I am tired all the time. Why am I tired, and what can I do about it?

There are many reasons for your fatigue. One is the cancer itself. Another can be the side effects of treatment. If you have had major surgery, your body will be using a lot of energy to heal. If you had a lung removed, you may not be getting enough oxygen to your body when you breathe. If you are having radiation therapy, it almost always worsens fatigue. If you are having chemotherapy, there may be specific side effects, like lowering your red blood cells that are making you more tired. These are all physical side effects.

Let’s talk about them one at a time. The cancer most likely is causing some of your fatigue. Everything you are doing to treat the cancer will hopefully either remove part of it, or shrink it, so that it is using less of your body’s resources.

If you had major surgery, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for your body to get back to a more normal state after the procedure. Additionally, if you had a lung removed, or you had another chest procedure and any complication like a collapsed lung, you may not be getting enough oxygen to your body.

The lungs take in the oxygen, and the red blood cells take it all through your system.  A good way to help after surgery is by using oxygen, usually out of the hospital by tubes into your nose.

You will probably have oxygen tanks and tubing. As your body gets used to the new situation, you may start to feel better and may not need the oxygen, and you good lung works harder. But if you feel tired, and especially if you feel short of breath, you need to use the oxygen.

The fatigue from radiation therapy is difficult to treat. Even if you do everything you can, you will probably have fatigue during the therapy. That will go away after you are done with radiation.

If you are having chemotherapy, your doctor will be watching your blood counts. If you develop anemia, a low red blood count, there are ways to deal with that. If you are very anemic, you might need a blood transfusion. That could actually happen during or after surgery. If you aren’t making enough red cells because of the chemotherapy, you might need to skip a treatment until you make more red cells. You might be given a medicine that helps your body make red blood cells. Your doctor will make sure that you have all the nutrients you need to make red cells, including iron, B vitamins and folic acid.

If you are taking strong pain medication, it might make you a little sleepy. But usually if you are taking it for severe pain, it does not continue to make you sleepy.