Still taking naps-anyone else snoozin' too?

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helenkay
helenkay Member Posts: 9
edited July 2011 in Breast Cancer #1
I take a nap almost everyday. 1-2 hours. My family is really giving me a hard time, saying I sleep too much. I'm cancer free right now, but I'm stage 4 and have been through chemo twice. My body is worn out. Does anyone out there still take a little snooze during the day to feel refreshed?

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  • mollyz
    mollyz Member Posts: 756 Member
    #2
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    No!!
    If i sit down i could but i keep busy. you say your cancer free and still stage 4 ? if your cancer free your cancer free, praise God.if your still feel worn out maybe your missing some minerals and vitamins maybe your iron is low.I'm 3 months out of all treatment and i don't feel like i could run a marathon but i can do most anything i used to check with your Dr. MOLLYZ
  • lizzie17
    lizzie17 Member Posts: 548
    #3
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    I sleep when
    I need to. That is what my oncologist told me to do.
  • skipper54
    skipper54 Member Posts: 936 Member
    #4
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    lizzie17 said:

    I sleep when
    I need to. That is what my oncologist told me to do.

    Yep! Me too
    Some days I can nap for an hour and others just 10 minutes does the trick but I've always tried to make some "me time" in the afternoon anyway to just chill out and read. My doctors all said listen to my body and do what I need to as it will help my stamina come back after chemo, surgery, and rads. Don't get me wrong. I also go to Curves and to yoga so I'm up and moving but still not always sleeping well and a nap just helps me along.
  • mamolady
    mamolady Member Posts: 796 Member
    #5
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    nap
    I still nap occasionally. I finished treatment June 29th. After all that your body has been through, it needs to rebuild. I did find that I was sleeping more in the day when I was up at night. You may want to check that too though. All that has happened in the past 10 months and then add normal life stuff, makes it hard to sleep at times.

    Cindy
  • mollieb
    mollieb Member Posts: 148
    #6
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    Naps
    What a luxury to be able to sleep! What does your family think you should be doing instead? Invite them to share in the chore list and tell them your doctor told you to sleep whenever you feel the need. (S)he probably would say that if asked.

    I don't sleep well at night, for a variety of reasons, and I work Mon-Fri. Sometimes I go straight to bed when I get home from work, and sometimes a weekend afternoon nap makes all the difference in my outlook. If I could sleep on weekdays, I definitely would.

    I am also pretty crabby (natural disposition heightened by side effect from steroid pre-medication accompanying Taxol) so anybody who criticized me for napping would probably have his head bitten off. You might think about trying a little crabbiness. They definitely leave me alone!
  • GreeneyedGirl
    GreeneyedGirl Member Posts: 1,077
    #7
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    mamolady said:

    nap
    I still nap occasionally. I finished treatment June 29th. After all that your body has been through, it needs to rebuild. I did find that I was sleeping more in the day when I was up at night. You may want to check that too though. All that has happened in the past 10 months and then add normal life stuff, makes it hard to sleep at times.

    Cindy

    I'm a napper~
    Not every day, just when I feel my body needs it. I am 3 years out from my second round of BC~ had a recurrence 2 yrs after diagnosis. But, I exercise regularly and that along with slow moving menopause (am I peri? or am I there yet?) causes me to need a nap a few times a week. It usually hits me around 3:30 to 4 in the afternoon. I only nap for maybe an hour. Just listen to your body's needs. I too felt like my family may have thought I was being lazy~ but i expressed that it is what I need at this time, and the housework will still be there tomorrow....they agreed!
    Blessings~ Happy Napping~ Melanie
  • cinnamonsmile
    cinnamonsmile Member Posts: 1,187 Member
    #8
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    I didn't have chemo, but
    I didn't have chemo, but have depression and bipolar really bad as well as severe neuropathy from my BMX with Bialteral SNB and right side axillary dissestion. I am on disability, so I do what I can when I am feeling good. My gabapentin can really make me tired and loopy so I nap when I need to. I seem to have cycles. I am so glad I have my partner, Brian. He is so supportive and easy going. I sleep when I need to. And if it's a two hour nap during the afternoon or early evening, he lets me sleep. I figure my body need it, so I don't fight OR feel guilty anymore. From what I have read about people and chemo, it can take a long time before the body is feeling better. If you need it, take your naps, they are luxory right now!!
    Shame on your family for chastising you for napping!! If they have not been through what we have, they wont understand. I hope you can find a way to tell them you had cancer, chemo twice, it's devastating to your body, some are slow healers, some are faster. Brian has helped me be ok with being a slow healer. I know it's easier said than done, right?
    In the meantime, enjoy your naps!! I think we deserve them!
  • disneyfan2008
    disneyfan2008 Member Posts: 6,583 Member
    #9
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    I did not have chemo...but I
    I did not have chemo...but I can understand you need naps...tell them to go what your body has and see if they need a nap too! Hard for others to understand...

    Denise
  • gagee
    gagee Member Posts: 332
    #10
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    I am almost 9 months from
    I am almost 9 months from last radiation and I still tire easily. Aug. 4th will be a year since lumpectomy. Nov. 9th was last radiation. Year 2010. Any way I think we are all different and just do what we see is best for us. Of course, doctor could tell you more. Hope you get the rest and time you need for yourself. My family thinks I should just push myself an do more. Well like someone else mentioned the housework,laundry or whatever will be there tomorrow.

    Hugs and Prayers to You,
    Diana
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #11
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    I don't take naps but whenever possible I sleep in the morning!
    Today my alarm went off at 8:30 am and I shut it off. I woke at 10:50 am :D I need to do that at least once a week to recharge. After finishing rads in February I immediately started watching granddaughters. I was tired all the time and would fall asleep during the day. Now, I just try to get minimum 8 hours of sleep at night.
    Char
  • sweetvickid
    sweetvickid Member Posts: 459 Member
    #12
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    cahjah75 said:

    I don't take naps but whenever possible I sleep in the morning!
    Today my alarm went off at 8:30 am and I shut it off. I woke at 10:50 am :D I need to do that at least once a week to recharge. After finishing rads in February I immediately started watching granddaughters. I was tired all the time and would fall asleep during the day. Now, I just try to get minimum 8 hours of sleep at night.
    Char

    I was just wondering about
    I was just wondering about this! I didn't have rads but 18 rounds of chemo.
    the DR. said I would be recovered in 6 months. will Iam 5 months out and still find it hard to stay up all day. If I really push it I can stay up till 5pm but then I end up sleeping all evening. I am so tired of being tired!
  • laughs_a_lot
    laughs_a_lot Member Posts: 1,368 Member
    #13
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    Napping and recovery
    When studying drug addiction in the school of social work it had been stated that it takes a year for a person on illicit drugs to recover with a clear mind for good decision making. Though we have not been on illicit drugs I still will hold myself to the standard of a year. Remeber though not illicit drugs they are pumping poison into our bodies. It may be poision to the cancer but it will kill other kinds of cells to. We need to regenerate those cells after chemo.

    Because I work 3rd shift I naturally sleep in a split shift. I get 4-5 hours in the am when I get home (more if I am lucky). I then get up to deal with buisness that must be handled by 5 pm and then go back to bed at 7pm to 10pm to insure I am ready for another nights work. Sometimes I get another snooze in between too. I do not allow my family to give me any guilt about the number of hours of sleep because this only amounts to 7-8 hrs anyway if I don't get another nap. I worked two jobs off and on for the last 20 years so I don't let anyone guilt me about sleep. I am still the hardest worker in the house as my husband is disabled so I outwork him on a daily basis.

    I suspect your family wants things back to normal. There is nothing normal about having cancer even if you end up with no evidence of disease at the end. When in college my daughter asked me when I was going to do dishes as my husband is slow at this task. I replied. "It is final exam season and it will last about 3 more weeks. If you need a clean dish to eat on, then I suggest you wash it yourself. Otherwise I will be washing dishes in 3 weeks". I never heard another complaint from her again. I guess she thought she had a broken arm.
  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    #14
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    lizzie17 said:

    I sleep when
    I need to. That is what my oncologist told me to do.

    You will be tired and sleep
    You will be tired and sleep a lot. You have already been thru so much that your body is healing. It happens to all of us.


    Hugs, Angie
  • robang13
    robang13 Member Posts: 333
    #15
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    I am 2 months out of rads
    I am 2 months out of rads and still exhausted 2/3 of the time!! I find just doing the laundry tires me out. I sleep most mornings till 10 or later. This is a luxury to me right now since I'm not watching nieces and nephews every day. I am fearful of when I will have to start getting up at 7 again to run after kids all day. When I get tired I have to remind myself that it's only been 2 months! Everyone seems to think that I am just being lazy and should be back to normal by now, so I know what you are feeling. Sometimes I get upset with myself for NOT being back to normal then I get pissed off at everyone for expecting me to. No one understands what we are feeling except us. So, turn a deaf ear and sleep when you feel it's needed!

    Angela
  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    #16
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    robang13 said:

    I am 2 months out of rads
    I am 2 months out of rads and still exhausted 2/3 of the time!! I find just doing the laundry tires me out. I sleep most mornings till 10 or later. This is a luxury to me right now since I'm not watching nieces and nephews every day. I am fearful of when I will have to start getting up at 7 again to run after kids all day. When I get tired I have to remind myself that it's only been 2 months! Everyone seems to think that I am just being lazy and should be back to normal by now, so I know what you are feeling. Sometimes I get upset with myself for NOT being back to normal then I get pissed off at everyone for expecting me to. No one understands what we are feeling except us. So, turn a deaf ear and sleep when you feel it's needed!

    Angela

    Angela, my rads oncologist
    Angela, my rads oncologist said it can take up to a year to get your strength back from rads. No one understands how much they take out of us, so, you rest as often as you can.
  • missrenee
    missrenee Member Posts: 2,136 Member
    #17
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    Angie2U said:

    Angela, my rads oncologist
    Angela, my rads oncologist said it can take up to a year to get your strength back from rads. No one understands how much they take out of us, so, you rest as often as you can.

    Don't feel badly about being tired
    Look at what you've been through! I am a year+ past chemo and rads. Some days I'm doing great with tons of energy and some days I just feel like I'm going to take a dive usually in the late afternoon hours. I find that it's not really sleepiness--just profound fatigue, as if I just can't put another foot in front of the other. When that happens--even just an hour on the couch watching tv helps me.

    Of course, you could be lacking in some vitamin or mineral. I take a multi vitamin, Calcium, Vit. D, CoQ10 and when I'm really feeling fatigued, Vitamin C. My onc. also told me that after chemo it's not abnormal to have the WBC and RBC fluctuate from time to time and sometimes that's the cause of the fatigue. Either way--always good to check with the doc.

    Good luck and go take a rest!

    Hugs, Renee

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