Anybody lose weight when they finished Herceptin?

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sweetbean
sweetbean Member Posts: 1,931
edited June 2014 in HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer

I have been battling the same 5-7 pounds for months now.  I am so frustrated.  I am eating super healthy and working out every day, so I shouldn't weigh this much, but I do.  My chemo nurse thought it might be the Hercepting making me retain water.  That actually makes sense since I gained 4 pounds in the last two weeks.  (I was not eating badly at all!)  

 Anybody else experience this?  And please tell me that the weight melted off when you finished.  I will be done in May - three more to go! 

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  • Sydneybased
    Sydneybased Member Posts: 106
    edited March 2012

    I think weight gain - slight luckily - is due to chemopause rather than herceptin. I've been exercising every day and eating carefully, but can't shift a stubborn few pounds. The extra weight feels like it's here to stay. BTW I've never in my life been overweight/had to fight with a few extras pounds before.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2012

    sweetbean - I definitely have fluid retention from chemo and Herceptin.  My onc put me on a diuretic after tx#4 because I blew up like a balloon.  I stopped taking it after chemo ended but noticed that I still felt puffy throughout Herceptin.  The last few Herceptins it seemed to be getting worse (like shoes not fitting right) I asked if I could go back on it - lost 5 lbs. within the week.  The onc P.A. said that there should be a noticeable change about 6 weeks after the last Herceptin.  My echos have all been normal throughout so it is not CHF causing the swelling.  Unfortunately, Femara is now complicating the matter!  I plan to step up the exercise a notch and see if I can take off the stubborn 5 lbs. that are actual weight gain.  Interestingly, I just went to D.C. for a few days and felt lighter there - I think humidity is a problem for me too, I live in FL and summer is coming.

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  • kathleen1966
    kathleen1966 Member Posts: 793
    edited March 2012

    I am no longer in chemopause, have been exercising every other day and still have not lost a pound.  I am having a lot of trouble taking it off at the moment.  I do not eat poorly.  I don't drink either...I mentioned this to my oncologist and she told me it is a side effect of treatment and could last two years. She said there have been numerus studies on it.  I thought this effect was only if you were Er+, due to the anti-hormone drug given.  It has been six months since my last Herceptin treatment.

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  • sweetbean
    sweetbean Member Posts: 1,931
    edited March 2012

    OK, at least I'm not crazy.  I was so frustrated at the infusion center when I weighed myself.  I literally can't really cut anything else out - I'm not even drinking coffee.  The strange thing is,  I was super skinny all the way through chemo.  (It was awesome.)  So it is weird that now I'm having trouble. However, I didn't start Herceptin until well after chemo was done (glitch in my diagnosis), so maybe that's it.  I'm not in chemopause, but I am on Tamoxifen.  

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  • Sydneybased
    Sydneybased Member Posts: 106
    edited March 2012
    Kathleen, that's interesting. Thanks for sharing. Maybe there's some hope yet?Cool
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