After Affects. anyone else feeling these symptoms. from Throat Cancer.

Hello Dawn

I finished treatment in July 2013 and I remember that my tiredness and fatigue went on for at least a year.  I did experience the wobbly legs and I know that when I returned to work in Jan 2014 that my husband had to drive me at first as I couldn't even manage the short walk there.  

So it all sounds pretty normal to me.  It's best though that your husband tells his medical team all about his side effects at the next check up.  When I reported mine I was told the fatigue was understandable after treatment and recovery as I hadn't slept well during this time, and the body needs extra sleep during healing. There may be other factors though which can easily be treated.  My fatigue got worse and it was later discovered I needed medication because my thyroid had been affected by the radiotherapy.  

I struggled emotionally for a long while after treatment and all these side effects can definitely drag you down at times.  I got a lot of comfort from an article by Dr Peter Harvey called "After the treatment finishes then what?"  I'm no good at adding links unfortunately but you'll find it easily if you put the details into Google.  I can also highly recommend a book called "The Cancer Survivor's Companion" by Goodhart and Atkins.  

Best wishes to you and your husband. xx

Hi Margaret, Thank you for taking the time and trouble to read and reply to me. And with great information and also from someone else who can and does understand how he actually does feels. Bless you for replying.  And defo will make sure on his next visit to see his medical team, he tells them all. I do hope you are back to full form now after these years Margaret and do well to both you and your family. best wishes. Dawn hugs.x

You can get his GP to check the Thyroid it's just a blood test, my symptoms weren't as bad as his but others have had problems with the Thyroid and getting it sorted will help.

Thanks Ron, appricate your advice. hope your doing good. Dawn.

Hi Dawn, 

I think Margaret’s reply is excellent I can only add that fatigue seems to affect everyone to different degrees. I’m 11 months post treatment and most days I experience debilitating fatigue at some point, and some days I also have wobbly legs too. My symptoms sound very similar to your husbands. 

I pace myself by going slowly and taking breaks so I don’t become exhausted. If I do too much one day it wipes me out the following day. Getting a good and full nights sleep helps, apparently, which makes sense. My fatigue seems better after I’ve had a good 8 hours sleep. 

I’m still unsure about why my legs feel wobbly but I believe it’s peripheral neuropathy. I don’t get it every day but it’s disconcerting and makes me feel jittery. 

I know recovery is frustratingly slow and fatigue can prevent normal activity. 

Sadly your husbands symptoms sound very familiar to me. I hold onto the fact things should and do improve eventually 

I wish you both well 

Carrie 

Hi Dawn

I too have these symptoms.  The wobbly leg business seemed to start around 4 months after treatment.  I'd been going for some really good walks up to that point but suddenly found I was near to collapse half way round so have had to modify my walking drastically and can only go at a certain time of the day when I'm feeling up to it.

My blood test showed I had an underactive thyroid due to radiotherapy.  I have been on medication for 2 months now to rectify the thyroid and although my GP says my thyroid function appears to be OK I am feeling no improvement in my symptoms.

At a recent check up with the head and neck team I informed them of my thyroid and ongoing symptoms and they confirmed that some people do suffer with peripheral neuropathy as a late effect of radiotherapy.  It can also be caused by chemotherapy.

As Margaret and Ron have mentioned I would definitely get your husband's thyroid function checked by the GP as a first step. 

At least you know your husband's not alone with these symptoms.

I do wish you both all the best.

Linda  

Hi Aprilrain

i am 11 month post radiotherapy and yes the tiredness still gets to me .i need a 20 min nap every day ,I am riding my bike which I find easier than walking ,eveeyine seems to think you've  got  the all clear so get on with it. I also have dry mouth and oral thrush which goes hand in hand with each other. The phrase 2 year sentence post radiotherapy is what I am being told when you get around   then what you’ve got is more or less as good as it gets. 

I don’t have wobbled kegs or head aches thankfully 

my blog is still up and running if you want to give it another look 

www.radioactiveraz.wordpress.com 

ues u have been back tomSpain several times but the tiredness is still there

I too have at least one Ensure a day to boost my eating uptake 

Best wishesHazel. 

Ps I too have had my thyroid  checked and all ok within normal levels of the blood tests.

H 

I think we should all be keeping a good eye on our blood pressure and cholesterol levels too. RT damages the carotid arteries making stroke more likely. 

Excellent point Beesuit. Well said! I 5only found this out on this forum. My Oncologist had no intention of making me or my GP aware of the increased risk of stroke that patients who have radiotherapy to the neck have. As I now know this I can chose to take measures (or not to bother) to try to reduce the risk by changing my diet (less cholesterol), taking moe exercise etc. In consultation with a health professional recently I was advised to start taking a statin because of the increased risk of carotid artery stenosis and stroke risk.

I am surprised that Oncologists make us aware of the risk of a new cancer from the effects of radiation to the Head & neck (1% risk for every 10 years we live) about which we can do nothing, but fail to mention the increased risk of stroke (in the order of 5-10%) about which we can chose to change our lifestyles to mitigate the risk, or not.