[sandie58Participant]

Hi Dai
Sorry to hear about Zometa flu and hope you will soon feel better. My mum had her first infusion on Monday, along with her normal Cyclo, DEX, and a breast cancer medication. She felt great on Tuesday (doc said she would!) but started to feel unwell yesterday and had really bad pains in her back going through to her chest. Trouble is she had the shoulder/back pain before Zometa, but I think it's probably just making everything worse. Temperature is a little high and she hasn't even put her make-up on today which is a sure sign that my mum is feeling really unwell:-( . Doc did warn her she would 'dip' on days two and three, but didn't really say that she could feel really unwell. We were given an information sheet on Zometa and DEX, and of course both can give side effects. Having to keep away from mum as I'm fighting a virus, but next month when she has her infusion I'll go and stay as we will know what to expect (or not hopefully). Mum is anaemic as well and next month may have to have blood transfusion. I think poor mum was just overloaded with too many drugs on Monday. I know they're all given to help the MM, but having to cope with side effects is really hard especially at 87.
Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex is very good treatment wise. When mum was having her infusion they kept offering us both tea, and then came around with sandwiches, crisps and biscuits:-) Nurses and doctors are all lovely.
All hospitals are different but they should have given you a fact sheet.
Keep well.
Love Sandiex

[DavidbrothertonParticipant]

I have been taking Zometa for about a year, it may be irrelevant, but if I drink large amounts of fluids the day before & through the day of treatment till the next day, the flu like symptoms are less.
David B

[DaiCroParticipant]

Thanks for the tip David, I will try that approach and see if it works. 😎

Dai.

[Anonymous]

Henry had his second month of zometa a couple of weeks ago and felt bad with flu type symptoms. It then went straight to his chest so I gave home antibiotics which cleared it up but he was defo really fatigued and didn't feel this bad after the first one. He suffered with a bad headache for about a week and was very slow in his thinking. He could hardly walk one evening. His nurse did say he needed to drink a lot and I will try the paracetamol prior. He is still getting bad night sweats but apart from that just tired. But now it's lighter in the evening he has been joining me at the end of my runs and walks round the track twice with me. I'm hoping the exercise and fresh air will help he sleep well. However he is fast asleep now and it's nearly 9pm:) and Bayern Munich have scored again! Love sarah xxx
Ps Tom glad you are feeling better x

[lynnemallaceParticipant]

Hi I got my first Zometa infusion on Thursday and it went through in 15 minutes. Today I have been in quite a bit of pain in my area where the MM is but as I guess that is normal. I have had sniffy nose and cough too but my temperature is ok. I will receive the Zometa for two years so I now know what side effects to look out for .

[CarolsymonsParticipant]

I wonder why I am being given parmidronate over 4 hours (bisphosphonates) at Ealing Hospital when most other people are having zometa? Anyone know? Parmidronate takes 4 hours to infuse as well and I also had flu like symptoms but only after the first one.

Carol

[willjames2Participant]

Dear All,

I had my first full infusion of Zometa last week ( however I did have a small dose before I initially left hospital to come home about a moth ago).

But this time it was the full 'hit' in clinic. The day after I was a bit rough. I had headache and a higher temp bordering on 38.0 Celsius and a bit 'spaced out and listless' until dinner time. My Blood Pressure was normal however my pulse rate was up at 110 (which is much higher) than it it normally is. I was a bit alarmed and my wife wanted me to ring the Hospital however I didn't want to start a panic so I took my painkillers as usual and had something to eat and by the afternoon I was ok.

My temp came down and my heart rate settled down and I felt much better.

I am glad I found this post because I will monitor how I am next time I have it. An interesting point though is, does the speed of the infusion affect the possible side effects? The small dose I had initially before I had before I left hospital seemed to take much longer than the 'full hit' I just received last week in clinic.

Thanks for the info guys. Keep it coming 🙂

[eveParticipant]

Hi Scott

The whole thing should take 20 to30 minutes,saline on complete bag then Zometa,then quick flush through again with saline.Slims never had any problems,but I know people who say first infusion of Zometa causes side effects.

This forum does give you lots of information,were would patients carers and family,s be without it!!! Eve

[janwParticipant]

Hi Scott,

I had zometa for six months without experiencing any side effects and then I had a gap of six months before I restarted the infusions. On my first time I received the zometa after the gap of six months, I experienced flu symptoms for three to four days after the treatment. It's never happened again, although for the next three to four infusions I felt tired for a couple of days afterwards, but now I have no side effects after receiving the drug.

When I suffered with the flu symptoms, I discussed with my consultant increasing the time of the infusion which currently takes 20 – 30 minutes, but he told me to wait for my first three infusions to see whether the side effects continued once my body became more used to the drug. Hopefully, your side effects should only last for the initial dose.

My local hospital now deals with a much larger amount of cancer patients receiving Zometa, including breast and prostrate cancer patients, and because of this increased experience in dealing with the drug, they now actively warn patients of the flu side effects following the first infusion – which is what should happen across the UK.

I believe, Heartlands hospital in the Midlands now has a specific afternoon allocated specifically for Zometa infusions which is probably a much better way of ensuring patients do not have to wait a long time for their short infusions. Currently at my hospital, I wait anything up to two hours before a chair/nurse becomes available for my Zometa infusion due to the busy hospital ward having to cope with such a large amount of cancer patients undergoing a variety of treatments which can obviously last for much longer periods than Zometa or line flushes.

Regards
Jan

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