Residual pain after breast cancer can be cancer-related fatigue. Learn more about the signs and symptoms from this survivor.
BY Bonnie Annis
PUBLISHED May 22, 2018
Bonnie Annis is a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed in 2014 with stage 2b invasive ductal carcinoma with metastasis to the lymph nodes. She is an avid photographer, freelance writer/blogger, wife, mother and grandmother.
Some mornings I wake up feeling like a gelatinous blob. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t get moving. My body hurts. It’s a general malaise that’s difficult to describe, but if I had to use words, I’d say it feels like I have the flu. Every muscle and joint in my body aches and it takes great effort to move. I have to work hard to complete menial tasks and there are days when I just can’t manage to do a single thing. It frustrates me and I don’t like feeling this way, but it’s a part of my life now.
At my last appointment, the doctor asked how I was feeling. I was hesitant to describe my extreme tiredness. He could tell I wasn’t my normal self and kept prodding. Finally, I burst into tears and just said, “I hurt all over.” He looked at me with a blank stare and I imaged he was really rolling his eyes but I just couldn’t see it. After performing some lab tests, the doctor explained my blood work was fine other than lower than normal levels of vitamin D. He performed a physical exam, poking and prodding my body at various muscles and joints. Finally, he came to the conclusion I had cancer related fatigue compounded by Fibromyalgia. I was sent home with a prescription for 50,000 I.U. of vitamin D per week for a month, an antidepressant, and an anti-inflammatory medication to help with the pain.
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