Herceptin Side effect - weight gain?

I too have noticed significant stomach bloating since last chemo and herceptin only treatments. Also nail splitting and shredding. Chemo messed with my thryoid even tho' my doc said it wouldn't. Have your TSH score checked as these are also symptoms of hypothyroid. Score should be between .05 - 2.0. Hypothyroid is also a post menopausal symptom.

melania, I too have some pain in my left breast where my tumor was, and in my armpit where my lymph node is.  Funny thing, I don't have any pain in my liver, and I do have a tumor on it.  Onc was surprised when she would push on my liver and it didn't hurt.  I am 3 weeks out from TCH after 6 treatments and have my lumpectomy on the 23rd. 

I am so relieved that I'm not going totally nuts about the weight gain.  I have gained 25 lbs ion 5 months on Herceptin, and the real bummer of it all is that I am on it forever for liver mets....hope I can find the right diet and exercise to lose it or I'm going to look like the blueberry chick on Willy Wonka!

Have any studies been done on this?  I did a year of herceptin - finished December 2nd.  Never gained a pound.  I'm not saying it doesn't happen but I just wonder if it's lifestyle changes that people make when going through chemo and herceptin that causes weight gain and not the herceptin itself. My lifestyle and eating has stayed exactly the same for my entire adult life and cancer didn't change that.  But, I think maybe more active people get tired and rest more and don't realize it.  People who do chemo have the taste changes that cause them to eat differently.  Bones ache with herceptin and people move less. Some people go into menopause and their metabolism slows down, etc.

I don't know, but I think if you are a person prone to gain weight, these changes may affect that.  Not saying people haven't gained weight but I am just wondering if it is actually the herceptin.

Just throwing it out there.

I'm new to this sort of thing as well (and from Canada), however, not new to my cancer. In Dec.

of 2006 2 rather large masses were found on liver from a CT scan I had taken. They determined that this cancer was mets from somewhere. So I then started a 2 month journey of tests while being poked and prodded etc., etc until they FINALLY discovered it was Breast Cancer with mets to my liver. That date was Feb. 22/07. On Mar. 2/07 I had started my 6 mth, 12 session chemotherapy treatment of Taxotere (every 3 weeks). At my 2nd treatment that's when my Herceptin treatments began. Today is Apr. 19/11 and I'm still on the every 3 week schedule for the Herceptin. When I was 1st Dx I was given a prognosis of 2-4 yrs, so that was 4 yrs ago Feb. of this year, 2011. Since that initial Dx i have further mets activity. The cancer has spread to my pelvis, my Rt femur, my thoracic spine (4/5 level), and the frontal bone of my skull where there are 2 spots. Nevertheless, I'm very proud of myself, that I've made it past the 4 yrs. I consider every day now truly a gift.



Now, this issue about weight gain and Herceptin........I was beginning to wonder that myself. Probably in the last year I've put on 10+ lbs myself and have had my abdomen get enlarged which is oh so frustrating. Need this like a whole in the head!! Last week I went to my Family Dr cuz I was feeling generally down and blah. I, too, as some other people mentioned have been retaining water so have the puffy ankles and hands etc. Now, I'm not out running tri-athlons and marathons like some of you other amazing women........but I am playing (ice) hockey, volleyball, in the summers I play baseball and I golf. Admittedly not tremendous aerobically demanding activities, but I am definitely way more active than many healthy women my age (almost 52). Sometimes I think the enlarged upper stomach is from my liver being enlarged itself. But the doc tells me no! My Dr. did some extensive blood work on me and turns out my sugars are up just a bit. My thyroid's ok, my kidneys are ok (I am also on Pamidronate for my bones and it can be hard on the kidneys).



I have babbled enough for my 1st time I believe. March on! All you brave, strong fellow BC survivors and thrivers!!



Kerry

I have been on herceptin since last Aug and put on 20lbs. and I feel I eat less because things don't taste good. I have not slowed down much kept on working through chemo and everything, never had a weight issue, right now I'm right around 150 and I didn't even weight that with my 3 pregnancies most I weighted expecting is 145. I am wondering if anyone else has bone, muscle and joint pain? I had herceptin every week for 5 months now every 3 weeks and I'm about ready to tell them I'm not doing it any more I am really tired of the aches and pains.

I am halfway throuh my hercepton treatment, and have had a bilateral mastectomy with no reconstruction. What a surprise seeing the view while looking down. Where once my breasts were all I can see, it's now this large, protruding soft tummy. Yikes! Not at all the view I anticipated. Sudden menopause? Hercepton? Inactivity? Who knows. I thank god for hercepton and try to accept my new body image, but oh, that belly.

ladies, i am getting herceptin #15 on friday.  my gut looks like i have a beer belly about to explode!  it does not help with the double mastectomy!  i look down or sideways in a mirror and all i see is gut!  honestly i looked smaller when i was pregnant.  i am so happy to hear that i am not the only one.  i am also on tamoxifen, so this may also add to the weight. i have gone from a size 8 to a 12:( my muscles and joints have been aching on and off throughout the treatment and seem to be bad this week.  oh well, i have to look at the priorities and killing this cancer for good, is worth all the weight gain:)

jackie

i saw my mo yesterday and she said that for me it must be the tamoxifen.  she said that it lowers the estrogen and thus we gain weight like a man (typically in the stomach).  this may be part of my problem but i still think the herceptin has to do with it, because my bloating was down significantly and then i had herceptin and i bloated up again.  i think it must effect the metabolism. great my dad and i can have a beer belly contest and see how wins with the bigger belly! 

pmanghel- Thank you for explaining what you know about Herceptin. I am also at least 20lb overweight who eats healthy, does biking, yoga, walking, etc. Still, I have a bulgy stomach area. I am however very grateful to be here and having had Herceptin. I have one more treatment to go. Yay!

To: coonie

I just finished up my  last Herceptin treatment and have gotten back to watching my calorie intake and have been getting back on the treadmill, not a runner, but I try to walk for about 45 mins 4 or 5 times per week.  I was wondering if after your Herceptin it was easier for you to start losing the weight?  I gained about 40 lbs this past year and am very anxious to get it off.  I hope all is well, thanks for your help,

Hicksc: its been 5 yrs now since u posted that comment on weight gain.  Id like to hear how it worked out for u.  Did u find that weight/bloat was lost a lot after the first 6mths off of Herceptin?  Then, u had to lose weight the same way as if it were "earned" thru hot fudge sundaes??  Or was it harder to lose than food weight?? 

It wasn't until I read this board that I felt better b/c NO ONE was acknowledging weight gain at the hospital from the Herceptin...they said that most gained weight from the other stuff (steroids/chemo).  But, I am much like u "hicksc", I have been into fitness my whole life and already eat on weight watcher plan, so there isn't much to cut out.  So, if Im working out the same, eating the same, this crap should be coming off.  And, it isn't.  Im still on it now but have only 4 more treatments.

To me, gaining this 20lbs is the biggest Ive been in my life.  I think this is v hard on us gals that were always considered "thinner than avg" and now to feel big.  As u, I feel I shouldn't complain b/c I sure don't want this disease, but the fat is so hard on me.  And, my belly at nite is sometimes 6mths prego looking. 

Did drinking more water  help??  A special diet??  How was it losing this stuff??

Yes, I went from a skinny 8 to a skinny 12.  Im happy to be ridding of disease, but this is hard on me.  Do u think u gained more weight on chemo or HER2?

Joanp6 - I don't know.  I originally thought it was the steroids, I gained about 45-50 total.  I did AC and then Taxol and herceptin.  I lost about 18 of that a few months after finishing the steroids for the Taxol but the rest won't budge.  I go up and down about three lbs but nothing more.  UGH!!

I lost weight on steroids and chemo and didn't gain it back until I was just on herceptin.  Then I continued to gain and finally started to lose this past summer. 

However my joints ached until about 6 months after I was done with vitamin H.