Anyone have problems with fatigue prior to diagnosis?

I am sure that the cancer causes an enormous strain on our whole body. I became totally exhausted a few months before dx, a coincidence ? i could not say.



I just got dx with sleep apnea and seeing the pneumonologist week after next. The tech told me that on a scale of 1 to 10, I was approx a 5 "serious enough to do something about it", i.e, the oxygen mask ((



I have no doubt this is a contributing factor in my developing BC, the lack of oxygen, lack of sleep greatly affecting my immune system.



Have you been tested for allergies or an autoimune disease, i.e. fibromyalgia or CFS or iron deficiency anemia ?

YES. I felt unusual exhaustion 1 year prior to diagnosis. I am 1.9 year post diagnoses and I am now feeling good. Some fatigue but not the same as before

I agree, before diagnosis I was unusually tired.  In my case, they missed the breast cancer diagnosis for quite a while, diagnosed depression and put me on amphetamines!  

Yes I am tired a lot, then I have CLL cancer and IDC cancer, I also 63 and work two jobs, get up at 5:30 AM and get off work at 5 PM. so that could have something to do with it also. I feel drained especially today. I too have asthma and allergies and take lots of medication for my breathing problems.  So I think it is natural to be tired. After radiation I was more tired  then ever. Never had Chemo, I think it would do the same thing or worse yet.

In the past, whenever I brought up the dreaded F word, i was dismissively told that i was depressed, those doctors can be so upsetting ! Wish i could go back to each and every one and tell them they were mistaken. grrr.



It is truly a wonder that we have been able to function in spite of everything. We are very strong women !



Cfdr, you sound just like me: allergies, apnea, anemia, etcetera.....:(


I would encourage everyone who has been suffering from insomnia to do the sleep study. Technology has improved since my last study 15 years ago which did not detect apnea.

I had major fatigue before my diagnosis and I too attributed it to other things.  I had been "tired" in the past but never felt "fatigued."  I saw a doctor for my fatigue and was blown off as well.  People (doctors) just dont get it when you are trying to describe fatigue unless they've been there.   

I work at home.  My office is on the second floor.  I would feel so fatigued sitting at my desk that I would just lie down in the floor.  I couldn't make it downstairs to a bed or couch.  

I have not done chemo but have changed my diet/lifestyle and I no longer have the fatigue.  I'm still tired sometimes but the "fatigue" is gone.  I think it has to do with our adrenals and when our adrenals are fatigued, it can lead to our immune system failing...hence cancer. 

Elimar and all -- I was Stage 1 NED for three years and have been Stage IV for a year now.  What I have observed is that the Stage IV population has wildly variant levels of tumor load, and I think that's an important factor in what you're observing.  Some of the Stage IV sisters are even NED for periods of time when a treatment proves effective for a while.  So it makes sense that there would be a great deal of variation in the fatigue levels at Stage IV, perhaps even moreso than at any other stage.  

It does seem, on the whole, among the Stage IV population, that generally when our tumor load is higher, our fatigue is more relentless and profound.  Both times I have had flaring tumor progression, quite often (daily) I was so wiped out that I could not fight sleep if I tried.  Now that my current treatment has zapped the buggers back, I am able to get back to cleaning out closets and decorating my house for the holidays.  It comes and goes.  

If there is anything about energy levels which seems to consistently apply to everyone at Stage IV, I think it's that we have far lower energy reserves.  Even when our tumor load is lightened for a while, we still seem to get tapped out much faster than before... therefore we must learn to budget how we spend our energy each day.  If I have a burst, I am elated but I use it carefully, while continuing to protect myself against draining my reserves for tomorrow.

I'm just thankful to have energy whenever it decides to come! 

Several of the women with small, non-metastatic B/C were mentioning relatively recent fatigue.  The point I was going for was that even their small tumors were probably in existence for longer than some months or a year, so it would be harder to know that it went hand-in-hand with any fatigue. 

Also, the "tumor-load" of the early stagers would be light just by the fact that it would not be throughout their bodies, no organs affected, etc.  Therefore, all women with mets could be considered to have more of a "tumor load" (even in remission, as healing tissue and bone take energy too)  than a woman with no spread, AND YET they are not all more fatigued than some early stage women.  With the point being you cannot be sure fatigue comes from B/C.  More likely it is a factor of general health.

(As a side note:  You know how chemo or rads give many fatigue and some work full time right through treatment.  I think that has a lot to do with overall health and energy levels too.)

PLJ,  So have you perked up now that the B/C is "out?" 

Then again, so many report that getting B/C was their wake up call to adopt healthier lifestyle habits, so that alone can give an energy boost.

ckk... interesting about your oncologist verifying this, anecdotally at least.

I was told that tumor cells do just what you said -- they command more energy than healthy, normal cells.  

But there's more... these tumors shed inflammatory cytokines into our systems that actually cause fatigue and even depression.  If you google "breast cancer cytokines fatigue" you'll come up with plenty of info.

Here is one study.

cfdr, I guess the voices and experiences of women who have felt this mean nothing until a study is done, right? :-)

yes.  For about six months leading up to it I knew something was wrong.  I can clearly remember laying in bed thinking "this is what it must feel like to be dying."  I was exhausted-not just tired.  And yet still couldn't sleep.  I asked my doctor if she thought it could be cancer and she said no, not at all.  I wish I would have pushed more.

I agree Mallory107.  Not diagnosed , I just found my lump 6/7/2013 in left breast at the 3 o'clock position... I am so fatigued ...but can't seem to sleep and when I sleep  I wake up fatigued ... I'm glad I saw your post  .... I thought it was all in my head . My mammo is July 2 . I was told I have an abscessed cyst. I beg to differ . My entire world has changed this past year vesus 2 yrs ago due to fatigue. I'm usually 145 to 150 but this last  year to 1 1/2 yrs I gained and can't seem to lose the 15 to 20 lbs I have gained .

Thanks E