Taxotere weight gain and fluid retention

chancleta

Taxotere weight gain and fluid retention

chancleta

Finished TC 3 weeks ago and still have alot of fluid retention how long does it take to finally get rid of the fluid and start loosing some of the added weight.  I hardly ate and have gained 13 lbs.  also taking lasix 40 mg as needed with no results.  I can still see the ribbing from my socks and hour after taking them off!!!!  Anyone else have this problem?  My onocology nurse said she had never heard of anyone else having a problem with this during and after treatments b4.

my2girls

Hi there.

Strange timing on this one.  I have been fussing about fluid for over a week now.  I am taking Taxol.  Have one more on Friday.  I had four total.  I am retaining fluid more and more all the time it seems. I look like I am 3 or 4 months pregnant and my hands and feet/ankles get tight.  I don't drink alot anyway and have to force myself to drink water.  I skipped it altogether one day and drink soda and paid for it for 2 days.  I woke up the next morning with indentations all over the place.  I'm suprised that the nurse said she wasn't familiar with it because my nurse told me with my first treatment that the steriods cause this.  I was planning to ask my onc about it when I go in Friday and see if he was going to prescribe something or did I need to just wait it out.  I am trying to watch my sodium intake and I'm drinking all that water like I'm supposed to and honestly it has leveled out but not really gotten better but no worse either.  All this to say that I don't know what to tell you to do about it, but I do not think this is uncommon.  Quite the contrary.  Post again if you find any solutions.

Hope you feel better.

Lisa

deniseann

I did ask my doctor yesterday -- I went in for my third session...the nurse prac said it meant the "chemo was working"  Ha just I need now, bloating, no hair, and weight gain.  I've gained about a pound a week; mostly torso etc.  face really puffy too -- I guess it's normal!  let me know what you hear

snowyday

I had the same problem and finished my treatment in November.  It's not as bad as it was but still there, I really have to watch any salt intake and drink lots of water. I was so surprised when I gained weight on the taxols and didn't on the FEC part of my treatment. I guess I expected it to be the same, big surprise for me, I finally went for fluid pills when I realized I had no collarbone to see and I've never had that.  I can't tolerate fluid pills so I took them two days then a break then two days and break and then just stopped. The steriods are really upped when they give you taxols as well and that also has a big effect. Good luck and hang in there it will change.pearl49

luckymel

I finished chemo in April, and it was a good two months before I got rid of the swelling and fluid retention.  I was taking 80 mg of Lasix twice a day, and that didn't even help.  Then they put me on Spironolactone in addition to the Lasix, and it finally started to go away, gradually.  To this day, I still take a bit of Lasix, and am not back to normal, but for the most part, after two or three months, and lots of diuretics, I got rid of the leg swelling, and felt pretty good.  Hang in there, ladies!

meliaanne

I had a big problem with fluid retention, mainly in my legs and feet. I was up to 120 mg of lasix a day, now seven months out and still on 80mg. My crazy onc said he had never seen it before as a result of taxol, ran all kinds of tests to be sure nothing else was wrong. I knew all along it was the taxol. Surprisingly, what really helped was walking, even though I had no energy and it was the last thing I wanted to do. My daughter is a vet, and she told me that when horses had edema, they are walked, so I figured, what the heck. Even just moving around every hour was a big help. I am trying to wean off the lasix, but even at 80 mg, I feel it a bit in my legs by the end of the day. And I did gain about 10 lbs, but it all came right off.

Good luck, it will end one day and you WILL feel better.

jengoll

I was on Taxotere,  gained about 8lbs.  It really seemed like it showed up over night.  Fortunately,  I dropped them pretty fast as well.  It took about a month for it to come off.  It was definitely all water weight.

MissyGrace

I finished chemo almost four weeks ago, and in two weeks, I have gained 15 pounds from edema.  I did not have it while I was going through chemo, only after I stopped.  Just today my medical oncologist put me on 20 mg of Lasix daily  I think I look awful; bloated and swollen, and I was a big woman when I started.  The surgeon is removing my double lumen port in my upper left chest on Friday.  I am convinced that after the removal, the edema will go away.  My right breast was affected, but I have most of the swelling on the left arm.  Two ultrasounds on my left arm and a "fluroscope" (sp?) of the port did not show any clots.  Go figure.  I think all of these things are side effects of taxotere. 

otter

MissyGrace, could you have lymphedema in that arm?  Have you had it checked by an LE specialist?

otter 

WildRose

My onc has been checking my fluid retention, and I'm grateful to say I didn't have very much. She was amazed. I neither gained nor lost weight, in spite of eating too many sweets (the only thing that had any flavor for me). I've always had a bit of a belly but once I've recovered from this last taxotere tx, I'm going to start exercising again and lose the gut.

bomber410

I was on taxotere.  The edema didn't set in until the 3rd or 4th treatment of taxotere.  I can't remember exactly when.  It was back in late August/early September 2007.  Along with the overall edema it did trigger lymphedema in my right arm and breast.

Over the next few months, each time I'd see a friend who I hadn't seen in a while, they'd note how much better I looked, how my face was slimming down.  It did take close to four months to get the edema to move out of my body.  I didn't take any medication.  Not one for taking extra stuff when all that's needed is to get this stuff out of one's body.  That takes time.  

However, a residual effect of the overall edema is the triggering of the lymphedema.  I have been treated by a trained lymphedema specialist.  I do have both day and night sleeves and do self massage. 

Overall, I'm back except for the LE.  That is getting better, as well.

Good luck,

Debbie

dhettish

OOOOHHHH Taxotere. I think it makes Adriamycin seem like aspirin. I had all the SE especially the fluid retention in my upper body and face. I gained 25 lbs in 6 weeks and ate only sugar free banana popsicles. I thought I had lympedema but it was just retention. My arms were so swollen I could barely move them. My onc said she was surprised as well, but go to the Taxotere side effects and it is all there. So why are they so surprised?????

It took about 6-8 weeks for the weight to come off. Then my taste came back and I put on a few lbs enjoying all the foods I could not taste for 4 months. I am about 5 lbs over my pre-chemo weight but I have not been able to work out much. Still have a lot of fatigue from the Tax. My onc said it would take a year to get back my strength. If I really go one day, I am bed the next two. It is so hard to take it easy when I am feeling good.

With Taxotere, I had severe edema, severe leg pains (took hydrocodone), excessive eye tearing,  extreme fatigue, breathlessness, loss of taste, burning and numbness in my feet and fingertips, abdominal bloating, and just generally felt like crap. 3 months later, I feel about 90% better.

I was told Taxotere would be so easy and for some women it is. I just had a really bad time again, but begged for my last tx because it is so effective for Triple Negatives. It was a rough road, but it is barely a memory now.  

Hang in there. It will come off. It just takes time. I had bought a pair of pink jeans and when I put them on they were way too big! I went from 144 to 169 and am now at about 147/148.

Debbie 

anne2

Research I did shows that what is happening is that the Taxotere is breaking down the actin filaments(The stuff that makes fluid stay in the capillaries, (Tiny veins)) and so it leaks out.  A drug Phalloidin was used in a study in 2004, if mixed with the Taxotere dose before you get it, it stops that from happening.  But I have not been able to learn whether it can fix things after they are screwed up. AND the toxicity of it is pretty high by itself. (They did animal studies, but I could not find any human studies) basically the Taxotere is breaking infrastructure.  The swelling will only get worse, The only time I have been able to make it go away was when I spent a whole day soaking at a mineral hotsprings.  The diuretics did not work for me either, and the more you take, the more danger to your kidneys. I HAVE found that Tea Tree oil stopped the hand and foot burns and skin peeling.  Weird, but it worked.  The big scare with edema is cellulitis, staph infection in the swollen feet.  I'm fighting that.

Solano

I'm so glad I found this posting - I'm having the EXACT same issue. I'm in the second week of my second round of Taxol and my ankle has swollen overnight. It started with my wedding ring. I've always had long skinny fingers and toes and now my one finger, my ankle, and my toes on that foot all look like sausages! To make matters worse - the chemo has dried my eyes out so much that it has affected my vision - never for the better, of course, they had to increase my contact strength so much that now I need glasses to read. As if I'm not freaky enough - let's add glasses. Not that there's anything wrong with glasses - but, jeez, bald, boobless, swollen AND glasses!!!

Doctors always act so surprised to hear about these weird side effects - I told mine that my scalp hurt when my hair fell out and she "had never heard of that." Really, give me the adriamycin any day.

talk2lj

I had EVERY symptom you described on Taxotere. 8 weeks from last Treat meant. Just the defense and toe and finger numbness remain.

Kitkat3036

Here I am in 2018 having the same issue. My onco acted like this has never happened before. I'm on lasix but he keeps trying to get me off. Even though I still have edema everywhere. Some of your posts were from 10 years ago. Did anyone get a resolution to the fluid retention??

buttonsmachine

I had Taxotere about a year and a half ago, and I also had fluid retention in my feet and legs. My MO at the time acknowledged it, but didn't do anything. I gained 5-6 lbs, had serious sock dents, my ankles were puffy, and when I'd walk around it sometimes felt like my calves were sloshing around and full of water - because I guess they were! The worst thing was that I couldn't kneel down without my skin feeling so tight that it made my skin hurt, and it felt like my skin would tear.

My timeline was like this: I had some improvement around the 8-12 week mark, significant improvement at around 6 months, and it's pretty much resolved now at one year plus. Elevating my legs for extended periods really helped a lot. It took a while, but hang in there. Hope you ladies feel better soon!

Kitkat3036

I gained 14 lbs of fluid. I ended up in the hospital because I couldn't function anymore. I finally made an appointment to see a Nephrologist. I go next week. They work more with diuretics. Hopefully they can help manage it for me. My last chemo was Jan. 2nd. Hopefully it will start to resolve soon. Thank you for sharing your journey. It gives me hope it will resolve.

buttonsmachine

Wow that sounds rough! It's good that you're seeing a nephrologist, I hope you find a solution. The swelling can be scary - I don't know what causes it, but I felt like my body really, really didn't like Taxotere. I also had an unusual neurological reaction, aside from the swelling. Let us know how things go for you and best wishes.

duffyzmom

I'm glad to see others mentioning edema in the arms. When I mentioned it at my last round nurse said she hadn't seen any more in belly and thighs. I don't think it is lymphadema because it's on the opposite side as my node removal. I started measuring my arm when I noticed I kept making my watch band larger. Now I can bring it up at my next MO visit.

Giveityourall

Dear KitKat, Duffyzmom, and Buttonsmach,

Taxotere has caused brutal swelling. Around my third treatment, my calves began to swell. After my fourth treatment, I would experience swelling from the top of my thighs to my heels. The weird thing is the swelling would always exacerbate three weeks after treatment. In other words, three weeks post chemo- I would feel better and eat more. This would result in balloon legs.

Although I associate steroids, like dexamethasone, with fluid retention, I have learned that these glucocorticoids help to offset or decrease the fluid retention caused by taxotere.

According to my research, taxotere causes our tiniest blood vessels, the capillaries, to become leaky. In other words, as our plasma travels through these small vessels, the fluid eeks through the capillaries’ membranes and settles into our tissues (https://books.google.com/books?id=tNcoDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA891&ots=TxGuSukgLa&dq=basic%20principles%20of%20taxotere&pg=PA891#v=onepage&q=basic%20principles%20of%20taxotere&f=false). The dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, helps to stop this leaking. I don’t know how you feel, but my skin hurts. I feel like a balloon with too much air - stretched beyond my limit.

To increase fluid elimination, I did start a daily dose of Lasix 20 mg. It helps... but it does not totally eliminate my swelling. It works on the kidneys to increase urination. So, Lasix addresses the symptom, but not the cause, which is colander-like capillaries.

Chemo comes with a lot of side effects and I am learning to deal with them as much as possible. I wish I understood all of this stuff before it happened rather than after.

My best. Giveityourall

hapa

I'm turning into the stay-puft marshmellow man over here. I've got one more round of TCHP but I'm getting really uncomfortable and having that same feeling that my skin is going to split open when I bend down. I'm wearing compression socks and sleeping with my feet up. I hope it doesn't get much worse than this because it's getting intolerable.

I'm glad I found this thread. I think the swelling is a not terribly common side effect of the taxotere. My onc nurse looked at me funny when I first mentioned it, but she agrees now it's from the taxotere.

duffyzmom

Left arm is still bothering me some. MO sent me for ultrasound and they found blood clot (Jugular Vein Thrombosis) so I'm now the blood thinner Xarelto. I'm not convinced that blood clot caused the arm issues but we'll see.