and hives. The nurses were great and the doctor came to see me. Had an ECG and medications. One has wiped me out fernargon. The doctor wanted to start again as I had all the pre meds and extra and I felt better, but as it takes a while it was near to closing.
I am a little annoyed back tomorrow to go through it all again, but then it may be a blessings.
I did wonder why the person who booked my appointment didn't realise 1st time, morning would be better just in case, as a Doctor is there and nurses wouldn't be rushing at the end of the day. Anyway 2nd time hopefully, it's better.
Has anyone had allergic reaction on their medications. What did your oncologist suggest? Thank you
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Cherry38
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Hi Cherry38. I'm sorry about your first experience with Doxorubicin. It's certainly a scary time for patients and staff. Hypersensitivity reaction is not a common side effect of liposomal doxorubicin, however up to 50% of patients who receive the drug without premedication with steroids and antihistamines develop moderate to serious hypersensitivity reactions. I can't tell from your post if you were given the pre-meds prior to your first reaction? Regardless it sounds like the team responded appropriately to the situation when it became apparent. I'm sure when you returned today they would have properly pre-medicated you likely with higher doses of the steriods and antihistamines. Generally on re-challenge of this drug successful desensitization is usually achieved and treatments can resume, sometimes with a lower dose. Fingers crossed your 2nd experience was a more positive one. Take care.
Hi awesome4everThank you for your message. I finally got through the chemo today. I was given more meds to take at home and then this morning.
I was then given more pre meds. Which I had previously been given but I obviously needed more, they gave me a sedative too so I could relax through it.
So now I wait, I just hope I don't get bad side effects. I only have this every 28 days so hopefully I will feel well enough Christmas day with my children.
Hope you are well lovely, thank you again for your reply. Take care 🩷🩷
Glad you got through your treatment with the added precautionary prophylactic medications. You'll probably feel quite tired and sleepy until all the drugs get out of your system. If you can just rest or sleep them off. I'm sure you will feel well enough to enjoy your Christmas with your kids as you will be at the end part of your treatment, awaiting the next one so good timing probably. May you find peace and happiness with your children this holiday season. Worrying about the what-if's takes away the joy of today. Best wishes.
Happened to me, head nurse was very unhappy about pm app for first time patient. They did it anyways because of same reasons as you. I was fortunate not to have had the reaction you unluckily had, but with hindsight- if it had gone wrong that would’ve made me so anxious. Not same meds as you though, paclitaxel with all the pre meds ect.
Hi Ntash01, Hope you are well lovely.Thank you for your reply, I got through the chemo.
I was given meds to have last night and this morning. Then at the hospital more pre meds. They gave me a sedative to.
So far no reactions. I have to take more tablets tomorrow. Hopefully no bad side effects.
I have my sickness tablets, gastrostop, movocol for constipation. Mouth wash compound for sores. Crazy we have to take one drug to kill the cancer, but the cancer drug causes so many different problems, so we take more drugs to counteract them.
I was given early appointments for next time and I was put near the nurses station so I could be monitored. I think they realised that I might have problems with this drug so earlier the better. Hope you are going well with the pacilitaxel. Take care 🩷🩷
Hi Cherry38, Yes I also had an allergic reaction while being infused with Trodelvy. The wonderful nurses on the infusion unit at my cancer center responded immediately and stopped the infusion. The Nurse Practitioner on my care team came straight away. Even my oncologist came with his students following. I guess I was the lesson of the day 😄. Steroids were given intravenously, after a time infusion was restarted, albeit more slowly, and the infusion continued. After the allergic reaction, the next few rounds of infusion were given more slowly over three hours. Currently I am back to two hours although I receive steroids in my premeds and there have been no further reactions during infusion.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas with your children and family.
Hi Best521. I am so sorry you went through this too, but good they are doing it slowly from now on. I had the nurse practitioner today overseeing my treatment, I was given a lot of pre meds, steroids included and a sedative and anti sickness. But I also took the meds the oncologist gave me as well.
The oncologist thought it was best to stop on the day, but I think a lot was to do with them finishing up and he had to go, so they didn't want to risk it.
Which I understood. Today was long a few issues, so after 5 hours I was alright to go home.
So wait now for 28 days for next one. I hope I have no bad side effects.
How are you with the Trodelvy, I hope it's working for you with no side effects.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas 🎄 too and I pray we all have a better New Year. 🩷🩷
Thanks. There are side effects from Trodelvy, as with all the cancer medications, but none that prevent my joy for life. The medical teams are great at adjusting infusion premeds as needed. Sounds like your team is on it. We may have some bumps, but the holidays will be special. 🎄
Are you getting high dose antihistamines beforehand? You really do need to have a Dr on call. I had alarms going off and 6 burses/drs rushing to my aid:...
I had a reaction to trastuzamab. The infusion was five minutes before the end. I started to feel extremely cold then shaking then teeth chattering. They stopped it immediately. Thereafter I had high dose antihistamines before each cycle.
If you go ahead tell them you must have a appointments when a Dr is on call
I was given quite a few drugs after the event. They were great the nurses. They switched of the pump and I was having stickers on me for the ECG. The oncologist was there within minutes. I did say to my nurse my tongue was tingling and I feel hot and a bit itchy. She had to see another patient, but was back within minutes and could see I was struggling and then it was so busy around me curtains closed and drugs put in my cannula. I felt a bit silly really.
Anyway now I take antihistamines and another drug called Tacidine the day before, on the day and day after treatments. So next one is in 28 days.
I will be given more pre meds at the clinic too. I was put near the nurses station yesterday and the nurse practitioner said I am her patient today and they will work that one out for the next ones. I have got early appointments for next time. I was in early yesterday but with a hiccup I was still there 5 hours later but I got the treatment in an old fashioned way. I tell you I swear I am jinxed sometimes 🤣.
Anyway lovely, keep strong. We have to keep on keeping on. My kids named my cancer Dorothy and as much as we hate her. She's part of us now and it's just adjusting life in a different way. It's exhausting though.
I wish I had known about fasting when I had my chemotherapy. I might not have lost my hair and I might have not become allergic to the chemotherapy. If you are interesting in fasting and its effects on chemotherapy watch Dr. Sten Ekberg on You Tube on the benefits of fasting. At the end of one of his videos he talks about how fasting during the chemo treatments lessens the negative side effects of the chemotherapy. He said that there is lots of proof that this is a very effective thing to do to keep your white blood cells working at a normal level so you don't have your immune system destroyed. I hope you do well no matter what you decide. Hugs Marlene
Please watch out! There is actual scientific evidence, a good peer-reviewed control study, on fasting reducing side effects of chemo (not full fasting - there is a broth diet) immediately before and after chemo. Look at that. Ekberg is not an MD (he is a chiropractor). He has numerous videos promoting diets and remedies. He does not know or evaluate the scientific evidence. His videos are a mix of good, valid information and invalid observations and recommendations that ignore extensive, reliable research. He gives no citations and is surprisingly unaware (apparently) of the scientific literature on the issues his videos address. But yes, this one is probably correct, but don't take it from him. It is more work, but this non-doctor needs to be fact checked.
I totally agree with you. There are so many people on the internet that suck people into doing things that they themselves have no literature or background to support. It always a good reminder that anyone can produce a YouTube video and claim evidence as their own.
Of course like you said there is actual scientific evidence to support intermittent fasting around chemotherapy sessions. It's certainly not for me as I simply don't function properly when I don't have food in my system. I tend to get hypoglycemic very quickly and feel lightheaded and terrible. Most of us do intermittent fasting to some extent overnight. Generally I eat last at 8 PM and other than my morning coffee I rarely eat until noon so 16 hours.
Thank you so much for cautioning me. But, I am aware that Dr. Ekberg is a chiropractor and a holistic doctor and I still respect him. I have watched many videos by other actual doctors and they all basic say the same thing that there are significant benefits to fasting during chemotherapy. I think you are right to look into the whole subject very carefully though. It is your body and you want to take care of it. There are probably many scientific reports that a person should read before doing anything like fasting during chemo. And of course, you would want the support of your Oncologist. My son fasts and uses bone broth and I think it is okay too. He seems to be much younger than his actual age but of course he exercises too. Since we only have taken fasting seriously in the past few dozen years there is still lots of mystery about the whole subject. I was so sick during chemotherapy that I would have tried anything. I had to give it up after 7 sessions. If I had been able to continue with the chemotherapy I might not have developed metastatic breast cancer. My surgery was a success but after the surgery I was unable to do any further chemotherapy so three years later I got stage four MBC. I am now on hormone therapy and doing very well. I am doing well because I am doing a lot of extra things that my doctors don't believe are helpful. My oncologists are only focused on my eating a normal diet (of course they don't know what that is). So I cannot share the things I have learned with them. They don't want to talk to me about what I am thinking. So I go a lot of it alone. But I can talk to you wonderful ladies and hope that what I share can be helpful to you.
It is a tough journey emotionally and physically but one we can hopefully find a way to go through it with no pain and suffering. I have been taking the hormone drugs Ibrance and Letrozone for almost five years and I have been NED for over two of those years. My Oncologist is pleased with me. I read everything I get my hands on and watch many of the holistic doctors on you Tube as well as regular doctors too. And I believe that all of them care and want to cure cancer.
My father was treated by doctors and he died after two years of following his doctors treatment. It broke my heart. He was a wonderful dad and I was 29 years old when he died. It was so awful for me. I lost my best friend in the world. He was such a warm, funny, happy and musical guy. And he looked like Bing Crosby. So I respect holistic doctors too as well as Oncologists. If regular doctors were the best source of healing we would no longer have any cancer deaths. So it is good to listen to everyone no matter what their training.
In my heart I think of myself as the best doctor of all. I know why I got cancer and so I know what I need to do to heal. And I try so hard to find a path that will return me to health. So I listen to all the doctors and try to figure out what suits me the best. You are obvious a careful and wise person and will find a healing path too. I wish you success in your treatments. Marlene
Thanks you Marlene. I never knew that. I will definitely check it out. How are you feeling. Can you still continue on chemotherapy if they give you all the pre meds possible.
I am starting to feel a little unwell since yesterday. Had my tablets they said to have after treatment.
I just hope I am ok for my kids, Christmas day. I am all organised for their gifts and my daughter put the trees up for me. I never been so organised than this year 😁.
Cherry, I wish you a very happy Christmas. It sounds like you are prepared.
I think you should ask your Oncologist if you would benefit from fasting. I get the impression that you are undergoing chemotherapy at this time. So it might help you through it.
Some people think you have to have three meals a day but if we look back just one hundred years we see slim, healthy looking people who didn't eat very much. They didn't snack and the grocery shelves were stocked with only the basics. And if you wanted goodies you baked them yourself. So I don't think it is all that healthy to be constantly eating. I have a lot of respect who for the whole concept of fasting. I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas season. Hugs Marlene
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