My Dad and tension and weakness
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Hi Shelley,
I had two liver resections and I still have fatigued and weak days. I take Ativan for anxiety and it really helps. I don’t need it everyday but some days I get anxious.
LisaHi, Thanks KrisV and Kristian! It hadn’t really crossed my mind that it could be related to something completely different, I hope it’s not but it’s something that should be checked, you’re right.
Also it must have various effects having it on your mind, even if it’s in the back of your mind, worrying about whether it will return. I came on the site in the hope that lots of people would say that it’s normal for him to be feeling like this at the moment and that it’s a particular thing he might be eating that’s hard for the liver to deal with or something but it doesn’t seem that it is normal and that there may be another reason for it. It’s so helpful to hear from you all and each and every bit of info will be passed to him and my Mum and is a great help.Shelley –
With my husband it mostly a lack of motivation and just lack of joy in anything that made me worry about him. He was not the most active before this but it got to the point where he was either in his chair or bed and that was it. I felt like he was just turning into a piece of furniture. His anxiety has mostly been related to things like coming up scans, another dose of chemo or a procedure he is getting ready for. But I do think that most people who go through something like this develop something VERY similar to PTSD and it’s related to feeling like there is something always hanging over your head. My husband is usually a pretty positive person but this he describes as just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He worries that ever sniffle, ache, burp or anything is a symptom of the cancer’s return. Living on edge like that can cause some long term effects similar to PTSD. It is better for my husband with the meds. It may also be needing to talk to someone, a social worker or someone can recommend someone that has dealings with cancer survivors.KrisV
Shelley,
My father was diagnosed with lung cancer this past June (my mother was the one with CC and the reason I am on this board) and one of the feelings he was going through in the few months prior to his diagnosis was sudden feelings of tension and anxiety. These feelings were not related to his worry about the cancer since he didn’t know about that yet, but were real physical symptoms like racing heart and a feeling if being very uncomfortable. The episodes would last anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours. And when he had and episode he felt pretty bad for the rest of the day. He went on a low dose anti-depressant and had an anti-anxiety that he took maybe two or three times. He is 88 and had never exhibited any signs of depression before. (We were lucky that he had these episodes, because they are what led to finding the tumor in his lung at a very early stage.) I’m not saying this us what’s going on with your father, but it is certainly worth a conversation with the doctor. He has been through a lot and it will take some time to recover. I’m sending good thoughts his way!
KristanHi KrisV, thank you ever so much for your reply. What you are saying makes a lot of sense. The tense feeling just seems to suddenly start and then he’ll be fine again, he is being really positive so I don’t think he’s depressed but just because I haven’t thought that, perhaps i’m wrong, as he must have underlying worries even if I don’t necessarily know about them. It’s just strange how it seems to come and go as if it’s more of a physical thing. I’m not sure if he’s had any other checks on his heart or anything but I’m going to pass on what you’ve said to him as it could be really helpful. Can I ask if your husband was similar as you said he suffered from depression so I wondered if his symptoms were similar to my Dads, and if it would just come and go in the same sort of way?
Shelley –
Welcome to the family. Your father went through the same thing my husband did. The fancy name is Roux-en-Y which is similar to a Whipple. At this point his liver has regrown to what it was prior to surgery at least weight-wise, it will never look the same. It usually takes about 6 weeks to regrow and during that time fatigue can be an issue.
One of the things that I noticed with my husband is that depression and at times tension (anxiety) were big issues. I had his doctor start him on a low dose anti-depressant and that helped tremendously for him. He is currently taking 10 mg of Celexa and then he has an as needed dose of lorazepam 0.5 mg as needed for anxiety which is very, very rarely takes.
My suggestion would be to have you father keep a really really good diary for several weeks and include in it all the foods he eats, his activity levels, blood sugars and weight. Then also write down when he has an episode – how long it is, how he felt and anything that goes with it. You may be able to see a pattern with a food or something else. Make sure he checks his blood sugar and his blood pressure each time he has an episode.
Also if he hasn’t had a check up with a cardiologist you might have them give him a good once over. This has been a rough year on him and it might be time to make sure the stress of all this has not brought something else to the surface.
Hope this helps some and be sure to keep us all posted.KrisV
Shelley, way to go, girl. Always with this CC the ONC should be asked. Good move and I am curious as to what he says. Have a great weekend.
Thank you, I’ll tell him what you said, you’re really kind to take the time to answer. I wondered if it’s something to do with the way his liver is processing things and perhaps not getting rid of toxins or something like that, i’m not sure how common it is to feel like that after this operation but hope to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible so that he can start to feel better.
Hi Shelley. Perhaps the mattress is old or he needs a firmer one. I know sometimes my back and arms hurt when I first get up. Mine is only 2 years old but I don’t think it is firm enough.
Yes, it takes a long time to heal from these surgeries. If not the mattress what about asking the Doc to write an order for some light physical therapy?Hi Lainy, thank you so much for taking the time to reply. We have asked the consultants and his surgeon and doctors but they don’t know why he feels like it and just kept putting it down to the fact he had a big operation. I wasn’t sure what you meant about the mattress? Thanks, Shelley
Dear Shelley, welcome to the best place to be for CC support. First of all Congratulations on your Dad’s Surgery as surgery is what all CC patients strive for. I am wondering if your have asked his ONC what may be going on. Does he have a follow up treatment plan in place? Sorry, I have no answer for you but hopefully others will be along with some suggestions/advice. Best of luck to you all and please keep us updated on Dad’s progress. P.S. I know this is going to sound lame but has anyone checked his mattress?
Hello everyone, it’s really nice to have found this website and people who may have had similar experiences. My Dad who is 70 was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma in March this year and on 31st March he was lucky enough to be able to be operated on to remove the cancer. It was successful, he had a third of the liver removed and I believe the bile duct was rebuilt using part of the lower bowel – I think I’ve got that right! He had various infections after the op which are now gone and all blood tests are fine. The problem that he has though is that at least 2-3 days a week he feels unwell. It usually, but not always, begins in the morning as he wakes up feeling incredibly tense and weak and says his arms feel heavy. When he feels like this he doesn’t have much interest in food, although he does still make himself eat. It’s really getting him down. He and my Mum have spent months trying to work out what causes it, such as whether it relates to him maybe overdoing things the day before, but it doesn’t seem to coincide with that. We have wondered if it’s to do with the way the liver is having to work depending on what he’s eating due to toxins maybe, but haven’t yet managed to work out if it is and wondered if anyone else has felt like that after a similar op. It really gets him down feeling like this so often, the main problem being that he feels so tense. I wondered if anyone else has had this sort of experience when at a similar stage to him, we are now nearly 8 months after the op and this hasn’t improved, and if so do you have an idea what could be causing it? It’s so up and down, he can be fine for a few days and then have a terrible day or sometimes he’ll have a few bad days in a row and then a good week, then get bad again. We feel it must relate to something he’s doing. He eats very healthily as he is type 2 diabetic and is careful because of this. The diabetes is diet controlled and he checks his blood sugar regularly which is fine so we’re confident that the diabetes isn’t what causing him to feel ill. I should also say that sometimes it may last for as little as half an hour and sometimes a whole day, but it’s usually an average of a couple of hours each time before he starts to feel any better. Thank you so much in advance, we’d be really glad of any ideas or to hear whether this is a normal thing for people recovering from this big operation and cholangiocarcinoma as it is quite miserable for him to be feeling so tense and weak so often. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing any ideas.
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