I was getting talquetamab every other week for what seemed like a short while. I think it might have been two cycles. The talq dose was triple the dose I had been receiving every week. I had pretty severe headaches on the increased dose. I tried to hang in there, but it was bad enough that the only thing that would help was oxycodone. I was wasting a lot of time feeling really miserable, and was considering quitting the trial.
Now that I’m back on weekly talq, I feel better.
These are the side effects I continue to have. I am in cycle 12 now.
- Altered sense of taste. Most things are tasteless or flavor is significantly reduced.
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Dry mouth.
- Sore scalp.
- Weird kind of electrical zappy, prickly feeling when I get too hot. It doesn’t seem as bad as it once was, but I will see how it goes as the outdoor temperature increases.
- Chills and fever 4-5 days after injection. I use Advil to treat and report it to the on-call oncologist, no matter what time of day or night.
- Headache that starts 3 days after injection. No longer severe. It can be treated with OTC Excedrin or similar. It usually only lasts one day.
- Fatigue. This could also be due to other drugs.
- Nail issues. My nails chip and tear. They also are very sensitive, making it a little bit difficult to type. I can’t do things like open cat food cans or drink cans with my nails anymore. They no longer look like this, thank goodness.
I am also on daratumumab once per cycle. I take 40 mg of dex each week. I am on a 21 day cycle of Pomalyst. I have Zometa every 3 months.
Do you all have to take an antibiotic and antiviral prophylactically?