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How long from diagnosis of AML typically comes the BMT?
Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: Jun 14 5:42am | Replies (35)Comment receiving replies
My Dr. keeps telling me not to lose weight (I have always been fluffy) She said I would be losing weight during the transplant process and wants me to stay healthy. Before diagnosis, I swam two hours a day doing aqua aerobics (which I love) and an hour a day with my trainer at the local gym. I was diagnosed with AMl on 3/3/2024 and have been on chemo pills since. I am very tired now and most recently doing consolidation chemo. I am looking forward to having some energy back and hope to have the transplant in July (I just had a call yesterday!!) Can you tell me about the weight loss/
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Sue, Well, that’s exciting to get the transplant call! Now it gets real, right? Regarding weight. If you haven’t lost any during your AML treatments then you’ll go into transplant in good shape. Your doctor is right, any extra pounds right now are good! I didn’t have any spare fluff by the time I got to transplant after several months of intense chemo for the AML.
My weight loss actually started about a month before I was diagnosed…losing 10 pounds rather rapidly. However I had been trying to drop a couple pounds of fluff so I just thought my efforts were paying off. Silly me. I had no other symptoms so it never occurred to me that I was seriously ill. It was the leukemia causing the weight loss. Ha, not a diet plan I’d recommend! Counting the previous 10 pounds, I lost a total of 45-48 in less than 2 months, after my 5 weeks in the hospital with induction chemo.
I was able to regain about 15 pounds before transplant. It was recommended I gain 18 but no matter what I did, that wasn’t happening.
Losing some weight is very common during the first couple weeks after the transplant. Most patients experience some nausea. There are meds which really help to keep nausea under control and it passes eventually. It didn’t take long to regain weight once the nausea passed. So, that is why your doctor is encouraging you to keep your girlish fluff! ☺️ And I’m expecting at some point, when you get clearance from you transplant doctor, you’ll be back to aqua aerobics and your trainer. No swimming in lakes, rivers, oceans or un-chlorinated water though…risk of infections.
I was just reading your reply to @alive about not driving. Oh my gosh, I remember the frustration!! Between the AML treatments and the transplant it had been about 9 months without driving! It was sooooo librating to get behind the steering wheel of my car again. Of course it was driving solo to a blood test at my local hospital. LOL But I had the Radio blaring, singing along to 🎶 Here I Go Again on my Own! 🎶
You’ll get there too soon enough and you’ll feel like Super Woman, ready to take on anything with no fear!