Weight Gain

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  • DrienneB
    DrienneB Member Posts: 182
    #22
    weight gain

    Way to go as far as living one day at a time and enjoying it! So strange to be carried around in this thing called a body that seems more foreign as time moves on. Good to value the moment-by-moment and have fun. 

    I hope they can get your heart issue addressed and also properly diagnose the cause of the weight gain. I hope all of it is fixable and that you begin to feel better altogether.

    My body also started balooning a couple of months after surgery. My lymphedema was first noticeable in upper leg, butt and lower back on one side.  I was thin, a longtime swimmer and knew what my body looked like, so was baffled to see my silouette dramatically changed mid-way through my chemo when I was otherwise skeletal. I hope for you, that it is not lymphedema. Or, that if it is, it is a situation that will correct itself later. Sometimes people's lymphatic systems can readjust, with remaining nodes taking up the slack otherwise handled by nodes that have been taken. So these will have problems with lymphedema initially after surgery, but it will not be long-term.

    Regarding the "what next?" issue: For some of us, I don't know if we would have the strength to go through chemo if we had any idea what would follow after. Yet it's pretty amazing what we can take. Will pray that the upcoming procedure yields accurate data that leads to a better understanding of the heart problem, and that indications are properly identified, and that there will be some ready solutions for all of the seeming setbacks.

    -jane

  • Editgrl
    Editgrl Member Posts: 903 Member
    #23
    Ah, Nellasing...

    You're right, you surely don't need anything else to deal with.  Cancer should be more than enough, but sometimes life doesn't seem to know what enough is.  I've found that we are always stronger than we think we are, and I have no doubt that your strength will carry you through.  Didn't Debrajo have a similar heart problem that wasn't found until recently?  How odd after all the poking and prodding we endure, something like that doesn't show up until now.  I'll be thinking of you next Wednesday.

  • Nellasing
    Nellasing Member Posts: 528 Member
    #24
    THANK YOU JANE and CHRIS

    Your words of comfort, encouragement, your stories and thoughts help more than you know.  Sometimes you think you are going bonkers because medical people keep looking at you and denying that any of their treatments could possibly be causing any of these things.  If you dare bring up anything you might read on the internet they practically go on the attack saying that those are only a small percentage of people and do not accurately portray the normal outcomes.... well, perhaps I am one of those in a small percentage....and what is the harm of looking at it from another angle?  As we see, if I had not kept digging and stating my concerns about my sudden onset of weight and palpitations and the anxiety both were causing and insisted on an ekg and echo they would never have found the hole in my heart!!! 

    All that to say, don't be silenced, be your own advocate and if you feel something isn't right keep at it, go somewhere else, make sure someone hears you because you live inside your body- just like you said Jane- you knew what your body was supposed to look like and it had changed.  That is exactly what is happening to me- my middle and lower body is bloating up up up and nothing I do is changing it, where before I could and did make drastic change in my body by moving it and eating differently.  I am doing that now to no avail. 

    I will continue doing all the healthy things I am doing and trying to keep my mind set positive and not worry.  I will value each day and look for each blessing and try to be a blessing to others.  I appreciate you all so much!!!  I will continue to pray for all of you and send big big (((HUGS)))

  • Kaleena
    Kaleena Member Posts: 2,088 Member
    edited February 2017 #25
    Nellasing said:

    Hey guys- update

    I am now up to 10,000+ steps a day and the weight gain is continuing Yell  I am beyond frustrated and in re-reading the above I realized that I had forgotten to mention that I have also been having heart palpitations which feel very much like anxiety but they can go on and on for hours when I am not anxious about anything.  I had that ultra sound, a chest x-ray, an ekg and an echo... my BP has been going haywire sometimes normal and other times very high.  This week I saw a cardiologist who explained that I have a Atrial Septal Defect- a hole in my heart from birth!  Normally these are caught much earlier.   She said they wanted me to wear a halter monitor for 48 hours regarding the palpitations and I haven't heard back yet on that but on March 1 (next Wed) I will be going in for a TEE (trans esophageal echo) so they can get a better look at the hole and decide how to proceed.

    Someone posted earlier that having cancer should be enough and that is how I am feeling!  I am concerned if my poor body is strong enough to have a procedure and recover after all I've just been through.  I do know that I must have it repaired- the consequences of not are possible pulmonary hypertension which is not reversible.  I am also wondering if somehow this is connected to the rest of these symptoms? 

    I would appreciate any feedback but more than anything just needed to share it and hope I can get some prayers for next Wed. and for whatever comes.  I do have to say that it is intriguing to think that if they can fix this and my body is operating at 100% capacity for the 1st time in my life it could be a wonderful thing.  Whatever it is I am going take it a day at a time and LIVE my life and enjoy each day.   (((HUGS)))

    A quick question

    Do you still have a port?   I know this seems funny, but as long as I had my port it I would get heart palpitations.  I may get one here and there but not like when I had a port in.

  • Nellasing
    Nellasing Member Posts: 528 Member
    edited February 2017 #26
    Kaleena said:

    A quick question

    Do you still have a port?   I know this seems funny, but as long as I had my port it I would get heart palpitations.  I may get one here and there but not like when I had a port in.

    yes, I have my port

    that is very interesting- I've had these for a long time however, I thought they were more frequent since I've had my treatments.  It could be that my body is just much more fatigued and is less able to compensate?   Sure appreciate the info though- you never know- it could very well have added to the problem for me or might help someone else.  (((HUGS)))

  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #27
    Suggestion

    I hope you can get the heart issue resolved.  I just want to share my experiences with my naturopath and her patients who are vegetarian.  My ND was vegetarian for many years, until she realized just how many carbohydrates she was eating.  Carbohydrates turn into sugar which turns into fat.  Carbohydrates, in fact, appear to be the driver behind many of today's chronic illnesses, See the book Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter.  I have seen many ovarian cancer survivors who can't seem to switch from being vegetarian, and it doesn't do their health any good.  Our bodies simply require some amount of animal protein.  I don't know why you have chosen a vegetarian diet, but I know from personal experience, that carbohydrates are not my friend.  I eat a very low carb, high fat diet and when I do, I lose weight and feel a whole lot better.  When I start eating carbs again, I swell up and can feel the inflammation.  That is why more and more alternative cancer doctors are embracing the ketogenic diet.  It's just an observation.  I know that I would not do well on your diet.  For what it's worth. 

    Good luck,

  • Nellasing
    Nellasing Member Posts: 528 Member
    edited February 2017 #28
    Tethys41 said:

    Suggestion

    I hope you can get the heart issue resolved.  I just want to share my experiences with my naturopath and her patients who are vegetarian.  My ND was vegetarian for many years, until she realized just how many carbohydrates she was eating.  Carbohydrates turn into sugar which turns into fat.  Carbohydrates, in fact, appear to be the driver behind many of today's chronic illnesses, See the book Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter.  I have seen many ovarian cancer survivors who can't seem to switch from being vegetarian, and it doesn't do their health any good.  Our bodies simply require some amount of animal protein.  I don't know why you have chosen a vegetarian diet, but I know from personal experience, that carbohydrates are not my friend.  I eat a very low carb, high fat diet and when I do, I lose weight and feel a whole lot better.  When I start eating carbs again, I swell up and can feel the inflammation.  That is why more and more alternative cancer doctors are embracing the ketogenic diet.  It's just an observation.  I know that I would not do well on your diet.  For what it's worth. 

    Good luck,

    Appreciate the info Tethys41

    I eat a very low carb and healthy fat diet.  I don't do sugar, grain, dairy and eat almost exclusive organic veggies and a few fruits.  I am being advised by a naturopath. I make most of my own food so I stay away from processed foods.  

    I am finding the more folks I talk with many have these same things going on after treatment.  Sometimes it takes a year or more.  I will sure keep everyone posted so that anyone coming after me wont think they are bonkers.  Wink  (((HUGS)))

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