Fatigue

Hello Anrosh

Am sorry that you are still experiencing debilitating fatigue following your cancer treatments. 

I still have a lot of fatigue following my treatments. The only thing I find that helps is to really pace myself. If I do too much one day, the next day I just want to sleep. If I am doing things I try to break them down into steps and rest between. Like hoovering- I do one room then sit for 20 minutes before the next. It takes a bit longer but its better than doing it all at once and then it is too much. I try to keep active and build up slowly, I walk each day now. Regular light meals have helped me. I try to eat a balanced diet. And plenty of fluids. I sometimes don't have a great appetite and find if I skip meals that also makes me tired. I try to keep a routine of when I get up and when I go to bed. Sometimes when I overdo it the fatigue just hits me and becomes overwhelming and I have to lie down and close my eyes. As you say, even with a good nights sleep, it doesn't go away. I find its not just physically tired but also mentally tired. 

I would suggest it may be an idea to mention this to your GP. It may well be side effects from the hormone treatment that are adding to it. Also it may be an idea to get your bloods checked. Mine were and they found I was very low in haemoglobin and I had a blood transfusion that helped. If nothing else the GP should be able to give some reassurance that it is normal to have some fatigue and may be able to offer support to overcome it. My doctors said it was ok to take a multi vitamin and mineral supplement and it may be worth asking if this would help you. 

I hope this helps a bit

Jane

Hi Jane

Thank you So much for your detailed reply. There are lots of good suggestions in your reply and I shall certainly adopt some of your ideas. Ifeel exactly the same when I overdo things and tend to pay up for it for the next couple of days. It does affect me mentally also. It has helped to hear how you deal with the fatigue and also to.know that I am not alone in how I feel. Thank you again and best wishes for your future health.

Hi, my fatigue is manageable, catches me sometimes but not often.  I take letrozole accord.   I switched over to tamoxifen briefly and I understand what you describe,  for me, it was debilitating. I switched back to letrozole.    Have you tried different brands of the hormone treatment?  Are all the same for you?  Maybe speak to your BC nurse about it, I know there are different types of the hormone tablets, so maybe one of the others would suit you better x

Thank you Gardenia for your message. I'm on Anastrozole but haven't tried any other brands. That's a good suggestion and I will talk to my BC nurse about it. Thanks again.