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hutchibk · 07-27-2007, 10:59 AM

About a month ago I had a week of freaky lightheadedness and dizziness, mostly when sitting but not at all when walking. I was worried that it was a symptom of my brain mets. (especially since I have chosen to sit still on rads and see what the Tykerb/Xeloda does to them). I saw my onc during that week and described it to him. He asked all the appropriate questions and did the appropriate exams, but wanted me mostly to keep an eye on my walking... if I started stumbling or walking like I was drunk, then we would have cause for concern. We also speculated about the fact that the mold counts in Texas are off the chart this summer because of our non-stop rain, and perhaps it was an allergy symptom. That was what he felt was more likely. I went home and the next day I started a regimine of Allegra, Nasalcrom and 3 Motrin every morning. By day two, my left ear started popping like when you are driving down a mountain or it is drying out from having water in the ear. It popped sporatically for the next day and a half. And, by day two, my dizziness went away. I told the onc what I had been doing and he said that the dizziness had apparently been from fluid collecting due to allergies/mold, and then the popping was because of intermittent opening of the Eustachian tube that was swollen and causing the fluid to collect in the middle ear.

What a relief that was! So I just keep taking my Allegra every day and haven't had any dizziness since. We have my next brain MRI scheduled for Aug 13.

07-27-2007, 10:59 AM	#9
hutchibk Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,519	About a month ago I had a week of freaky lightheadedness and dizziness, mostly when sitting but not at all when walking. I was worried that it was a symptom of my brain mets. (especially since I have chosen to sit still on rads and see what the Tykerb/Xeloda does to them). I saw my onc during that week and described it to him. He asked all the appropriate questions and did the appropriate exams, but wanted me mostly to keep an eye on my walking... if I started stumbling or walking like I was drunk, then we would have cause for concern. We also speculated about the fact that the mold counts in Texas are off the chart this summer because of our non-stop rain, and perhaps it was an allergy symptom. That was what he felt was more likely. I went home and the next day I started a regimine of Allegra, Nasalcrom and 3 Motrin every morning. By day two, my left ear started popping like when you are driving down a mountain or it is drying out from having water in the ear. It popped sporatically for the next day and a half. And, by day two, my dizziness went away. I told the onc what I had been doing and he said that the dizziness had apparently been from fluid collecting due to allergies/mold, and then the popping was because of intermittent opening of the Eustachian tube that was swollen and causing the fluid to collect in the middle ear. What a relief that was! So I just keep taking my Allegra every day and haven't had any dizziness since. We have my next brain MRI scheduled for Aug 13. __________________ Brenda NOV 2012 - 9 yr anniversary JULY 2012 - 7 yr anniversary stage IV (of 50...) Nov'03~ dX stage 2B Dec'03~ Rt side mastectomy, Her2+, ER/PR+, 10 nodes out, one node positive Jan'04~ Taxotere/Adria/Cytoxan x 6, NED, no Rads, Tamox. 1 year, Arimadex 3 mo., NED 14 mo. Sept'05~ micro mets lungs/chest nodes/underarm node, Switched to Aromasin, T/C/H x 7, NED 6 months - Herceptin only Aug'06~ micro mets chest nodes, & bone spot @ C3 neck, Added Taxol to Herceptin Feb'07~ Genetic testing, BRCA 1&2 neg Apr'07~ MRI - two 9mm brain mets & 5 punctates, new left chest met, & small increase of bone spot C3 neck, Stopped Aromasin May'07~ Started Tykerb/Xeloda, no WBR for now June'07~ MRI - stable brain mets, no new mets, 9mm spots less enhanced, CA15.3 down 45.5 to 9.3 in 10 wks, Ty/Xel working magic! Aug'07~ MRI - brain mets shrunk half, NO NEW BRAIN METS!!, TMs stable @ 9.2 Oct'07~ PET/CT & MRI show NED Apr'08~ scans still show NED in the head, small bone spot on right iliac crest (rear pelvic bone) Sept'08~ MRI shows activity in brain mets, completed 5 fractions/5 consecutive days of IMRT to zap the pesky buggers Oct'08~ dropped Xeloda, switched to tri-weekly Herceptin in combo with Tykerb, extend to tri-monthly Zometa infusion Dec'08~ Brain MRI- 4 spots reduced to punctate size, large spot shrunk by 3mm, CT of torso clear/pelvis spot stable June'09~ new 3-4mm left cerrebellar spot zapped with IMRT targeted rads Sept'09~ new 6mm & 1 cm spots in pituitary/optic chiasm area. Rx= 25 days of 3D conformal fractionated targeted IMRT to the tumors. Oct'09~ 25 days of low dose 3D conformal fractionated targeted IMRT to the bone mets spot on rt. iliac crest that have been watching for 2 years. Added daily Aromasin back into treatment regimen. Apr'10~ Brain MRI clear! But, see new small spot on adrenal gland. Change from Aromasin back to Tamoxifen. June'10~ Tumor markers (CA15.3) dropped from 37 to 23 after one month on Tamoxifen. Continue to monitor adrenal gland spot. Remain on Tykerb/Herceptin/Tamoxifen. Nov'10~ Radiate positive mediastinal node that was pressing on recurrent laryngeal nerve, causing paralyzed larynx and a funny voice. Jan'11~ MRI shows possible activity or perhaps just scar tissue/necrotic increase on 3 previously treated brain spots and a pituitary spot. 5 days of IMRT on 4 spots. Feb'11~ Enrolled in T-DM1 EAP in Denver, first treatment March 25, 2011. Mar'11~ Finally started T-DM1 EAP in Denver at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center/Rose on Mar. 25... hallelujah. "I would rather be anecdotally alive than statistically dead."