Why am I so tired?

Hi Lisa, Yes, the feet seem to get it the worst. Dry aching, tingling, sore red looking and possible edema /water retention swollen. Foot massage with aloe vera lotion or other foot lotion Bag Balm and find time to lay and raise feet higher than the level of your heart helps a lot. The tingling and numbness will get a little more intense as the chemo accumulates after so many treatments. My wife keeps telling me to keep off my feet and I ignore her or I would be stuck laying in bed all the time . But you do have to find a happy medium.
God Bless,
Jeff G.

Lisa, Sorry to hear about your bout with sepsis infection. Knocks ya for a loop. Lisa just wanted you to know that fighting fatigue goes with the disease. Iv’e been fighting it for a long time. I had to make some adjustments to deal with it. I don’t fight it as it is signs that your body is fighting for you. When I get fatigued I go with the flow and take a nap and ir helps. If everyone is going somewhere thats going to take a long time ,I either make sure I have a place to nap or I stay at home. You know scientifically your body rebuilds it’s energy and repairs it’s self when in a dark quiet room and sleeping. that’s why we all sleep at night. Sometimes ittakes two or three short power naps before I’m up and running until my afternoon nap. I find drinking Ensure at least twice a day sometimes three gives me a real good boost. A lot of cancer support groups will provide it by the cases or you can get as a prescription for like four case and only pay the co-pay of $4.00 or $8.00 . The hardest part of fatigue is motivating yourself mentally. I will plan things for the next day and make myself follow through and I find I feel great for doing it. It’s hard without a doubt having to make changes and adjustments, even more so with children involved. You also need to watch out for over eating,as that can put you in a sleepy mood as well. The one last thing is depression. I know alot of people don’t like to hear that, but it’s true. If your stressing and worring about things and not letting your mind slow down ,you could be developing a chemical inbalance called depression , in turn causing fatigue and wanting to sleep. Meds do help. Make a realistic daily schedule, nothing elaborate but surely throw in something you would like to do each day. Just taking a nature walk and looking for all those neat things you would not normally do, like looking at the shape of clouds or watching how ants scurry about building an ant hill. Ha! I know I’m wierd. I had a butterfly resting on a flower the other day and put my finger down slowly and it walked on my finger neat to me. Well I know you are probally full of advice from others, but all because they care and you know that. Lisa, explore the beauty and practice putting your mind where it is beautiful and you’ll feel better, take it from a pro, as I’ve tried both and the beauty is far better. divide the time with the children and have your alone quiet time as well. So, I’ve written another book. Wish you the best and hope you can adjust this fatigue to go with the flow of daily living. You have a heart of gold, that is the only prerequsite.
Bless Ya Girl !
Jeff

Lisa,

Everything everyone has stated makes sense. It seems that fatigue is just part of this illness for various reasons. You do seem to have a great attitude. Keep it up & stay strong.

Darla

Lisa
I think it’s VERY understandable that you are so fatigued. Sepsis is a serious infection with bacteria present throughout the blood system. Just think of what it must take for the body to fight the infection…all of the energy that it must use to overcome it. I know that even a bad cold can cause fatigue that can last for a few weeks. I would certainly expect recovery from such a serious illness, like sepsis, to take a substantial amount of time. The antibiotic that you were sent home with could also certainly cause a lack of appetite and indigestion…very common side effects.

Though I know ANY symptoms make any of us worry, it seems to me that these could certainly be caused by your recent illness and treatment. Give yourself a little more time to really recover and then see how you’re feeling. Be sure you’re getting enough rest and eating well…not always easy with a job and kids!!

Hoping you’re feeling much better soon!

Jean

Hi Lisa:

Sorry to hear you are still feeling not right.

My weird theory of this diseases (based on…nothing) is that our bodies work hard to fight the cancer and as a result we have these ongoing bouts of fatigue. Not sure if this makes any medical sense, but in some odd way, I envision the fatigue as a sign that my body is using all its forces to otherwise keep me “well” (relatively speaking, of course.)

In my case while an underlying fatigue is always present and has been for over a year, I find that acute extra fatigue tends to settle in and then resolve.

Thinking of you, and strength.

Irene