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After chemotherapy, how long did it take for fatigue and other side effects to go away?
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member4321 (Survivor (1 year)) - 03 / 31 / 2012
My chemotherapy ended July 2011. Almost immediately, I started to feel less tired, although more than 6 months later, I still have to rest at some point during the day. We moved this January, and I've been able to unpack only very slowly. I still get tired quickly, but just recently (March 2012), I've noticed that I can walk up an incline more easily.
I think we improve very slowly, gradually, and then one day, you do something that makes you realize that you are really getting better, so although the changes are small, incremental, they sometimes appear in an a-ha moment.
Just before my breast cancer diagnosis, I was diagnosed with an arthritic knee, so my ability to walk a lot during chemo was somewhat limited by pain. I've now started an intensive physio therapy course in anticipation of a knee replacement in the next year or so. And the fact that I can do more is definitely a positive sign.
I lost a good bit of the steroid-induced water weight within two to three months, and the rest of the weight was gone within about 8 months. I had a little neuropathy in my hands and feet, tingly fingers and a tingly spot in the bottom of one foot. The foot tingle is totally gone - I think that took about 6 -7 months. I'm now on arimidex, and I have pain and stiffness in my hands and other joints, and I think a touch of neuropathy remains in my right middle finger. It's hard to distinguish between the effects of arimidex and any remaining neuropathy.
My hair started to grow back as soon as I completed the AC part of chemo and 14 months later, it's quite thick and curly. (it was straight before).
I'm not sure about the cognitive effects. I know that during the AC part of chemo it was impossible to focus, I felt anxious and not always clear in my head. It started to improve under taxol, and now it's much better, and I'm doing things to make my brain work - trying to write, solving puzzles, reading. Right after my treatment ended we started preparing to move, so I've not had a steady period to gauge improvement. I have noticed that I have some problems spelling and remembering words once in a while, but I don't know if I'm more cognizant of it of if it is a change.
I think we improve very slowly, gradually, and then one day, you do something that makes you realize that you are really getting better, so although the changes are small, incremental, they sometimes appear in an a-ha moment.
Just before my breast cancer diagnosis, I was diagnosed with an arthritic knee, so my ability to walk a lot during chemo was somewhat limited by pain. I've now started an intensive physio therapy course in anticipation of a knee replacement in the next year or so. And the fact that I can do more is definitely a positive sign.
I lost a good bit of the steroid-induced water weight within two to three months, and the rest of the weight was gone within about 8 months. I had a little neuropathy in my hands and feet, tingly fingers and a tingly spot in the bottom of one foot. The foot tingle is totally gone - I think that took about 6 -7 months. I'm now on arimidex, and I have pain and stiffness in my hands and other joints, and I think a touch of neuropathy remains in my right middle finger. It's hard to distinguish between the effects of arimidex and any remaining neuropathy.
My hair started to grow back as soon as I completed the AC part of chemo and 14 months later, it's quite thick and curly. (it was straight before).
I'm not sure about the cognitive effects. I know that during the AC part of chemo it was impossible to focus, I felt anxious and not always clear in my head. It started to improve under taxol, and now it's much better, and I'm doing things to make my brain work - trying to write, solving puzzles, reading. Right after my treatment ended we started preparing to move, so I've not had a steady period to gauge improvement. I have noticed that I have some problems spelling and remembering words once in a while, but I don't know if I'm more cognizant of it of if it is a change.
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