Hello Taxol...you are a pain/update/update #2

Had my first infusion of Taxol last Thursday, June 30. As with anything new, your nervous as to what is going to happen. With this infusion they started me out with the Benadryl. My nurse mentioned you might feel a bit sleepy. Yea, within 15 minutes I was dozing away! My time frame for this infusion will be about 4 hours long. I will receive hydration, a steroid, Benadryl, an anti nausea med, and finally the Taxol. Most of the 4 hours will be for the Taxol infusion. The nurses watch me closely to see if I have an allergic reaction and that is why the Taxol is given to me so slowly. Everything went fine other then I caught myself snoring and woke myself up with a snort-embarrassing! The other infusions should average 3 to 4 hours. I also get my Neulasta shot the same day now instead of coming back the following day. Still feels the same....it hurts! Made it home but was so tired I fell straight to sleep instead of going to my Pilates class. I had read somewhere it was very important to exercise or stretch the muscles with the Taxol. Unfortunately, exercise had to wait because a nap had a much stronger pull on me. So Thursday afternoon and night felt fine. No nausea. Friday still felt good. Woke up and had some extra energy and cleaned out a closet downstairs. I was thinking to myself, hey this isn't bad. I went to Pilates class. I had some aches but nothing bad. I thought if this is all I'm going to feel, this is not bad. I can do it! I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Well...things went downhill from there, again.
I could feel the Neulasta shot taking effect. My spine, neck, and shoulders began the ache. Frank spent Friday night rubbing them. It wasn't as bad as previous times but still uncomfortable. What I did discover was, there really was no nausea-yea! I can deal with the pain but the constant feel of nausea literally makes me sick and not able to function. Pain on the other hand, i can somewhat block and do stuff.
As I awoke Saturday morning, I realized it was gong to be a very different ride with the Taxol. I had pain that seemed to center in my pelvis area. It wasn't necessarily my pelvis/hips but it feels like a giant ball inside of me, like my internal organs are just aching. I took Tylenol but the pain seems to have intensified and finally broke down and took the Oxycodene that was prescribed for my double mastectomy. It really doesn't seem to help much or if it does, it helps for about an hour then the throbbing starts again. I haven't had any of the tingling in my joints, hands, or feet yet but the pain really hurts. Sometimes it feels like some has jabbed me with a sharp stick in one spot.
Hoping because this is my first dose of Taxol this will be the worst I feel...kinda like the AC. The first infusion was hell so maybe the Taxol will be like that too? I just need to work thru it. So here I am Sunday morning. I still have this pain in my internal organs and sometimes my hips. I walked around one of the local parks this morning with Frank. I had to walk like I was walking on egg shells. If I walked too fast my hips and pelvis start to ache. Again I'm functioning and no nausea. I do keep wondering is this normal? Is there something wrong with me? I googled all my aches and pains and it seems it is normal. Big question again, why doesn't the Dr.'s office prepare you better? My only hint that the pain might be this bad was when I asked the nurse, "so if the pain is really bad, can I take my Oxycodone?" Her response, "oh yea, by all means...take what you need to get through the pain". Yikes....that should have been a big hint.
I am taking a number of vitamins to help me through the Taxol and lessen the neuropathy side effects; B6 (50mg twice daily), B12 (1000mcg), Alpha lipoic Acid (600mg daily), Vit E (300iu), and L-Glutamine 30g orally. Yes the L-Glutamine is alot! I had started taking it (maybe 10g) leading up to the Taxol to have my body ready but 30g is alot! Can't hide all that in a shake. I'm to take the 30g for 4 days following the Taxol. So trying my best to do all this.
4th of July weekend and just spending it resting. It's over 100 degrees here so I'm keeping up on my liquids. A bit of a bummer, life is happening around me and I'm stuck in neutral. I am happy to say I only need to do 3 more infusions then I'm done! I can't tell you how excited I am. Crossing my fingers I won't need radiation but I know deep down I will....so again more time waiting. Then the surgery to swap out my expander to implants. btw...the scars are healing REALLY real. I haven't been putting any type of scar medicine on but everything is healing and fading. There are some areas that are a little red but for the most part, the scars look good, or at least as good as they can for having had a double mastectomy in March.
Update July 5th/

I'm scheduled for an ultrasound tomorrow to investigate what is going on. I have been given the OK to use Advil for pain relief. I wasn't allowed to earlier because my platelets were so low and Advil is a blood thinner. The Advil has helped but the pain is still there.... over time it seems to be getting better. I can't imagine there being anything wrong but hoping for the best because I really don't want more bad news or anything to delay me getting through all this stuff. I just want to get it done and move on.

JULY 8-Friday
Had my ultrasound for my abdominal area and pelvis. Took about an hour because I had to drink more water...I swear I beginning to really hate water. I recognized the gal who performed the ultrasound, she might have even been the gal who found this cancer. She recognized me as well, even without hair. We chatted it up during the whole appointment. At the end I asked, so when do I get the results? She gave the standard answer the tech's give. The Dr. will call you once it has been read and usually that is within a day or two. I asked, if there is something urgent, does someone wave a flag to have a Dr. read it? Her response, yes they do. So against protocol, I'm sure, she said, in your case it will just be a standard follow up call, no urgency.
So here I sit Friday morning, waiting still for my results. No phone call but probably today. So what is causing my pain (which has subsided)? I'm guessing it was my ovaries. Maybe my body was fighting Taxol that is trying to put my body into menopause. Who knows but I hope next Taxol it does not happen again.
JULY 11-Monday 2nd UPDATE
Got the call from the Dr. as to what they found from the ultrasound. Two things could have caused the pain I experienced. 1st...possibly gall stones. Yes, gall stones. I knew I had gall stones, thanks to my CAT scan a months ago. So, maybe I ate something before the infusion and the chemo triggered a gall stone attack. Really? I couldn't believe what my chemo nurse was telling me. It did not seem correct. 2nd possibility....which was news to me, I have fibroids on my uterus. Fibroids are beign cysts that grow on your uterus lining. They can become large and cause cramping and spotting. Mine are small but again, maybe the chemo triggered the cramping that fibroids can cause. These are common among women of a certain age and are not cancerous. Yea! So this sounds more right as to where the pain was coming from. What am I going to do about this? I have been referred to my gyno for more poking. If they become worse a hysterectomy could be in my future. Actually a hysterectomy could be in my future no matter what since I am trying to remove as much estrogen from my body. I can also just have them removed but it's not a quick thing. So for now, I just get super strong pain relievers for the next infusion and hope for the best.