Immune system and tiredness after chemo

Hi my story on profile click on my name to read if you want . 

I finished EC x6 in Dec was one of those annoying people who looked well and SE initially minor and manageable butEC very cumulative so had rough SE in Nov and Dec . Had no infections and neuts stayed at reasonable level ....told you I was annoying

Having said all all that I was told up to three months for system to recover ..it was bout two month when I started to feel like I was getting there back up to 10000 steps .  Then guess what Covid arrived so shielded .

just starting fight to fitness  again   . We're all different and age / prior fitness levels etc come into it . At my age I'm not trying to win the race I just will take part lol

margaret x

Thank you for your reply, Margaret,

I should've mentioned age (40) and fitness levels (fit before and maintained throughout, with pleasure. Worked until the cumulative effects caught up).

Up to three months for system sounds reasonable. Thanks for confirming that.

Best of luck to you getting back to your 10,000 steps 

I'm glad you asked - I've been wondering when I could start Couch to 5k to get back to running. My last session is mid-September so I was going to aim for mid-October. I managed reasonable amounts of exercise in the first months but lately I've had joint pain and sore muscles so I figure some recovery time is in order.

Hi M123,

I'm a month post chemo, and started doing my hiit training last week. Recovery taking a little longer and reminds me to go a bit gentler. You might be able to start before you finish, depending on how you feel - mentally, it will certainly make you feel better.

I'm sure you've already tried Epsom salts in a bath but have you tried Magnesium sprays for muscle pains? Might be worth a go if your team are happy with it. We're all reminded to drink water water water, and that can add to muscle pain if you haven't managed enough.

Best of luck with running- there's a lot of rain where i am and am enjoying the social distancing effect of that!

I've been drinking a lot of water but haven't tried a bath. I'd been able to keep up with online HIIT from my running club until a few weeks ago, so I'm hoping I won't lose too much fitness if I can do less intense stuff in the meantime. I'll have to start thinking of rain as a positive when I do start running outside again!

I've found my muscles are challenged by really ordinary things at the moment - my forearms ache by the time I've finished washing up the dishes!

Hi

You can see my story in profile so won't bore you with that (!!).  I was rough for about 2 weeks post end of chemo treatments and also had an annoying chest infection to deal with.  I love my exercise and was able to do to a certain extent throughout treatments, that said it took me a month to get back to other than walking post end of chemo and I had to take it easy building back to previous exercise levels.  So answer to question 1 is one month.

I got low bloods during but didn't notice any impact post chemo (but then again didn't have any blood tests post chemo until a month after pre surgery and they were fine & dandy then).  During chemo I was injecting G-CSF for 5 days (I think) post each chemo to counteract low white blood cells.

So didn't really notice any issues re your 2nd & 3rd queries.

Its great you've been able to and have made the effort to exercise & get out and about...I think that really helps you remain positive and also aids a speedy recovery, it did me!

Keep it up and hope your recovery is a quick one.

Sam

I made a nerdy chart of my pre-chemo blood results yesterday with lines to show when they were getting below normal. They were going down on the AC but picked up on docetaxel.

I think around the time that shielding came in I was told that the immune system can be weaker for three months post-chemo, as the white blood cells have to mature as well as increase in number. Based on conversations with my oncologist I'm aiming to come out of shielding about six weeks after my last session. If I knew anyone who was having a Halloween party I'd be there in a shot!

Also I found this https://breast-cancer-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13058-015-0669-x#Sec16 that seems to say that the immune system for people on EC + FEC recovers more quickly than EC / taxotere and concludes that 'the adaptive immune system is altered following chemotherapy for at least 9 months post therapy'.

Hi Sam,

Thanks so much for your reply. Similarly, I've just updated my profile and won't bore you!

The treatment pathology in Ireland is operation has to happen four wks post-chemo, so my bloods were done last week for surgery this Monday. They have bounced but not at normal levels yet. Carboplatin really does go at the white blood count so it's a bit more of a climb.

Struggle to get out of bed most mornings and sometimes feel as though I'm walking through treacle. That said, i am still exercising every day (ironically, not today, two days pre-surgery and i have some kind of stomach bug). It does seem to be one day good, one day not, at the moment as the body reminds the brain to cool it!

Exercise has been what has seen me through - the lack of control through treatment and the battering the body gets certainly has been dampened by getting out and power walking my way up and down hills (and lately, flat ground!). Now all i need is a dog to force me out twice a day!

I also read elsewhere the 9 months marker. It is good to know what to aim for, and to have an initial goal of three months also takes me to Halloween! That article is heavy on Med speak and I didn't last more than two paragraphs, I'm afraid.

All that aside, i hope the exercise continues to help us all both physically and mentally.