I am sorry to hear about your sleeping problems. I agree with Eddie. I am 14 years down the line from diagnosis and also had this problem. I took various courses at Maggies, availed of some o their alternative therapies, had some stress counselling, attended pain management and mindfulness courses. I also attended various exercise classes for the not so fit, run by the NHS.I do hope that some of these suggestions help you.
Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.
No problem at all. My hubby has a host of non-cancer related problems . He had a quadruple by pass 26 years ago and has been a creaking gate ever since. He now has Diabetes, Vascular Parkinsons, Vascular Dementia, has had a stroke. Pneumonia, and several TIAs and has heart failure. He was falling a lot and his walking was getting a lot more unsteady. I had my gall bladder removed along with a 3" gallstone, not long before my cancer diagnosis. I also had a pustular pleurisy, as a result of this and stopped breathing on the operating table. When I came around, I had to have a further 2 weeks of IV antibiotics, before they could try to operate again. Needless to say, this couldn't be done by key-hole surgery and I was cut from breast to groin. At the time doctors weren't sure whether or not they could save me, but fortunately they did. This meant a 3 month stay in hospital and long road to recuperation.
Neither of us were fit enough to join a regular exercise class and our GP suggested that we joined a "Strength and Balance" class, which was being run at our local gym, on behalf of the NHS. All of the people in the class had been referred by their GPs and had experienced heart surgery, Multiple Sclerosis and other chronic conditions. This started with gentle exercises. There was no problem if you couldn't do something, though we all tried.
I had put a lot of weight on, during my cancer treatment too and I couldn't get it off, no matter what I did. Again, my GP referred us both to a "Weigh to Go" class. This was a weekly class, where we were weighed every week and had our waists measured every other week. We then discussed various foodstuffs, eating out, calorie counting and how to make sensible choices, etc. This took up the first hour of the class. We then went through an exercise class for a further hour. We did this after we finished the "Strength and Balance " class, as we needed to be a bit fitter to be able to attend this class. I cannot remember exactly how long the classes lasted for, but it was between 10 and 15 weeks. These classes were free. We couldn't continue with the first class when it finished, but were allowed to continue with the "Weigh to Go" class for £2.50 per head per class. In the time that we attended these, I lost 6 stone, which has stayed off in the ensuing years.
When we finished the "Strength and Balance" class, we decided to join a regular exercise class for seniors, in the gym. We continued with this for quite some time, until my back became so sore that I had to stop, but we really got a lot out of these courses. We are in Scotland, so I'm not sure whether or not, the NHS in England offer reciprocal classes, but it is certainly well worth asking.
Thank you Jolamine, been looking for NHS classes for over a year, managed to find one run by a cancer charity which is great but only available for 1 hour a week, regular classes are not for me as i need a medically qualified instructor as i am T4 with other problems, appreciate your post, take care.
Thank you Jolamine, been looking for NHS classes for over a year, managed to find one run by a cancer charity which is great but only available for 1 hour a week, regular classes are not for me as i need a medically qualified instructor as i am T4 with other problems, appreciate your post, take care.
