Fatigue

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peverson
peverson Member Posts: 55
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer

After 7 months of surgery, chemo, and (just finished) radiation, I have no energy. All that I want to do is lie in bed. Anybody else have to deal with this? Solutions? HELP! And I have more surgery in a couple of months.

Patsy

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  • Paula1231
    Paula1231 Member Posts: 456
    edited October 2010

    Hi Patsy

    I am sure all the trauma is taking its toll.  Have you had a CBC recently?  You could have a bit of anemia.  I know it sounds silly, but B Stress Complex helps to rev me up.  Also, it could be that your body intuitively wants to rest so it can take you thru the surgery.  Check in with the primary care doc and let them know how you feel.  They can help prescribe things to get your energy back.

    Take good care of yourself.  Paula

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited August 2013

    peverson: Fatigue is an extremely common side effect of both radiation and chemotherapy. There is no specific cure or treatment, except a combination of things, but, as Paula says, definitely check with your doctor anyway because there may be specific factors (such as low WBC) that could be individually addressed. Your body is still recovering from being poisoned and burned, remember, and that is no small feat. Why some people feel more than others is unknown.

    Fatigue is one of the most pervasive and little understood components of cancer treatment and it hits every person differently. Here are two brochures on cancer fatigue and what to do about it:

    From the National Cancer Institute: 

    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/fatigue/patient/allpages

    and.... 

    From the American Cancer Society: 

    http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/002842-pdf.pdf

    Edited to say: arggghh - I don't know how to make my links clickable - sorry. You can just cut and paste onto y0our browser window. 

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  • maltomlin
    maltomlin Member Posts: 343
    edited October 2010

    Hi perverson

    It's still early days for you yet. The treatment takes lot out of you and it takes a while for your body to recover. Chemo & rads are powerful stuff!

    Go easy on yourself. I'm nearly 2 years from the end of rads and although I felt better gradually over the first year, I would say that it's only the last year that I feel more back to my 'old self'.

    The first year I still felt the fatigue and had to have regular naps, but without noticing gradually over the last year, I would say I'm 99% back to how I was. The other 1% is my memory!! My energy levels are back and I'm feeling good.

    It takes time for most of us.

    Mal x

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  • CoolBreeze
    CoolBreeze Member Posts: 4,668
    edited October 2010

    I'm 7 months past chemo and will finish herceptin next month.  I am extremely tired too.  I go to work, come home and sleep.  My husband is still cooking dinner or bring in take out - I just have zero energy for anything but work.

    We are going out to dinner for my oldest son's birthday tonight and the thought is "how can I do it" rather than "How fun, I'm going out with my son!"

    I'm stll not even close to being back to my normal self.  I'm scheduled for exhange surgery in November, and with that and the end of herceptin, I hope I start improving.

    You are not alone.

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  • althea
    althea Member Posts: 1,595
    edited August 2013

    Fatigue can be a symptom of many things, and it was my constant companion for way longer than I want to think about.  In my case, I believe rads knocked my thyroid out of whack, and I'm not sure it was ever in top notch condition in my lifetime.  The list of hypothyroid symptoms is lengthy, and many symptoms overlap with symptoms of other problems, like fatigue.  I think one symptom that can single out hypothyroidsim the best is taking your body temperature.  If it's consistently below normal, you probably have underactive thyroid.  If it's below normal and fluctuates, that would lean toward adrenal fatigue. 

    One of the biggest problems with hypothyroidism is finding a doctor who will help.  I couldn't find a doctor worth a copay where I live.  I've spent over 2 years now learning about thyroid health, and truly, it's like the thyroid is the ugly stepchild hidden away in the attic.  I wonder if it gets any coverage at all in medical school beyond telling students where it's located.

    Also bear in mind that 7 months really is just the beginning of all the recovery you'll do for the treatments you received.  I think for me I knew my fatigue was more than just regular recovery time because usually people can be tired and do things anyway.  For me, being tired was a dealbreaker.  I could barely get out of bed.  I had no stamina.  And worst of all, I had no drive, no ambition, no ability to achieve much of anything.  

    Here's a good place to start learning about thyroid health:
    http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

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