Still have the fatigue after 2 years.

There are a couple of things that can contribute to fatigue in menopausal (or chemopausal) women:

- Thyroid problems: these are VERY VERY common in women, and chemo has been known to do a number on the thyroid as well (it makes sense, if it can shut down our ovaries, it can shut down our thyroid). Have your doc test you for hypothyroidism. If you are hypothyroid, you can get Synthroid which will make a huge difference in your energy level.

- Sleep apnea. Progesterone and estrogen protect us before menopause, but afterwards, we are vulnerable, especially those of us who are ER/PR+ and on Tamoxifen or AIs. Do you snore loud enough to warrant comparisons to a freight train or grizzly bear? Does your bed partner tell you that you stop breathing and gasp/snort for breath during the night? Sleep apnea keeps you from getting refreshing sleep at night and you feel sleep-deprived and fatigued during the day. Ask for a sleep test. 

Boy...I feel like I could have written every one of your comments!! I keep wondering if this is my new normal!?!

XX

Joy

Dearest ML-

I have been dealing with chronic fatigue since the moment I began chemo (when we met 3 years ago this November!). 

Now, I have MS also, and that is supposed to be a SE of that as well.  However, I DID NOT suffer from chronic fatigue before cancer came running into my life. 

There are times now that I could easily fall asleep on command.  I feel so lethargic, and when my little Daniel sometimes wants to play something like "lets go ride bikes, Mommy!" I want to make excuses and talk the poor kid out of it.  I have to remind myself that it isn't his fault Mommy doesn't feel good, and he doesn't deserve to not play just because of my "ailments." 

The fatigue and pain just keep lingering in my body, and I feel like I went from an active 31 year old woman to about a 90 year old woman trapped inside my body. 

The fatigue is frustrating, and my poor husband has actually said, "I just want my wife back."  That breaks my heart.  " I want my life back,"  I want to cry out to him.  It isn't his fault, either. 

I have to force myself to do these things, when all I want to do is just sit. 

It's hard, isn't it? 

EDIT TO ADD: about feeling like we look lazy.....I sometimes feel like I have to explain what I accomplished during the day to my husband, and why it isn't as much as either of us liked.  I hate thinking he thinks I'm lazing around the house all day.  I know he isn't really thinking such things, but I feel guilty and sluggish.  Ick. 

Me too.

Fatigue is the ball and chain I drag around with me on a daily basis.

I have tried everything.  It is so nice to know we are in this together. 

As it turned out I did have hypothyroidism with one gland bullying the other three and causing my calcium levels to get very high.   I had to have surgery a year ago March to have the gland removed.  Didn't help in the least with the fatigue.  It's still here but at least my calcium levels are normal.  I have to take a daily supplement of OS-Cal. 

I just had one of my six month check ups and had the usual blood work up before the appt. and things all look normal so I have no clue why the monstrous fatigue keeps hanging around. 

SherriG.  Thank you for what you shared about what your onc told you.  That makes the most sense I've heard through this journey. 

I am a 1 1/2 years out and just finished everything off with a oomph/hyster.  My body has lost vital parts, axillary nodes, two breasts, two ovaries and uterus.  I have had chemo and rads.  Been through 5 major surgeries.  Some days I can do just about anything but I know it will take 2-3 days to recover.  And I find just sitting and being social will exhaust me.  

When I take stock of everything I have been through, both mentally and physically, I am surprised that my body is cooperating at all.

I wasn't a stage 3, but the title of this post caught my eye from the index.  I went through chemo, surgery, rads in 05.  The fatigue at the end of rads literally made my bones ache.  I reckoned that must be where the phrase 'bone tired' came from.  The bones don't ache like they did, but they still creak more often than not, and I'm tired so very much. 

I now suspect rads made me hypothyroid.  My TSH levels have been tested 3 times.  First and third were both over 6, second test was around 4.  I'd like to encourage anyone with fatigue to have thyroid levels checked and to make sure your doctors are up to date.  Mine aren't, and they are using the 'normal'  range that was revised six years ago.  The OLD normal was .35 to 5.5.  Now it's .3 to 3.0, plus, an additional test called the free-T4 is recommended for basic screening.  Documentation to back this up is found at aace.com, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists site.  

Signs of hypothryoidism include fatigue, low grade depression, poor stamina, low energy, hard stools, high cholesterol, brain fog, digestive problems, and trouble losing weight.  That's just MY list.  Additionally, itchy dry skin is a common symptom, and thinning hair,  and eyebrown especially sparse on the outer third of their normal span. 

I'm now in the process of finding yet another primary care provider.  In the meantime, I'm getting some relief by following wisdom from alternative medicine.  More specifically, I seem to have an iodine deficiency.  An easy indicator is to swab some iodine solution on your upper arm or thigh.  A 2" circle should still be visible 8 hours later if you have enough iodine.  My skin drinks it up like a sponge.  I've been feeling markedly better since increase iodine intake, and apparently I still have a ways to go.  

It just makes me so mad that doctors just seem to shrug their shoulders when I complain about fatigue.  My onc does this and as a consolation offers me effexor for hot flashes.  I can suck up the hot flashes.  It's the fatigue I want gone.  He could have at least coached me on the topic of thyroid, and he said NOTHING.  Issues concerning thyroid seems to be the ugly stepchildren.  No one seems interested in claiming it.  That's my experience anyway, and I hope my information can shorten somebody's road to relief.  

Editing to add:  most women feel their best when TSH test results are around 1.0.  My latest TSH was 4.027 in Feb, and my pcp pronounced my thyroid to be FINE.  Doesn't know, and doesn't want to know standards changed in 2002.   

I have been feeling very fatigued, too.  I'm three years out from my diagnosis and still need tons of sleep and lack energy.  I will admit, though, that I could exercise more than I am doing now.   I have been blaming it (fatigue) on the battering the surgeries and treatments have caused to my body and the Femara.  Frankly, I don't expect it to get any better than this if it hasn't done so by now.  My onc acts like it's no big deal.  I am so glad to be alive, the fatigue is something I will adjust to. The thyroid information is interesting, though, I'll look into it.  Thanks!

Mary-Lou:  I think the hardest thing for me to understand through this whole journey is the fatigue that Im feeling 3 years post treatment.  Some days are good and some days are very hard.  I understand what you are saying about wanting your old self back.  I keep looking for me - and at this point, I think I need to get used to the new me - which Im not liking too much.

I wish my problem with fatigue was an easy fix.  With Hypothyroidism - once diagnosed you can take a pill and get your levels back to normal.  Hyperthyroidism is much harder and the treatment isnt quite that easy.

Anyways, know that you are not alone. 

Please ask and discuss with your doctors about thyroid issues etc.

Some of us that have posted have first hand experience with Hypo and Hyper Thyroidism and others have not.

Best to go over this with your doctor.  A simple blood test will give the results if you have an issue with either one.

Best of luck to you.

Fatigue is caused by many things.  The BC and Chemo is at the top of the list but also weight

and unknown issues can be the culprit. 

Hope these give some insight.

Hypothyroidism

*

Hyperthyroidism

.

It is so good to know you're not alone. I'm a stage IIIb finished chemo in Feb 06 and rads in May 06.  Sometimes the fatigue is overwhelming.  One day I had to put my car in park at a red light so that I didn't have to keep my foot on the brake. After all the treatments I became diabetic then underactive thyroid. Now I've lost weight, 38 pounds, which I'm not complaining about since I ate everything that was not nailed down during chemo.  After blood work now I'm anemic and on iron and B12 shots. Sometimes I get weak and tired to the point that I shake.My doctors have been wonderful to check everything out, but I get so tired to doctor appointments.   I know people that have never made the journey that we have cannot understand how we feel.  Everyone comments on how good I now look at a size 6 and with hair, but little do they know how bad I feel at times. People think that once the treatment is finished you should be normal again, but I wonder what normal is.  Sometimes I think the only normal is a setting on the washing machine. But I'm thankful for each day.

Wanda, 

Your comment about shaking makes me wonder if you are hypoglycemic.  I went through that for almost a year after chemo. I would start to feel weak, then shake and feel ill.  I carried a candy in my purse for a quick fix, and mini wheats if I would start to go down when I was out.  The mini wheats were perfect as they had just enough sugar to give the brain a super boost and carbs to maintain.  If your doc suggests testing for this be aware that the medical community no longer considers the test results to be accurate, according to my doc.