Topic: Sisterhood of the Secret Handshake

Nov 4, 2009 09:05 AM Mom_of_boys wrote:

Becky.... so sorry about the swine flu!  Gotta tell you, though, that I laughed out loud about your comment "waiting for frogs to rain on me or locusts to swoop down on me."  Good one!!!

Nov 4, 2009 09:17 AM inspiewriter wrote:

Hi everyone! Love the new thread name!!

Nov 4, 2009 09:34 AM, edited Nov 4, 2009 04:29 PM by BooBee

So true Leah....I never say the F word in front of my children but when they were teens they knew I meant business if I dropped the F bomb.

Brookside....I think you already had frogs rain on on your head and locusts swoop down on you a few weeks ago.  I'm so glad you stuck with us.  This looks to be a place to be.  Get well.

Nov 4, 2009 09:44 AM Rachel_BC wrote:

I'm tired.  Really tired.  Muscles, not joints, stiff.  It started on Sunday... I am playing "Guess the Cause" and don't want it to be Tamox... here's my Guess the Cause entries, in order of suspicion, highest to lowest:

1- usual stuff completely unrelated to SFBC, DX, TX yada yada sometimes I just get tired, especially in the winter... like a bear, I want to hibernate

2- just got over some kind of cold/flu bug

3- ate a whole bucket of diet brownies last night- you know the mini brownies they sell at Whole Foods... using Chelev's If-it-comes-from-Whole-Foods-it-has-to-be-healthy rationale...

4- just got over stress of worrying about the pimple under my boob (and the celebration I did by eating all the brownies instead of lunch.... or dinner)

5- Tamoxifen 

Nov 4, 2009 09:48 AM Rachel_BC wrote:

Oh and the deal with the Rolling Stones is I ended up on tour with the Rolling Stones for 15 years.  There's a zillion stories but I like to just drop bits and pieces here and there :)

Nov 4, 2009 09:51 AM Rachel_BC wrote:

Here's some Swine Flu info I got from my Mommy list that I found really helpful:

Please pass this on to family and friends. Especially people with children!

H1N1 flu is about to be upon us and we need to be on top of information regarding it. Here is a comparison to the normal cold symptoms .

Know the Difference between a Cold and H1N1 Flu Symptoms:

Symptom

\

Cold

H1N1 Flu

Fever

Fever is rare with a cold.

Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the H1N1 flu.

Coughing

A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.

A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the H1N1 flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).

Aches

Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.

Severe aches and pains are common with the H1N1 flu.

Stuffy Nose

Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.

Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.

Chills

Chills are uncommon with a cold.

60% of people who have the H1N1 flu experience chills.

Tiredness

Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.

Tiredness is moderate to severe with the H1N1 flu.

Sneezing

Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.

Sneezing is not common with the H1N1 flu.

Sudden Symptoms

Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.

The H1N1 flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.

Headache

A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.

A headache is very common with the H1N1 flu, present in 80% of flu cases.

Sore Throat

Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.

Sore throat is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.

Chest Discomfort

Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.

Chest discomfort is often severe with the H1N1 flu.

The only way to stop the spread of the epidemic is to spread the awareness.

-- 

Dr Valerie Nadrai

136 East 16th Street, apt 3a

New York, N.Y. 10003 

Nov 4, 2009 09:53 AM inspiewriter wrote:

Rachel is uber cool

I stopped taking my Tamoxifen about 2 weeks ago. Feel better already!!!!

Nov 4, 2009 10:19 AM cparandjuk wrote:

Rachel, I am so glad you like the chick pea soup.  I am just catching up on all the posts today.  Sorry I missed your question about simmering, but, as you know, it is a very easy recipe!

Your tiredness and soreness is most likely a combo of everything.  I haven't started my Tamox yet (one more surgery on the 19th) but I fight fatigue and joint soreness all the time...I finished chemo in May, had a double mast in June and reconstruction in September...that's a lot for the body to handle and it will just take time and patience (I have none!) before I re-find my energy...and then I will be taking tamox!

It's a never-ending cycle!

Be good to you!

Nov 4, 2009 11:31 AM chelev wrote:

ReneeS - that's what I called it and thought it meant too.  I guess it can mean whatever we want it to - it always ends with FBC anyway!!

Rachel - the Stones????  Okay, you gotta tell us more - I want details, woman!!!  Thanks for the info on how to tell the difference.

Becky - man, what a bummer - finishing rads and then bam!  Swine Flu.  Hope you are feeling better now.

Nov 4, 2009 01:53 PM Rachel_BC wrote:

Yeah, Renee is goooood :)  

I just woke up.  wtf?  I also got the flu shot yesterday and that arm hurts but still... and cpara I've done so much less, my RADs ended in May.  

Becky- you been doing the secret handshake for years?  Now there's a story waiting to be told... :D

j414- yes, we are happy people. And we some tough bitches.  We love our lives and we'll fight SFBC (I thought it was Shit Fucking Breast Cancer) and do all we can to continue to enjoy our lives.  Oh and I was already thinking about the face masks.  I remember they use them in Japan- it's considered terribly impolite to go out among people with a cold there (Or at least that was the case in the 80s when I was there). 

Nov 4, 2009 02:01 PM Leah_S wrote:

Rachel, the tiredness and achy feeling could be SE's from the flu shot. Like SE's from bc treatment isn't enough...

So it's tomorrow - first post-treatment mammo and U/S. Am I freaking out? YOU BET YOUR SWEET TUSH I AM.

Leah

Nov 4, 2009 02:22 PM Mary22 wrote:

Becky, swine flu, I hope you are feeling better!

Leah, I just had my post cancer mammo and I a panic attack in the mammo room!!!! Sending good vibes and hugs your way!!!!!

Nov 4, 2009 02:46 PM pkb143 wrote:

Ewww. Germs and the swine flu. At least one University in Northern China is requiring anyone who enters campus to have a forehead scan. If you are running a fever, you aren't allowed on campus. Not a bad idea, but it'd never work here....too many looney bins suspicious of the government to allow something like that.

Will be thinking good thoughts for Becky, lefty and Leah tomorrow. I don't think my next mammo will bring on a panic attack, but I did have to go back to our local hospital Monday for an echocardiogram. I hadn't been there since my needle biopsy/diagnosis, and yeah, it did bring back some bad memories. But hey, I made it through all that and I know a little more about what I can endure now. I also know what sets me off, rings my bell, dings my chimes, floats my boat, gets my goat and yanks my chain.

Speaking of which, I agree with Leah. I don't use the 'F-word' much, if ever. I reserve it for very, very special occasions; otherwise, what's the point? It just becomes another cuss word. Most of the time my favorite expression is "holy crap", or "Geez, Louise!" -- I've said those so much my 7-year old nephew is picking up the "Geez, Louise" phrase. It sounds so weird coming out of his mouth. However, I don't mind hearing the word "fuck" anymore - it's become so commonplace. Funny, I can tolerate "fuck" but "piss" really drives me crazy. Go figure.

Nov 4, 2009 03:29 PM Rachel_BC wrote:

Nancy and Leah- we will totally be sending the good vibes your way tomorrow (ok Leah in my dreams, I promise)- and Mary- I'm already vibe-ing on yours... I guess you're waiting for the results now?  Sucks much.  You're all MUCH braver than I am... I was chomping Xanax for days before in September and when I went back yesterday (yesterday was it?) one of the nurses was talking to me about stuff I guess I said... but totally do NOT remember saying, or even talking to her.

Too funny we all had a different idea of what SFBC was. 

rofl pattyb part deux... rings your bell  dings your chime ... and the echocardiagram, you got the results?

i also tried to reduce the use of expletives, again for the kid and also 'cause I am a classy broad you know... and I like expressions that are funny and get the message across.  However, for SFBC I have dusted off that part of my vocabulary fo' sho'.

On that score, Leah, when I was in Israel I learned how to curse in Arabic.  I learned how to curse in Japanese too.  But Japanese curses only affect Japanese people.  The Arabs know how to curse.  They get you, your mother, your pets... When we speak French, everything sounds like seductive, but when you curse in Arabic, the listener is left with no doubt as to the content of the curse, without translation.  One day I was not checking out fast enough for a slavic speaking woman behind me, and she hurled some slavic insults at me that I didn't understand of course, but I got the message.  So I gave her a cus a muck nam rab buck ki binni mat and she wilted like a flower in the microwave. :) 

Nov 4, 2009 04:03 PM Rachel_BC wrote:

lol kari :)

I forgot some good dish... while I was sleeping our nanny took my son out to the building's garden to play as usual and ran into another mommy and boy we know and play with.  The other mommy warned off my nanny, told her her son was sick and coughing, so my nanny said THANK YOU and grabbed my kid and played with my son in another part of the garden.  That was SO NICE.  

and I am not going to take the place in Easton after all... more on that later.  Damn, I so want to party with the PA girls.

NoCal girls meeting up SOON!!!!! Hugs y'all