Mets to GI tract?
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Oh my gosh, KBL, how awful. Did your insurance cover both biopsies? I sure hope so!
I'm sorry to keep asking you so many questions. Did you have times when you felt better and times when you felt worse? Was your nausea all the time or just after you ate?
Did you always feel full, or just after you ate? I swear, I can't remember the last time my stomach growled. I could go a full day without food and not get to that point anymore where my stomach feels empty and you can actually hear it growling and feel the emptiness. It always feels like there's something in it.
Yet I'm not losing any weight. (I started the Livestrong program at the YMCA in April and have been going to the gym at least 5 days a week since then and my weight literally has not budged. Same exact weight every single time I get weighed. My legs and ankles are very swollen. I was referred to a PT specialist for lymphedema but she can't tell if it's actually lymphedema or just edema. Either way, my ankles are huge all the time. I also have a tumor in my left femur that they can't identify but say it doesn't look aggressive so it's probably benign.)
I feel like if I was losing weight they would take more initiative to fix this stomach issue.
Which tumor markers did you have tested? How were your most recent tests from the other day? Hopefully they have continued to come down. (I had some tumor marker tests for breast cancer follow up in January that were all normal, not sure if they're the same ones. My oncologist isn't going to order them anymore because she said they're not really reliable. When I was first diagnosed in June 2017 with a huge 7+ cm tumor, my tumor markers were normal.)
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Sorry for the delay in responding. Sometimes I don’t get a chance to come here until the end of the day. I don’t mind the questions at all.
My insurance did cover both biopsies, but I have a high deductible, so I had to meet that first, and now I’m 80/20 until the end of the year.
I still have nausea after I eat. It usually lasts for a little while, but it was worse before I was onthe medication. I can definitely tell a difference. I’m able to eat a little more than I used to. I do get hungry and did before too. I would be full after a few bites and then be hungry again in a few hours. It is better for me to do small meals.
I’m not sure if cancer in the GI tract can act differently in each person. I just knew that something wasn’t right when I started to lose and couldn’t eat a lot.
The tumor markers they test are 15-3, 27-29, and CEA. Two came down again this time, and the CEA stayed the same. I’m 187 on the 15-3 and 423 on the 27-29. CEA is 6.0. It’s down 33 points on 15-3 and 67 points on 27-29 since May. Not huge but going down. It’s the only thing we’ve checked so far, as the scans didn’t show the cancer, only the endoscopy.
I hope they can figure this out for you.
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Thanks for answering me, KBL. I’m so frustrated. I haven’t eaten all day and it’s 5:30 PM where I am. I will eat a small dinner shortly and feel like I would like some food, but I’m certainly not feeling that stomach growling starving feeling that I should have after not eating for nearly 24 hours. I’ve been sipping water all day and my stomach feels so uncomfortably full and bloated like the way you feel after eating a giant meal.
I should be losing weight given that this has been going on for so long. But my weight has remained 137 pounds since January. I feel like some of that is fluid. I’m so puffy, today I have fluid filled sacks under my eyes. And I stay away from salt.
Chemo did throw me into full blown menopause so there’s probably a hormonal component. I just turned 45, have not had a period since I was 42
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Hi all. I’m having these symptoms too and trying to keep the thought of mets away. I saw my oncologist on Monday. She gave me a referral to GI doc. Got an appt next day. Which makes me a bit concerned. Saw GI doc this morning and now have endoscopy and colonoscopy scheduled for Oct 4.
I have fullness, weight loss, nausea, vomiting to the point I am carrying and emises bag in my purse now. It may be an ulcer. Have had those before. It’s funny I am praying for an ulcer now.
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The GI I saw also mentioned it could be an ulcer. Ulcer, gastritis...whatever it is, I just wish I would stop feeling so full I’m going to pop.
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I’m sorry, Libber. Please keep us posted. I’ve never actually vomited, just the nausea. The first time I had the colonoscopy with the endoscopy. I’ll just say the endoscopy was the easier of the two. I threw up the prep for the colonoscopy. I couldn’t stand the stuff. Then they did a camera endoscopy, and I had to drink another bottle of prep. I almost couldn’t do just the one bottle. It was three bottles the first time. I know the waiting is awful. I’m having my CTs on the same day.
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Gosh, Pesky904, that’s not good to not eat. I never felt like that. I wish they could get you in sooner. You don’t want to end up in the emergency room. I would call the doctor and tell them you’re not able to eat. That just doesn’t sound good.
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I've told my oncologist and I told the GI that I sometimes go a whole day without eating. They didn't seem alarmed. Like I said, if I was losing weight, they might take it more seriously. My weight hasn't budged so they probably think I'm exaggerating.
I just ate a little bit of scrambled eggs and I feel gross and uncomfortably full. I look really puffy. I don't have children, but I look the way all my friends did during certain times of their pregnancies, puffy face, big swollen ankles. My fatigue is off the charts. Going to the gym every day is supposed to be helping to increase my energy but it's getting worse and worse. No one cares about these kinds of symptoms because they're nonspecific and vague. I think the ONLY reason the GI even suggested the endoscopy was because my abdomen felt a little full to him.
My oncologist INSISTED I see an MD, not any of the NPs or anything in the GI specialists office. Last year I was seen by a nurse, who told me I must have gastroparesis and told me to change my diet. (That's when I tried taking Reglan for a few months.) She said drinking water should NOT make me feel full. But it does. Even if I don't eat, I sip a lot of water during the day and just drinking water makes my stomach expand and feel too full.
I asked if my digestive system had just slowed down to a crawl due to all the treatment. They said by now I should be doing better. Who knows.
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Hoping you get answers. If not, see an internal medicine MD to try and help put things together and bring with you a detailed log.
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I can’t even imagine how that must feel. I hope you get answers soon.
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Pesky, I’m worried about your situation also. Good for you choosing scrambled egg for your ‘meal’. Protein is important.
Any chance you could sip on a can of Ensure or Boost throughout the day to give yourself some calories and other nutrients?
I agree with KBee about writing down your intake/output, symptoms and finding another practitioner who could help.
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vinrph has a very good idea. I do try to drink a Boost almost every day. I do feel nauseous after, but it helps knowing I’m getting the protein. If it’s too filling, just take a few sips at a time and try to drink a whole one throughout the day.
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Thanks so much for the comments and support.
Ensure and Boost make me soooo nauseous but I agree it’s a good idea to make sure I get enough nutrients.
I actually feel a little better today. I ate a small lunch and I feel really overly full and uncomfortable, but my stomach doesn’t feel like it’s literally going to burst open.
KBL, did you feel better some days than others?
I went to PT for lymphedema in my ankles this morning and the PT therapist said I definitely have fluid build up not just in my ankles, but also in my entire legs and my abdomen. The great news is she’s looking into getting me a compression pump that will be covered by my insurance. So that’s some good news for a change.
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Hi, Pesky904. I do have some days where I feel more nauseous than others. It sure does sound like the fluid buildup is what could be the issue for you. I hope you get the pump soon. I’m glad you felt a little better today. If the Boost makes you nauseous, you could drink half in the morning and half in the afternoon. I hope you keep getting better.
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Kbl. The nausea, vomiting and fullness is with me all day every day. I’m hoping its simply an ulcer. I had a non healing wound. A couple of infections and had to take antibiotics 6 months plus. I think those had a devasting effect on my digestive system. Will know more next Friday.
Pesky904. So sorry you are dealing with challenges getting the care you need. I have access to care but I am currently dealing with a non healing wound and a reconstructive surgeon who doesn’t believe in sending patients to a wound care clinic. I got a referral from my oncologist. Have met with wound care RN and wound is getting better with the right dressings. Surgeons don’t know wound care and mine said to me “I know what I’m doing”. Well not. So always advocate for yourself. Your healthcare team will step in if 1 of them are not taking proper care of you
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I’m so sorry, Libber. That sounds awful. Please keep us posted. I haven’t thrown up yet, so I hope it doesn’t get that bad. I hope you feel better soon.
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Libber, you sound similar to me. The nausea and fullness is there whether I eat or not. Then when I do eat or drink anything, it feels like my stomach is stretching beyond its limits.
Sorry to hear about your experience with the reconstructive surgeon. Sounds like a pompous jerk.
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This endoscopy cannot come fast enough. I just ate a little arugula salad (because the nutritionist told me arugula is one of the key foods I should eat to help repair my liver from all the chemo).
Anyway, less than 10 minutes after eating it, I threw it all back up. So tired of this.
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Oh, gosh, Pesky904, that’s horrible. I can’t remember if you talked about it possibly being fluid in your stomach. Have they checked that? I’m really sorry.
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Hos do they check for fluid in the stomach? The GI felt my stomach and said it felt a bit full. Could that mean fluid? Or gas (I hadn’t eaten for about 15 hours).
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If you look up ascites, it will tell you what that is. I was thinking maybe this is your issue since you have so much swelling. Of course, please know I have absolutely no medical training, so I could be way off base.
Look up the symptoms and see what you think. Ascites GI tract.
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Hard to tell. The pictures on Google are so extreme. I don’t have that big swollen round belly. But I do have swelling.
I am assuming they can see ascites during an upper endoscopy though, right
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I’m not really sure. I didn’t read up on it too extensively. You would think they would be able to
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I do know that I don't have "fat rolls." If I stand up very straight and look at myself sideways in the mirror, there's no "bump" between my upper and lower abdomen. It does kind of look like I'm in early pregnancy. But when I sit down, my lower abdomen just looks fat.
I knew there was a problem when I started to feel extremely full in my upper abdomen. Usually, when you feel full after a meal, you feel the fullness in your lower abdomen, like bellybutton and lower, and that's where your stomach distends when you eat a huge meal. I feel it starting just under my breasts, behind my rib cage.
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Yes, that’s where I felt it too, like it’s getting stuck in the upper part before it digests. It’s gotten a little better since I started treatment, but I still get full quickly and feel nauseous. I do get hungrier more often now, though.
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I'm never really hungry. But I eat because I know I have to, or habitually out of boredom, I'll have a few bites of something.
That's exactly it, it feels like I'm swallowing and it's just stopping and sitting in that upper part of my digestive system and not moving.
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Saw my primary yesterday. He freaked at the swelling in my abdomen, legs and ankles. He is the first doctor I've seen since I started complaining about these symptoms to ask me if there is any history of ovarian cancer in my family (there isn't).
The swelling coupled with the early satiety and fairly sudden onset constipation I've had since first week of August prompted him to order a CT scan of the abdomen, which will be on Friday morning.
My renal panel was normal, though my fasting glucose was 99 which is weird (high is 100 and I'm usually around 70-80). Urinalysis only showed trace ketones, which was weird since they've never shown up in urinalysis before and I definitely don't eat a ketogenic diet (I live on carbs, lol), but overall it was normal.
On top of all this annoying stuff, last night as I was getting undressed I noticed I have yet another tiny lump on my rib just below my implant - but it feels movable and is probably scar tissue that has shifted. I will wait until I see my oncologist again in 2 weeks and have her take a look at it.
Boy, cancer sure is the gift that keeps on giving! Ugh.
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I’m so glad you get to have a scan. Good luck, and let me know when you find out results. I had a CT scan this past Friday, and there is no evidence of disease, so the medication seems to be working. So far so good. I’m glad someone finally listened to you.
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KBL, that's great news!!
Did you have a CT scan when you were first diagnosed? What was seen, if anything?
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pesky904. I do hope this is nothing more than a bout of gastritis. I had an upper GI last Friday and pathology reports came back negative for ulcers or cancer thank goodness. I still have the fullness in my belly and some indigestion. So will talk with dr about which PPI to take given the Zantac recalls. Tremendous stress in my life so tummy is paying the price it seems.
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