Help with Stage III B Cell Large Lymphoma

Romulan78

Hi, my mother in law recently got diagnosed with B Cell Lymphoma.

 

For a few months she was experiencing weakness and also what her primary considered pneumonia (in fact she is still taking Levaquin). After she was taken to the hospital and many different tests were done she was diagnosed with Stage III Large Cell Lymphoma. She is getting a port placed next week, then going to be having a 7 hour chemo treatment, PET scan and also a bone marrow biopsy...

 

Anyway we could really use some help with some questions (I am forwarding this thread to my father in law to gain more information)

 

First off:

She is very weak to the point of barely able to walk around the house currently (before starting any chemo). All she is taking is the last of the levaquin, is this unusual to be so tired? She is also a very anxious person when it comes to medical treatments so it might be effects of the shock of getting diagnosed right?

Have any of you heard of someone before the chemo begins being so tired to the point of not even wanting to get off the couch? 

 

Any help or tips would be appreciated.

All she is currently taking is the last pill Levaquin, and just got a prescription XANAX for the anxiety and to help her sleep...

Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3

Indeed

R,

At diagnosis with Stage 3 HL I was 53 years old. For the six months prior to diagnosis I worked full time (driving a company car around two states to get to electronic equipment that had gone down) In other words, I mostly drove most of the day.

I required at least 10-12 hours of sleep a day to function at all.  Often, after getting to work and then getting on the road for an hour or so, I would have to pull off and sleep in the car for 30 minutes or so, to even be able to drive. That is how weak I was.  I was drinking ten (10) large cups of coffee, average, per day. This continued for the next year, all the way through six months of r-abvd.  On chemo, I slept about 15 hours per day.  Except for lymphoma, my health before and since has been excellent, except for a bout with Prostate cancer (which is wholly unrelated to lymphoma).

My neighbor, who was in his 30s during his NHL chemos, required hospitalization for weeks at a time, unable to stand up or walk, and he lost half of his body weight, going from around 300 to around 150.

Fatigue is the defining characteristic of advanced lymphoma. Most cases are not this dibilitating, but tiredness is the norm, not the exception. And, this weakness is ordinarily more prominent the older the patient is.

Note: Many NHL chemo combinations contain the steroid Prednisone, which is an appetite and nervous system stimulant, and many writers here experienced increased energy levels on the drugs, rather than increaded fatigue. If she goes on CHOP or EPOCH, she will receive Prednisone.

http://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/drug-info/Prednisone.aspx#.VQSWZ11FC70

max

Rocquie

Weakness

Cartman Romulan, thank you for being such a caring son-in-law. 

The answer to your question is, no, it not unusual for a person diagnosed with lymphoma to be experiencing extreme tiredness, fatigue, weakness. It is a typical symptom. 

Many of us were prescribed Ativan for our anxiety and it is also very good against nausea. 

For questions at your other thread, I will say, please ask your MIL's oncologist about any supplements. Otherwise, she could eat and drink anything she wants. My only recommendation is to steer away from her favorite foods until she learns how her chemo affects her.  One of my co-patients at the infusion center told me she went to eat barbecue, which she loved. after her first chemo. Later that night, she became very stomach sick. She said now she only has to look at a sign or ad for BBQ and becomes nauseous. 

Best,

Rocquie

 

Romulan78

Rocquie said:

Weakness

Cartman Romulan, thank you for being such a caring son-in-law. 

The answer to your question is, no, it not unusual for a person diagnosed with lymphoma to be experiencing extreme tiredness, fatigue, weakness. It is a typical symptom. 

Many of us were prescribed Ativan for our anxiety and it is also very good against nausea. 

For questions at your other thread, I will say, please ask your MIL's oncologist about any supplements. Otherwise, she could eat and drink anything she wants. My only recommendation is to steer away from her favorite foods until she learns how her chemo affects her.  One of my co-patients at the infusion center told me she went to eat barbecue, which she loved. after her first chemo. Later that night, she became very stomach sick. She said now she only has to look at a sign or ad for BBQ and becomes nauseous. 

Best,

Rocquie

 

Thank you both for your quick

Thank you both for your quick replies. It helps knowing the symptoms are not unusual to this ailment.