no energy months after chemo

I finished up chemo, radiation and my final herceptin drip 12/31/08.  I developed some pain in my joints, along with some other problems I never had before.  I was hoping after all this time, that my strength would be returning.  I still sleep a lot, and it is hard to get up in the morning.  I am taking 325 mg of iron three times daily along with one tablet of a chemo called Famara,daily.  I have some other med's I have to take daily, but they have never bothered me before.  They did increase my blood pressure medicine 10 mgs.  I try to walk everyday for twenty minutes as doctor recommended, but if I wait until afternoon, I can't do it.  I seem to have two to four hours of exhaustion mid-day.  I make myself get up, but I am so droopy and draggy, I drop and stumble.  I hate to compain as I am lucky to be alive, but is anyone experiencing this same thing?  Does it get better?

Ann

maybe that was the effects of all drugs that you take in. Just pray always to god he will always there to help you..

Do what you can when you can, and otherwise heed your body's signals that it needs to rest.  Even though it seems like it's been a long time, it really hasn't.  Chemo can take up to 8 to 9 months to clear from the body, plus you've had the onslaught of other things.

Your iron supplement probably isn't doing you much good.  The human body can only really absorb about 18 mg of supplemental iron a day.  Much better to try eating foods that are rich in iron PLUS a lot of other elements, such as antioxidants, the B vitamins, vitamins C, D and E.  Lots of calcium and other trace minerals.  The closer you can get to a vegetarian diet, the more likely you are to be eating foods that will provide the essential nutrients that have been bleached out of your body by all the treatments.

Also important to make sure you're drinking plenty of fresh  pure water.  Hydration is key to rebuilding the blood stream and immune system, as well as detoxification of all the by-products of chemo and cancer cell death. Unless you are on a blood thinner, green and black tea are excellent choices for detoxification - get decaf, so that you aren't peeing out all the fluids when you drink. Eat plenty of fruit - an apple a day, any kind of berries (avoid pomegranate if you had hormone positive cancer,) citrus fruits and tomatoes.  Avoid bananas - they have way too much sugar in them. 

Green leafy veggies, cruciferous veggies, and legumes (whole grains and beans) are vital.  Eat as much organic raw fresh foods as you can.

Also make sure you are getting enough essential fatty acids.  Many people recommend flax seed oil or fish oil, but I think those need to be used with caution.  Flax seed oil is very high in phytoestrogens - if you had a hormone positive cancer, this might not be a good choice.  I'm also concerned about fish oil because of the extreme pollution in all of earth's bodies of water.  Roasted pumpking seeds are a delicious, nutritious alternative - a handful a day will provide ALL the omega fatty acids an adult needs per day, plus 14 gm plant protein.  I have a recipe for roasting green pumpkin seeds on my blog:  http://motherearthtreasurechest.blogspot.com/search?q=pumpkin+seeds

There are also articles on the B vitamins, vitamin c, supplements, etc, etc, etc.  Please feel to read anything that interests you.  Take a look at the recipe for lemon volcano drink (enter that in the blog search box to get that article.)  It is really nutricious and an EXCELLENT detoxifier.

Sincerely,

Tre

On 2/21/2009 trehouse60 wrote:

Do what you can when you can, and otherwise heed your body's signals that it needs to rest.  Even though it seems like it's been a long time, it really hasn't.  Chemo can take up to 8 to 9 months to clear from the body, plus you've had the onslaught of other things.

Your iron supplement probably isn't doing you much good.  The human body can only really absorb about 18 mg of supplemental iron a day.  Much better to try eating foods that are rich in iron PLUS a lot of other elements, such as antioxidants, the B vitamins, vitamins C, D and E.  Lots of calcium and other trace minerals.  The closer you can get to a vegetarian diet, the more likely you are to be eating foods that will provide the essential nutrients that have been bleached out of your body by all the treatments.

Also important to make sure you're drinking plenty of fresh  pure water.  Hydration is key to rebuilding the blood stream and immune system, as well as detoxification of all the by-products of chemo and cancer cell death. Unless you are on a blood thinner, green and black tea are excellent choices for detoxification - get decaf, so that you aren't peeing out all the fluids when you drink. Eat plenty of fruit - an apple a day, any kind of berries (avoid pomegranate if you had hormone positive cancer,) citrus fruits and tomatoes.  Avoid bananas - they have way too much sugar in them. 

Green leafy veggies, cruciferous veggies, and legumes (whole grains and beans) are vital.  Eat as much organic raw fresh foods as you can.

Also make sure you are getting enough essential fatty acids.  Many people recommend flax seed oil or fish oil, but I think those need to be used with caution.  Flax seed oil is very high in phytoestrogens - if you had a hormone positive cancer, this might not be a good choice.  I'm also concerned about fish oil because of the extreme pollution in all of earth's bodies of water.  Roasted pumpking seeds are a delicious, nutritious alternative - a handful a day will provide ALL the omega fatty acids an adult needs per day, plus 14 gm plant protein.  I have a recipe for roasting green pumpkin seeds on my blog:  http://motherearthtreasurechest.blogspot.com/search?q=pumpkin+seeds

There are also articles on the B vitamins, vitamin c, supplements, etc, etc, etc.  Please feel to read anything that interests you.  Take a look at the recipe for lemon volcano drink (enter that in the blog search box to get that article.)  It is really nutricious and an EXCELLENT detoxifier.

Sincerely,

Tre

Thank you for your advise.  I will print it out and try some of the things you suggested.  Some of them I am already doing.  I am interested in the Lemon Volcano drink.

I am hormone positive.  That is why I was able to take the herceptin drip for a year. I wonder why my occologist would tell me to take that much iron if it was not going to do any good?

Thank you again for responding.

Ann 

On 2/21/2009 Bonniee wrote:

One of my friends said it took two months after her chemo to get her energy level back up again. She had to walk with a cane and use the little "motorized shopping carts" at the store. Her energy came back. Hang in there! Blessings, Bonnie

Thank you, Bonniee.

I do pray for God's help, Filipina.  In fact, I am sure I would not be here if it had not been for prayers. 

Thank you for responding.

Ann 

On 2/20/2009 cacann wrote:

I finished up chemo, radiation and my final herceptin drip 12/31/08.  I developed some pain in my joints, along with some other problems I never had before.  I was hoping after all this time, that my strength would be returning.  I still sleep a lot, and it is hard to get up in the morning.  I am taking 325 mg of iron three times daily along with one tablet of a chemo called Famara,daily.  I have some other med's I have to take daily, but they have never bothered me before.  They did increase my blood pressure medicine 10 mgs.  I try to walk everyday for twenty minutes as doctor recommended, but if I wait until afternoon, I can't do it.  I seem to have two to four hours of exhaustion mid-day.  I make myself get up, but I am so droopy and draggy, I drop and stumble.  I hate to compain as I am lucky to be alive, but is anyone experiencing this same thing?  Does it get better?

Ann

It took me about 5 months to start regaining my energy and strength back.  So hang in there.

Also, Femara isn't a chemo drug - it's a hormone suppressor.   It has been known to have a lot of severe effects including fatigue for over 32% of the women taking it.  II have been on it for a month now, and so far I have no side effects.  Side effects can start up months after you start on it.  For some women the side effects are so severe that they stop taking it even though they know it's prolonging their life.

Talk to your doctor about the fatigue because it's hard to know whether it's the chemo or the Femara.

 Carolyn

On 3/5/2009 carolyn97222 wrote:

 

On 2/20/2009 cacann wrote:

I finished up chemo, radiation and my final herceptin drip 12/31/08.  I developed some pain in my joints, along with some other problems I never had before.  I was hoping after all this time, that my strength would be returning.  I still sleep a lot, and it is hard to get up in the morning.  I am taking 325 mg of iron three times daily along with one tablet of a chemo called Famara,daily.  I have some other med's I have to take daily, but they have never bothered me before.  They did increase my blood pressure medicine 10 mgs.  I try to walk everyday for twenty minutes as doctor recommended, but if I wait until afternoon, I can't do it.  I seem to have two to four hours of exhaustion mid-day.  I make myself get up, but I am so droopy and draggy, I drop and stumble.  I hate to compain as I am lucky to be alive, but is anyone experiencing this same thing?  Does it get better?

Ann

It took me about 5 months to start regaining my energy and strength back.  So hang in there.

Also, Femara isn't a chemo drug - it's a hormone suppressor.   It has been known to have a lot of severe effects including fatigue for over 32% of the women taking it.  II have been on it for a month now, and so far I have no side effects.  Side effects can start up months after you start on it.  For some women the side effects are so severe that they stop taking it even though they know it's prolonging their life.

Talk to your doctor about the fatigue because it's hard to know whether it's the chemo or the Femara.

 Carolyn

Carolyn,

Thank you for responding.  I did not know Femara was a hormone suppressor.   Now, I understand a little more of what is going on.  I was sure the doctor called it chemo tablets.  No other doctor has ever corrected me when I told them what I was taking. 

I did see my regular doctor this week.  He said my blood count is still a little low, and I have some thyroid issues, now.  This explains the extreme fatigue.

Ann