My Husband Felt Great During His 1st Chemo Cycle But Has Been Home 3 Days And Feels Like He Has Been Hit By A Truck. Will This Improve Soon?
Just had 1st cycle of EPOCH-R treatment for double hit DLBCL in bones.
It will pass. I found that the R-EPOCH hit me hardest for about 3 days, starting day 5 after treatment. I would the feel better and better the farther out from treatment I got. Blood numbers (platelets, neutrophils, etc) always got bad around day 4 and then would start to recover.
I found that the first 3 chemo cycles really hit me hard, but by cycle 4 started to improve — I think I developed some tolerance to the chemo regimen, and the last 3 treatments were easier to tolerate.
Even though I spent most of days 4-6 post treatment laying on the couch without much energy, mostly zoning out on TV, I still couldn't wait for bedtime to come.
This is the toughest time, but it will pass.
Tell him to hang in there, it is a necessary part of the cure, better times are ahead, until after the next treatment.
I questioned the sequencing of the treatment and was told the insurance only pays for R on an outpatient basis. He has Medicare and a very good supplement. I need to look into this further as he doesn't handle the Rituxan well. Lots of pain and fever too. Thanks for the insight. Katie
I was struck by your calling the treatment your husband got was EPOCH-R, while mine was R-EPOCH. Must be a new way of sequencing things in the treatment. I got the Rituxan first in each treatment cycle, before the other infusions. 2 days after treatment ended I did get Neulasta, a drug that boosted white blood cell production for a period to combat the effects of the treatment.
I wish you both the best during your husband’s treatment.
Nick
Nick thank you! Did you get the Rituxan in hospital with the other drugs? My husband is scheduled for it 2 days after coming home from hospital. It doesn't make sense to me. The only answer we get is this is how we do it🤷
Katie
Hi Nancy, Just brought my husband home from the hospital after his first R-EPOCH. He is feeling great. I am sure that will change over the next days.We were told days 3-7 after are the worst. But also that it can be cumulative and each cycle will get more difficult. I hope someone who has gone further with this treatment will answer. Prayers for you both.🙏🏻 This is so very hard.
Katie
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