Why so exhausted?

[Leigh222]

I had a wedge resection on June 20th and started walking right away. I've built up to 45 minutes per day and have no residual pain . Last week I started a gradual return to work and I'm now overwhelmed by exhaustion. I really want to be at work so I'm concerned that I'm so fatigued, almost all day. Is prolonged fatigue normal after lung surgery? Anyone experienced this? Thanks for your input😘

[JeanE41]

Yes. Fatigue is definitely a part of the post surgical period. This surgery seems to take a lot out of us and recovery can take a while. You are fortunate to be able to return to work so quickly. Give yourself a chance to recover. It may take a while, but the fatigue will improve.

[Leigh222 in reply to JeanE41]

Thanks Jean...I sure hope so. I guess I overestimated my energy but I'll scale down my expectations a bit. Take care.....

[Miasgamgam in reply to JeanE41]

I'm 2 weeks and still feel kinda crappy I'm still sore and numb but we are still here

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer]

Remember, too, that you now have 4 lobes doing the work that 5 previously did. That's about a 20% reduction in the body's ability to process oxygen.

It does take a long time for the body to learn to fully learn to compensate for that loss. Your resting PO2 may be 98/99% but your active PO2 level needs time to improve.

[JeanE41 in reply to Denzie]

Well said. It certainly does take time for the body to adapt to less lung tissue. I lost 2/3 of my left lung and have never returned to my pre surgery energy level. It's just a part of the new normal. We adapt.

[Leigh222 in reply to Denzie]

Thanks Denzie...that makes sense. Also, just discovered yesterday that my ferritin (iron) levels have dropped down to 20 which equates to "probable" iron deficiency. I'm going to try an iron supplement and see if that helps as well. Take care.

[Pseager]

You're not even 60 days out from surgery. Sounds like you're doing what you're supposed to be doing but 2 months of recovery is still a short amount of time to expect a lot beyond your walking and housework, meals etc

I'm about 40 days out from a resection and I'm taking 11 weeks total off from work. I think maybe I'll be closer to 100 percent by then. I'm doing okay but work would not be possible for me right now.

Hang in there! Take care of yourself!

[katherineNED]

It normally takes about 8 weeks to recover from surgery. Give yourself some time. It is not unusually to have fatigue this soon after surgery.

[Leigh222 in reply to katherineNED]

Thanks so much for taking time to write. I didn't realize how tough it was to bounce back from this kind of surgery. Take care of yourself.....