I'm tired, not lazy

carol9722

August 2012 I found a lump that turned out to be HER2 positive stage 2, Oct I had a mastectomy and Nov started chemo plus Herceptin. Six rounds of Taxotere and Carboplatin 11/12 - 3/13 and Herceptin 11/12 - 10/13. I am 57 and overweight. I worked during the chemo as much as I could and tried to keep Life as normal as possible. I am feeling much better and able to do a lot more things but I get so tired so easily. My husband picked up a lot while I was sick but now seems to think I am lazy because I am not exercising and losing weight. I'm not lazy, I'm tired. My body is worn out and is coming back but not as fast as my hair did! How long does it take before I will feel strong like I was before all this? Any suggestions for getting strength back? Not to make my husband happy, but to make me feel better and better about myself. Thanks.

Jennt28

I was diagnosed 9 months before you and also am still struggling with fatigue :-(

I feel like this is not going away but have recently joined the gym and have a trainer who is helping me build strength which should help.

Jenn

Tomboy

thank you for that jenn28. cause you look younger than me, and altho i am thin, i am so much weaker still than i used to be, and i know that to everyone who might see me, my hair is back, so i must be good right? well, no. plus i do think the 5 year pills do mess with the energy levels, cause when i did get a two month break, enthusiasm and joy and just plain desire to do more stuff came rushing back... i wish i could feel that forever, because it is how i normally was, and i miss it terribly.

lgkgde13

I am still battling fatigue but I think it may be the tamoxifen.  I felt great in feb March but just in last month or so feeling very fatigued.  I started going to the gym again to see if that would help energy levels 

NeverForsaken

I'm not on Tamoxifen, or anything else...just Herceptin. I completed TC chemo may 9th, and had my first Herceptin only infusion last week...and I am more tired than ever. I know that it will take time for the fatigue and the Neuropathy in my fingers to go away...(By fatigue I mean that heavy, achy, tired out muscles feeling especially in my legs)

I never had a problem with being overweight...in fact, everyone was worried I would lose too much during treatment...(Instead I gained 14 lbs).

I have been careful to eat a healthy diet...I seldom ate unhealthy food until chemo, don't smoke or drink etc...

I do have degenerative disc disease (for more than a decade now) With some complications from it that makes it inoperable...also sciatica, and osteoarthritis in my spine. 

My problem now is...I cannot walk far without my legs getting too tired to stand, and I thought this would get better with each passing week after chemo...It has not.

Years of PT taught me to use my legs instead of my back to do things, but now the legs are very weak.

I'm so frustrated because all the articles I have read state that in order to lower your risk of recurrence or second primary cancer, exercise is key...and exercise will help the fatigue...But, how can I exercise when my legs won't hold me up for long?

I do not live near a city where I can do yoga or anything like that...I'm in the forest, so walking requires hiking gear (I used to hike a lot as it helped with the arthritis!)

Even my poor dogs are getting fatter and lazier because I can't hike with them now.

I made my own hiking trail through our property last summer before I got so sick...Wish I could use it.

My husband has been my KISA (Knight In Shining Armour)...But I'm afraid he expects me to be getting better sooner, and is bewildered at how much sweeping off the patio still exhausts me.

Our three grown daughters and other family and friends have been planning a lot of get-togethers for this summer, and I am afraid I will not have the stamina for them!

My daughter is also getting married, and we cannot attend because it is too far away, so her bridal shower and reception are the main things I want to concentrate on being able to enjoy.

I've asked my MO how long to expect the energy to come back, and I appreciate that it is different for everybody, as there are just too many variables...But, I am getting frustrated that I feel so lazy...even though, as the title to this thread says...I'm tired, not lazy!