3 weeks post treatment and so darn tired….but glad to be post treatment and mostly pain free

Hello Deb

A huge dose of patience coming your way.  I was so astonished on how you were doing so much I commented on an earlier reply of yours.  Seriously, convenience foods all the way, if you feel you need to sleep, stop and sleep.  You are recovering from a marathon, not a sprint.  I am almost a year down the line and I still sleep for 9 - 10 hours a night.  Your body is in overdrive trying to recover from the chemo/radiotherapy and you need to lie back and let it do the work whilst you rest.  I am really sorry if you have to work, but if you don't, now is the time to cherish yourself and embrace the healing.

Sending you lots of healing and patience!

Irene xx

YOu're so far ahead of the game already, just barely 3 weeks out and back to work and cooking???? I was still prostrate and moaning and waving a hand for my devoted swain to fetch me another bottle of Ensure at this point. 

I'm in the 'wait and be patient' camp. Along with carry-out or shove-in-the-microwave food. You're a dynamo!

Hugs

Suz

Clearly I need a devoted swain!!!   Thanks.,  this encourages me to just give it time!  

Thanks so much Irene.   I think I’m actually gonna pull back on work hours next week to get more recovery time!   

Hi Deb (DebButterflies ),

You're doing incredibly well for being just 3 weeks post treatment. My treatment side effects peaked around 11 days after my last radiotherapy session but after that things moved on pretty quickly for me & I was really surprised how quickly the healing process happened but as you’re finding the fatigue was a different matter. I went back to work part-time 5-6 weeks after finishing my treatment but felt pretty exhausted on my days off. I tended to eat things that needed little preparation during that time such as salmon & veg etc.,  & my slow cooker was my best friend, I’d just throw everything in first thing when my energy was better & boom a meal at teatime with little effort. As you’ll already know fatigue is a completely different animal to run of the mill tiredness, you just can’t push through fatigue. When the fatigue hit my legs would literally turn to lead & I had no option but to stop & rest but these episodes just gradually got further & further apart & as they did I built up my stamina again. You’ll get there.

Nicola 

Hey Deb!

So great to hear your immune indicators have bounced back so quickly!  It really sounds like you’re healing fast.  The fatigue is real and normal…our house did a lot of takeout meals for a few weeks after treatment ended!  I think just being consistent about rest, eating well, water, and activity as I was able was all really helpful to me…I realized gradually that I was doing more and more, while needing less and less “down time.”  I’m still very particular about a good bedtime, though!

Best wishes that your recovery continues to be smooth!

Red

Oh Suz…”devoted swain”…I’m stealing that.  You crack me up!

Thanks so much, Nicola.  It's honestly helpful to be reminded that this is expected.  I think a big part of my frustration this past week has just been expecting to be less tired than I am.  Letting go of expectation and just dealing with what is seems like my most useul next step.  :-)   It's hard not to look at the bloodwork and think...OK!  I should be back to normal!  But there is lots of invisble healing still happening..... that doesn't show up in the blood work. 

Thanks Red!  Conistent on rest, eating well, water and activity sounds like just the rigth approach.  Really appreciate it!!

Yes, absolutely the bloodwork doesn’t show the whole picture.  It was very, VERY rare, throughout my entire treatment plan, for my bloods to be out of range.  In fact, it wasn’t until the end of my last round of chemo that I saw any abnormal bloodwork at all.  Then during radiation, immune indicators dropped more, but then rebounded very quickly.  Still, there was (and possibly still is for me) a lot of healing that had to happen.  I’m guessing it may be the same for you.  I felt like at least good bloodwork meant I was on my way, if not *there* yet.  Hour by hour, day by day, you’ll get there!

Best,

Red