Forum Discussion
Radiation, driving and fatigue
I was hoping to hear about any experiences of driving and fatigue while undergoing radiation. I've been told to be aware of fatigue. The radiation oncologist and nurses have raised concerns and eyeb...
Hi Moomincorn
I completed 15 days of radiation in November. It was a one hour drive door to door for me as well. I asked for morning appointments if possible, luckily they were able to do that, with the intention to work when I got home. I didn't find the driving an issue at all - just put on an audio book which was great! I managed to work fine for the first couple of weeks (desk job), but started to get fatigued in the third week. For the first 2-3 weeks I took 2-3 hours off a day to factor in the travel and treatment. Then I worked half days for the last week and the next week or two after I finished. There was definitely a struggle to be motivated to work but the fatigue really kicked in around week 4 (I think I hit the peak then and it started to improve after that) as did the crankiness!! (I think that was because I was so tired and frustrated.)
Regarding exercise, I walked most days, tried a short run a few times early on but found a bra too uncomfortable to wear due to the skin irritation so didn't run in the later weeks. Walking was great and made me feel a lot better, I walked at least 5km most days. I'm not sure how I would have been if I was on my feet all day though, it's just this bone-deep weariness and sometimes I had to drag myself around the house and didn't want to get out of bed.
My reflections / feedback are the driving was fine, I didn't ever feel too tired to drive but it was mornings. I was often wrecked by the late arvo / early evenings in the later half of treatment and in bed quite early, so the ability to drive myself might have been different if my appointments were late in the day. And I tried to give myself permission (and my manager at work encouraged me to as well) to take the opportunity to rest and take it easy. Honestly I feel so much better now than when I was going through the rads. It does take its toll, and I was so frustrated and cranky during that time. I look back and realise just how flat and tired I really was compared to how I feel now. Rads started on Nov 6 and I probably only now feel like my (new) normal self - way less cranky!! And back running and exercising as normal.
Hope this helps. All the best with the rads and recovery, take care x
PS If you can get the StrataXRT cream I recommend it! I did develop folliculitis in the last week which persisted for a few weeks and was annoying (itchy!!), but that was the worst of it. I think the Strata really helped.
Thank you Bj - that's super helpful information.
Some of my appointments are 8am and some are in the middle of the day so hopefully I'm at least half full of beans in the early afternoon. A few sessions late in the day I will make sure I've got someone along to help with the driving just in case.
Thanks for the warning about crankiness :) I got a bit cranky after my operations so I'll watch myself through the radiation too.
5km walking sounds promising. If I am able to continue working then I will reduce my activity and spend a bit more time in the office but if I can try get in 5km then that would be nice.
I've looked into StrataXRT cream but I haven't bought it yet. The nurses confirmed that they use mepitel film (and made me wear a patch on my arm for 24 hours to check for any reactions which I had none) which I've heard can be very effective. Did you have mepitel film during your radiation as well as the StrataXRT cream?
It sounds like early bed times, rest when I can, and look forward to feeling much better in a few months.