New chemo treatment problems

Okay….I’m back. I appreciate the responses and thoughts …..mulled everything over….and Sat morning I woke up feeling some better…so followed my gut and waited. By Sunday afternoon, I was certain I was feeling much better…and by MOnday, I had more energy than I’ve had in quite a while. I felt like a curtain had lifted……like I had felt in previous chemo rounds…only about 5-6 days before the END of the round….not a week AFTER that, like now. The chills went away completely for at least two days and only briefly came back last night (which is far better than the 6-8 hours they had been).

Since I’ve been on Amoxicillan and Levaquin at the same time for the infected toenail (which is now healed) there’s little chance there’s an infection somewhere. I “think ” the chills are related to the lower hemoglobin. They were really bad the week my hemoglobin was down around 7,2, but I’m still in the 9 range and anemic.

Val, my chills are the same chills I got with the very first chemo….with the difference being, at the first chemo, there were two episodes of about 15 minutes each and then that was it. Each chemo round has created longer durations of chills. I just had an MRI on August 1 and have no evidence of disease/cancer, so my chills are not related to that. Thank you for sharing your experience with your dad. The dry heaves I was experiencing also started with the first chemo and each round, they continued progressively longer or more times a day. They would always stop before the next round of chemo was to begin though. This last round, they did not stop until this last weekend….on Sunday….at 3 and a half weeks after the start of the round. It is apparently all chemo induced.

My psychologist suggested that the chills might be an attempt by my body to bring my body temp INto the normal range . I did some research and discovered that anemia (low hemoglobin) causes low body temp. The chills are apparently just that….the body trying to raise it’s core temp. When the chills happen, my temp eventually (5-15 min) raises to about 98.2 and then suddenly drops back in the 97ish range again. Just very weird….but it appears that my body is trying to raise up from a temp that is too low and just can’t sustain it…..Not enough red blood cells to carry oxygen would be likely to cause this from what I’m reading.

As to why my chills have occurred late in the afternoon through evening, the only thing I can figure out is that in the morning, our bodies are fresh from sleep, during which our bodies repair themselves. Then, as the day goes on, breakdown occurs….and that’s also when most red blood cells break down as well…so when you’re already anemic…and you lose more, it may be the tipping scale to lower body temp and chills. That’s a total guess…..but it makes as much sense as anything.

As of right now, I’m in a holding pattern….I feel so much better than I did …or have…for a long time. At least I’m getting a glimpse of what it will be like again in several months. I’m hanging tough right now….and waiting until my appt with the oncologist tomorrow…..and dump all this stuff on her. If it is a matter of low hemoglobin, and if I start the last round of chemo tomorrow, I”m going to request that we do some extra blood tests after the day 8 Gemzar, which is where I started feeling awful a couple weeks ago. Then, maybe we can catch a really low dip in blood counts before something happens or shortness of breath gets that bad….and do another transfusion.

Marion, to answer a previous question you had, my tumor markers before surgery were all totally normal. In fact, all my blood tests were normal as can be except for diabetes/blood sugar (I’m type 2, insulin dependent). My alkaline phosphate was in the upper end of normal. That number has risen out of normal during chemo, but only slightly and it bounces up and down from about 110 to 132 (at the highest). I’ve discussed it with both my GP and oncologist and they both have assured me that it isn’t anything to worry about and is caused by chemo. It was actually slightly elevated after my surgery….which also was not unexpected.

I will check in with you all again tomorrow or Thursday…..as to what the oncologist says and if I started round 6 of the chemo. In any case, I will either be done with chemo or just have to get through two more infusions and whatever side effects for the next 3-4 weeks.

Thank you everyone for being here.
Julie T.