Day 3 - shortness of breath already

[a mom]

My son has completed the first 3 days of BEP x 3 and is already experiencing shortness of breath. Is that normal?

[Already Bald]

Be sure to report into his medical team and oncologist.
They will want to evaluate him.

[a mom]

Day 4. They think he's retaining fluid as his weight and blood pressure are up and that's probably causing the shortness of breath. Gave him some diuretics so hopefully that will help.

[Chaps6]

Day 4. They think he's retaining fluid as his weight and blood pressure are up and that's probably causing the shortness of breath. Gave him some diuretics so hopefully that will help.

My husband was also retaining fluid the first week and actually gained 8 pounds, and his BP did get pretty high. They gave him a diuretic and it did the trick. He was not experiencing shortness of breath because of it though. But it makes sense that that could happen as a result. I think the most important thing is to let the doc know everything that he is feeling/experiencing.

[Tarc79]

There may be a lot of reasons why this is happening including physchological reasons, but...

I'd recommend getting this checked ASAP to eliminate the possibility of pulmonary embolism. I don't know the case here, but it seems a bit too early for the blood levels to go down this fast. A pulmonary doctor may want to do blood clotting tests and measure oxygen levels in your blood and even possibly do a chest scan.

Shortness of breath should not be taken lightly. I do not mean to alarm you or create panic. I'd rather be sure when it comes to PE.

It is highly unlikely he will ever have PE because it looks like he was diagnosed at a fairly early stage. That said, according to my onco, people with cancer tend to see more clotting in their veins than people without cancer. In my case, my vena cava was blocked with a very large tumor, which had stopped blood flow back into my heart. My cava and subsequently my lungs were full of clots.

[Davepet]

My son has completed the first 3 days of BEP x 3 and is already experiencing shortness of breath. Is that normal?

I honestly can't recall how quickly that set in for me, But I do recall that just getting dressed would require a sit down to recover at some point. Always bring any new symptoms to the doc's attention. My doc wasn't concerned about my shortness of breath & it took only a few months post treatment to go away for me

Dave

[DoubleZero]

They think he's retaining fluid...

During each of my in-patient hospital treatments my fluid levels went up. And post chemo I had very "fat" ankles/lower legs because of fluid retention. Thankfully this all settled down over time

[a mom]

He also has a lot of heartburn which he is taking prilosec for. He thinks that may have contributed to the feeling of shortness of breath. He's finished with his first full week, and so far it hasn't been that bad, thankfully. We'll see what next week brings.