So what's the real deal with fatigue once treatment finishes

Hi Ladies and Gents - I found this link, it is very interesting reading and relates to what each of us are saying about fatigue, it is not a tiredness from overdoing it in everyday life

http://www.cancervic.org.au/about-cancer/types-treatments-trials/fatigue_and_cancer

Not sure if BCNA has a fact sheet on this topic or not ? @Cosette_BCNA  - Cosette can you let me know if there is or if not is it something that can be added to the "to do" list - Thanks xx

@Di I worked all 2016 on 3 days as am on Income Protection because I cannot manage 5 which to me is ridiculous, even with working with an Exercise Physiologist, I admit my job is demanding physically/mentally with 11 Autistic Kids that I adore!. The CRUNCHER right now?? I had 6 weeks of Arimidex at my Oncologists request as he wanted to see if my symptoms side effects lessened. It was astounding!!! NOW I am back on it til I see him in May, am furious!!! as am back in PAIN!!! every joint I cannot walk, I walk like an old lady. Its CRAP! I was amazed how different I was off it. Thing is none of them are any different, throw in menopause which was chemo induced Whoa!! and the fatigue is overwhelming and I think push through push through and the body is like I CANNOT!!! so Im left with next year having to push through and not able to put me first anymore because of finances. I told my Oncologist numerous times and he says he HEARS IT ALL THE TIME from patients so they are aware. They just dont want to know about it because their job is only to administer the drugs to treat you..what happens after they cannot help with. So frustrating...and sooo many women are really debilitated unable to work but probably dont qualify for the disability. There has to be a middle ground that helps women that fall into that category, in fact Im talking not just about Breast Cancer but ALL CANCERS..Hugs Melinda xo

@"Soldier Crab" I appreciate your comments on fatigue and @melclarity. I am 4 years since my chemo and I am taking arimidix . I have been working full time for the last 2 and a half years and still find I am fighting fatigue and by the end of the week a bit of chemo brain. I have the energy to work but weekends feel very fatigued. I am pleased to hear it is just not me having this issue because as you say you look ok. 
It's nice to talk to people that understand.
Di xx

Sorry sometimes I hit the wrong button when posting. Anway what I meant to say was ...fatigue is definitely a side effect many years on. However a very underdiagnosed problem is sleep apnea.  My son was diagnosed in his twenties. He was told it was hereditary. I refused testing thinking I was fine
. It wasnt till I shared a room with my son and daughter while overseas that they observed I stopped breathing several times and urged me to be tested. I tested at the severe scale of sleep apnea .Very slim people have sleep apnea.as sleep apnea is related to the shape of your jaw and tongue. This was pre cancer and have been using a sleep machine for the past two and a half years.

  So okay having breast cancer is more than enough to deal with but thought I would alert everyone to this possibility.

Fatigue from treatment sometime on is possible. I have sleep apnoea . Just thought I would tell you about it . My younger son

My sympathies  to all of you. I didn't have this nasty side effect but my partner, who had treatment for very early bowel cancer and chose to do 6 months of chemo (there are some things that families truly do NOT have to share!) was quite badly affected by fatigue, and is still having an occasional bad day over 12 months later. He didn't lose his hair, had a bit of neuropathy problems in his hands (very sensitive to cold) and feet, and no nausea. But he too had the sudden zonking out problem. He could sleep however but sometimes without warning (at his desk for example!). It has improved so we hope for better things, but like many of you it tends to make him feel older than he really wants to and is a bit depressing. He doesn't talk about it to his oncologist either. I agree his oncologist may not be able to help but I also agree that if you don't tell, no-one will ask (to reverse a saying!). I don't have a bad time with lymphoedema, but I talk about it whenever I get a chance as it too tends to be under considered, and it's lifelong. Yelling from the rooftops may be the only way to get better recognition that even when we are considered cancer free, and some of us are not, there are still long term issues and costs to be dealt as a result of cancer and treatment. Strength to you all.

The emotional pain is shining through!  We are hamstrung with income because we drew the short straw and Breast Cancer came to visit!  Not everyone is fortune enough to have leave to cover long term.  Personally I've been living off savings, the rainy day money that is fast dwindling - I accept it because I have no choice but I do think all this emotional pain adds to the fatigue. You know how it is!

Thanks @iserbrown I agree, we do need to talk more about it. I personally find it hard in regards to working..My Oncologist put in his report to my Income Protection Insurer that as long as I am on Arimidex which is another 4yrs I will not be fully rehabilitated for my job because of the impact that the medication has. My income protection runs out Jan 2018 and I have still worked 3 days a week and they pick up the 2 days I can't. Though am on LWOP right now due to surgery...it leaves me in a place of what am I going to do I have to work...its something that is draining on top of everything youve already been through...

It is a fact that we are fatigued from treatment and it lingers!  Whether it is dismissed or given no credence when we mention it to our medical experts doesn't matter.  We all know how we are feeling, that is apparent in the discussion through this forum. 
We need to talk about it more and realise that we're all similar in the fatigue league! 
Our bodies have been through heaps and we will recover physically, some quicker than others but it is the emotional part that takes a toll as you get so tired of feeling not quite right, having to reach for the medication to get you through the day or an important meeting et cetera
We assume and we hope that it will improve sooner rather than later! 

primek said:

I figured it's just a work in progress and I wouldn't think it that unusual. Maybe people just don't discuss it....  Kath x