Question about Fatigue after chemo

tangandchris

I'm not sure where to put this, so I'm starting here

I'm SO tired!! I'm not sure what is going on, but it seems to be getting worse. How long does fatigue last after tx and surgery and all the other crap? I'm going to discuss this with my doctors next month, but I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this long term? I've started walking, but that makes it worse in a way. My bones and joints ache afterward. To be honest, it concerns me a little because I know I felt this way before my original dx back in 2013. That was the only symptom that I had, but didn't realize at the time it was happening.

I finished chemo and rads 2 years ago....is this normal?

keepthefaith

It took me over a year after TX ended, to feel "normal" again, mentally and physically. I guess we are all different, but if you are concerned, you are right to ask your Dr's. Could be a lot of things though. Low Thyroid, low vit D levels, etc. Easier said than done, but try not to jump to conclusions. Best wishes.

bella237

Are you on any AIs like Arimidex? My MO says that fatique and especially joint pain can show up anywhere from several months to several years after starting them. Mine started popping up about 2 months in, and oddly, daily exercise helps even though my joint are painful afterward. I also have fibromyalgia which existed before my Dx so I'm accustomed to a little bit of stiffness and pain all the time.

tangandchris

I am on Femara, so that could be the culprit. I'm going to discuss with docs for sure.

cfdr

I'm nearly 5 years out from treatment and still struggle with fatigue. I exercise twice a day...yoga, weights, crunches, high intensity intervals, walking, running, swimming...on a good day I put in 90 minutes. I swam a mile this summer. So lack of exercise is not the issue for me. I also have pernicious anemia, and get my B12 shots whenever I want. I have sleep apnea, but with a CPAP machine my AHI (measure of sleep apnea) is a healthy level. I'm not depressed. Thyroid is fine.

Chemotherapy can leave residual fatigue 5-10 years after treatment. But femara can also cause fatigue...so the fact that the fatigue has improved, but never completely gone away, makes me think that the femara is also responsible. Since I started it right after chemo, and have been fatigued since chemo, my guess is that the chemo caused fatigue that slowly faded, but the femara is keeping me at this baseline level that I never quite seem to overcome.