u/TableExisting

Hey all. I was on testosterone pellets prior to my cancer diagnosis. I was on all the HRT (post-menopausal) and was told to stop it all. My original onc said there might be wiggle room for testosterone after I'm done with chemo. My new onc says no way. This is due to testosterone's potential to convert to a bad form of estrogen. My Nurse Practitioner had me taking DIM, an over the counter supplement which supposedly flushes out the bad estrogen. She is now suggesting I take a once per week (for me) drug that wipes out estrogen. I can't remember the name but I know a lot of breast cancer folks take it. Testosterone really covered a lot of bases for me - even ended vaginal dryness w/o needing estrogen cream. I'm wondering if anyone has used testosterone post ovarian cancer. PS I'm IIIC HG epithelial, 20% estrogen positive tumor and was in remission after my 3rd chemo. Still went through HIPEC, had omentum removed and biopsied (all clear!) And finished my final 3 sessions after HIPEC - last one was yesterday! Whoop!

I had HIPEC 8 weeks ago. It would be great if folks would comment on their level of overall health/physical fitness and age while talking about things like this. I totally get people aren't thinking about this when they're commenting, but I think it matters so you can match your expectation to the experience of someone similar. So here's my personal experience:

I'm 59. Great overall health. Very active. Former whitewater guide, climbing guide, skier, avid mountain biker. I was fairly sedentary the year prior to surgery dur to pain which I thought was just a uterine fibroid. Finally got a hysterectomy where they found ovarian cancer.

I had an open HIPEC. I spent 4 nights in the hospital. ICU protocol first 36 hours. They took blood draws every hour and had to stick me each time because it was CNAs, not nurses. Only nurses can access the IV. I had tubes coming out of both arms, my back (epidural) my pee hole, and those squeezy things on both legs. So I was pretty immobile the whole time, and I am a dedicated side sleeper - ugh! The first day was a liquid diet. Second day, in the afternoon, I started throwing up every 15 minutes or so. I was drinking ice water and it was still cold coming up. They put me on a nothing at all diet for 12 hours. It was miserable. Not even an ice chip. After that I was on soft food for a day, then offered regular food which I honestly wasn't interested in. My hubby picked me up when I was discharged (after passing gas and having enough pee volume coming out of me) and immediately drove over not one, but TWO curbs. He then proceeded to hit every pothole on the 3 hour drive home. He's a bit of a space cadet, lol! Best person ever though.

At home, I had 5 days worth of Oxycodone. I also had to take Ondasetron (anti-nausea) regularly. The other anti-nausea med didn't work at all. Pain was manageable with 600 mg ibuprofen after the oxy ran out. I could easily get around the house, but had a lot of fatigue and did a lot of sitting for the next week. I drove myself to my 2 week post-op 2 hours away without issue. I was very stiff feeling at my incision site if I had been sitting for very long - made me want to lean back and stretch to work it out. I also went on two 30 minute walks with friends about this time. I was doing great!

And then...I had a chemo session 3 weeks post-op. I had 3 sessions prior with no side effects other than hair loss. This 4th one offered up a full complement of side effects! They lasted until my 5th chemo session, and kept going. The fatigue is the worst. Nausea is manageable. I go nowhere without the anti-nausea meds. I've heard the fatigue described as "walking through wet cement" and that seems accurate. Things like light gardening for an hour could do me in for the day. Sometimes it was fatigue in my body, sometimes severe drowsiness. Some days I felt normal, some days I was barely functional. I never know when the side effects will strike. I have had to quit my job and have applied for disability. We'll see. Housework is hard. I have so much to do and just can't. My appetite, when I have one, is weird. I'm a healthy eater but only want box mac'n cheese, Ben and Jerry's, and other nutritionally void foods. I usually don't finish a normal serving, maybe eating half. I've been putting unflavored protein powder in anything I can sneak it in. I can manage smoothies sometimes and have a juicer and juice a few times a week.

My daughter had to drive me to my 6 week post-op. There's no way I could have done that - the fatigue hit about an hour into the drive and I was out!

My onc thinks I'm suffering from a combo of the HIPEC and chemo, which is why it's so severe and lasting so long. One more session to go! Now I need to find a sedentary job. I doubt anyone's going to hire me though. 59 with cancer and the related side effects. No one wants to hire that. Currently I'm just going stir crazy. My husband says I'm like a shark - just need to keep moving, and it's frustrating that I can't.

That's all I can think of. Hopefully it helps someone.