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v-ness · 11-12-2009, 06:36 PM

hi all -

i am kind of new to this whole chemo & herceptin thing as i just started treatment on october 8. i've had 2 rounds of TCH with the H every single week. last week when i went in i had a low grade fever of 99 that went up to 100 after my herceptin infusion so i stayed home from work. today i was just ducky in the morning, bloodwork was fine, got my herceptin. i was reading for a while, then felt like a nap, only to realize my bag was empty so it was time to ring the bell for a nurse and go off to work. when i got to work i began to feel powerfully weak and fatigued all of a sudden. i left because i didn't want to push myself. i learned from you guys that herceptin has a 21 day half-life so i guess it's building up inside me now like the chemo.

could this just be a fluke or has anyone else gotten fatigued by herceptin? i've honestly done quite well these past 5 weeks except on chemo day and the past 2 herceptin days. that is to say, 2 days after my last chemo i was on the roof cleaning gutters and out leaf blowing - i.e. feeling strong with only minor fatigue.

i take a multi-vitamin every day along with vitamin d3 and echinacea & goldenseal. i haven't had the flu or even a cold in over a decade, other than this cancer i've been healthy as a horse. mom makes me a triple mushroom soup from The Cancer Cookbook that i think i'll ask for next week before chemo to jack myself up with healthy stuff. oh, and the day after every chemo i get a shot of neulasta so i haven't had any blood issues whatsoever.

i guess i am just a little down because i've been feeling so good much of the time for these 1st 5 weeks (of 18 total) and am disappointed that a 'little thing' like herceptin seems to be messing with me a little now. i have more than a year of the stuff to go, so i sure hope it isn't a pattern. i have barely any sick time left (i took 3 months off on med leave when my husband died) so every time i am out for chemo it is a 'vacation day'. some vacation.

valerie

11-12-2009, 06:36 PM	#1
v-ness Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: western ma Posts: 280	herceptin and fatigue hi all - i am kind of new to this whole chemo & herceptin thing as i just started treatment on october 8. i've had 2 rounds of TCH with the H every single week. last week when i went in i had a low grade fever of 99 that went up to 100 after my herceptin infusion so i stayed home from work. today i was just ducky in the morning, bloodwork was fine, got my herceptin. i was reading for a while, then felt like a nap, only to realize my bag was empty so it was time to ring the bell for a nurse and go off to work. when i got to work i began to feel powerfully weak and fatigued all of a sudden. i left because i didn't want to push myself. i learned from you guys that herceptin has a 21 day half-life so i guess it's building up inside me now like the chemo. could this just be a fluke or has anyone else gotten fatigued by herceptin? i've honestly done quite well these past 5 weeks except on chemo day and the past 2 herceptin days. that is to say, 2 days after my last chemo i was on the roof cleaning gutters and out leaf blowing - i.e. feeling strong with only minor fatigue. i take a multi-vitamin every day along with vitamin d3 and echinacea & goldenseal. i haven't had the flu or even a cold in over a decade, other than this cancer i've been healthy as a horse. mom makes me a triple mushroom soup from The Cancer Cookbook that i think i'll ask for next week before chemo to jack myself up with healthy stuff. oh, and the day after every chemo i get a shot of neulasta so i haven't had any blood issues whatsoever. i guess i am just a little down because i've been feeling so good much of the time for these 1st 5 weeks (of 18 total) and am disappointed that a 'little thing' like herceptin seems to be messing with me a little now. i have more than a year of the stuff to go, so i sure hope it isn't a pattern. i have barely any sick time left (i took 3 months off on med leave when my husband died) so every time i am out for chemo it is a 'vacation day'. some vacation. valerie __________________ 8/09 - IDC 1.8 cm triple positive, lumpectomy left breast 10/09 began chemo (taxotere & carboplatin) and weekly herceptin. 1/21/10 finished chemo, continued on herceptin every 3 weeks until 10/2010. 2/10 began 7 wks of radiation 6/10 mom dies of primary peritoneal ovarian cancer 8/10 got my last remaining ovary out 10/10 mammogram all clear 3/11 MRI shows 5 'spots' in right breast, largest 1 cm unidentifiable on US needle biopsy proved the largest to be old inflamed cyst -phew! 7/10 switched to Arimidex 8/9 switched to Femara - allergic to arimidex Femara made me lose hair quickly so switched to Aromasin Aromasin made my hair fall out too and the bone pain was too much. back on Tamoxifen 1/2013. blood clot from trains and planes 5/2014 so on coumadin per onco for as long as i am on tamoxifen tamoxifen was supposed to be up with my 5 yrs in may but my boyfriend was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer so i am staying on tamoxifen indefinitely because i want some ammo against BC, given the stress. lost my husband in only 10 wks in 2007 to stage 4 esophageal cancer. cancer's screwing with another man i love 2/2016 - 6yrs in remission, off tamoxifen and off coumadin - yay!