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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Breast Cancer / July 2006Help or ideas
Hi, I am now 3 1/2 weeks post my last taxotere chemo. I have generalized swelling which I believe is from the taxotere but I am also having shortness of breath and extreme fatigue and muscle weakness -so much so that just driving tires my arms, it is difficult to cut a piece of fruit without having to stop for my arms to relax - it feels like I did a few sets with a heavy weight and I can't stand long enough to even do the dishes. Also, my arms hurt just from hanging. Whenever I lay down, I have to prop my elbows with a pillow so that they don't dangle to the mattress because they are sore and feel tired. When I take a shower, I have to prop myself against the wall and washing feels like I washed down the walls of a room instead of just me. One flight of stairs has my out of breath. I had an echocardiogram on Thursday to rule out congestive heart failure and although the results weren't dictated yet, the nurse said that it looked ok - within normal. I have an appointment with my family doctor tomorrow because we have to find out what is causing all of this cause I have to be cleared for surgery. I was wondering if anyone had similar symptoms or if any of our more knowledgeable persons out there had any ideas of what might be going on... Thanks for listening. Tamara >I am now 3 1/2 weeks post my last taxotere chemo. I have generalized >swelling which I believe is from the taxotere but I am also having shortness [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >more knowledgeable persons out there had any ideas of what might be going >on... I don't know what taxotere chemo is, but I recently finished a course of FAC chemotherapy which took place at three weekly intervals over a period of 21 weeks. As the treatments progressed, I also felt increasing breathlessness and muscle fatigue, and as I do in fact have a minor heart problem - atrial fibrillation, I had an echocardiogram both before the start of treatment and halfway through to make sure it wasn't getting worse. As the treatments went by, the effects took longer and longer to overcome, until the final three had me feeling terribly weak and feeble the whole time. Unlike you, I gave in to it completely, I'm afraid. My husband did quite a lot but my beloved grown-up son (who lives at home and is unemployed owing to mental health problems), did absolutely everything for me - housework, shopping and cooking and in addition ran up and down stairs all day to bring me cups of tea. Many days I couldn't even get the energy to have a shower, and just sat on a chair in the bathroom, washing myself very slowly. Many days I didn't even get out of bed until lunch time, and I couldn't read a hardback book, because they were just too heavy for me to hold. Even a month ago I found walking the half-mile to the doctor's surgery very tiring, and would to have to sit in bus shelters to recover before I could go on. It took me a couple of months after the end of treatment to start feeling any better, and now, three and a half months after the end of the treatment, I feel almost back to normal, although I still get tired very easily and I can't do very much at a time without having a rest. I get annoyed some times that I'm still not as fit as I would like to be, but I keep reminding myself that if I hadn't found the lump, I might be in a much worse state a year from now. I don't know how so many women manage to go through this without stopping work, or while living alone. I salute them, I really do. Hi, I'm glad to hear that you are starting to feel better. My husband too is doing alot of things now because I just can't. I am so sad and depressed because I was really looking forward to this time with my family - a least a little of summer to do something together since I will have my surgery in the beginning of August and then it's another 6 weeks to recover from that... my son will be back school and I didn't get to do anything with him the whole year. I'm hoping that they find some deficiency in my bloodwork or something so that maybe it's a quick fix. It's really hard to keep my chin up - the boys (my husband and son) went swimming this afternoon - I'm home on the recliner crying... Oh well - you're right - without finding the lump - I too might be in worse shape. Tamara >>I am now 3 1/2 weeks post my last taxotere chemo. I have generalized >>swelling which I believe is from the taxotere but I am also having [quoted text clipped - 59 lines] > I don't know how so many women manage to go through this without > stopping work, or while living alone. I salute them, I really do. ... > Oh well - you're right - without finding the lump - I too might be in > worse shape. Indeed. The alternative is not an option. Mary Sounds like you are taking all the right steps. I didn't have taxotere, did they check your blood count too? Anemia can cause shortness of breath also. Alex > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Tamara Hi Alex, I go to the Dr's today and they will hopefully check my counts then. Tamara > Sounds like you are taking all the right steps. I didn't have taxotere, > did they check your blood count too? Anemia can cause shortness of breath [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >> >> Tamara > Sounds like you are taking all the right steps. I didn't have taxotere, > did they check your blood count too? Anemia can cause shortness of breath > also. And have they checked TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), which is usually a separate test? Shortness of breath isn't a typical symptom, but most of the others are potential hypothyroidism symptoms. I'm incompetent to diagnose by email or otherwise, but have read there's a slightly elevated risk of hypothyroidism post-BC-treatment. Ann T. Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email >>Hi, >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >> >>Tamara Hi Ann, I was to my dr's yesterday and they took blood for tests - it took them 3 veins to get any! He mentioned about the thyroid as I am already hypothroid - he said maybe the chemo screwed up my levels. Thanks for writing. Tamara >> Sounds like you are taking all the right steps. I didn't have taxotere, >> did they check your blood count too? Anemia can cause shortness of breath [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >>> >>>Tamara HOW OLD ARE YOU??? > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Tamara |
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