Wish I wasn't so depressed.
Hey all. I was diagnosed with ILC/LCIS in July and had a BMX in August. I sailed through the surgery and was back at work in a month. Piece of cake I told everyone. And at the time, I really thought so, too. I felt sooooo happy/lucky that it was caught early. This feeling stuck around for a little while, but then I started sinking into a funk. I hate it. Why couldn't that feeling of gratitude stuck around for a little longer? Now, I'm feeling so many things. I'm angry, I'm afraid, I'm sad...so sad. I just HATE that instead of celebrating, I'm suffering. I'm not the person I was just a few short months ago and I HATE that this has changed me. I try to put a positive spin on all of it, but right now, my life is really hard. I do plan on going back to therapy and it probably wouldn't hurt to get started on a second antidepressant. I know that others have/are feeling the same way, but I'm wondering whether this sadness will fade in time. I join the many other women on here that want to scream "I want my old life back!" but I can't get it back. And I guess that I'll just have to learn to live with this, but for now, it sucks with a capital S.
Comments
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This is a very common phenomenon..... can you speak to a Counsellor perhaps? When in treatment we are in survival mode but afterwards we need to start processing what has happened.....it takes time. A cancer diagnosis is traumatic....be kind to yourself, you will start to find peace.....but it really does need time.....
Xx
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Are you taking any antihormonal? Tamoxifen depresses me a lot
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Thank you, Lily. It feels very isolating.I know it’s all part of the process, but knowing that doesn’t make it easier.
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Hey Euph. No, not taking anything. Being in a funk is exhausting, isn’t it? Uggg.
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arizona - did you not have chemo or radiation after your surgery? If you get a minute, do go to My Profile and post your diagnosis and treatment so we can better understand. If you already posted, you need to make it public.
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I didn’t have chemo. Tumor was tiny. It couldn’t have gotten any better. I do feel wicked lucky, but it’s accompanied with sadness and a bunch of other feelings
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I think you are normal.....or we're all crazy. I would sometimes feel depressed, and everyone is different, but I would go to bed and mope for a day. After that I felt a bit better and could face the world again. If your depression hangs on and you can't shake it, go for help, a lot of cancer doctors office know of cancer councilors that can help you.
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Hello Arizona and everyone,
I get it, Arizona, I really do. I've had DCIS 3X since 1998. Left, Right, then right again. I had a double mx in 2016 followed by 2 years of reconstruction. Overall feeling great. Walked a half marathon 6 months out and 5-5ks therafter.
Then, I recently hit a wall. I got fired after my last surgery upon my return from medical leave. I was out for 6 months looking for work. Lost insurance, my daily routine, and money, lots of it, however, I had more time to rest. I cranked up my hobbies of painting and piano playing.
Now, this month December, I'm up for check ups. Then EVERYTHING started to flood me. I will NEVER be the same person I was. Never. That's ok. I'm a new person inside and out. Breast cancer changes things. A lot of things. It's also made me appreciate many things!
Fear kicks in from time to time but to me after a diagnosis, that's just plain normal. I currently feel free. This time of year dredges it all up for me!
I haven't been to a support group meeting in ages as aside from getting a new job 1 month ago, I'm nearing completion in a course of study in a few weeks.
I'm tired. I feel a little overwhelmed and I wish I was back to my original factory setting but that can't be. I keep on keepin' on. I'm a bad ass in striped pajamas! (Hey, I just made that up! Lol...) It's good I reached out to those who get it. To carry this burden IS a burden but I also carry the light of love, laughter, and hope! Some days it all just gets to me and you know what? It's ok! You're not alone, Arizona!!
Some days I'm the dog and other days I'm the hydrant! Thanks for letting me share this! I was busting!!
Love and hugs..
PeppermintPatti
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Meant to say I currently feel FEAR! The word FREE popped out! Look at that!
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Thanks for your kind thoughts, Misty and Peppermint! PP...you badass in striped jams. That's great. Sometimes that's all we can do is keep on keeping on; there's a TON to be said for that. I guess I do the same. Thanks for the cyber love and hugs...I wish you the same, especially during this tough month. Hang tight!
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I feel you. Mine was caught early too. I look basically the same except a little less fit. I was laughing and smiling through treatment.
And today, 3 months later, I am sitting at my kitchen table at 3pm wearing my bathrobe and non matching socks b/c I could not be bothered to get dressed. I work from home often so that is no problem - except that I am a person who puts on full makeup and gets dressed in real clothes even when I work in the house. Half the time shaving my legs or walking my dog is too much for me - such an effort to do things that I did before without even thinking - even during treatment!
My house is a mess and doing any little chore is so hard. I watch episodes of Hoarders now and I think that I understand how someone can just toss garbage on the floor of their house and just stop thinking about it. Before cancer I could not even picture how someone could do that. My house is not at that state of course, but it is messier than normal. My husband keeps saying "well, you had cancer, give yourself a break". But it is only getting harder.
My depression and sadness are getting worse. I am seeing a therapist, I am in a support group (which is arguably not helping), I am exercising. The sadness is not from the Tamoxifen I don't think. The sadness is from the cancer diagnosis. It's sadness and shock. I know I have to accept that I had(have?) cancer but it seems like I can't.
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Aw, Mitzi. I'm so sorry to read this. Depression just sucks. I'm also someone who never spends the day in jams, yet here I am. I actually spent part of the morning in bed, which I never, ever do. I'm glad that you're seeing a therapist and that you're working out. And even if the support group isn't helping, you're making an effort. Maybe you need something else? This morning, in my neverending attempt to help myself rise about all this, I rolled some ideas around in my head and thought that I might try a yoga/aromatherapy class, or try to find a healing drum circle. Or maybe a kickboxing class. Of course, when you're feeling like crap, just dragging the vacuum around the house takes everything you've got, right?! But I know that I have to at least try. Do you think you could ask your oncologist about switching to something besides tamoxifen? It may not be the sole reason for your depression/sadness, but it may be adding to it. And yes, I get the sadness. It's really heavy and I hate it. LOL...I've been grappling with the had/have question as well. (Although I am always sure to say that I HAD cancer!) I'm concerned that you feel like things are getting harder, though. Are you taking any antidepressants? They've helped me a lot in the past and I've just started back up on them and am awaiting a call back from my therapist. I'm throwing everything I can muster the energy to throw at this damn thing. Please feel free to reach out via this site or in a private message and we can talk about anything that feels right to you. You hang in there, my friend. This, too, shall pass. xx
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Thank you Arizonaboundgal. I did talk about going on antidepressants but the therapist doesn't want me to yet. With me, there's past trauma at play. I was sexually abused as a child and cancer really brought all of that up again. I did a lot of work on those feelings in past and I feel that cancer set me back 20 years. I think this is really my issue. It's a very hard one to confront.
I do want to sign up for a BollyX workout class I used to enjoy, but it starts next month. Maybe I should just sign up now so I know I have it to look forward to?
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First you need this...(())
So, no meds as to not mask the feelings that come up? I'd probably be insistent; you don't want to get to a place where you can't function. It sounds like even a starter dose might help a bit.
Heck, sign up for BollX now!
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I feel the same way. I feel broken.
I am past a mastectomy and half-way through chemo, looking down the barrel of radiation and reconstruction, so I still have a ways to go. Oh. And 10 years of RX.
I have been crying everyday, usually multiple times a day -- a good cry in the shower, one or two before work and I round out the day with a cry at night. Things have gotten really bad. I can't see past my tears. I literally feel like I am on the verge of tears all day long.
I'm just so sad for myself. I'm mourning my old life. The one a normal 30-something year old is supposed to have with a new husband. I'm angry and confused and upset and ... just sad.
I hope it gets better, but I can't stop crying long enough to figure out when or how.
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Thank you Arizonaboundgal. Today was very hard. I'm very hesitant to take anything b/c I did before and I did not like it. I run two businesses and volunteer and that is all doing really well, so I'm not doing that bad. It's just that I am normally VERY high functioning and I don't sit around in my bathrobe - although I do have some cool bathrobes - I just got a new one that is pink crushed velvet. I'm hiring a cleaning person I decided since that is the aspect of life I am finding hardest to deal with. I think I just need a break from it. We were actually in the middle of renovating when I got the diagnosis and literally dropped everything and it has been hard to catch up.
vmb - big hugs. Are you talking to anyone? I have to tell you that although I am not 100% now, I cried every day for a long time. I don't do that now. I have days where I don't think about cancer at all - but there are hard days mixed in like today. I met a woman when I was finishing up radiation who is a 30 year survivor. She told me that it will take some time to get past things, but that once we do, our lives will be so much better than they were before. Of course I wanted to slap her when she said this - but I am already starting to see this in my own life.
I was always a mega perfectionist and I would spend ages fretting over one brow hair out of place, a throw pillow not fluffy enough, a misspelled word in an email my colleague sent on my behalf. That part of my life ended with BC and that is a great gift! Now I don't notice these things and if I do, I do not care! I may not be happy every day, but I am certainly more relaxed in many ways. Oh, and I get mega excited about really little things and everyone laughs at me. I was not like that before - I was very jaded. I notice a renewed energy in that sense.
We have all faced a BIG thing. If I am going to be upset about something or scared of something - at least let it be A BIG THING. I listen to friends sometimes and I have to laugh to myself when I think THAT is what bothers you? There are so many small things in life that people worry over. I know b/c I certainly did. But why? Waste of energy. I need my energy for my BollyX class!
The good days are coming. I know they are for us all. I just wish they'd hurry up!
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I dont feel that you are depressed. You signed up here and started a whole post that does mean that you wish to overcome this depression and now that you have decided on it, you can achieve it as well. Emotions and feelings can be channwelized into something productive easily.All you need to do is to be a good girl for sometime by helping others. Remember how good we used to be fo Christmas? It's the same. Do good have good and e positive.
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I'm also wondering whether you're seeing someone, vmb. We do have to mourn to heal...I do understand that. (Although it doesn't make it suck any less.) This is all so new for all of us.
Mitzi. It's good that you can see that some good has come out of this. That's the balance, I guess. It's when we lose something and don't gain something that makes it suck. Some days, I feel like I can't seem to find the positive. Other days, I can see more clearly. My sister also had breast cancer 10 years ago and she helped me a ton after diagnosis, surge, etc. We have managed to stay much more connected. So I guess that's one of my silver linings, among many. And you're right to say that we all faced a big thing. Sometimes I feel like my cancer doesn't really count because I didn't have to go through what many others have had to endure. I even felt guilt for a while. But I've spent my life feeling guilty about way too many things and I refuse to any more.
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I haven't found that getting a cancer diagnosis of any sort requires a different reaction and feelings according to which type and stage one is diagnosed with.
Seems to be a issue or misconception? I don't know. Of course stage IV is devastating. Having a better prognosis does not totally eliminate the recurrence fears and you may as well throw in some survivors guilt. To me, cancer is cancer. No matter what kind or type. So many members here have all the same emotions. I too, believe what you are feeling is normal and it's good that you recognize it! I wish you the best.
BC is like the weather. Sometimes it's a complete storm, sometimes it's like being in a fog, and sometimes things are sunny and nice. We all know we can't control the weather, so I choose to just take each day as it comes and do the best I can, even on the bad days.
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ctmbsikia: Thank you for the comparison of BC to weather. It is a great simile and describes actually what my life has been like since diagnosis. We all have days where the weather is not to our liking and taking one day at a time offers hope for a better day.
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mitziandbubba know I shared before, same issues as you wrt childhood sexual abuse. I am back in counseling w/ a psychologist and dealing with that PTSD again. Frustrating beyond words and I'm angry that the two cancers stirred all this shit up.
She's using cognitive process therapy with me, which isn't what I did before. This is hard, very hard, and I do feel all the feelings, which sucks. But I think the only way out is through, even though I hate this with every non-cancerous cell in my body. HATE IT.
You're not alone.
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I totally get what you say about the "journey". I was diagnosed in 2009, had lumpectomy time 2, chemo that nearly killed me, radiation that stuck my breast tissue to my rib cage. I have had 2 lots of reconstruction surgery (My last 18 Dec 2019) which I h a ve had an infection and am having daily dressings to pack a 4cm cavity. My nipples have been relocated twice. I finished my arimadex (chemo tablets last week after 10 years.)
With what I am dealing with I am suffering. My partner says I'm beautiful but what I see is a nightmare.
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edj3 - "the only way out is through". Yup. I started EMDR therapy. I was very afraid to confront the past this way but I swear that it is already helping. I have a wonderful new therapist. I am so sorry we share these two things.
I started taking Tamoxifen in the morning vs 10pm which is what I had been doing and honestly, this seems to have helped my mood b/c I'm sleeping through the night now.
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I believe Winston Churchill said it best, “When you're going through Hell, keep walking!"
Whether you acknowledge it or not, when you decided to Treat your Breast Cancer, you consciously decided to keep living. Now you have to wade through.
The only decision left is what will make it easier for you to keep on. And you get to decide.
Believe me, I'm not preaching. I hit the wall. But climb over or walk around or dream a way out. You survived what kills
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Hey guys,
My sadness has manifested differently. 2019 was a whole cancer year for me. I was diagnosed in January of 2019. Went through 5 months of chemo, a mastectomy on 8/8 and rads in November. I will have reconstruction in the spring (now have a tissue expander). I am about to start hormone therapy, just got a Zoladex shot. I would fill out the profile for the bottom of my posts, but every time I try, I get upset and stop. While some people handle this mess by sitting and watching Netflix, I seem to find myself staying ridiculously busy ( I mean crazy busy). If I’m not at work, I’m cleaning or cooking or shopping or making something or writing emails. My husband was away and I almost painted a bathroom...it’s ridiculous! I do things until I collapse at night. Oh, and I’m crazy that everyone in my life is not ridiculously busy (God forbid anyone think about sitting down). Maybe it was the doing nothing during chemo and surgery, don’t know, but it’s ridiculous! I want the old me back too -
Laurencl, I can relate. I handled this by basically overloading myself with activity - and this is how I handle problems. I can count on my hand the number of times I actually sat and watched TV in the past few years. I make myself read, watch movies etc now. Like a normal person. Years ago, I had no issue with spending the whole day watching TV or with a book but somehow I became this Type A overachiever. I mean, I've always kind of been that way but the last few years I have gone turbo - three businesses, weight training until I pretty much broke myself with injuries from overtraining, volunteer work, hobbies, restoring old house, hobby farm - ridiculous amounts of stuff. I was training to be a foster parent before diagnosis and I'm hoping to do that next year. And I mean, we don't want to just be foster parents of one kid - my husband is talking already about extending the house so we can have four, five. Haven't been on a real vacation in years b/c I just feel like I must always be working. I'm trying in all ways, to dial back. Planning a MAJOR vacation already for 2021 - a 17 day cruise!
I think it is because I can't stand to sit with my feelings. Lately though, I have been trying to just let myself do nothing sometimes, and if feelings come up, I try not to hide from them. IDK if this is what you are dealing with, I'm just sharing my own experience.
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mitziandbuba
Yep! You get it! Type A turbo! Don’t want time to think. Thinking about it all is upsetting. Damn cancer commercials during the news are upsetting. Thinking about the reconstruction is upsetting and so I keep moving like a maniac and it is ridiculous
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I understand Mitziandbubba. About 3 weeks after my DMX, I was feeling so down thinking about how I could end it. I am depressed off hormones. I went to my PCP and asked for Welbutrin because it has worked for me in the past. Being off hormones is awful for me. I have been taking it for about 6 weeks. It is helping me. Mine I believe is situational depression. I started feeling better immediately with the antidepressant. I hope you feel better soon. This is very difficult time. Am doing radiation for the next 5 weeks, as I have already had 5 treatments. Some days I just say to myself "my life sucks". It is reality. Here's hoping you feel better soon
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Redhead403
During radiation, I did something nice for myself everyday. I would go at 11 am and after I would go to work. So before treatment, I would walk around a store, or get myself a coffee, or buy a nail polish, anything. Just something little to look forward to. May sound silly, but it got me through
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Thank you Laurencl I think it is just that I am so tired. Everything looks better when you feel rested. For the next 5 to 8 weeks, I expect this is the norm. I have already had eyelashes lol. I just want to be able to sleep for longer than 6 hours. My treatment is at 750 for the next week, go into work right after then I am going to afternoon, 310 for the duration of radiation. Will go into work at 6 am. So not much better We'll see how it works out. Also saw the ps yesterday and he said no matter what I will have damage to the radiated skin and implant, fibrosis. So in about 6 mos will have another surgery to fix both right and left one is the radiated one. I am overwhelmed and I am nurse. I should be able to do this
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