Post treatment question

steph23yo

If all goes well, I should be in remission by October, but I was wondering if I will be able to work at that time, cause I don't get any disability or other benefits, so I will need to work and would like to finish my last year of school, but I don't know how fast recovery usually is. I am getting weekly treatments right now and I have slight vision problems, I'm having difficulty hearing people, I'm tired a lot, my hands don't always work very well, and of course I have the immune system problems. I was wondering do those go away right after treatment ends or does it take a while? Is there a chance of other effects coming up after treatment? Any advice on what recovery is like would be great. Thanks.

kris43

Steph - everyone's recovery is different. There are things you could be doing now to help with your hands (sounds like neuropathy) - I took the B6 as recommended on this site and I think others also took some kind of Glutamine. It helped immensely until I went back to work then I needed something extra so started on the Neurontin. That took about 6 months and I've weaned myself off it and have had no more problems. I also had the vision problem and that went away pretty quickly after treatment was over. Some people work right through treatments but I was off for 6 months because of complications from surgery, port infections, and some setbacks with low numbers & blood transfusions. But you could get done and voila - feel great and be able to start right back. The immune thing is always a concern - you wash your hands constantly, do not feel bad about staying away from things that could be contagious. Shaking hands in church was a big no-no to me and at my home I had a note on the door to thank people for stopping by but if they or someone at work or in their family had been exposed to anything to please call or stop back at another time. You just have to be assertive. It's your health you are talking about. As for being tired, you cannot sleep enough in my opinion. I find myself falling asleep many times right after work or taking naps on the weekend and I am 7 months out of treatment - my aunt likes to remind me that it takes about a year for your body to recover from surgical procedures and I've had 4 surgeries and a colonoscopy in the past year plus chemo and all that goes with that. You do what you can and accept that is just how it is.

I wish you the best and keep posting your questions, okay? Hang in there. Kris