Tiredness

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Hi Everyone,

So here I am 1 week since treatment finished,and am suffering from major tiredness. But when I go to bed I cant sleep at all because of this awful mucus in my throat!!, I want to sleep more during the day now because I can't sleep at night , my pattern is threw the window ,I feel like a zombie with all the meds I'm on now!! Is this what usually happens ,please tell me I'm not going bonkers!! Is this normal for the treatment I've had ? Please advise , Mark 

X

  • ! Is this what usually happens ,please tell me I'm not going bonkers!! Is this normal for the treatment I've had ? Please advise , Mark 

    It certainly was normal for me and for another three weeks yet, before the fog started lifting very slowly. I don’t think it matters much about your sleep rhythms at this stage. 
    By six weeks I was getting g back into sleeping better. 
    Just go with the flow. I used to read half the night tucked into bed with the feeding pump going. Nothing wrong with watching tele if you’re not up to reading. 

    Dani 

    Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019

    I BLOGGED MY TREATMENT 

    Macmillan Support Line -  0808 808 00 00 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

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  • Hello Mark

    Yes I'm afraid that's all totally normal. You're at just about the worst stage for side effects - they don't stop when treatment does - but hang on to the fact that they should start to improve soon. 

    Have you asked your team about the mucus? A nebuliser might help - my hospital ENT dept loaned me one - and you could try sleeping sitting up with a lot of pillows. My lovely partner actually made me a sloping wooden frame to lean back on in bed. 

    Sending love & solidarity, and best wishes for your recovery in the New Year

    Catriona

    September 2022 aged 63 diagnosed with HPV associated SCC base of tongue T4 N2 M0. Chemo & radiotherapy for 6 weeks ending Nov 2022. Now over 2 years all clear. See my profile for longer story

  • Spider! I finished my last RT Dec 13th.. "68!" Year I was born!! Lol... But I can go to bed@9pm and sleep until 3 pm! My nights are weird waking up and tossing... Just don't feel comfortable.. The mucus is so fun, almost want to spit it on the wall! My whole C chapter is kind of a weird blur.. *pinky-hug*, we got this.. Happy Holidays!

  • Hi Mark

    My sleep patterns went awry post treatment...spent some nights...quite a few... playing computer games for a couple of hours until morphine zonked me....eventually my doc put me on a short course of low dose zopiclone sleeping tabs...helped immensely....things do go back to some sort of normality...takes time.

    Peter

  • Hi Mark as others have said  fatigue is par for  the course. Treatment continues to work weeks after it’s finished it’s a cumulative effect. Make sure you’re getting sufficient hydration and nutrition. I was told 2500 calories and 1-3 litres of liquid each and every day by any way I could keep  on top if medication as well. I watched trashy box sets  I couldn’t concentrate on reading or anything else. Recovery can be a marathon not a sprint treatment is brutal listen to your body. You’ll get there.
    blog below might help.

    Hazel . . 

    Hazel aka RadioactiveRaz 

    My blog is www.radioactiveraz.wordpress.com  HPV 16+ tonsil cancer Now  6 years  post treatment. 35 radiotherapy 2 chemo T2N2NM.Happily getting on with living always happy to help

    2 videos I’ve been involved with raising awareness of HNC and HPV cancers 

    https://www.instagram.com/merckhealthcare/reel/DBs8Y0niJ8N/

  • I think I slept for most of the month following treatment.  Fortunately my mucus was not too bad but I did use a nebuliser and a humidifier to give some relief for my post treatment symptoms.  I still have broken sleep 11 months down the road due to dry mouth and having to use biotine a couple of times during the night.  That is manageable.

    Peter
    See my profile for more details of my convoluted journey
  • Yes that’s normal. I felt I slept better sitting up on the couch. Nights were difficult die to the mucous and the accumulated lack of sleep made it feel worse .  Make sure you’re warm. I found sleeping in a cool room made the coughing worse. 

  • I was told 2500 calories and 23 litres of liquid each and every day

    I'm hoping that 23 litres is one of Hazel's famous typos Sweat smile 

    September 2022 aged 63 diagnosed with HPV associated SCC base of tongue T4 N2 M0. Chemo & radiotherapy for 6 weeks ending Nov 2022. Now over 2 years all clear. See my profile for longer story

  • Oops you know me so well. Just keeping everyone on their toes. Will amend 2-3 litres of water. 

    H x

    Hazel aka RadioactiveRaz 

    My blog is www.radioactiveraz.wordpress.com  HPV 16+ tonsil cancer Now  6 years  post treatment. 35 radiotherapy 2 chemo T2N2NM.Happily getting on with living always happy to help

    2 videos I’ve been involved with raising awareness of HNC and HPV cancers 

    https://www.instagram.com/merckhealthcare/reel/DBs8Y0niJ8N/

  • Good evening Mark, I'm afraid to say that this is normal after treatment, etc. I just slept when I could, so don't worry if you sleep during the day. I even went on sleeping tablets for a while because my doctor said I must try to get my sleep pattern back. You will find that the zombie state will disappear as you come off your meds and the radio/chemo side effects normalize. I was always active but during this period i could hardly walk in the garden because of fatigue so i just sat and watched tv etc until i felt up to doing more. Hope you have a good Christmas. Take care.

                                                                                              Chris. x

    Its sometimes not easy but its worth it ! 

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