HealthInfo Canterbury
Weakness & tiredness in palliative care
It's quite common for people who have palliative care needs to feel weak and tired.
This can affect you in several ways. You might have low energy or poor concentration and motivation. You might feel emotionally low and your weakness may mean you have less independence.
Several things could be causing your weakness and tiredness. These include:
- uncontrolled symptoms of your illness such as pain, nausea and vomiting or constipation
- infection
- medication such as morphine or steroids
- problems sleeping
- weight loss or a poor appetite
- treatment with surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy
- emotional problems such as depression or anxiety, feeling stressed or fearful.
If you're having problems with feeling weak and tired, you should discuss this with your doctor. They might ask you to keep a diary to work out when you're getting tired and how it is affecting your day-to-day life.
If there are any obvious causes that are making you weak and tired, your doctor will try to treat them. For example, they may try ways to manage your pain better, treat your constipation, give you antibiotics for an infection or treat any depression.
Sometimes, finding a way to manage your day so you can conserve your energy will help. Several things can help you do this:
- Tell your carers and family about any plans you put in place to make sure they can support you.
- Plan your day so you only do what's important and do it when you feel the least tired. Pace yourself, prioritise tasks and learn new ways of doing them. Delegate tasks to others where you can.
- Make sure you balance your activity with rest. Try to get good quality sleep. Good sleep habits will help with this.
- Get some gentle exercise. A physiotherapist could help you with this.
- Make sure you have good emotional support and have opportunities to talk about how you're feeling. If this is a concern for you, speak to your doctor or nurse. They may be able to help you find professional support.
- Eat as well as you can. If you have a poor appetite, there are ways to help this. Your doctor may need to refer you to a dietitian.
If you don't have support people who can help you, your doctor may be able to arrange help. This can be for housework, preparing meals, showering and dressing. Your doctor can also refer you to an occupational therapist who can work with you to manage your energy.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Endorsed by Canterbury DHB and community palliative care specialists. Last reviewed November 2020.
SourcesReview key: HIPAL-17434
