rapid heartbeat/pounding in ears

[janewalker]

Dear All, not posted for a while but read everyday with interest and learn so much. I have just had Herceptin number two here in France and count my blessing everyday and truly feel for everybody that needs it and can't have it - so for that I am grateful (therfore forgive me for moaning). I am reluctant to go to my doctor (again) but just wonder if anybody else has had rapid heart beats and pounding in your hears when you bend down after Herceptin. I naturally have had all the checks, echographies etc before commencing and they were all ok. I even sat up in bed last night and counted my heartbeats (95 per minute if that means anything to anybody), was convinced I was going to have a heart attack (I really am not normally like this), so got up and tidied my bedroom so the inevitable paramedics didn't see my dirty clothes on the floor! Well obviously woke up fine this morning but the pounding in the ears when I lower my head continues. Sorry, shan't go on, this is becoming an epic. Good luck to you all out there. Jane

[karenann]

My friend mentioned a pounding in her ears shortly after she started Herceptin. She told her doctor about it and he said he had never heard of this before. She is fine and will fininsh her year long treatment in June. I think with herceptin being used more often now, for early stage disease, we will see more and more side effects. I would encourage you to talk to your doc about this, but I would be willing to bet that you are just fine.

Hope this helps,

Karen

[LOPSIDED]

I HAVEN'T STARTED HERCEPTIN YET, BUT WHEN I WAS TAKING TAXOTERE MY HEART BEAT BECAME RAPID. I DID 12 TREATMENTS WKLY AND HALF WAY THRU MY HEART RATE WAS ALWAYS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 90-117 MY DOCTOR WAS NOT CONCERNED WHEN I SAID SOMETHING ABOUT IT, HE SAID IT WAS VERY COMMON WITH CHEMO. MY HEART ECHO A FEW MONTHS EARLIER WAS FINE AND WHEN I MENTIONED MY RADIOLOGISTS TOLD ME I HAD A SLIGHT HEART MURMUR HE SENT ME FOR ANOTHER HEART ECHO AND IT WAS STILL FINE. MY HEART RATE IS STILL RAPID AND I'M ONLY DOING RADIATION NOW. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN THINKING YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK..........THIS IS ALL SO SCARY WHAT WE HAVE TO GO THRU TAKE CARE

[Chelee]

Hi Jane, When I "first" started the herceptin I had something close to what you are experiencing. I had my first loading dose of herceptin along with my taxotere and carbpotin. No problems. But the second time I went down for my weekly infusion of JUST the herceptin I was fine all day...went to bed...then woke up to potty. When I got out of bed SLOWLY as I do since all these drugs...i had this LOUD pounding in my ears. It not only sounded like pounding...it sounded like I had liquid in my ears. (It really SCARED ME!) (I was standing straight up....not bending over like you.) My pulse was up to because I did check it. I was at 115. But I don't know if that was because I woke up and had such anxiety over the pounding in my ears and the fluid noise....or that was really what my pulse would of been? My normal resting pulse has NEVER been any where near that.

All that being said...I TRIED not to panic...which was really hard not to do. Went back to bed very carefully and woke up and called my doctor asap and told him what happened. He said that was STRANGE and he had NEVER heard of such a thing. (The way he said it to me made me feel like he thought I MADE IT ALL UP!) He asked if it was STILL that way since I got up? I said "No...not now.". He said then I would NOT worry about it. (Easy for him to say!)

But I was sure worried about my NEXT weekly infusion of just herceptin after that happened. But...much to my surprise...it never has happened again. Just that one time. So I don't understand why only the once?

Maybe the body has to adjust to these drugs? All I know...is I have had many different and strange side affects that my oncologist will tell me he has NEVER heard of...but yet I come to this board...and one other I check out...and its sure funny us women going through all this have usually heard of any strange side affect mentioned...unlike these oncologist. (Maybe they should read some of these boards...they might learn alot about what we go through.)

If your like me....and I hope you are....that pounding won't happen again. I can't explain it...but I did have that one BAD experience....and then never again? (Weird.)

Chelee

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DX'd 12-20-05, Stage IIIA, Her2/Neu 3+++, Er & Pr +, 5 of 16 positive nodes, Richardson scale 9 of 9,

[Bev]

Hi Jane,

My heart has raced before during and after treatment. During taxol and herceptin I received benadryl and steroids as premeds so I thought they may have caused it. It also happened during radiation and muga scans. I had a monitor on and could see my heart rate would jump back and forth between 70 and 95. It felt very uncomfortable. No one seems to worry about it. Your heart rate does go up much higher during regular exercise. 135+, so it probably won't kill you. It may be anxiety. It may be hormones. My ears have an underwater feel and pop when yawning, but I have had sinus issues forever. Just keep bringing it up with the docs as I will, so they can figure it out. It's wierd and even if it's just anxiety, I think it has something to do with how women are wired. (That somehow there is a physical /hormonal root to the anxiety) Good Luck, BB