Still tired 6 weeks after surgery

Going through breast cancer treatment Surgery
1

Hello all

I am 6 weeks post op. I had a DCIS lump removed combined with breast reduction by about 4 sizes. It all went smoothly. 

The wound is healing well with no complications other than the odd dissolvable close-to-skin stitch making its way out of me as a small pimple thing. Also a bit of tethering under my arm which is getting better.

I didn’t do well after the anesthetic. I had sickness (essentially motion sickness) and nausea which took 3 weeks to go away - it was the worst part. And I get worse than ever travel sickness now.

I suffer from chronic constipation, but after surgery I had the most horrendous constipation I’ve ever suffered - thought I’d end up in a&e. Took 3 weeks for that to settle down

Since surgery my resting heart rate has gone up by 12 points and my blood pressure has dropped a little. This still persists. 

I’ve had to stop hrt and now getting 10-15 hot flushes daily. 

I was run down before surgery. In spring I had a weird viral illness that persisted for over 2 months, followed immediately by my second bout of covid. I’ve got hair loss as a result.

On top of this my house picked its moment to cause significant problems - a leaking roof and dishwasher leak that wrecked the flooring. So I’m dealing with this which is quite demanding. 

I feel I’m healing pretty well even if it’s  frustratingly slow sometimes. It’s all generally improving and I’m getting there. 

My good friend has recently taken to saying I should be better than I am by now and back at bridge etc. 

I wondered what others experiences are and if I’m particularly slow to be getting my energy back? 

I am making the odd trip to the shops and the odd coffee in town with friends. But get tired and can’t face things like bridge which is about 3 hours socialising. 

Also wouldn’t be surprised if my energy takes another hit after Radiotherapy. 

Sorry about the long post but thought the background important. 

2

Hello @Janxxx  

I’m sorry to hear that you are struggling 

From what you have said it doesn’t surprise me that you are not feeling great even now.
I’m sure your friend has the best of intentions in trying to encourage you to start participating in your bridge 4 but saying you “should” is (in my opinion at least!) just not on! We are all different, we all react in our own ways to our treatments and “should” suggests you are being compared and we are individuals 

There is no getting away from receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment is utterly exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally: it doesn’t matter what size your tumour is and what treatment you have, you are the person going through it and you are the person that has to manage it. 

I would suggest that you continue to take each day as it comes and enjoy the days when you are feeling a bit more up for things but don’t feel bad for feeling bad on the days you aren’t: many people describe it as being on a rollercoaster and I think that is very apt. 

I finished my radiotherapy 12 months ago and whilst I am less fatigued than I was then I still get the odd day when I feel wiped and I have had to learn to accept this and adapt certain aspects of my life accordingly 

You body is still very much in healing mode at the moment even though you can’t necessarily see or feel anything and your body’s energy is still working hard to make you better

I hope this helps, and wishing you all the best for your continued recovery and your ongoing treatment 

AM xxx