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Extreme Exhaustion and the future

User
Posted 11 Jan 2016 at 00:26

Hi All


My Husband is feeling totally exhausted.  He had Chemotherapy 5 days ago.  I have looked this up on the website


and it does seem like it is a normal feature for most people.  It was his fourth cycle.  He has two more to go. 


I assume that after this round of treatment he will be re-scanned and then the treatment altered depending on the results. 


His PSA is on the way down it started at over 2300 and is now 535.   Today he is totally exhausted to the point of almost going back to bed.


He was very active. Now I have tried to persuade him to take each day at a time. It does get him down and he is normally fairly positive  It seems to be a tiredness that will not be eased by sleeping.  I am assuming that It is caused by the cancer and the Chemo?


Most days we manage a walk with the dog.  Today he was too tired.  That gets him down as he loves his Charlie dog( and me).


I know that it is different for everybody.  What I have been able to tell him so far from responses on this site has given him a boost. 


Is it likely that he will not be so tired after the Chemo is over?  I know that is how long is a piece of string question but if I can tell him that he will come out of this the other end it will help.


 


Thanks


 


Carol


 


 


 

User
Posted 11 Jan 2016 at 13:24
Hi Carol

Chemo seems to be a fairly unique experience for every man who has it for PCa, there are some common side effects, some men literally go through 6 -10 cycles of docetaxel chemo with next to no side effects at all others who are less fortunate get most or all of them at one stage or another.

I am no expert but this is what I think might be the cause and it is definitely worth a follow up.

The extreme fatigue is quite common, in many cases it is caused by a temporary drop in Hb (Haemaglobin) which causes anaemia. Your Husband should have been given a red chemo diary/record book which gives a guide to the treatment, things to look out for and when to be worried enough to call for help. One of those factors is tiredness and activity levels. From what you have said I think you should be calling your Husband's medical team for guidance, this is not a major problem or necessarily a setback. However, Your Husband may need some extra medication or treatment to improve his energy levels.

This A5 sized red book also has a record page for each cycle of chemo. There is a section that the chemo nurse completes before chemo is given, it should tell you the Hb level along with other blood results.

Hb is normally reported with a decimal point but sometimes as a whole figure, for example 13.5 or 135
the normal range for a healthy adult male is 11.5 - 18.0 or 115 -180

If the figures are below that and energy levels are low with extreme fatigue, then sometimes,the Oncology team decide that a blood transfusion might help significantly. I was very naieve when I was first told that Mick needed a blood transfusion thinking it was a really big and dramatic thing. It is actually quite straight forward and not at all the scary thing I first thought. In Mick's case after cycle 3 his Hb dropped to 8.8 and at that point he was like your Husband, wiped out tired all the time. He had the first transfusion of 3 units of blood next day and perked up almost immediately. He had 3 more transfusions in between cycles 4, 6 and 7 and in every case they made a big difference. His Hb went up to 11.1 and although it dipped towards the end of the 3 week cycle it recovered sufficiently every time so that chemo could continue.

Once chemo ends if things are still improving and the cancer is being pegged back the Hb should slowly right itself and the fatigue and low energy levels should steadily improve.

The reduction in PSA from 2300 to 535 is good, big drops initially then a little slower as the starting number itself gets lower.

I wish you all the very best
xx
Mo

User
Posted 15 Jan 2016 at 22:43

Hi


Thank you for your really full response.  I got in touch with the medical team and our GP. He got him in


straight away for an appointment and took bloods.  It turns out that he has a really low white cell count. 


 


They were going to admit him to hospital and administer antibiotics.  But decided that he was better off


not being in hospital with the low count.  That he would be better off back home and avoiding people.  That


is not difficult as it is just normally me and the dog that he bothers with. 


 


He says that he doesn't feel ill as such apart from what goes along with this.   But his only problem Is the


sheer exhaustion.  He is hardly able to put one foot before the other today.


 


They say this can happen at this term in the cycle and he should get a jab or a re-think about his next Chemotherapy


session.  It should improve.


 


Thank you for your help.  It prompted me to contact the Medical team and he does have an issue. 


 


Carol


 


 

 
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