3 weeks post rads still tired?

Hi All

Am I being daft? I’m almost 3 weeks post rads and I am feeling worse now than I did then, my skin especially around the nipple has peeled so much and is so sore and I am so tired all the time. I was expecting to feel a lot more like my old self by now but even the simplest bit of gardening knackers me out. I can’t even summon up the enthusiasm to go down the town. Can anyone tell me how long it took for them to feel even a little bit better?

I’m sorry ladies I am feeling so pathetic and sorry for myself but I can’t seem to snap out of it. I tried to stop taking the anti depressants as well as I wanted to know if I could cope without them but have gone back on them albeit only one every couple of days as I was even worse without them.

phillippa x

radiotherapy can cause fatigue long after you have finished treatment i am more tired now 6 weeks since i finished rads so just snooze when i can…

dont stop your ADs without speaking to your doc first… im waiting til i go back to work before i stop mine.

hope your feeling better soon… remember to be nice yourself too

Lxx

Hi Lulu

thanks for telling me that you too are still tired and you are even further ahead than I am, at least now I know its not just me.

I have to see my GP next week as my sick note runs out, but I honestly can’t see myself coping with work at the moment just because of the tiredness…oh and I’m still bra less because of my sore skin so that also puts me off going back!

x

Hi Phillippa

It can take ages to get back to normal. Listen to your own body and don’t push yourself too hard.

Take Care,
AlexG

everybody is different and takes a different time to recover… some people work all the way through treatment where other may take months to feel able to cope with going back.

it can also depend on what job you do, how far away it is, whether you work shifts etc

im going back on a phased return and many employers will be able to facilitate this for you… im probably going to do 2 half days the first week, my biggest challenge is going to be the 2 hour commute i think.

Lxx

My employers are going to let me do a phased return, I’m still scared of going back though it seems such a long time since I was there.
x

yeah me too not been at work for 10 1/2 months and only going to be back a few weeks til i leave as i have a new job… so will be learning a new role too in about a months time.

scary and exciting all at the same time.

Lxx

Hi gals

I start my rads this Thursday. I’ve read your posts with interest. I expect to be tired but I really hope not for too long. My occ health doc has said I’ll be fit for work by the end of April (after rads) so I shall take a couple of weeks leave then. I’m on a phased return too but, as work as a nurse, I’m worried that even this will be too stressful and too soon. Can’t take any more sick leave as due to go on half pay; can’t afford that as on my own. I’m sure I will cope but could scream sometimes, I JUST WANT MY LIFE BACK!!

Julia xx

i finished rads at the end of january and i feel rubbish for a lot of the time, mainly fatigue but some of it i really just cant be bothered at the mo.
sue

Hi there just wanted to add that I think is much more common than we are led to believe ‘post rads fatigue’ I was also taken aback by this delay especially as you think you have passed the ‘test’ with min tiredness. It really can take the wind out of your sails and they really dont warn us about it at all and it comes as a nasty shock. It does improve but oh so slowly. For all you girls going back to work or blitzing the garden TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACKS ( yes I know I’m shouting but have just returned on a phased return and although office bound and not teaching have managed to pull mine. but it’s to be expected as we have all had a long period of sitting about. Finished my rads mid Feb and still get bouts of fatigue ( instant like someone has dumped a bucket full of tiredness on to me), I think that it’s a combination of 'post rads and Tamoxofen but sooo hope it passes soon.

Thank you so much of all you for your replies they have made me see that I am not being daft when I thought that I should be up on my feet and feeling ‘normal’ when all I really want to do is lay on the sofa and sleep!!!

Sue quite agree with you about not wanting to do anything at the moment, anything and everything is such an effort.

I shall just have to listen to my body and rest when it wants me to.

phillippa x

That sounds like good advice but we’re all very keen to feel ‘normal’ again that we push ourselves too much and compare ourselves to others!!!
Hope you can listen to your body and rest appropriately and avoid that awful W**K word. It puts pressure on everyone to run before we’ve actually managed to work out how to get out of the chair…!!!
Small steps, Phillippa.

Can’t believe I’ve just written what I have, because I’m knackered with pain fatigue and feel so guilty that every aspect of my life is in CHAOS! Pot, kettle and black come to mind. Lol!!!

Sorry you’re feeling so weary and down.
It will pass, but do pace yourself.

Welsh girl x

Hi Welsh girl

I can’t believe what a roller coaster I have had the last few weeks, I swing from being up beat and fine to being at the bottom of a very steep hill that I can’t even start to climb up!

So yes small steps seems to be the only way to go, don’t fancy taking even those this morning as I have just got up and seen the awful weather!

So sorry to hear that you are still in so much pain, you need to take it easy as well!

phillippa x

I am 6 weeks post rads tomorrow and I am feeling worse than ever. I think it is the Tamoxifen as I’m getting bad night sweats and aching joints that stop me from sleeping peacfully too.

I’m going to see my GP again this morning to discuss my strategy for when I see the onc on the 12th April. I am determined that he won’t be able to fob me off with platitudes about how the side effects are evidence that the drug is working better. Feeling like this for the next 4 years and 8 months (I am counting) is not an acceptable option. My job is IT sales and I need energy and enthusiasm as I am dealing with clients all day and I have targets to meet or I don’t earn my commission.

It is so frustrating trying to explain this to my colleagues as they all thought (as I did) that the rads treatment was really the home straight. I have never felt like this in my life before and I hate not being able to just give myself a talking to and get over it.

Sorry to moan.

E x

Mandeville- I started back on my phased return yesterday & was so nervy & emotional as the time approached. It wasn’t easy so I won’t pretend it was, but it’s done & I coped. I know you will too.

Lulu-I did feel like you that I hadn’t been at work for so long, it felt very scary to go back. There have been changes while I’ve been away, some people aren’t there any longer, it’s a lot to get used to. Maybe the new job will be easier, as your new colleagues won’t have any pre-conceived ideas of you. These will be people who will only know 1 ‘you’, not the ‘before’ & ‘after’. That could be quite exciting. What do you think ?

Rancidtart-1 thing I really have hated all the way through is having to think about money & benefits & whether I’ll have enough to live on etc. I know there have to be rules & systems, but it’s such a pain to have to cope with it all when you’ve worked & paid tax all your life, & just when you’re least able to do it. And it’s all so complicated ! I found McMillan Benefits were great, an advisor came to the house several times, did all the forms for me & helped me every step of the way.

Love to all x

I am almost 2 years post-rads and can recall being fatigued for months afterwards, it does get better but you do need to have to listen to your body and do what it is telling you. I was very lucky to be fit enough to work through my treatment but to be honest I think in hindsight I should really have taken some time off … part of it was me being determined not to appear a wuss … there is a bit of a mis-conception that compared to chemo rads are a walk in the park, and as such I was not determined to carry on working.

Part of the fatigue/tiredness I think does come from the tamoxifen (hate to tell you but 2 years down the line I am still troubled with disturbed sleep pattern) but I think there are a few issues that come after treatment is finished … I personally felt safe when I was going to the hospital every day and being zapped, once I was on my own I started to wonder how long before cancer jumped out of every doorway and got me again. There is also the fact that you now have time to think about all that has happened to you, during treatment you are too busy dealing with all the hospital visits and the side effects of treatments etc, you are very busy for months on end with hospital visits and the other stuff that you need to do so when that all stops and you get a chance to have a breather and gather your thoughts it hits you like a brick.

Only thing I can advise is don’t push it … take your time and things do get better.

J

Hi everyone
not been on threads much because so sleepy - its a relief that others are feeling this way (sorry!) because I feel such a wuss! my armpit is burned more badly than I had thought would happen and is more or less a big open wound, not deep but the whole area, so am trying keep that open to the air during the night, then get cold after night sweats and have to cover up - its like a 3 ring circus in bed at night, and I’m the clown!I try not to wear anything next to the area during the day, so often just stay in bed and read. I just want it to heal up as quickly as poss so that I can start to get fit again.
Been to work to discuss a return on a part time basis, which is looking OK so far, but I’ve told them not to expect me back before late summer - I am giving myself some time off to feel really well before I launch back into the fray!
Lilacblushes, I think you are so right about dealing with the implications and emotional side of what has happened after treatment is finished - while its ongoing you just get thro it and its afterwards when you have time for the other stuff to sink in. That definitely happened to me first time around, felt horribly alone and isolated - the only 2 people I knew with bc died, and nobody could ‘get’ what I was feeling, plus I had some survivor guilt so just shut up about it. Took a long time to get myself together, and I am a strong character! I am deliberately giving myself time this time around, and reflecting on the lessons from last time!
I hope you are all feeling OK at present, the burns will heal and the tiredness will lessen, and the summer will eventually get here and hopefully make things feel better! Got to be kind to ourselves and keep talking, I’m sure thats a big help!
love to you all
monica x

Hi ladies , I finished my 25 sessions last friday . The relief at not having to travel to and from the hospital every day ! The bus rides last week , well I was falling asleep . On the tuesday , I had a 10am appointment at a different hospital , to get there I left home at 7.15 ,again , while waiting to be called , I closed my eyes in the waiting room and was practically gone .
Now I´m still dithering about starting letrozole . I´m so tired , so stiff when I get up , plus flushes and sweats .
Saw the onc lasr week , and tried to talk to him about red clover , evening primrose , magnets ,vitamin D . He did´nt want to know , just tuned me out . I think , silly as it may seem , that was my lowest point . To be treated as a silly menopausal woman . It upset me dreadfully ,still does , but I think thats taking my mind off all the other things .

Well second try at posting this! I’m so glad of this thread - it makes me feel not so alone with this tiredness thing.
Right girls gotta problem!!

Having returned to work on a phased return I’ve managed to do an extra hour today and plan to do it again tomorrow but my enthusiasm has waned abit because of another returnee who was also off with a serious illness and she wont shut up about it. Every given opportunity she will introduce it into the conversation and to be honest I’m there to get back to a ‘normal life’ . I’ve got nothing left to give anyone emotionally at the moment I feel so drained in that area . Yes I know your all proberly thinking ‘What a selfish old bag’ and your proberly right. .So how would you deal with this one

Hi Lazydaisy

Maybe she hasn’t had anyone to talk her illness through with so is still working things out for herself and finds talking about it helps??

The only thing I can think of is to say something like ‘If I talk too much about my illness can you let me know as I’m sure people must be getting fed up listening to me all the time’ maybe she will get the hint that it might be something she is doing as well??

phillippa x