I have hair again..OK stubble..but that counts

[melaniem]

I haven't posted in a long, long time. I have been around though, just reading mostly, either too sick to post or not emotionally strong enough if you know what I mean.

My chemo ended 12-29. YEAHHH!

Thanks to everyone here who always posted back when I really needed it. This site is so valuable to us and especially to those who are new. I found myself needing to talk to others who really understood what I was going through. This site was a light in a dark, dark world for me back then.

You know what I've discovered by lurking around? People are good. With so much bad in the world, deep down people are still good. Basic human kindness is shown here. Total strangers reaching out to others to help them, expecting nothing in return, just to help. Thanks again.

Now...Questions:

For those who had a lobectomy---did you recieve pulmonary therapy to help w/your breathing after you left the hospital?? I get wheezy, asthma-like symptoms and wonder if this is new-normal.

Weight gain??? I gained 16 lbs. through all this. I thought cancer patients were supposed to be thin and sick, but I got chubby and sick. And the kicker is, it all happened throughout chemo.. when I was so sick I couldn't eat for a week after each treatment. Go figure. But, hey, I also quit smokin and I hear that changes your metabolism. ?? Plus I had steroids during and after each treatment. Would that be enough though?

My legs, hips and feet feel like I'm 95 years old. Arthritis? Everything aches. I took taxotere and am wondering if it is neuropathy. Or my new girlish almost 20 lb. extra figure???! ha.

My onc.s answer to everything is let's wait and see, it's too soon. Give it time. I'm OK with that and it makes sense but... I am impatient and want everything to just go away now that treatment is over.

One more gripe---HOT FLASHES! WOW, do I ever have a new appreciation for menopausal women. These things are wicked. Night time is the worst..hot...cold....hot....cold.....blanket on... blanket off...lovie cap on...lovie cap off. I think you guys get the picture.

Enough complainin though.......the sun is finally shining and it's my day off. Gonna be 78 degrees here in TX today!!! I'm shuttin this thing down and headin outside.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

XOXO

Melanie

[Frank Lamb]

Melanie, I think what your experiancing is normal after treatments and surgery.Eveything you have,I still get except for hot flashes.

I do think it will get better than it is over aperiod of time,but there sure is a new normal for most of us.

[Andrea]

I was puzzled about the weight thing with my mom, apparenly some pepole do gain weight frm treaments and surgery My mom did not gain, but she didn't really lose, she is fluffy to begin with, so we expected a loss

She also has more shortness of breath and they said that is just normal.

As for your hair, my mom has a chemo perm Her straight hair turned curly when it grew back She had only lost 1/2 of her hair, but what grew back is now curly. It is cute

[cindi o'h]

Hi Melanie.

Congratulations on the ending of your treatment! YAY!

I was left with a different body..not a better one, just a different one. I am still getting used to it and getting to know it.

Yes yes and yes to all that you say. I would roll down the window and stick my head out the window in sub zero weather and it felt great!

I had pains too. Take some anti-inflammatories for those.. hope they do not linger.

I gained 50#!!! after treatment. I got this huge can that I drag around behind me. And this belly...well that's enough..we won't talk about that any further..

Keep coming back. You can spread some of your courage to others now!

cindi o'h

[SDianneB]

I can't recall where I heard this for the life of me, but an oncologist (I think it was on the Discovery Health Channel - one of the "Lifeline" shows maybe?) said that the skinny cancer patient on chemo is a myth. She said that many patients gain weight with chemo -- they call it "chemo belly" even! They give steroids a lot which increases appetite, and many who are too weak to work lay around the house and eat, so she said it isn't unusual at all for patients to gain weight.

But whatever. Glad you're back and hanging in there Melanie!

Di

[Ry]

I am glad to see you back!

[Tami]

I gained about 30 lbs... thanks to chemo and steriods. Yuck... my weight didn't really change too much after my surgerys I did eat more (trying to build up my strength ) but I went back to work a few days after each surgery so that helped.

I think it's pretty normal to gain weight for all the reason's listed above... I hated it though.. in addition to having cancer and feeling horrible all my clothes were tight and I felt like I would pop. 2 1/2 years later though I've managed to lose "most of it"... I did lose my lung though, wonder how much they weigh???

Please enjoy your weather... 78 degrees WOW!! I'm in PA and I've got freezing rain, sleet and ice... YUCK!!! It's so depressing--I want SUNSHINE!!!!

[lilgna]

Melanie, I am sorry to welcome you to the lung cancer finished treatment, gained weight, feel achy and old, with hot flashes and a cold, then hot bald head club... Honey, no one should have to be in this club.. I am sorry.. Please know you are not alone, does not make it better...but you are not alone.. I started feeling a little better soon after treatment, 1-2 mth, range when I started some light walking exercise, outings in the fresh air and just being away from the treatment center. But I still have my achy days, with those damn hot flashes, just not as frequently. I will keep you in my thoughts...Hope things improve very soon...gina

[Wendy]

Sorry to say that I also had the fun after effects that you mentioned.

I lost weight during treatment (some to throat issues not chemo) but gained every last 20 pounds back the month after treatment ended. Darn it.....I kinda liked the little girlish figure that went with the balding head.

The aches and pains hit me after treatment too, I swear it gave me arthritis, but low and behold that is starting to get better too. I had taxotere too which really was hard on my body and my nails.....don't know about you but seems like they are now paper thin.

Hot flashes - oh yeah......I wasn't menopausal at the start of the adventure and I sure hoped that I would have been pushed into menopause from the treatments but lo an behold it was not to be. Geez isn't this a fun ride?

My advise, be good to yourself, pamper yourself - take a long bath and give yourself a manicure. Try to relax and not think of the cancer adventure for one full day. The weight gain can always be lost again, your good health is more important now.

Take care,

Wendy

[stand4hope]

Hi Melanie, and welcome back!

Not being a cancer patient, I can't identify with those things, but I am more than willing to commiserate with you on the hot flashes and night sweats! MISERY!!! My husband tells everybody about me flapping the sheets all night, up and down and up and down, to fan myself. LOL!

I really can't help with the rest of it, either. My husband lost weight and hasn't gained it back (I wish he would, at least some of it), he didn't have surgery, so can't offer much there either.

I guess, all in all, I'm not much help, huh? I hope you enjoyed your 78 degree day. We're going to hit 58 tomorrow and get 1" of snow tomorrow night. That's Indiana!

I hope you get to feeling better soon, Melanie.

Love,

Peggy

[ellakc2]

Hi Melanie,

Good to see you back. Everything you said sounds normal. Hope you

are on you way to good health. Take care.

[chloesmom]

Melanie,

I totally sympathize with all your complaints regarding the state of your body post-treatment! I have had all of your stuff to varying degrees since surgery and chemo.

I felt a little wheezy for a while after surgery, but I found if I really pushed the walking and other exercise it helped. Now, approaching two years after surgery, I don't feel that anymore.

Weight gain--oh brother! I went into the hospital wearing a pair of jeans that I could barely get on by the time I left three days later. I ate almost nothing during that time, and was gaining weight like crazy. A grand total of 13 pounds later, I have finally now started to lose. Like you, the stopping smoking thing wasn't helping in that department I guess either. And the steriods and chemo don't help with all that either.

I also had the aches and pains in a big way and they lasted for close to a year after chemo, but I have to say they have pretty much gone away. Again, I think exercise helps in that department.

Hot flashes---yes. But, I take tamoxifen, which is a drug to help prevent breast cancer by blocking the estrogen receptors in breast cells, so that estrogen issue means hot flashes.

I agree with your onc to wait and see what time takes care of here. Your body has been through a lot of shocks and it's reacting. I don't think anything you're feeling is unusual because I've had all of them, and they are resolving themselves.

But, I will tell you that every single one of our complaints here is relieved to a certain extent by EXERCISE! It will make you feel better, both physically and emotionally. Keep us posted, and give the exercise and healthy eating a try! We didn't go through all we went through to not feel good and we need to do all we can to be healthy! Good luck.

Cindy