2 rads and I feel awful

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deborrob
deborrob Member Posts: 37
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi all,  

I started rads last week after completing dose dense chemo, 4 x AC, 4 x Taxol.  Had lumpectomy and lymph node removal prior to chemo. 

 I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit desperate about this radiation thing.  Everything I read, and my oncologist, said it would probably be a breeze after chemo.  However, I've had 2 treatments (6 more weeks to go) and I feel absolutely awful - almost like I just had chemo.  I managed to work all through chemo, apart from a couple of days off after each treatment (every two weeks), but the way I feel right now, knowing I have to do rads every day for 6 weeks - I just can't see myself being able to continue with work.  I can take short term disability, but am worried about how my boss will react to that (probably not too well).  Additionally, I feel very depressed and emotional, on the verge of tears all the time, something I didn't really have with chemo.  Did anyone else have this experience with radiation?  Most of what I read is ladies who didn't find radiation difficult at all, so I wonder why this is hitting me so hard.

 Thanks for any comments you might have.

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  • fg2000
    fg2000 Member Posts: 30
    edited September 2010

    I'll be starting radiation therapy shortly - a total of 30 treatments with a boost at the end. I also had dose dense chemo, 4 x AC, 4 x Taxol. I too, have been told by many survivors that radiation is much easier than chemo. I guess everyone is different though. There's no way to tell how you'll react to it until treatment begins. I hope things get better for you. There must be some comfort in knowing that you are almost finished with your treatment. Stay strong and good luck to you!

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited September 2010

    deborrob: is it possible that you are still feeling run-down and fatigued from the chemo? I had a three week break between chemo and rads and still felt very tired and just plain yucky. Then I actually felt better as I proceeded with rads and only started to feel the awful fatigue from rads in the last two or three weeks.

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited September 2010

    deb, I tend to agree that what you're feeling may be emotional exhaustion from the cumulative effect of weeks of treatment, rather than the RT itself.  Hang in there.  Keep your eye on the date you'll be finished.  It will be here very soon.  In the mean time, maybe you can adjust your treatment time slot to one where you're feeling a bit stronger.  If you presently have an early a.m. one, maybe see if you can get one at the end of the day, or vice-versa.   Are you in a monthly radiation group here on BCO?  There's probably one for women who started RT in September.  Going through it and sharing daily experiences with BCO sisters helped me a lot.  We came up with all sorts of mind games to play that made the time go faster, from pretending we were on different beaches, to counting things we were thankful for by color groups -- all things that helped the days go by faster.    Deanna

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  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited September 2010

    I had the same chemo that you did.  I also did rads and after the first week the fatigue set in so bad I was sleeping as much as 14 hours at a time.  Even though the hospital was only a 10 minute drive, the fact that I had to schedule that time of my day - every freaking day just wore me down.

    My radiologist prescribed ritalin to help with the fatigue but it didn't work at all.  She then tried to prescribe Provignol (spelling?) but it was $200 for ten pills and my insurance wouldn't pay for it no matter how she tried to code it.  I ended up saving my ritalin because I was just wasting them.  I have about 10 left so when I need to do some heavy duty cleaning, etc. I will take one and I can go for hours on end.  Unfortunately I will never be able to get it refilled but hey......I will take advantage of what is left until I run out.

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  • deborrob
    deborrob Member Posts: 37
    edited September 2010

    Thanks for all the replies.  I have done a week now of rads, and I'm tired every day, however, I will have to say nothing like what I felt like after the first 2.  I don't know, maybe your body takes a shock from the first couple and then kind of gets used to it a bit?  Who knows - or possibly left over fatigue etc. from chemo.  I am trying to prepare myself for this fatigue to get worse as time goes on.  I did try to reschedule my appointment to one later in the afternoon (currently first thing in the morning) but they didn't have any slots, so I guess I just have to keep going somehow.  I may take STD if this fatigue continues and gets worse though.  If it gets worse, I don't think I'll be able to function.

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  • mixin
    mixin Member Posts: 48
    edited September 2010

    I'm almost 2 months out from rads and I'm still not 100%. I think we sometimes expect a lot of our bodies, considering what all we go through with our diagnosis.

    My treatments were also in the morning and for the first 3 weeks, I walked prior to going to try to get my head in the right place. I did notice walking was more difficult after a treatment than before.

    An afternoon slot will probably be helpful for you; also, try to do something pleasant for yourself each day... anything to keep your spirits up. 

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