Anyone experienced this?

Sorry to hear you are having such a bad time Sunny. I have no personal experience but just wanted to say I hope you soon feel a bit better. Hope you have family looking after you x

A family member is being treated for bowel cancer, Sunnysideup and is experiencing very similar symptoms to you. Sometimes it’s an effort to even hold their head up.

The good news is that it eases off really quite quickly and suddenly so within another couple of days they’re back to normal. I hope it’s the same for you.

DH has colon cancer. He is having chemo for the 3rd time and is on cycle 16. He feels dreadful. Chemo side effects are cumulative. Oncologist made him feel worse when she said “I have patients who continue to work full-time”. It is very hard. I’m sorry you too are suffering.

Sunneysideup, here's hoping that you soon feel better. I have been having chemo tablets for over two years, and they do make me very tired. Sometimes it just feels as though a plug has been pulled out, and all my energy drained. I have a rest and then recover a bit, but try to keep going.

So sorry to hear you’re so unwell Sunnysideup. Are you taking anti sickness medication for the chemo. When my DS had testicular cancer (aged 34yrs) he was really unwell but it turned out to be the anti sickness tablets not the chemo. He felt better once he stopped them. Hope you feel much better soon x

Sorry to hear you are having such a bad time. Hope you soon feel better. x

Didn’t want to read and run Sunnysideup hope you are feeling better very soon

Really sorry to hear you're feeling so rotten! If it persists, can you ring your Medical Oncologist's secretary and arrange a telephone chat with her/him and perhaps a review? I was lucky that my oncologist always invited me to "Give Sam a buzz if there's anything bothering you." I only had to do it twice, but I did stop one chemo regime after cycle 2 because of various unpleasant things happening. I was concerned because I had a "nasty" cancer with a low 5 year survival. Oncologist told me he had a "cunning plan" - changed to another regime which was more tolerable. I gathered from the nurses at the Maggie Centre that this often happens. Everybody reacts differently to chemo drugs, but they won't know unless you tell them. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Sorry to hear that you feel so poorly. Chemo is a bitch and affects everyone differently - the accumulative effects can be very hard to cope with at times. Be gentle with yourself and hopefully you'll be feeling much brighter soon.

I'm sorry to hear this, Sunnysideup and hope the tiredness eases.

Do you you have a hospice at home service in your area? Perhaps you can be referred to them and they may pay a home visit with advice? Alternatively there may be a team of oncology nurses who have mobile phone numbers and you could contact one of them for advice.

I found days 3-6 the worst…but picked up slowly from day 7 onwards…I hope you have someone to help you. My oncology nurses said if I felt too tired to get up….stay in bed, so I suggest keep hydrated and just rest. I hope you feel better soon, be strong.

So sorry to hear you’re feeling poorly. Chemo for colorectal cancer is absolutely brutal. I’d had breast cancer years before colon cancer and the chemo I had for that was a walk in the park in comparison. Still suffering some after effects of colon chemo some eight years later so please don’t beat yourself up. If you’re not up to walking about then don’t. Just stay in bed and have lots of water. Alternatively, lie on the sofa and watch TV. There’s always something to watch on catch-up or Netflix! Hope you feel better soon and sending hugs 🤗

I had ovarian cancer about 20 years ago and now have bladder cancer. The chemo I had for 6 months after the operation for the ovarian cancer definitely tough. I felt very wiped out the first week and improved for week 2 and 3 and then it was time for the next chemo. It was tough but worth it in the end as I am here to tell the tale. Definitely have a word with the chemo nurse as I was also very sick with the first drug and needed antiemetic as well, and they may be able to improve things a bit. I did improve slowly and when I got to the middle of the course felt that it was worth coping with it as I was past half way. I tried fighting it in the beginning, but it was better just accepting it and so had plenty of books to read, got some frozen meals in so that I might sometimes be able to quickly eat something that I had microwaved . If I smelt the food I tended to feel too sick to try it. So tried to eat something quickly while I was able to, and accept that I might be throwing stuff away. Jacket potatoes were good, as they did not have a strong smell and you can add anything you might fancy to it , easy to eat and can be warmed up in microwave if you only manage a small amount at first. Hope all goes well for you

Does your cancer centre have a chemo hot line?
That said, I have just finished 6 months of fortnightly chemo followed by 28 sessions of Chemoradiotherapy and the tiredness from the latter has been far worse. I was warned this might happen though. As others have said, listen to your body and nap if you need to. I find a gentle walk around the house and garden is helpful too. Good luck on your journey

I do feel sorry for all of you suffering from cancer and the after effects of the chemo.
I was very lucky when I had bowel cancer. Had part of my bowel removed. Six years ago with anal cancer I had radiotheraphy and tablets with little side effects. Cured but lot of trouble emptying my bowels.
It seems every other person now has cancer. Lost my husband and sister to it.

SunnySideUp
I’m sorry you are going through this and feeling the ravaging effects of chemo.

I’m a (breast) cancer survivor, six years now. I did not have to have chemo, only radiation for six weeks.

Let me tell you - the accumulation of radiation almost killed me (hah!). I suffered from the same exact side effects - and then some, that you explain here. While I was not dying I was a lifeless blob.

You WILL recover. In the meantime let the drugs do their thing, lay back and just rest. You can’t change anything. Don’t force yourself to do what you cannot do!

I wish you well in your recovery. Take one day at a time. This too shall pass.
USA Gundy

Hi lovely, I'm so sorry the chemo is affecting you this way. The drugs used for colorectal cancer are absolutely brutal. My oncologist told me they're one of the most neurotoxic chemo drugs currently being used. Be gentle with yourself, stay warm (very important) and listen to your body. There are no prizes for being a hero bit you will get through this. Xx

Having had two rounds of chemo eight years apart I had very different experiences. The second time I would have chemo on a Friday, feel okay on Saturday and Sunday but Monday felt as though I’d been run over by a steam roller. This lasted for 3 days and then I started feeling better. It was the same for the six cycles. I did ask for more steroids which helped considerably. On the first two days I barely got out of bed.
It certainly doesn’t help when the nurses say it doesn’t happen to everyone. I am lucky that I have a wonderful oncologist who helps all she can.

Sorry to hear this Sunny - I hope you feel better soon. Also, my thoughts and good wishes to all those going through difficult times

SunnySideup I too am having chemo at the moment for breast cancer after 2 operations 3 cycles of EC and I'm feeling totally whiped out 4th tomorrow so I know how you feel, with me I feel guilty if I stay in bed but sometimes you just have to listen to your body. Take care and rest x

I’m due to start my first round of chemo next Wednesday. I have had a horrible cough and despite having antibiotics it is still hanging on for almost two weeks. I’m worried that I won’t be over it in time to start chemo. I have inoperable aggressive sarcoma and don’t want to die yet.

I have had 2 sessions of chemo, for stomach cancer, the first 9 weeks prior to major surgery I felt fine and ate very well. After recovering from the op, I had another 9 weeks of the same chemo. I was absolutely floored, slept all the time, I could hardly get out of bed to get to the toilet, had no appetite and I had constant diarrhea. I had to eat with every chemo tablet so ate small meals of yoghurt. Once I finished the tablets I recovered quite quickly. Stick with it if you can Sunneysideup. It'll be worth it in the long run. Wishing you all the best.

Thank you, thank you all so much for your kindness in your replies. I’m on the eighth day of the cycle and the fifth day of felling so very ill. I am able to call the hotline at the hospital and speak to the chemo nurses who are urging me to eat and drink little and often which I’m trying to do. I have anti sickness medication which I take three times a day and they give me diarrhoea. I had appendix cancer six years ago and had a pelvic clearance with HIPEC and the five months belt and braces chemo which didn’t affect me like this. Unfortunately the cancer cells migrated to the bladder, liver and small bowel and six years later here I am fighting again. I have spoken to my oncologist who says he will change the next lot so it’s not so brutal. If he doesn’t I don’t think I can go through this again. I’m going to have a look at the letter from the hospice that I’ve received after my GP registered me with them and see if there is anyone I can talk to. Thanks once again and my heart goes out to anyone else suffering.

First of all let me wish you all the very best with your continued treatment, and a speedy recovery.
This type of chemotherapy may be a different type to the one you had previously which could be why you are suffering more side effects, also if you are a few years older that will have an impact too.
They had to give me a lower dose which was more manageable, but increased the amount of sessions I had.
Please just listen to your body and rest if you are tired. Just do little bits of pottering about. Nutrition is really important. Good luck