can i get radiation poisoning from having had 33 treatments

gagee

I finished the treatment and have been so sick. No chemo only rad. Extremely tired, chills,sleep all the time, aches, no ENERGY

carkris

that sounds about normal. I
that sounds about normal. I never thought of it that way, but I guess it is a form of it, because you do feel the side effects. I know the docs are very careful about the dose they give and where the beams are aimed and thereby not give you poisoning per se. But your symptoms do sound familiar. You will find your energy improving as time ges by.

mwallace1325

It does sound normal
I had chemo before rads and I'm sure I was feeling the effects of both, but it all does sound pretty normal. To make yourself feel better, contact your onc or one of the rads nurses and tell them how you're feeling. It will get better over time though.

gagee

carkris said:

that sounds about normal. I
that sounds about normal. I never thought of it that way, but I guess it is a form of it, because you do feel the side effects. I know the docs are very careful about the dose they give and where the beams are aimed and thereby not give you poisoning per se. But your symptoms do sound familiar. You will find your energy improving as time ges by.

Thank You for answering me.
Thank You for answering me. I feel so alone most of the time. I need to get into a support group but guess just lazy because I have not. Or maybe just still to tired to get up and out.

gagee

mwallace1325 said:

It does sound normal
I had chemo before rads and I'm sure I was feeling the effects of both, but it all does sound pretty normal. To make yourself feel better, contact your onc or one of the rads nurses and tell them how you're feeling. It will get better over time though.

Thank You also for answering
Thank You also for answering me. I feel so alone and lost. I have a call into the doc and hope she will answer before noon. I just want to get back to whatever normal is going to be from now on.

mwallace1325

gagee said:

Thank You also for answering
Thank You also for answering me. I feel so alone and lost. I have a call into the doc and hope she will answer before noon. I just want to get back to whatever normal is going to be from now on.

You will
You'll get back to your new normal much quicker than you're feeling right now. In time rads will be a distant, horrible, memory. Take it easy and don't force yourself to do too much.

marge

carkris

mwallace1325 said:

You will
You'll get back to your new normal much quicker than you're feeling right now. In time rads will be a distant, horrible, memory. Take it easy and don't force yourself to do too much.

marge

You dont feel like doing
You dont feel like doing anything because you are too tired. In another month you will notice a difference and it just improves. sometimes not as fast as you would like, but you feel like doing more. Ask your doctor about taking some vitamins particularly B vitamins, and to have your blood checked perhaps you are anemic. (this is more common after chemo, but you could have it just from life)
We are always here so you dont need to feel alone. keep posting. Hugs

Lighthouse_7

mwallace1325 said:

You will
You'll get back to your new normal much quicker than you're feeling right now. In time rads will be a distant, horrible, memory. Take it easy and don't force yourself to do too much.

marge

Yes your symptoms are normal.
Yes your symptoms are normal. Especially the fatigue, which seemed worse to me than the chemo fatigue. Weird. But hang in there and be good to yourself, don't do more than you can handle right now.
It does get better, promise
Hugs,
Wanda

Gabe N Abby Mom

I don't have any advice,
I don't have any advice, just know that I'm send positive energy your way. This is a great place to come for support and to get your questions answered. The people here are amazing, supportive, compassionate, knowledgeable, wise, and kind. I hope we'll hear from you as you are feeling better.

Hugs,

Linda

Ritzy

Gabe N Abby Mom said:

I don't have any advice,
I don't have any advice, just know that I'm send positive energy your way. This is a great place to come for support and to get your questions answered. The people here are amazing, supportive, compassionate, knowledgeable, wise, and kind. I hope we'll hear from you as you are feeling better.

Hugs,

Linda

I have never heard of this
I have never heard of this except rads will make you very tired. Could you maybe have the flu or something? Call your oncologist or rads oncologist and ask them. Hope you feel better soon.

Sue

disneyfan2008

Ritzy said:

I have never heard of this
I have never heard of this except rads will make you very tired. Could you maybe have the flu or something? Call your oncologist or rads oncologist and ask them. Hope you feel better soon.

Sue

I too never heard of this
I am sure you have talked to your drs or medical team! I must say I was extremely lucky, no side effects of 8 wks radiation. NOT TIRED, no burning, dry skin etc.
I hope you feel better and this too passes...

mariam_11_09

I finished radiation a few


I finished radiation a few weeks ago. At certain times of the day I get extremely fatigued, also have the chills but wasn't sure why, also aches that I thought might be left over from chemo, broke out in a pimply/boil like rash on my legs and torso...hmmm.... I wonder.

Talk to you doctor though just to make sure.

beetle25

I finished radiation about a
I finished radiation about a month ago, experieced pretty much the same things that you have. I also had chemo and found that the fatigue with the radiation was worse than the fatigue that I expereinced with the dhemo. Because my job is very stressful I am still experiencing alot of fatigue. There were different times during treatment that my rad. onc. had me take days off of work due to the fatigue that I was experiencing and she did not want me to do any extra activities. I would get home from work eat dinner and be in bed by 8:30. I also had the aches and the chills.

carkris

beetle25 said:

I finished radiation about a
I finished radiation about a month ago, experieced pretty much the same things that you have. I also had chemo and found that the fatigue with the radiation was worse than the fatigue that I expereinced with the dhemo. Because my job is very stressful I am still experiencing alot of fatigue. There were different times during treatment that my rad. onc. had me take days off of work due to the fatigue that I was experiencing and she did not want me to do any extra activities. I would get home from work eat dinner and be in bed by 8:30. I also had the aches and the chills.

another thought to get your
another thought to get your thyroid checked. Our body systems go through a lot with the treatments.

roseann4

carkris said:

another thought to get your
another thought to get your thyroid checked. Our body systems go through a lot with the treatments.

I think the difference is...
that if you come into rads after going through chemo, the side effects can be much stronger. I did not have chemo and my only symptoms were being tired and slightly burned. We are all so different. Hope you feel better soon.

Roseann

Rague

roseann4 said:

I think the difference is...
that if you come into rads after going through chemo, the side effects can be much stronger. I did not have chemo and my only symptoms were being tired and slightly burned. We are all so different. Hope you feel better soon.

Roseann

In some cases -
I started Rads one week after 12th Taxol (Had had 4 A/C every other week before surgery 2 weeks later and then started the 12 weekly Taxol 3 weeks after surgery). I was completely EXHAUSTED but with each passing day/rad, I got less exhausted and by the end was almost back to 'normal'.

We're all so different that there is no way of knowing what each of us will experience beforehand.

Susan

KathiM

As others have said....normal!
I verbally worried about radiation sickness with my rad/onc. He said that they are VERY careful with the levels...he showed me the meter that they laid beside me during treatments...I had never noticed it!

It could be many things, as others have said, beyond the tiredness. If in doubt, call your oncologist and ask for an appointment, share why you want it...

But, yeah...during my 2 battles...rectal cancer: 'positioning scan, then 20 days of rads to pelvis. Breast: 3 mammos, then a 'positioning' scan for and hour, then 28 general, 5 boosts, a CT scan with contrast for the pelvis...there was one day where I really felt like I had gone into the danger zone...2 days later, I felt much better...

Hugs, Kathi

Angie2U

KathiM said:

As others have said....normal!
I verbally worried about radiation sickness with my rad/onc. He said that they are VERY careful with the levels...he showed me the meter that they laid beside me during treatments...I had never noticed it!

It could be many things, as others have said, beyond the tiredness. If in doubt, call your oncologist and ask for an appointment, share why you want it...

But, yeah...during my 2 battles...rectal cancer: 'positioning scan, then 20 days of rads to pelvis. Breast: 3 mammos, then a 'positioning' scan for and hour, then 28 general, 5 boosts, a CT scan with contrast for the pelvis...there was one day where I really felt like I had gone into the danger zone...2 days later, I felt much better...

Hugs, Kathi

I haven't heard of rad
I haven't heard of rad poisoning before. Hope you will feel better!

jendrey

I research everything
and I mean I extensively research everything! Have yet to come across anything about anybody getting radiation poisoning from breast cancer radiation treatments. Not to say that it's not possible, but it's not very likely. It'll take time but before you know it things will get better!

SIROD

Ritzy said:

I have never heard of this
I have never heard of this except rads will make you very tired. Could you maybe have the flu or something? Call your oncologist or rads oncologist and ask them. Hope you feel better soon.

Sue

Radiation Poisoning
Dear Sue,

There is such a thing as radiation poisoning. I'm not referring to Hiroshima or Chernobyl. Some can happen with faulty radiation equipment and settings. Overtime, radiation can cause poisoning. My uncle died from to much radiation for his cancer. I have heard others on boards mention the same.

However, most women do not have this happen with radiation for their primary cancer. One has to be aware of how many ct scans, bone scans and x-rays are given over time. Mostly this applies to late stage cancers.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000026.htm

Hope this helps.

SIROD

DebbyM

jendrey said:

I research everything
and I mean I extensively research everything! Have yet to come across anything about anybody getting radiation poisoning from breast cancer radiation treatments. Not to say that it's not possible, but it's not very likely. It'll take time but before you know it things will get better!

I had rads, no chemo. Like
I had rads, no chemo. Like most have said, I haven't heard of this either. Radiation treatments can make you very tired, but, with lots of rest and some time, you will feel better.

Hugs, Debby