The Colon Club

Holy crap. I'm so tired it's beyond stupid.

Normally, the 2 days after disconnect I'm tired but bounce back 100% come day three. Round 5 didn't cooperate that well and 6 isn't much better. All I want to do is be in bed. Unfortunately, that's not really an option with our household.

CT on Wednesday, then round 7 the following Monday. I'm really hoping they tell me no chemo for a month so i can prepare for liver resection. This is just getting ridiculous!

Tell me it gets better. Or I'm almost there. Or I'm a giant whiney baby. Anything will work at this point.

Ugh! Sorry for you!!! The effects are cumulative so not surprising that you’re down for a bit longer as treatment progresses....but you are definitely NOT a big baby!!

I hope you get a break after your CT...breaks always helped me. And if someone offers you help, please take it. That was hardest for me.

You are one tough mama, and you got this!!

I wound up with a break after 5 rounds of chemo. I felt much like you do now - I recall we went to Hong Kong for a long weekend around then and my therapist thought I was nuts. By 3 pm each day I would come back to the hotel to sleep.

But chemo was never as tough once I resumed (about 7 weeks later).

Another friend of mine had her doctor tell her that the 5th or 6th treatment is the worst and it gets easier after that.

Now is a good time for outsourcing what you can - MealTrain, accepting offers of help, hiring someone to do what you cannot etc. We ended up hiring a full time nanny even though the kids are at school, and having someone for a few extra hours a day has been a godsend during this time in my life.

Be gentle with yourself. Chemo is no joke.

Hi Amy am sorry to hear how hard it is, i will think as much positive for you as i can. I had 12 cycles of folfox, prblems initialy because of surgey infection but last few cycles left me so tired i think i have some idea of how you feel. Am on Avastin and Lomustine now and it also is part of extreme tiredness. Anyway when I finished folfox , apart from some neuropathy my energy levels quckily came back over the next few months so hopefully yours wii return quckily to.

Lots of fluids and you will feel better. Also talk to your oncologist...they might need to lower the dose a bit. I had my bolus of 5fu reduced before the pump dose. That helped a lot.

Yep #5 and 6 were definitely the toughest for me - I just didn’t really bounce back fully, at least not until well into the second week. Fortunately after that they let me have my 4 weeks off then liver resection! Will see how #7 is when I come back for adjuvant...

Good luck!

Whew.

Thanks for the insight, glad to know this is normal and I'm not just a big wuss.

I've felt much more human yesterday and today is starting off pretty well so I have high hopes. But I wouldn't be opposed to an afternoon nap!

Chemo sucks, it just sucks!! I hate it and debating if I want to do it anymore. It is ridiculously hard, makes you super tired, vomitting (FOLFIRI) and just overall just feeling crappy. Sometimes I wonder if its worth it. Taking natural stuff might help, but no statistics on that helping ...I Just hate chemo!!

You could have a cumulative impact on your blood counts. After about 9 rounds of FOLFOX my hemoglobin was low and made me tired. One blood transfusion helped take care of it. Check your CBC and ask for blood if you think it could help.

Hi Amy,
I remember that on FOLFOX round 7 really started to hit me. I felt the lowest at that point, I started to loose sensation badly due to the neuropahthy, I couldn't run as I was so tired, I got a really bad case of GI issues and had diarrhea, which turned into vomiting and I vomitted for 2 days straight and ended up having to get IV Fluids as I was so weak.
However it turned a corner after that, and whilst chemo still sucked, it was never as bad as that 7th round.
I hope you get a break and feel better after this one Amy.
Kiwi

Yeah, I remember sometime around round 8 when people would ask how I was feeling, I'd say "You know, I have to admit that this is starting to wear on me."

it's cumulative. At a certain point, you start to bounce back less--and less rapidly--than in earlier rounds, even if you have been lucky up til then. But eventually it does get better. Then you can start to feel the effects of the next kind of treatment, such as immunotherapy, LOL!

As I think I said elsewhere, I used to bound into the infusion center like the youngest and healthiest person there. Now, on Keytruda, my much longed-for miracle drug, I'm hobbling in like a crippled old lady.

So I am feeling much better today. Nicholas is up every morning around 0500, so apparently I'm an early riser now.

Took him for his 4 month appointment today, he's over 16 lbs, no wonder I can't hold his fat self after disconnect! His pediatrician is well aware of my diagnosis and asked me how I kept such a positive attitude. I'm like dude, my life is wonderful. Cancer is just a bump in the road. I have a husband that adores me, 8 wonderful, happy, healthy children and some dogs that think I'm the best thing on earth. Plus we have a thriving garden this year! Why in the world wouldn't I be living every day to the fullest? Other than the days that I'm really tired.....

So sorry amy stay strong the lord has you in his arms.

Post your ct result finger crossed

I'm really new here, but from reading a bunch of your posts, Amy, I can tell that you're certainly not a wimp or whiner. Your amazingly positive attitude is one of the things that gives me hope that I can do this on the days when I'm so pooped that I barely make it out of bed. I can't imagine doing this with a 4 month old!

Anyway, I read further down the thread and see that you're feeling better. I'm glad and hope that it keeps up.

AmyG wrote:So I am feeling much better today.

I remember telling my therapist that I started to recognize a pattern - a side effect (or two, or three) would get me down for a while, and I'd feel like crap both physically and emotionally. But always at some point I would start to feel a little bit better. She encouraged me to find a mantra to remind myself of this and out of nowhere into my head popped: "You know how to bounce!"

it looks like you know how to bounce, too. Just keep reminding yourself of that when you start to feel run-down. Sometimes, bouncing requires that you hit the ground - hard. But it's not forever.