recovery after chemo

[J_boi]

So, I am on my last round of chemo, my last Bleo injection is on Monday and i'm chopping at the bit to get back to normal and do stuff but I have no idea how quickly I will recover from the nine weeks of chemo?

Right now I really want to do stuff but find that I start getting tired pretty quickly. Next week I'm going back to work in the office but reduced hours so that I don't get too tired - but what should I expect? Am I going to feel fairly normal in a week or two? How long will tiredness be an issue? I know it will take longer to get over everything just trying to understand when i'll get back to 80%+ of feeling 'normal'.

Hope as ever that there's lots of folks who have recovered and can tell their story/experience!


(Thursday is my D-Day when I get the results of my latest scan/bloods etc and find out if I am onto surviellance)

[Davepet]

Every guy is different, some manage to work during chemo ( I suspect their co-workers wished they hadn't tried to do that) others take longer. I can't recall exactly, but seems like it was around a month after finishing chemo that I could get through a day without a nap (or two). Fatigue was my biggest problem during chemo, some folks don't seem to have that as bad.

Dave

[Smartie]

Like Dave, it took me about a month to get back feeling close to normal. I went back to work after about five weeks, I think, but I worked part-time for a month or two.

[Osaka_23]

I finish me second and final cycle this Thursday and like you I'm wondering when to go back to work and do my not activities. I get tired pretty quick too but I have two extra weeks off for me to recover then I'll ease back into work. Glad your seeing the finishing line!! Well done!

[S P]

How are you mentally after chemo ends? I understand physically you might not be 100% for awhile, but are you mentally 100% at any point or is your mind still a bit foggy? Does your mind perk up before the rest of your body does?

I'm asking from the perspective of an unemployed engineer who is looking forward to going on interviews and getting back to work ASAP after this is all over. For engineering interviews I can expect some questions that are on the technical side, so mentally I need to be as close to 100% as possible.

[BarclayBanister]

All the nurses and others have mentioned "chemo brain" but I haven't really noticed too much of a problem in my work (attorney). The mental challenge for me anyway has been the fear of recurrence. I know people don't like to talk about it, but the mental strain to me has been worse than the physical part, including chemo. Chemo was rough but if they let me do 10 rounds, I'd do it. I was better mentally during treatment than afterwards on surveillance. Everyone says you finished the hard part---no sir, not for me.

[Davepet]

SP, I recall being pretty fatigued & a bit foggy for a few weeks. I'd plan on waiting a few weeks. Maybe set up a few interview appointments during those weeks?

Dave

[hbr777]

For my husband, he said the mental fog lasted about a month, along with zero interest in anything professional. The same with the physical recovery. My husband didn't have any complications during chemo vis a vis blood clots, infections, low blood counts, etc... (except for stomach issues). I imagine with complications it could be more than a month on the physical side.

His oncologist told him about 6 weeks recovery.