Tx ended mid last year. Divorce is not helping. I take Ativan and lexapro and am in therapy.

Have a hard time getting up after sleeping. Anxiety is highest then.

Fatigue, low energy and constantly getting sick seem to increase the negative emotions.

I am probably addicted to Ativan. I think that I'd be more angry without lexapro which tones it down.

And posting this was probably a really hard thing to do. I can actually relate to some of your feelings. You are not alone from what I am reading here. I am getting a lot of support from my friends here and I am sure you will too. I am going to try to take my own advice that I am telling you. Please don't be too hard on yourself. You have been through a horrific ordeal and it takes a long while to heal. One in my opinion does not just "get over" oral cancer. The memory may fade but I don't think we will ever totally forget. But we will be happy again just gotta find our nitch...or switch and turn it on...We will be good once again I have faith in that one!!

thanks. you are right. it's as if I have trouble asking for help and I have to fall really low for it to happen. There are support groups nearby and I never went. Only now am I considering it. I even had fear of support groups as they reming me of the situation or I am afraid of seeing someone who is much worse than myself.

I am lonely and having trouble socially due to fatigue and anxiety. Wife and I still live in the same house; trouble selling in down market; but she does not support me and I cannot depend on her. Everything seems more stressful than it should be. Dividing property, moving and living alone (can I make it alone?) though it's kind of like living alone now.

Sometimes it takes a stronger person to ask for help. Also support is good but you have to find what works for you. When I was at my lowest point, groups made me feel more anxious. For me I needed one on one and some medicine to help get me chemically balanced. It was a huge circle made of dominoes and they would keep knocking each other down. To get better I had to interact and ask for help but a lot of times that made me more anxious which made me more depressed and hard on myself cause I couldn't do it. That started a whole new batch of emotions. Please do yourself the biggest favour find a phone number of either a hospital or nearest counselling office. Another answer for me when I wasn't able to get help from a professional I journaled. I wrote and wrote and wrote and wroter about 10 journals over the course of deepest depression. I wrote about everything it didn't matter how small or how huge just wrote everything and anything I felt. I don't mean to lecture but I have been in those depths and it is absolutely no fun to feel that alone. Have faith in yourself enough to get help and trust me once you find someone to lean on you will begin to see a light, feel some relief and those dominoes seem to grow legs and stand on their own...You can do this and you will be ok...You have started by taking a step and talking here. Remember you never have to be alone!!

Have you had you TSH levels checked lately. Certainly depression can cause fatigue but constant fatigue can also cause depression.

I never thought of that but that is so true...good call..but is that tested in routine blood work?

Get your TSH tested so you can rule it out or deal with it. Also, ask your Doc about higher dose of the Lexapro -- I had to do just that (doubled it from 20 to 40mg/day) and was pleased with the results.

BTW, I have friend who is a shrink and she said Lexapro was one of the most successful ADs she has prescribed.

Fatigue is a well known side effect of cancer treatment. I also suffered from PTSD about a year out, which is also very common.

TSH was below range, but the rest of the thyroid numbers were normal so the docs said it's ok.

Testosterone was low and brought to normal, 500, via injections. It has not affected the fatigue and illness though. Maybe it'll happen in the future. I've been getting shots for a coupla months.

yep, this seems very similar for me. It's as if I don't have enough energy to bring myself to support group or it's closed when I have enough energy.

I see a student (PhD candidate) therapist but he does not seem to help me too much. Maybe I should try to see someone else, but that also takes effort.

I try being more social but get anxious or rejected which depresses/angers me and than it's harder to try again.

My wife seems to think that I got a "clean bill of health" and I am now ok, after all "some people came to her gym to work out while having chemotherapy."

My primary oncologist feels that radiation fatigue stops after a year and that it's the depression that's making me tired. "some of my patients are running marathons" "you are the only patient who is suffering from fatigue". I don't know where they get these types of statements.

[quote=darkeyedlady0]Sometimes it takes a stronger person to ask for help. Also support is good but you have to find what works for you. When I was at my lowest point, groups made me feel more anxious. For me I needed one on one and some medicine to help get me chemically balanced. It was a huge circle made of dominoes and they would keep knocking each other down. To get better I had to interact and ask for help but a lot of times that made me more anxious which made me more depressed and hard on myself cause I couldn't do it. That started a whole new batch of emotions. Please do yourself the biggest favour find a phone number of either a hospital or nearest counselling office. Another answer for me when I wasn't able to get help from a professional I journaled. I wrote and wrote and wrote and wroter about 10 journals over the course of deepest depression. I wrote about everything it didn't matter how small or how huge just wrote everything and anything I felt. I don't mean to lecture but I have been in those depths and it is absolutely no fun to feel that alone. Have faith in yourself enough to get help and trust me once you find someone to lean on you will begin to see a light, feel some relief and those dominoes seem to grow legs and stand on their own...You can do this and you will be ok...You have started by taking a step and talking here. Remember you never have to be alone!! [/quote]