Hi Friends~
What to do?
I'm typically a little anemic, but the past few weeks I've been a little more so & hemoglobin running ~8.8.
I'm tired & lethargic and cold all the time, light headed when I stand up and, short of breath walking up a flight of steps to my condo or carrying groceries or a heavy bag, and muscles burn like I'm hiking Mt. Everest
I talked to the Rn, but she said that even though my levels are low, I'm not critical. And since I'm not on active chemo (Herceptin+Tykerb only since November), I'm not a candidate for Procrit or Aranesp. She said they typically don't treat til the Hgb is 8 or below. Ugh! I can't even imagine!
I'm frustrated & discouraged because I'm so tired of being TIRED! I've forgotten what it feels like to have the energy to do more than one thing a day. I don't know when the last time was that I actually walked my dog, rather than sending just him out on his own to go to the bathroom! I'm a Pilates instructor and own my studio, but just end up sitting down through the class/lesson, talking through the exercises. And then I go home and lie down for hours.
All other labs are normal, thank goodness and the best news of all is that my CTC is ZERO
This is especially encouraging since failing 5 mos of Tykerb + Xeloda and finding 2 new spots in my liver and disease in the nodes in my belly, compressing my colon & kidneys. we immediately switched back to Herceptin + Tykerb and crossed our fingers!
When we drew the labs my NP said not to be nervous or concerned if the levels came back elevated, since we knew the scans showed new disease. So after 9 weeks on Herceptin + Tykerb, looks like things are working. Phewwww!
I always say that these SE's are worth it, so long as the drugs are working, but I'm starting to feel a little depressed by how sluggish I am. I have scans on 2/16, hoping for more good news, and maybe even a little Tykerb break, but don't know how I'm gonna drag myself through 2 more weeks.
I feel a little petty even broaching this issue, especially since we've experienced too much sadness & loss of our family of friends here in these past few weeks and months.
But I feel optimistic about the combo of Herceptin + Tykerb, and hope that the CTC results are a good indicator of how effective this combo will be for all of us.
Keeping us all in prayers and always Keeping the Faith~
Jessica
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