Safe Vitamins for Weakness During Treatment?

Hi Chelsea, I have Pernicious Anemia and continue taking Vitamin B 12 injections monthly and folic acid was added during chemotherapy treatments to help with low WBC and RBC counts. Meds were monitored closely by Oncologist. I also had severe fatigue with my aggressive doses of chemo that included Carbo, Taxol, Adriamycin, Cytoxan, and Xeloda. I recently completed 15 radiation treatments to entire right chest and axillary area and for the triple negative cancer, am post op double mastectomies as recommended with nipple and skin sparing saline reconstructions, that showed clean nodes and margins in March of 2023. The single node metastasis was found January 2024, and that is when I began immediate chemo. I had the remaining nodal tissue removed Sept 2024 and area was clean but my treatments to date continue because of the aggressive disease. I’m now on a PARP inhibitor, Lynparza. I cannot take immunotherapy because of having 5 prior autoimmune conditions. Dr states Keytruda could do severe harm. I’m also walking aggressively daily as 10 miles plus. This was recommended by Drs, as part of my plan as tolerated. Activity not new to me. I retired as an ICU RN of 45 years, post surgeries. My feelings are that vitamins or any OTC meds need passed by Oncology. Best wishes and prayers. 🙏

These are my daily vitamins and they were approved by oncologist. Vitamin D, C, B12, E I take Iron every other day. Magnesium, Zinc and Biotin (hair, skin & nails) All help immune system and iron is to help with anemia. Again ask your own oncologist for advice.

I’m a lil confused I’m at the beginning of my journey and my oncology surgeon mentioned doing the immune therapy and I have multiple autoimmune diseases? Should I address this with the oncologist drs?

One a day women over 50, vitam to n D3, Claritin, and famotidine for my acid reflux and upset tummy and Talxenna. That's it.

Does your new treatment include Keytruda? Have your doctor check your cortisol levels. This happened to me. For three weeks I could barely get out of bed. Couldn’t walk two steps. On my good days when I was standing, my legs felt like I was on a stairmaster burning burning burning. Turns out it was my cortisol. It was depleted to almost nothing. They put me on hydrocortisone. It took a long time to get to where I am now, but I am feeling so much better. I hope you do too. Check your cortisol.

Many people in cancer treatment experience fatigue and weakness, and it's completely understandable to look for safe ways to support your energy levels. The best approach would be discussing vitamin options with your oncology team, as they can recommend what's safe and appropriate based on your specific treatment plan and any potential interactions. This community often shares helpful experiences about managing treatment side effects, so hopefully others will chime in with what their doctors have approved for them.