Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Support Group
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), also known as acute myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells. Patients with AML usually present with symptoms such as fatigue, bleeding, infection, prompting medical attention. An abnormal blood test reading will then result in further testing in a hospital with a hematologist to determine AML.
Hi, all,
It's been a while since I've posted or been active here. I was diagnosed with AML in December 2012 and had successful chemotherapy. AML is in remission and the last time I had chemo was June 2013. My subsequent checkups with the doctor have all been good, near-perfect blood counts.
But I continue to have problems with long-term side-effects of the chemo, namely tiredness and blurred vision. They usually occur together, and they have been occurring more frequently lately. I've mentioned this to my oncologist, primary-care physician, and ophthalmologist, and none seems very concerned, which I guess is good.
Has anyone else experienced these things? How have you dealt with them?
It's been a while since I've posted or been active here. I was diagnosed with AML in December 2012 and had successful chemotherapy. AML is in remission and the last time I had chemo was June 2013. My subsequent checkups with the doctor have all been good, near-perfect blood counts.
But I continue to have problems with long-term side-effects of the chemo, namely tiredness and blurred vision. They usually occur together, and they have been occurring more frequently lately. I've mentioned this to my oncologist, primary-care physician, and ophthalmologist, and none seems very concerned, which I guess is good.
Has anyone else experienced these things? How have you dealt with them?
So great to hear you are still in remission. I was dxd in March of 2013 with my last consolidation in Nov 2013. I have not had blurred vision but do suffer from fatigue. I am 49 raising young daughters, 13, 12 and 9. I work full time plus teach master's classes. I use my busy schedule as an excuse for my fatigue but it does concern me. I make it through the week but sleep a ton on the weekends. My counts are normal except platelets. I also struggle with memory issues and some anxiety.
It is so great to hear from more chemo only survivors. We all need to hear that sort of news. Praying you'll find relief from this side effects
Blessings
Julie
I was diagnosed June 2011 and had my last consolidation in November 2011(chemo only).Blood counts normal and now approaching 3 years chemo and aml free. I also feel fatigue and am working 3 days per week. My biggest problem however is with my cognitive ability. I find it difficult to grasp new concepts at work and harder still to multi task.I am learning to live with this and try to make it work.
Either way its great to be cancer free and get on with my new life
Lisa
I started chemo in April 2013 and had my last round end of June 13. My hospital's protocol included induction, and only two consolidation rounds, and as my counts all recovered very quickly this meant a (relatively) short stint in hospital. However, only having three rounds of chemo doesn't seem to have spared me the side effects. I did have trouble with my vision initially but this has improved. Fatigue is an ongoing issue, but again, I found a really big improvement over the last couple of months (12 month mark). Like Lisa, I'm only working three days per week as my job is pretty intellectually demanding and while my long-term memory seems unaffected, I do really struggle with retaining new information. I find regular exercise and eating well help with the energy levels. If I need to nap then I do it guilt-free, and know it's the right decision when I don't have any trouble sleeping that night. It seems the cognitive problems are well documented, and are reversible but can take several years to slowly improve. My husband and I play strategic board games which exhaust me and I find a lot more difficult (read frustrating) than I used to, but it gives me a marker which I use to measure my progress and improvement.
Like you, intermittently I find these problems can get worse for a few days, giving me a scare that perhaps this is a relapse, but my counts are also reassuring, and I rest a bit more than usual and eventually the energy levels go back to base line.