Bubby

I have been on Tamoxifen since March and have now been given a script to go on Effexor for depression. My doc says it is a mood elevator that works on the neurotransmitters in the brain. I am told to take it in the morning and my tamoxifen I have always taken at night. Can anyone please tell me what side effects to expect from the Effexor as I have never been on anti depressants before. The doc also says it will help with the hot flushes -  is this true???

Beesie I was told by my PS here in SA that i have a silicone implant. It is a 450cc. I have to wear an under wire bra 24/7 for 3 months and have an elasticated strap around the chest for 3 weeks. No I did not have RADS only chemo. While i had the expander in I did not have too much tightness in my arm, Now i do and this worries me.There is already a large dent in the armpit from the hectic axillary clearance I had to have, which has left me with a numb arm right to the elbow. I also have pain between my shoulder blades. Can this be connected to the implant exchange  op??

By the way my i ask what is rippling?

I am very interested to find out about this settling time. I had exchange surgery last week after 4 month with a tissue expander and must say I am a little worried that my implant is so tight and hard. Especially towards my arm pit. Did i have too high expectations of the final result? I was told the foob would be soft and pliable. It is at this stgae also slightly smaller than my left side althought the PS says this is the closest symmetry i can get. Please can i hear your comments .

Hi. Can anyone tell me what the story is with not being allowed to colour your new regrowth of hair after chemo. Mine has grown out a grey white colour, and I was told I must wait 6 months, before putting a colour on it. Why???

Also it started growing really fast after I finished the AC but was still on Tax. I finshed in Feb. and now it has slowed down to a snail's pace. Infact i cannot the hairline on my forehead to grow down at all. It is still only 1cm after nearly 6 months.  Help!!!

I had 4 AC and 4 Taxotere and have been left with numbness of the feet. I am now nearly 3 months post chemo and there is still no feeling in the toes, in fact I sometimes get the feeling that even at this stage the numbness is getting worse. Pressure on the soles from walking and standing only seen to make it worse. I call it my dead meat feet!!! Onc did say it can be irreversible.

I am so happy for you Debbie. To not have bricks any more nust be great. It seem quite a lot of ladies have had expanders put in at the same time as the mastectomy. Mine were only put in 8 months post surgery and post chemo, so there was no skin saving done. i am now filled to 450cc and hve to get to 550. i have a small probelm in that cloudy yellow flud is collecting around the outside of the expander. My ps drew off 20cc yesterday and then did a 50cc fill. He hopes it is not infected. Awaiting results of the culture. I also have now noticed quite a bit of purplish bruising over the underside of the area.Did anyone experience that. Also my skin is so tight now that it shines, and i am so scared someone is going to bump me and it will split.  The ps is is still insistent that i wear this underwire bra. Cant handle it.

Hi Otter. I had 4 of the red drip and then 4 of the Taxotere. They were at 3 week intervals so were quite intense. Towards the end i mentioned the numbness to my onc. but she did not say anything could be done to stop it. To me it seems to be getting worse and I finished chemo 2 months ago.Now on Tamoxifen which is another story!!!!

Hi. I am new the site and need to hear from those who have landed up with dead toes and feet after being on Taxotere. I am 2 months post chemo now and still have the numbness and tingling in my feet. My oncologist told me it is sometimes irreversible. Any comments?I  trip and fall often if the floor beneath me changes

I am new to this site having had a mastectomy and chemo and then decided to have the expander put in. Had I known about the pain I might have reconsidered. I woke up with an expander in place that had 300c.c.s already put in, in one go!!!!. I nearly died with the pain. Was on a morphine drip.They have since put another 50cc.s in, after one week post op. But I have still got my drain in, and it is still draining 50ml. in 24hrs. And this is after 12 days post op. Does the drain add to the discomfort and pain and will things improve when it is taken out?Did anyone else have a drain in for so long? I know it is not forever but ouch it hurts!! They make me wear an underwire bra and an elastic bandage around my chest, to keep the expander in place so it does not float up. As if the pressure is not bad enough already. I was back at work 3 days after the op in severe pain but find it difficult to cope with the 8 hr day.I told my PS that i feel like a vienna sausage that has been placed in the microwave for just too long and is about to split!!!! LOL