Struggling to get husband motivated and moving around after 1st round of chemo. Tiredness kicking in?

My husband has undergone round 1 of  6 chemotherapies for lymphoma. He starts his next treatment in 9 days. He is spending a lot of time lying in bed & not doing anything but watching tv & sleeping. I’m trying to motivate him to get up and walk round the garden or come out with me in the car but he just doesn’t want to or says he’s too tired. 
Im really  at a loss and of course extremely anxious 

  • I really don't think he needs motivated. Many, many people feel tired after chemo, and it's not unusual to feel like this up until a handful of days before the next. Now, moving around is good for the usual reasons, but everyone reacts differently, and if he's just a handful of days out, then it will probably be at it's worse. My wife never really felt the effects of each chemo until around 3 days after. That is normal. His blood count will also be affected (like lower immunity), and that can make your legs feel like lead.

    I'm not saying don't encourage him, as i did the same with my wife, but don't put too much pressure on him because maybe he is feeling every bit as dire as he's making out. Chemo also tends to be accumulative. Meaning that his tiredness might get more severe after each treatment, so expect that.

    I do get what you're trying to do as i did similar with the wife just to get her out the house, but i usually found days 3-7 were the most draining for her, so left her alone.

  • Thanks ProfBaw

    He is 15 days post chemo but only 4 days since he finished his injections for marrow stimulation. 
    We are aware of the blood count etc as we are both retired medical professionals. we have looked at the latest bloods & a drop in haemoglobin which is expected but the white cells are still in normal range. Also his hair has just started coming out today :( 

    Any advice is great to share though . Thank you for your time & it helps to know that you’re not alone feeling a bit helpless like this . 

  • I was thinking maybe he's feeling a little depression also, this can sometimes  make you feel tired and not want to do anything but lie in bed ,its something to watch out for because people don't always want to admit this .

  • Thank you Jenny. I was wondering the same. I did manage to get him to go out & see some pals yesterday, which he said he enjoyed. I’ll just keep trying to encourage him to do things 

  • That's great news ,I'm sure he feels better for getting out and about ,sometimes we just need a little push .