When I was in treatment I encountered some debilitating side effects that my doctors didn't know how to address at the time. I was able to find some solutions that my medical team approved.
**Please do NOT receive this advice as having come from any medically regulated source nor the FDA. These are only my personal experiences.**
**I mention specific brands when I share remedies that helped me. I do not receive any compensation from any company or individual to promote these brands. My purpose is to be as specific as possible to lessen the trauma for women in treatment.**
Around the time of my third chemo treatment (almost four months after my diagnosis) I started getting horrendous headaches that radiated down through my neck and back. My doctor prescribed hydrocodone, but it didn't help. I did some research on my own and found a little online forum where some cancer patients were discussing this very issue. The solution they found--which also solved my problem--was a medication that is a combination of acetaminophen and caffeine. The generic name is butalbital. It worked like a miracle.
Another source of excruciating pain was the white blood cell booster shot, Neulasta, that I had to have after each chemo treatment. It was after my second chemo treatment that the shot caused horrible pain in my bones, and there wasn't any remedy for it. Fast forward to my Reclast infusion I have every two years now for osteopenia (bone density loss) from cancer treatment. Because I had a lot of pain the day after my first Reclast infusion, I was hoping for some sort of solution to follow after my next one. I recently heard that taking Claritin for a few days before the Neulasta shot has helped to relieve the ensuing pain for some patients. I took Claritin the day of my Reclast infusion and had zero pain the next day. It worked like a miracle.
The heartburn I had in treatment was so severe that it felt like I was having a heart attack. The pain I had went down to my ribs and up through my back. My doctor put me on 20 mg of famotidine twice per day. I have continued that regimen all these years because heartburn remained a problem after my cancer treatment ended. Strangely, there have been times recently when I felt heartburn coming on even though I'm taking famotidine, and indigestion is now becoming a problem. The remedy I use is an essential oil blend called "Tamer" from doTERRA. It relieves my symptoms instantly. It works like a miracle.
After my surgery the time came for me to remove the bandages. Pulling the tape off of my sensitive skin was agonizing. I have since had another procedure that required tape removal and was told about a product that will dissolve the tape making it much less painful to remove. The product is called adhesive removal. The brand that was available to me is Uni-Solve by Smith&nephew. It worked like a miracle.
