Side Effects of Gem/Cis

I’m just wondering if anyone has had the side effects I’ve had with Gem/cis. I’ve had 6 treatments then took a three week break and went to Florida. I have my 7th treatment tomorrow. Florida trip was very difficult for me. It was cold in Florida and my stomach swelled so bad that I practically stopped eating for comfort. I was drained five days before I left for Florida but the fluid came back quickly. I got drained again yesterday, 1/28 and the doctor is planning on putting a drain in where I can drain myself as the fluid builds up. That should be planned within the next two weeks.

I’ve discovered that air travel is not good for me – maybe travel at all is out. That’s a bit depressing but at least I tried it.

My biggest side effect is the swelling of my feet and legs. My legs swell all the way up to my thighs. The swelling is so bad that clothes don’t fit me. My legs are so tight I can barely bend at the knees. I am doing lymphedema therapy and they’re talking about wrapping my legs to help with the swelling. I go for that appt tomorrow prior to my chemo treatment.

The good news is that my CT scan on 1/7 showed 10% shrinkage of my tumors so I guess the Gem/Cis is working. But yesterday I had blood work before the stomach drainage and some of my liver levels went up so I’m worried about that. My bilirubin is still within normal range but it went from 0.4 to 0.6. Makes me think the tumors are growing. Also, my alkaline phosphatase went from the 400’s to the 800’s so that’s scary. I have a metal stent in the bile duct in my
liver since May 2013 and so far it has worked great.

Just wondering if anyone else has the feet/leg swelling issue with this chemo? And also if fluid build up in the stomach is worse because of the chemo or totally from my disease? I’m getting tired of treatment and am starting to think about stopping everything and see what happens. I had hoped the trip to Florida would have strengthened me but it actually exhausted me.

Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if anyone has the drain for fluid and can tell me how they handle it, I would appreciate it.

Peace to all.

Love & Hugs,
Mary