Hi all briefly I have a gist adenocarcinoma and a stomach stent ..I am a week into chemo and immunotherapy and a bit confused. I have had a lot of discomfort nausea ect and totally wiped out that's the physical , however I have had no inclination to engage in anything becoming bored and feelining depressed and doing nothing but sleep just to pass the time ...my support team have been following me very closely .But today I was so down I slept nearly all day from 11am till 5pm...I woke up and felt 'different' it was as if a switch had been thrown , I felt so different I was engaged had a good meal , I even went for the a drive ...in fact I feel so well I am thinking off thinking of having a day out ...but I am scared that this will change and I will fall back into the doldrums again ...can anyone relate to this state of mind what can I do to keep good , does this seem weird, I would much rather feel like I do now ...ps I already take a low dose of sertraline , would a word with team to increase the dose be beneficial...
Hi UKmartian
I am sorry to hear that you have been having treatment for stomach cancer.
My chemo was for endometrial cancer in 2022. I personally think that chemo effects are mainly physical but there is definitely a mental aspect to them. I also had low days as you are describing. With me sometimes this seemed to be around when the steroid dose was dropped- after the first cycle I was put on a tapering dose and this helped. I wonder if it is worth asking if this may help you.
My sleep was also affected, partly again to the steroids but also due to pain medication. I would find that the first couple of days I would have the worst symptoms- nausea, tiredness etc and then would have a few better days.
I found pacing myself helped- so for the first couple of days, I slept a lot and just went with the flow really. The first week was about resting and not doing a lot. By the second week I would start feeling better and tried to do something each day- so go for a walk, pop to the shops, meet a friend. I found if i over did it I would go back to the first week experience and would become very overtired, achy and flu like feelings.
By the third week I would be able to do more. I also found filling in the diary they give you helpful as my symptoms tended to repeat on each cycle.
It is also worth calling your cancer helpline and going through how you are feeling as I found mine helpful. Sometimes it was just to be told that things were normal and to be expected- but that reassurance helped. Another thing to think about is what your bloods are doing. I found on a couple of cycles I felt quite low and when my bloods were done I needed a blood transfusion as was very low in haemoglobin and I also had low levels of magnesium. After being given supplements, I did pick up a bit.
With your sertraline it would be a good idea to talk this through with you doctor- it may be that due to the cancer and treatment that they need to look at amending the dose for a short while.
If you feel chatting things through would help, then please do give the Support Line a call. The details are below.
I wish you well with your treatments and hope that you can get some support with the side effects.
Jane
