? Could these problems be signs I am out of remission?

[Ferniek]

Hello,

Three years ago I went into remission. It was a rough go, but well worth it. Until lately I have been doing good. I felt back to the old normal almost. Now the problems seem to be coming on. I suffer with multiple bouts of diarrhea. On a good bad day 10 to 12 bouts. On a normal day 6 to 8 bouts. Ok, I can write that off to IBS. But I can no write off everything. No energy and no reason to cause that. I hit the wall very often and it leaves me tired for a few days. My body temp seems to have warmed up to the point that I needed to get out all of the fans and keep them on. Suffered with heat exhaustion 2x this month. I am drying out again so the need to drink more. Now I have swelling in my forearm on the Rt side and the two middle fingers on that hand have swelling at the joints. Rings are off.. I pulled no muscles or over work. My stomach seems rounded and I am unable to lose weight. I have even gained without trying. I am restless when sleeping, but no night sweats. Most problems that I had prior to treatment without being told of the tumors.

Because of my poor insurance I limit Drs. My next appt with Onc is in Sept. my last was Dec '09.

So I realize you guys are not Drs, just friends.. But what do you think? Is this just panic because of random symptoms or maybe pieces fitting together. If the swelling keeps up in the forearm I guess I will go to the Dr. it is painful and Aleve is not helping. Just let me know what you think. Thank God I have you to reach out to. The family after all of these years still can not face it.

Thanks for the thoughts.

[Kiiroi]

It's really hard to gauge anything from these symptoms for sure, but I'm going through a similar thing right now so I totally understand your concerns.

I've been feeling exhausted because I'm not sleeping well, and sometimes when I wake up I'm lightly sweating. These weren't originally symptoms for me, but I'm kind of paranoid. I think it's easy for us to connect random symptoms together as people who know a lot about our diseases.

For you, it could be something like adrenal fatigue or a thyroid problem - weight gain, increased body temperature, and fatigue are pretty common affects of those. Also, isn't it unexplained weight loss that's a lymphoma B symptom, not gain? Just trying to help you rationalize this.

[KarlS]

Ryan makes good points and suggestions. I suppose diarrhea could explain the fatigue, which could tie into the bloating, so I'd be inclinded to focus on addressing the routine causes, and perhaps remedies, for that.

I think you should see a doctor, however, to get a trained opinion based on first-hand information. Be sure to chronical the symptoms on paper, concisely - in the order that they appeared.

Regarding the insurance challenge, I sure wish the public understood how the system is letting down the folks who use and need medical services. Talk to your doctor about helping out, or to refer you to resources that might help... until the reform take place in 2014 it wil be a tough go for many of us. Expect rates and deductibles to increase in the meantime, particularly for those of us who have individual plans. About this I know first hand.

[DDurango]

Mr.D. hasn't ever had intestinal symptoms like that with relapse, but that's not to say it couldn't be a sign.

I think your limited doctor monies would be best spent seeing an Internist. Although Oncologists are initially trained as Internists diagnosing things besides cancer isn't really their arena.

[Ferniek]

Thank You for the advice and comments. It has a calming affect on me and that helps. Sometimes you just need the fears to be released and then take another look at things.

Karl you are so right about ins. I have been working with the senators office here in Cleveland about what will happen next. It is not positive from what I can see for now. My husbands ins went up $68 more a month on his secondary. Mine is the medicare advantage and it has gone up also with increased co pays. Cong Kucinich from Ohio said he was going to work on the increases when he has time. For now there are other things more important.... On a fixed income increases hurt. I saw a preliminary plan for high risked ins from MI that Ohio may use and Hodgkins was listed, but Non Hodgkins was not listed. Many forms of cancer is not listed. I was told it must be listed by name not just under cancer. So most of us could not use the expensive high risk pool with non hodgkins.

Once again Thanks. I will see my Internist next week.

[Laura62]

The fatigue can most certainly be caused by the diarrhea and loss of electrolytes.
That is the first thing I would check out. Drink a lot of Gatorade if sugar isn't an issue.
You said you had heart problems with Rituxan. Do you mind if I ask what kind of problems?

Laura

[zgirl]

Fern,
No answers, just hugs.
(((u)))
Melissa

[Judy_smile37]

Hi Fern,

You've gotten some good advice from the others on your symptoms. I hope you find a solution and its not the lymphoma.

Regarding health care, the problem with the high risk plan is that you have to go without insurance for 6 months in order to get into it.

How many of us can go without insurance for six months?

[Magical]

Hi Fern! I am so sorry to hear about such issues. Wow, you must not even be able to go out much with all that diarrhea. I also believe that could be a big part of what is going on. Is that all new, IBS? I hope you get answers and the care you need. Hugs for YOU, Fern!

[andym]

Wow, Fern. That's just a huge amount to go through. But I just don't know what it could mean although I don't see a reason to assume it is the lymphoma. I agree that with all of the diarrhea you need to watch your electrolytes and hydration. I'm glad you are seeing your internist soon.

Andy