Hi ladies
Are there any ladies out there that can give any advice
finished chemo and now having rad’s 3 weeks in 2 weeks left…after putting on stone and a half …my eating habbits have gone down more that half …dont really feel to hungry at the mo… is this the effect from the rad’s or because I’m not having no more steriods ??? and body getting back to normal ???
sal x
Hi Sal
You’re not alone. I haven’t had rads, but found that I don’t really have an appetite either. I can go hours without eating cos there’s no growly tummy to remind me. I only eat because I need to nourish myself. Given that chemo hits the digestive tract rather hard, maybe it’s normal for this to happen. Or, as you say, it could well be a response to the force-feeding induced by steroids. Let’s hope we regain our appetites in time for Christmas!
x
yes, my appetite has plummeted since I startde rads, too tired to eat and just not hungry.
The tiredness is passing now but still not hungry.
but after gaining 10kg on chemo I’m not complaining.
I am just going into my 3rd and last week of rads, finished chemo last month having gained 2 stone this year, now I’m stupidly tired but craving carbs and eating little but toast, cereal and cake, no appetite for anything savoury, or even for fruit. Oh well, I’ll try to hit it after Christmas… had to buy stretch waist trousers as I refuse to go up yet another size!
I’ve gained 2 stone aswell when on chemo, am starting rads today. Has anyone lost weight after stopping chemo and steroids and if so how long did it take. I’m desperate as most of my clothes don’t fit me and i’m reluctant to go and buy more clothes if the weight is going to come off plus i can’t afford to go and buy loads of new and bigger sized clothes.
Good job there are so many of us in the same boat - makes me feel a little less elephantine and more normal! I’ve gained a total of about 10lb this year with the chemo etc. Something that is really evident though is that my weight fluctuates by as much as 9lbs in the mornings - I weigh loads more on the days that I am visibly swollen, so it must be water.
My clothes don’t fit me either and I’m actually wearing some of my pregnacy clothes… how sad is that! But they do fit! I’m the same weight now as I was at term pregnant 4 years ago!
Td x
I read a lot about nutrition and how things work to get me through chemo and this might help some of you.
apparently when the liver is dealing with toxins (eg chemo) it stores a lot of toxins in soluble fat and the steroids seem to make you store water too so there’s 2 things loading the physical weight on. 1 litre of water weighs 1 kg so you’re generally 1 kg heavier just from the fluids they add to the chemo on chemo day. Add to that the food cravings the steroids give you and unless you go off your food you almost certainly will gain weight on chemo.
After chemo it takes a while for the body to metabolise those fat stores so there’s no sudden shed immediately but a few weeks later that started for me and the rads tired me to the point I just went off my food so my metabolism has switched from taking in more energy than needed to not being hungry at all.
I reckon about 2/3rds of the weight was water actually.
but I had gone up 10kg (around 20lb!) I’ve only lost about 2kg so far but my shape is returning and I’ve actually been doing more excersize and part of the problem with looking at weight is muscle weighs more than fat so if you gain muscle from excersize it adds weight to you.
So I’d not worry to much too soon and not just look at weight. My clothes are fitting a lot better 2 months after chemo’s finished.
Well it’s nice to know i’m not alone…
so it must be some thing most off us go through and like some of you said …I’m not going to complain to much now as i could do with loosing some pound’s.
it must be when on chemo you eat and eat and now your body is starting to get back to normal but slowly…your eating habbits go back to normal but when on Rads you get that tierd you dont wont to eat.
well I’m ok with that …
just thought i was loosing the plot as i like my food and was finding it very strange that i did’nt like to eat …not that i didnt wont to just felt quite sick when i was trying to eat…but i did eat my tea tonight…and it was very nice …
sal x