—when to go back to work
—when to go back to work — I have finished my rads two weeks ago, sighing a sigh of relief. Am due to visit gp at the end of this week for my monthly Zoladex jab and to discuss my sick note! I have a feeling that he will like me to return to work, but i am still feeling very run down and tired. I seem to have about three good days where i feel OK then wham i go down with aches and pains and no energy. someone tell me this is normal!! and when did you ladies go back to work? I feel i would like a few more weeks of chill out time. I am planning to go back to work for mornings only as i know i could not work full time yet.
Hi Gracie I finished radiotherapy at the end of April last year and am still not back at work. I still get very very tired - my GP thinks it is a reaction to tamoxifen and not still because of radiotherapy.
I lost my job (I had only done 2 days when I was diagnosed!) and am struggling to get motivated to start a new career.
A lot of people go back to work much sooner than I have - I do feel more than a bit of a wimp at times.
My GP said that the tiredness from radiotherapy would take several months to go - although I was aware that it was slowly improving.
My personal opinion is not to rush back to work. I felt that the trauma of having cancer didn’t really hit me until after I had finished treatment - I think this contributes to the tiredness.
We are all different though and I know that for some people going back to work is good because it brings a level of normality back.
I would be very surprised if your doctor felt that you should return to work at this early stage. I was initially very worried about that - the school I had just started at was initially keeping my job open and I thought I was going to have to go back shortly after rads. My GP was great and said that I would be crazy to go back to a new job so soon. She said that it would be bad enough trying to get back into a job that I had been in for 10 years but to start a new career was unthinkable.
Take care of yourself.
Love
bjj
— —only you know how you feel if you are not ready then take more time,i had mastec in nov05 followed by rads which finished 3 weeks ago i am going back next week but only for 2hours a day in mornings and only 3mornings a week,in local school,xxx dippy
—Not on your own —Hi Gracie
Me to only just finished rada 4 weeks ago and not feeling to good yet still get very tired but have got myself back in to the gym and haveing some time to myself. I am not going back to work untill June it will then be 12 months after op chemo & rads. So my advice is you will know yourself when you are ready and do not be pushed into going back to soon. Nice to read your posting because I thought it was me only having some good days and then bad ones so I suppose it must be normal.
JanetS
—thanks for replys — funny bjj that you said you worked in a school, thats me too! just the thought of 32 eight year olds at the moment makes me more tired.
i know i am not ready yet and that i will be exhausted but there seems alot of expectation from everyone else. I think you are right about the fact that you start to come to terms with cancer after all the treatment, its like suddenly you have the time to really take it all in, and then its very scary!!! thanks love gracie
When to go back to work Hi Gracie,
I finished radiotherapy on the 14 Jan 2004 and went back to work at the beginning of March 2004. (I’m self employed and run training courses - it isn’t the sort of job when you can sit down and take it easy if you get tired.)
I definitely went back a couple of weeks too early and, as a result, became exhausted.
I think you should take a few more weeks to chill out if that is what you feel you need to do. Talk to the GP about this but don’t let yourself be bullied into going back too early.
Best wishes,
Sue
— —Hi - I think I must have been seriously potty. 4 days after my Rads (23 sessions) I started a new job!
I have to say I was seriously tired, mentally as much as physically, & was rather surprised, with my medical history that I didnt get an occupational health interview & yes! I work for the NHS!
I was also bothered about my ‘looks’ My shoulder length blonde hair had disappeared with chemo, as had my eyebrows and eyelashes. The hair which was serioulsy GI Jane short at the time had grown back completely white, so I felt about as appealing as a lab rat!
Needless to say I struggled on with the job, not wanting to give in. I have to say it was nice being treated like a normal person (even though I didnt feel it) and it certianly gave me something else to think about. i gradually statred going out for longer and longer walks at lunchtime, and then went for a swim after work. It was good to feel a little energy coming back. The big next step was to return to my horsey hobby. I had to have my horse put down last november whilst I was still having rads (more horrible days!) I decided to take a horse on loan in Feb, and ‘do it all myself’ as well as working 9-4. I have to say I have never felt so tired in all my life, but, slowly, I got fitter, lost weight (yes, even on Tamoxifen) almost lost the hot flushes (now just a warm moment) cannot now describe how much energy I have and how well i feel - almost bursting out of my skin! It seems that the more I do, the more I can do, and I am so very very glad now, in hindsight that I did push myself a bit - still having a ‘do it family’ really helped.
My advice to all thinking about returning to work is go! - see if you can have a phased return, and just paddle along until you feel you can take on a bit more. Oh it was really awful to start with, but it is surprising how quickly the time seems to go, and then the wonderful realisation that you havent thought about your condition for an hour - a day - a week (thats not to say it doesnt rear its ugly head) - so please, please, give something else a go, and then look back after a month and see how you feel compared to the first week - I bet you’ll be thrilled with yourself!
Love to all, and keep on going!
Back to work Hi Gracie
Yes its normal. My radiation finsihed mid Jan, am on tamoxifen. I just started back to work this week, part time. I went into a bit of decline emotionally after treatment finished which is apparently normal. I slowly got myself exercising again, small amounts of pilates/walking and found that helped with my tiredness. I turned a good emotional corner about 5 weeks ago, which was helped by 2 weeks in Tobago relaxing.
You will know yourself if you are the sort of person who will respond to distraction or whether you need more time to work through your feelings and symptoms, some of which will probably be emotional. I am ready for the distraction and normaility now, but a month ago was not.
Try to forget other peoples expectations (easier said than done I know!), as this is about you and how you feel not others who know nothing of what you have been through. Often peoples expectations are not as high as you think, I am constantly being told by friends and colleagues to take it slow and easy.
Good luck.