Extreme Tiredness

Always talk to your health care team about diet and nutrition changes you'd like to try.

The extreme tiredness that some cancer patients experience can be made worse by not eating enough or eating unhealthy foods. Use the following information to help yourself eat a healthy diet, which can help you have more energy.

Nutrition Tips for Energy: Eating to Decrease Extreme Tiredness (Fatigue)

• Talk to your health care team about extreme tiredness. If your extreme tiredness has a medical cause, such as anemia, there may be medications that can help.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Dehydration will make fatigue worse. Drink at least 8 cups of fluid each day. Try water, tea, 100% fruit juice, or sports drinks such as Gatorade®. Avoid regular soda, which is loaded with sugar and can make you more tired in the long run.
• If you are not losing weight, do not overeat for energy. This can cause excess weight gain. Carrying around extra weight will worsen extreme tiredness.
• If you find yourself eating due to stress, depression, anxiety, or other emotions you are experiencing because of your cancer diagnosis, talk to your doctor right away! Your doctor can give you information about options for managing your emotional stress. Also, seeking the help of a counselor, a support group, or another mental health care provider can and should be a vital part of your cancer care.
• If you are losing weight, then eating frequently is very helpful! Eating a small meal or snack every one to two hours will help you keep your weight up and get the nutrition you need.
• Do not snack on sugary foods like candy, soda pop, cakes, donuts, baked goods, cookies, pies and other dessert foods. These foods may give a quick "energy boost", but you will feel worse once this wears off.
• Try having some protein, some healthy fat such as nuts or seeds, or some fiber with each meal and snack. Protein, fat, and fiber give you long-lasting energy. For example, try eating a piece of fruit plus a handful of walnuts, almonds, peanuts, or other nuts. Try fruit with cottage cheese. A handful of soynuts has protein and fiber.
• Focus on protein. Your body needs protein to repair and heal itself, including building up your immune system and your blood cells.
• Use the following list for high protein food ideas. You can eat animal foods like meat, chicken or eggs, or you can stick to vegetarian foods to get more protein into your diet.

Good Protein Sources

• Other good protein foods include cottage cheese; canned fish such as tuna or salmon; beans; nuts; seeds; powdered milk, which can be added to casseroles, soups, stews, and mashed potatoes; and nuts or peanut butter.
• Take a basic multivitamin to meet your vitamin and mineral needs. Pick a supplement that contains no more than 100 to 200% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of each nutrient. Do NOT take mega-dose vitamins. These can interfere with your cancer treatments. Always check with your doctor or nurse to make sure it is ok to take a multivitamin.

Call Your Medical Care Team If...

• You feel too tired to get out of bed for more than 24 hours.
• You feel confused, dizzy, lose your balance or fall.
• You have a problem waking up.
• You feel like you can't catch your breath.
• The extreme tiredness becomes progressively worse.
• You can't control your symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation or lack of appetite. There are medications to help manage these problems.
• You experience, anxiousness, nervousness, or depression.