ANs and Fatigue Pre-Treatment

[Nancy Drew]

Just wondering!  Can an untreatead AN cause fatigue?  Sometimes I feel like I have lead in my shoes.  I am sleeping fairly well, and I don't take naps (never have).  Just don't seem to have the motivation that I usually have had in the past.  Maybe I'm just getting old, but I am not ready to buy into that at this point--49.  Any ideas!

Nancy

[Cheryl R]

Nancy.    It might be some cause but I wouldn't be surprised if the emotional stress you have been thru is the bigger cause.         The up and down emotions and not knowing what is best to do is not an easy time.     Plus the way that every dr has their own opinion and trying to decide who is right is hard.     It is not just your doctors who are this way, most are.    I hear of what some NF2 people say about their drs views and it is very challenging to know who really has the best knowledge.
     Be easy on yourself and it will all work out in time!                   Cheryl R

[Jim Scott]

Nancy:

For what it's worth:  prior to my diagnosis I experienced severe fatigue.  So much so that my wife noticed.  I had abandoned the computer and the internet, a sure sign of something amiss.  Along with my loss of appetite (and concomitant 30-lb. weight loss) she was alarmed enough to insist I consult with our PCP.  I did.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Of course the stresses you're under may be a factor for you but I simply know that fatigue was a major issue for me, pre-diagnosis. 

Do with that what you will.

Jim

[Nancy Drew]

Good points about the stress factor.  I am just the opposite, Jim, with the computer.  Until I found out the tumor was growing, I didn't spend a whole lot of time on the internet--mainly just checking email and buying stuff off ebay or amazon.  Now, as you know by now, I am sort of obsessed--ok, obsessed like a mad woman!  Even when I tried to take a break awhile back, all I could think about was getting back online to check the board or do more AN research.  I know, all of you can give me the lecture to push away for awhile, take a break. . . . .   I like to exercise, and I do almost every day.  I went for a walk awhile ago, and my feet were just dragging, but it got me away from the computer.  I have lost 10 pounds (needed to do so, great) since I started my obsession back in June.  When I'm on the computer, I stay away from food, hmmm, new kind of diet.  The computer diet!!!  Maybe book material!  I think once I have the next opinion under my belt, choose the doctor, set up the appointment for GK, and then get it done, hopefully I will settle down and get on with life.  But, in the meantime, I am trying to cope as best I can.  It stinks.  Thanks you both for your reply.

Nancy

[AMD]

I am not sure if it was my AN or not, but I have always been a little , sometimes a lot, on the not so rested side of life for the last 12 -15 years.  I am 29 now.  I know there is stress from high school, nursing school, and now work, but I am curious to see how this relates to the treatment i will be receiving for the AN.  From what I am reading, it sounds like a pretty common symptom.   Good luck with everything.

-Amy

[wendysig]

Hi Nancy,
I tend to think much of  the fatigue is stress induced.  I know I spent countless hours researching my AN and talking to everyone here and I was always tired, even when I couldn't sleep.  On the other hand, I did and still do have balance issues and if I remember correctly, so do you.  My doctor told me balance problems do cause fatigue because your brain is working overtime to help keep you as balanced as possible.  Hope this answer helps.

Wendy

[sharondb]

Hi Nancy,I just signed up for this and can't believe how helpful it is,wish I had known about this site before I drove down to L.A.for that third opinion,I am going to have the surgery soon,but the fatigue I feel now is crazy,I have some energy in the morning,at least I can still exercise everyday,but not like I used to,it sounds as if the fatigue is way worse after the surgery.I think Cheryl might be right about the stress factor.....are you having surgery soon? or have you all ready?I am so anxious to hear from other readers about there experiences from this surgery.....Thank you Sharondb   

[leapyrtwins]

Hi, Sharon and welcome to the forum.

I didn't experience fatigue prior to my surgery, but I definitely had it post op - as most patients do. 

Nancy is having radiation - I think GK, but it might be CK.  There are lots of us who have had surgery, so if you have questions, please free to ask.

Jan

[Nancy Drew]

Yes, I am having GK mid-September.  In addition to fatigue, I am having headaches almost daily--usually at night.  So hard to sort out the emotional from the physical.  I can't wait to get my date set up.  Waiting is physically exhausting in and of itself.  My patience is wearing thin even though I have made my decision.  Now I am having lead in my fingers so I am going to quit typing for the night.  I am sure I will be back tomorrow.  Nancy--Out!

[pauline]

I have always been an active person and exercise daily but I know I have experienced a lot of fatigue and find myself
taking cat naps in the afternoons which I have never done.  I agree with Wendy on the balance as I have a lot of balance issues also.  I also have major tinnitus and dealing with that on a daily basis is tiring! 
I am a young 51 and still try to keep active and get in my exercise everyday so I can be healthy and strong for future
surgical treatment.  (I am currently on watch and wait)

Paula

[ppearl214]

Hi all,

there have been many discussions here over the past years about fatigue and AN'ers (try doing a Search on fatigue here... you will see much).... research shows that regardless of type of brain tumors (ie: AN's, meningiomas, astrocytomas, etc), fatigue goes hand in hand with brain tumors (type of tumor treatment can also enhance).

There was a brochure I picked up at Brigham/Woman's Boston that we posted here for reference:

http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=3462.msg45159#msg45159


You will need Adobe Reader/Acrobat to open the document.  It was written by Dr. Peter Black of B/W (world renowned) as well as Nancy Conn-Levin (I believe she just did a talk with the ANA NJ Support Group a few months back).

They elaborate in the brochure about overall brain tumors and how fatigue comes into play and ways to conquer it.  May be worth a peek.

Hope it helps.
Phyl

[Joef]

fatigue was my biggest problem in the last days before surgery ... it was a major effort to get the mail !!! .. fast forward 3 years... I think nothing of kayaking for 6 to 12 hours...      remember it did not come back all at once .. like any work out routine .. I slowly had to work up to this level !!

[Lamsue23]

I'm three weeks post-op and I still have vision and balance problems but diffinately think I'm getting a little better because I can stay on the computer a little longer.  I go for walks every day.......I have headaches when I start feeling a neck pain and it's mostly when I've overdone.  I just take Tylenol and it seems to help......Also, when I get up in the morning my neck hurts and gives me a slight headache after a while it goes away.......Like yesterday, a friend took me shopping for a little while and when I got home my neck started hurting mostly where my incision is  and a headache with that, as soon as I rested it went away.........Maybe the tiredness and doing too much has something to do with this.......Everyone is different!!!!

[Boppie]

Nancy I was very fatigued for 6 months before diagnosis.  I was snoozing in my chair every afternoon and going to bed early.  I am a night owl by habit.  Anyway, I hadn't a clue about the cause for the fatigue.  I remember coming home exhausted after a one hour playtime with the grandsons.  I simply attributed the fatigue, my dizziness coming down stairs, and hearing loss to age.  I was 64 that year.  My doctor and I totally missed it!  During the same time I created two large commissioned quilts for a retiring school principal.  Not a clue!  I got paid though!

[Nancy Drew]

Thanks Phyl for guiding me to the pamphlet on fatigue.  It was nice to review, and it was just good self-help tips in general even for those who don't have a brain tumor.  Although I am sad to hear about the fatigue that many have gone through pre and post treatment, at the same time I don't feel so alone in my sluggishness.  I just got back from a walk with my lead boots on.  However, at the gym the other day I put my 13 year younger neighbor to shame on the elliptical machine.  The ups and downs are just so unpredictable.  I am sure a good bit of mine is stress and depression.  Guess we all have no other choice but to "hang in there".

Thanks for your replies!

Nancy