tiredness

Hi Florence2017,

My answer to your question is Yes !!!

I commenced Letrozole on 1/6/16 , the first day of Radiotherapy ( onc thought then it's an easier day to remember ). I still feel so very tired at times, aching joints etc. I am 66 and always been very active and it's difficult adjusting to it. My GP / Onc etc don't feel it's connected to the Letrozole and says that it takes a good 12-18 months to fully recover from this last years events. WLE/ full node clearance , 6 rounds Taxotere at 3 weekly intervals and on all 6 had hospital admission for 4-5 nights with neutropenic sepsis, then 15 rads. Yes it was sooooo difficult getting through the chemo, which totally wiped me out. Initially on Letrozole had terrible morning sickness, but was prescribed Cyclizine to take with the Letrozole at night and so much better. Wondering what treatment you have had and when . Sending best wishes , Mechele x

Hello Florence,

Yes! I have been taking Letrazole for just over 5 months now. I think I have been quite lucky so far (aside from one month with an awful brand) in that I have had some joint pain, but this has been mostly manageable, I have not felt depressed exactly and over the last 6 months I have managed to move house, largely on my own. But that said, I have an almost constant feeling of fogginess and a physical tiredness when my energy just suddenly vanishes and I mean totally – my limbs ache and I simply cannot move another step – I need to sleep a lot. But mostly I seem to need a lot of vacant time, staring at the fire, watching mindless TV, that kind of thing. Although I have lots of ideas in my head I can’t seem to translate any of these into action of any kind. When I say I’m not exactly depressed, I have an underlying sadness, I wake up tearful many mornings, I am afraid of course about the future and I still feel shocked by the last 7 months. But I think this is probably quite reasonable and not necessarily a symptom of depression. I don’t know if Letrazole is partly responsible or if it is just the after effects of the trauma of diagnosis/mastectomy/radiotherapy or both. I am trying to deal with this by simply giving in to it and not putting any more pressure on myself. But this is hard and I don’t manage it very well! I am an active person. I am lucky in that I am 63, I’m self-employed and have been able to give myself some time not working, although I hope to start again in the spring. If I had that pressure at the moment I simply don’t think I could manage at all. 

What are you experiencing with Letrazole? 

My onco told me it takes up to 2 years for your body to recover fully from treatment and fatigue can hit at any time during that period. I find if I overdo it a bit, I completely crash and am pretty knocked around the next day. The good news is that if I then take it easy for a day, I'm fine. 

It could be just an overhang from treatment or it could be letrozole, or a combination. Main thing is to try to pace yourself a bit more than you were used to. Then episodes of fatigue should get fewer and fewer. 

Best 

Lynn xx

Absolutely yes!  I had no chemo or radiation to blame so it is definitely the Letrozole.  I have found a brand that suits me best and I get less fatigue and stiffness from it.  I also am very foggy headed forgetting things and especially names.  I wasn't like this before.  I am hoping it might wear off as I am only in my 3rd month of it.  At the back of my mind is the fact that the predict tool doesn't show a huge benefit from taking it so if it got too bad I might rethink it.  Nowhere near that point at the mo and want to give myself every possible chance if never seeing this thing again.

Hi all,

I'm on letrazole as well and just finished first week of treatment.  Hot flushes are miserable!  I did think it was a bit early for SEs but

I've been feeling quite guilty about crashing out & good for nothing after doing a bit of housework and then shopping.  Next day feel fine if I get a night's sleep but joint pain, particularly in right knee where I have a touch of arthritis keeps me awake most of the night so still feel rubbish for most of the next day so perhaps the SEs have in fact started.  

Every 22 Dec I do an aperitif evening for our French friends and I'll be doing it this year but not looking forward to the way I'll be feeling the next day!  Lovely to know I'm not alone & don't need to feel guilty about still getting fatigue.  I finished 30 rads on 26 October & was put on letrazole after various tests to see if I had osteoporosis so now I'm on vitamin D

& calcium as well.  It's never ending isn't it!

 Keeping positive & mostly cheerful though, we do all get through the whole lot of this & at least the worst is over!  Love and hugs and a very happy Christmas to you all.   Let's hope next year is going to be much better!  xxx

First apologies for dragging this up from 5 years ago. I used the search button for posts about fatigue. I had my treatment last year and I'm on letrozole as well as adcal and biphosphonate. I was never a morning person anyway, but now it takes longer to come around. Late afternoon I get quite weary too. One busy day then the next day I need to rest. 

I was wondering whether others found the same or if I'm being a whimp. Some answers here point to it taking 12 to 18 months to recover from treatment and this is very reassuring. I'm grateful to all who cared to post answers. Thank you.

I'm increasing my activity and exercise so hoping this will eventually pay off. 

It's good to know that this community is here with people who understand through their own experiences. 

• I am on Anastrozole and seem to be tired and sleepy all the time after having a good day of gardening etc I seem to run out of energy I have been in bed for 2 days hope this is not going to happen all the time. Anyone else been the same? 

• Hi Helly12. I'm sorry to hear that you're finding this a problem too. At least the more I look into it I see that it's my body trying to recover and deal with the hormone treatment. I'm thinking that taking small steps and building up when able. So I'm spreading jobs over periods of time and taking rest breaks.

Thankyou I try to pace myself but find it very hard to leave anything that needs doing and of course it catches up with me then cannot do anything. .Do you think the longer I'm on it the less tired I will become only been on it 3 weeks . Thanks x

I thought that Helly had replied something about 3 weeks. Now I can't find it. However sad to say the consensus seems to be its months not weeks before you see improvement. It's difficult when you're used to getting on and doing things but we have to be more leisurely now and take more breaks.