Experiencing Multiple Unexplained Symptoms

Hi Sara, Are you referring to your treatment or meds related?

Treatment for me gave me all, except the high blood pressure. I had severe body/joint pain. Extreme fatigue. More weight gain than I wanted and swelling from lymphedema, but only in my arm, breast area, and for some reason, one leg. Brain fog, huh! The brain fog and forgetting was real. My words were in my head, but they wouldn't come out. I had to explain what I was trying to say to get the word out. The fatigue for me eventually subsided at around the 2-year mark. The forgetfulness, randomly disappeared one day. But it also took a bit, just not as long as the fatigue. Swelling from lymphedema, I still have it and am working on it. Weight gain, I'm working on that as well and it's slowly coming down. Very slowly. I gained 20 pounds. Don't know how or why, because I wasn't eating much. So who knows. Best of luck to you. I am here for you.

Yes, I am trying to figure out if radiation caused kidney issues or if it’s hormone suppressant. Before breast cancer very low blood pressure now concerningly increased. Definitely weight gain, joint pain etc.

Hello Sarah, I’m sorry you’re feeling so badly. How long ago did you have chemo and the surgery?  i’m 75 years old lived in Chicago and moved to Florida thinking as my body has experienced extreme pain in cold weather I figured Florida would be nice for keeping my body good. I’m now here six years and it seems I’ve acclimated to the change in climate. My winters used to be really bad when I moved here. They were good, but now they’ve returned to iffy. Sometimes I hurt sometimes I don’t and I just don’t know what to blame it on, therefore I don’t know what to do.  Yes I’ve had swelling of my whole body joint pain. The forgetfulness fatigue was extreme extreme weight gain. I gained over 80 pounds. I’ve had high blood pressure in the past, but it became low sometime after chemo and radiation. No one could figure out why three physicians and they even spoke with consulted with one another and they couldn’t figure out the reason. My biggest problem right now is imbalance. I have a potential for falling and I have fallen a few times but more than that sometimes I just collapse. I don’t know that it’s coming. It just happens. I’m being worked up in cardiology and in neurology. Next week, I will be doing a VEEG where the Neurologist can monitor me for 72 hours constantly to see what is occurring in my brain. I have to be very careful every time I stand or even get out of bed. You may experience this you may not. I read later under your question that some of the fatigue is relieved by the two year mark. I’m right now about two years out from the bilateral mastectomy to lumpectomy and they said no now we have to take both of them. It was very difficult for me to make that decision, but I finally decided to do it. It was worth it. I am not taking any of the drugs they suggested at this point . All of the markers are negative and I am refusing any of the chemo drugs. I took them each for about two months and all of my symptoms got worse I couldn’t do anything and I said I’m not doing this. I’m going for quality versus quantity in terms of life. I should preface this somewhat with. I’ve had fibromyalgia hypertension before all of this started, but the foggy brain still continues it eases somewhat, and I am feeling more human than I have in a long time. Perhaps it’s too soon to say this, but make your decisions based on how you feel not what your provider wants. Just be clear with yourself. If you need to write back, I’m here for you and I will help you as much as I can. Talk to your doctor about all of this all that you feel all that you experience you may need to write it down because of your brain, it may not be working completely right now. Expect that just write down your symptoms and carry that with you which ever doctor you go to because there may be several at this point you’re not alone.

I should also add that I have parasthesia in my fingertips and neuralgia in my feet through the in step down to the first joint in my toes. I’m told that this will always be. I’m hoping not but walking helps sometimes I forget about it even but you’ll find that you can negotiate these symptoms. If it occurs to you for example with the paresthesia in my fingertips, I can no longer pick up a dime or a penny or sometimes even a quarter from my desktop or the table top, but I have to slide it into my hand off the edge. There are ways to get around things, and we can help one another if these symptoms occurred to you. Let’s just talk about them.

Hi Mary That's the problem, that the physicians don't offer that information to you. They should! They should let all their patients know what they may expect, and they don't. I have those side effects and they will be forever. It's unfortunate as we are already going through so much. Walking does help, but I always feel uncomfortable. All of it just stinks!! Best to you 💕🩷

These symptoms can be concerning and it's understandable to want to connect with others who may have similar experiences. Many people in cancer communities have dealt with various combinations of physical symptoms that can impact daily life. Consider documenting these symptoms and discussing them with your healthcare team, as they can help determine the best approach for evaluation and management. The community here often shares valuable support and insights about navigating health challenges during treatment and recovery.