Disturbed sleep

Hi Kate290822 welcome to the forum.and sorry to hear how worried that you are.  I had a different type of Cancer than your grandad but had 20 sessions of Radiotherapy..I was also in my late 50,s at the time and I was completely and utterly wiped out with Radiotherapy beyond any level of tiredness I have ever experienced. I'm.imagining that your grandad will take time to recover and he is only just 5 weeks since finishing. The only thing he can do is rest up and listen to his body as it will pass but may take some time. Sending Best Wishes your way for now. Gail x

Hi Gail, thank you so much for your response. He could help himself by having a day time nap but he does not haha! That is reassuring, sometimes I just need to read it to believe it, 5 weeks is not long at all really x

Hi

I have had two treatments of radiotherapy for two different cancers, first one was for breast cancer 35 year's ago. I was only 41 at the time, but it made me feel like a 100 year old woman, even a month or two after treatment I found exertion such as housework really tired me out, but I soon bounced back, I needed to because I had a job and a young family to care for.

Fast forward to 2023 and I had radiotherapy treatment for lung cancer. Again, it made me really tired, it was not like the normal tiredness, it was more an overwhelming fatigue. I was sleeping for eight hours every night and then having another hour and a half sleep during the day. It does take time, but I would encourage your granddad to have a sleep during the day, if not, just to rest. This will give his body time to recover, my mum always said sleep is the best medicine.

Regarding his sleep walking and restless sleep, I think this is probably just him worrying about his illness. There's nothing worse for a bad night's sleep than a worry constantly on your mind. This won't help his recovery, so maybe have a little chat with him to see what is worrying him, although sometimes men don't open up as much as women, they tend to bottle things up, hence bad sleep.

Best wishes to you and your granddad.

Ann

Hi Katie

Firstly, well done to Granddad for getting through the treatment!

Radiotherapy's main side effect is fatigue/tiredness. The radiotherapy continues to work for many weeks after the final session (which is good), unfortunately so do the side effects.  Granddad will still need to rest up during the day, however a spot of daily exercise (a walk to the shops or around the local park) will be beneficial.  If he can, he needs to try to stay awake during the evening in the hours before bedtime.

Sleep pattern disruption is quite normal during/following radiotherapy,  When you add to this any conscious/subconscious worry/anxiety regarding the outcomes of the treatment, then this is possibly causing further sleep disturbance and contributing to the sleep walking. 

Speaking from personal experience, my advice is to  stop worrying about this as over time Granddad's sleep patterns will revert back to his pre-treatment normal.

I wish the best possible outcomes for you both.

Kegsy x