Radiation, Surgery, and Chemo is all done.. But still have days that I just don't feel good

maglets said:

it's good
takes awhile my friend...do not rush

I tried acupuncture...I had shingles and didn't know it....it helped ...was absolutely amazing...give it a whirl...doesn't hurt...whatcha got to lose?

hope you feel better

mags

Kerry S said:

Radiation-Induced Lumbosacral Plexopathy
If you google the subject line you will find a lot of info on this. I had the pain after the 4th week of chemo/radiation. It lasted about 3 weeks. The pain was only at night in bed. I was taking 1000 mg of percocet every 3 hours every night to sleep. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced. The stats say only 1 in 300 that have had chemo/rad get this problem. My rad onc confirmed this.

It came back about 9 months later. It comes and goes. Now just in the evenings. Gota love percocet. I also have had problems with blood sugar levels jumping up from normal. That really made me feel bad. That lasted about 3 months.

I still need 500 mg of percocet once every 2 weeks or so.

Exercise seems to help a lot for me.

Kerry

lisa42 said:

lingering effects & recommended supplements
Hi Brooks,

The chemo does take a while to get out of your system. I had my last chemo treatment the week before Thanksgiving and I am still getting pains. It's probably because of my new treatment, though. The last time I went off chemo a year and a half ago, it was at about 3-4 months after finishing it that I really started to feel pretty good and even energetic.

Yes, I'd recommend trying acupuncture. I did get some good relief from pain from it but, unfortunately,I have not kept up going consistently enough to get as much benefit out of it as I could. I need to schedule another appointment! San Diego Cancer Center, where I go, offers it for free to cancer patients in active treatmentat their Encinitas site. I think you still might be able to get it without being in active treatment- you should give them a call to see. I know it's a far drive for you, but it's free. Check around at various treatment places near you & maybe some acupuncturists will give a discount for cancer patients. Maybe or maybe not, but it's worth checking into!

Be patient and start taking your supplements! A good multivitamin with all the B vitamins (I use the spray kind for better absorption), vitamin D, calcium, red grape seed complex (with resveratrol, turmeric (curcumin- same thing), fish oil, selenium, and acai. Dr. Cantrell recommended all of these supplements to me except the acai(he wasn't against the acai, he just wasn't real familiar with it). The resveratrol and turmeric/curcumin are found to have anti-cancer properties. I don't know or not if they're safe to take while doing chemo, but they are fine for the treatment I'm on & definitely good for someone not on treatment who is wanting to prevent a cancer recurrence. I just got a juicer and am going out today to get some fruits and veggies to juice. I find that I have my brain back and can think and speak much more clearly now (don't know if that's been an issue for you or not, it sure has been for me).
I wish I knew of supplements to take for the pain. Actually, I was taking "triple flex" with I got at Costco and is a combo of glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM. The directions say that you should notice the benefit after 4-6 weeks of taking it. Perhaps it can be helped by B-6 and B-12 Exercise can also help, but I know from experience that it's hard to make yourself exercise when you can barely move or put pressure on sore joints. But even something is better than nothing.

Take care!!
Lisa