Bottle o Tamoxifen
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How does Effexor and Xanax work? I am currently taking Ambien to sleep but would like to try something else down the line. I see my ONCs on 10/2 so would like a little info , I go see my Surgeon today so hope for a good report and release from him. hope all have a good day.
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I take effexor xr Carollyn. It helps with my hot flashes, and mile depression. I am not sure how it works...but for me it's a God send!! I have been on it for over 1 1/2 yrs. I had to increase my dosage...because I had a hysterectomy after I started it, and really felt the blues more. Good luck on your report!
Lisa E, do you have your surgery scheduled? I take it you are talking about reconstruction surgery. If so, what type are you doing. I did it over one and 1/2 yrs ago....no regrets at all! Very happy!
Leggy, about effexor, I don't know about losing weight from it. I have not been that lucky. But, also I don't think it made me gain any weight either. As for side effects, I haven't had any. I recommended it to my girlfriend for her hot flashes and depression. She did not like it at all. She would get waves of feeling really HOT, not hot flashes....just like she was burning up inside. Needless to say, she stopped it.
Congrats to Diane for B9 results, and for Helena for the good results from BRCA. I never had that test done, insurance would not cover any of it.
Glad so many of you are coming up on your 1 yr. cancerversary! I passed my 2 year in March (dx date), I think everyone celebrates a different milestone with it. My 2 yr. mastectomy anniv. is coming up Oct.1st. I never did any real celebration, in fact I almost forgot until the end of the actual day. I guess that is a good sign!
Kari..sorry about the hearing test results. I have never heard of hearing loss from chemo before. I did not have rads. Hmmmm?? You are right, cancer is the gift that keeps on giving!
xoxo
Lisa
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Lisa, I opted out of reconstruction when I had bi-mast - almost one year ago. I could always change my mind, but at this point I am not interested in reconstruction. My work friend is the one who had a bilateral and immediate reconstruction, last week. Talking with her before her surgery takes me back to mine. I'm remember things I'd rather forget.
Lisa, I am curious and you can tell me to mind my own business if you want. How old are you? I ask because I meet lots of other women named Lisa, but they are are all younger than me. So far, I am the oldest 'Lisa.'
lisa-e
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Lisa e, our dx is simular, except that mine was stage 2. Well, I am 49, I will be the big 50 in January!! Hoping to go celebrate that milestone in Italy with my oldest daughter! So, how old are you?
Lisa
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Lisa, I am 56, rapidly approaching 57.
Going to Italy for your birthday sounds like fun! My youngest sister is ten years younger than I am. We are planning on a 50/60 party. We had a 30/40 party and it was fun.
lisa-e
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That sounds like a great idea Lisa-e. I have a sister 10 yrs older also, but unfortunately, she is the only sibling of 7, that has removed herself from our family. I have two wonderful younger sisters.
Well, I guess you are still the oldest Lisa. It's really not a common name for our age bracket.
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Lisa-e, I'm sorry I neglected to write your name down for the northern Cal girls! stupid oversight on my part. On my rads thread there were a few more northern cal girls but they've since dropped out of sight and moved on I guess. Let's all try a get together at some point! I would love it! Napa Valley is like 45 min from here.
Diane, so happy on the B9 results!!!!!!!!! All these negative results are ROCKIN ladies!!!!
Lisa, Italy sounds fabulous! I've never been to Europe and its on the list! My mom and dad lived in Malta for a bit when they first got married (dad was in the Navy) and they used to go to Italy al the time. My mom said Italian shoes are the best!! and the pasta, heehee
Shout outs to all! Back to work
Have a great day/night all!
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Congrats Diane B9!!!
I'm on Effexor and no weight changes (wish I did lose some). Effexor does not make you drowsey (at least not the minimal dose I take). When you take Effexor for hot flashes they prescribe 1/10th the normal dose for use for anxiety/depression. They will up it a little if this doesn't help the hot flashes.
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Patti...I had a very good friend that lived in King of Prussia, PA. It's not a place you hear people saying they are from, so that really caught my eye.
Lisa
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Had to share this; my DH just sent me an email:
"are you going to eat a huge steak again this week!! then want more at midnight!!??"
haha!!
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Kari - another meaning to "I am woman hear me roar" (and the kindred spirit is exactly what I was thinking) hugs
Have a great day/nite everyone
big hugs
Helena
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HHHHHEEEELLLLEENNNAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was just thinking of you...then I walked by a coworker's cube and UPS had just delivered a box for her...the box says www.uggaustralia.com. New pair of Ugg's for only $90 and from Australia!!
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okey I missed a lot so this one is just to ReneeS- I had cyst 6 months before my annual mammo, I think she did US, determined it was a cyst, deflated it or whatever that's called and voila, 6 months later its cancer. I have been in such a swirl of course since DX, neither I nor my radiologist remembered which boob had the cyst. That was when I called on the phone, but like you it's getting to be time for my mammo, so i plan to ask her to go over all my films, show me where the excisional biopsy was in 2003, the cyst and now cancer and a suspicious field.
BUT- I read this book, one of my top faves for BC
Breast Cancer: Real Questions, Real Answers (Paperback)
by David Chan (Author)
and he explains this wonderfully. I will try to paraphrase... i don't know about you, but I'm like the character "Rachel" from Friends, when she was looking at her pregnancy US and couldn't see her kid. I can't see crapola on an US or a mammo. It all looks like clouds and TV snow. In fact, I was video recording the implantation procedure with the surrogate who carried my son, and I was shooting the monitor so my kid could see himself going from embryo to uterus, and I was so careful and still with the surrogate lying on the table, and the doctor was narrating... "Now I will take the embryo from the container... now I will blah blah blah..." and then he says "Now I will tell Rachel she's been video recording a blank monitor " but even if you can make out something on the monitor, there's a lot of flotsam and jetsam in the boob tissue, some of its cancer, some of its not, its all this other stuff. So its amazing that a radiologist ever sees anything (and we're lucky we even have this miserable excuse for a screening process). My excisional biopsy in 2003 and every biopsy kinda makes the point. They don't know what they are looking at. So lets say you find something, and it turns out to be cancer. So then if you look back at all the previous films, you will probably be able to see that cancer that was there all along- because Chan explains most breast cancers take 7 years to grow to 1cm. (Which means my cancer was probably there in 2003 when they did the biopsy, which was b9, so they obviously missed it, even with the whole nuclear medicine thing, clear margins, yada yada. No MRI)
But he said its like Where's Waldo. Once you know where Waldo is, you can find him easily every time, but finding him is another story.
This calmed me down greatly. My 2003 biopsy was in the same location as my 2009 cancer. Maybe even the same location as my 2009 cyst. I'm just lucky she saw it when she did in January- she saw it as 3mm, and by pathology it was 3 foci of a cumulative 1.6 CM. So which one of the 3 foci did she see? I had surgery 19 days after DX, it didn't grow that big during that space of time.
So from my limited experience, I'd say your friend in the medical field did you a well intentioned disservice by saying there was something wrong with your radiologist missing the cancer 5 months prior to DX. I hope I did a good job re-explaining what Dr. Chan described.
I always say now, there are 2 things that suck especially about cancer, 1) you don't know when you got it and 2) you don't know when it's gone
Like- I had a PET/CT scan after surgery. Clear, thank G-d. But it can only find cancers that are over 1cm- and we know that I had cancer. Really, there's no way of telling if I don't have more breast cancers that are less than 1cm right now, and as faulty as mammograms are, they are still fabulous in terms of screening compared to other cancers- as you well know.
Hope that helps?
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Lisa - Oh Italy is the most wonderful place to visit!!!!! One of my RADS pals PM'd me from her vacation to ask about the driving, its totally crazy! Lemme know if you want my input on Italy, I got the whole thing written up with pics, it was like my first web page ever. But you really can't go wrong, its such a wonderful country with so much to see and so much to EAT and so much art and sexy men ...
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Lisa - Italy for your 50th! How wonderful! I'm italian so I'm a little partial to the place....lol
BTW, I went to Australia & NZ at the end of Jan last year for my 50th birthday (Jan 12) celebration although it wasn't much of a celebration because I had just been diagnosed. It was just beautiful and I did manage to have a great time despite my worries
Terri
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got to get off this thing but...
Kari - even more weird Patti was asking me about Ugg boots a while back ....
BTW anyone thinking of travelling - Australia is just glorious this time of year ....
Lisa - very jealous
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Hi, all. Boy you guys have been busy today with all of the postings!
I was lucky enough to go to Italy last october - granted it was for business, but it was 10 days in Santa Margherita, near Genoa, and I managed to get 1 afternoon in Monaco and 1 afternoon in Milan out of it (found a fantastic pair of leather boots!) - but didn't have any chance to explore Venice or Tuscany. Oh well, maybe another time.
Hey, I have an actual tamox question. So, I've been on it now for almost 4 weeks. Only se's I am noticing are the increased hot flashes and maybe a little more moodiness, but nothing else. Is it too soon for the "real" se's to kick in, or is it possible that maybe, just maybe, I will not get any others and this is going to be okay?
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Hi chelev,
I've been on Tamox now for just under 50 days!!! No major se's, some minor hot flashes, not sleeping great, some moodiness (but can I really blame Tamox??), it has agrivated the joint & muscle aches and pains I had as a se of Chemo. Because I am very overweight I am conscious that some people experience weight gain as a se of Tamox so that would concern me but so far I am doing ok and actually had managed to lose 14lbs in the first few weeks I was taking it but nothing recently (but then again I haven't been as careful with my eating either). If asked to say what my main worry since starting is I would think it's the lack of sleep - because that can have so many knock on effects (such as moodiness!!). Maybe we aren't on it long enough or maybe we are just lucky!!! Hope all goes well for you.
As for the rest of you pill popping ladies, I hope you are all well. I'm still at the stage where I can count how many Tamox I've taken but I guess that with time I'll stop doing that. I promised myself when I started the Tamox that I would look on them as my 'Quality of Life' pills so I hope it won't let me down. Has anyone any good side effects to report???
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Hello Ladies. I missed a day. Yesterday, I was spotting, well w/no ovaries, I knew something was wrong. Went to Dr. told him I think I have a kidney or bladder infection. I had to pee in a cup and well I could not get enough urine. After about an hour I finally made enough urine and low and behold it is an infection. She gave me an rx, but after urine is cultured, if it is an antiboitic resistant she will call in a different antibiotic. Sunday I took son to er for chest pains, just a pulled muscle from bringing wood up on the porch. Nothing serious, he is only 11, but the panic look on his face, I thought something more was going on.
Lisa, great to hear happy news.
Diane, happy for B9 results
Helena, happy you are not a mutant like me.
Effexor Xr has not helped me lose weight, but I have not not gained any, which is good.
Have a great day!!!!!!
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found the email notification option yesterday ... may have to turn it off ..
Chelev - everyone is so different on this silly old quality of life pill - I'm doing pretty good 6 months down the track, no hot flashes, no joint pain, bit of anxiety - even my dry eyes have righted themselves.
Ainm - just a few good side fx I have: more assertive (I think it is good, not sure about everyone else), my periods have just stopped and the best one - I have met all these amazing women who I never would have met if I hadn't popped tamoxifen.
Mary - mutant or not - you just don't know how much of an inspiration you have been for me over the period I have been waiting for my test results. Seeing you come through you ooph and staying so busy and full of life filled me with the courage to go down the same path if I needed. Big hugs to you.
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I am wondering how often everyone sees their "docs". Currently the surgeon wants to see me every 3 months for 2 years, said all was good would continue to improve, the Rads Onc 30 days and then Mammo and appointment in 4 months, then every 6 mos for "awhile" and then yearly forever, Med Onc every 3 months for,1 year and then every 6 months for 10 years and Surgeon did not like the fact that I had not had a pelvic in 2 years and did not have a Gyno , made a recommendation and made an appointment for me next Monday, plus I have to see the Endo every 4 months for the thyroid lumps. Seems like a lot of appointments but it is better than letting a recurrence get a hold.
Italy sounds like a great trip, I am excited about going to see my sons in Albuquerque and Las Vegas next month.
Thanks for the info on Effexor.
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carollynn,
My schedule of medical appointments follows:
Medical Onc - every 3 months, for another year, then every six months
No Rad Onc
Surgeon - I have been seeing him on a three month schedule. Will see him once more, then I don't know. I don't see any purpose in seeing him when I am also seeing my medical onc. Basically, they both examine my scars and check my lymph nodes, but I think my onc is more thorough and he writes my script for tamoxifen, so I'll see him over my surgeon
Orthopedic Surgeon - once a year, to check on my hip replacement
gyn - once a year
primary care doc - once a year for a physical and as needed - so far this year I have seen him for two cases of cellulitis and to confirm a rash was an allergic reaction.
Optomitrist (once a year)
Dentist (twice a year for cleaning)
lymphedema therapist - as needed
Then there are physical therapy appointments, massage appointments (medically related because I get my scars worked on) and weekly appointments with someone who does MLD .
My office mate at work says I am always going to the doctor. I will agree to the fact that I am high maintenance.
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Carolyn, my surgeon wants to see me every 6 months....I am about to have TE's put in and implant/simple mast on my good side so I will be going in for the obvious appointments but I will go back to every 6 months for awhile and then annually I assume. I will be following up with my general surgeon not by BS. I like her but I feel more comfortable with my general surgeon. As for the oncologist I am in the bisphosphanate trial so I am seen every other month for 6 months then once every 3 months for a year then 2 times a year during the 3 year trial. It is a lot of appointments and I have 3 small kids so I try to get them out of the way when 2 of my kids are in school. I also have bloodwork every month the first 6 months, every 3 months after that......at least those are quick appointments.
chelev.....I have had minimal SE's from the Tamox....I am 2 months in and I still get my period and no hot flashes at all. I am still pre menopausal though. The first month I did notice I was short tempered but I was probably like that with my periods prior to all this anyway.
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Helena and Diane, great news for both of you! Helena, I would love to see Australia, but don't know if I'd ever have the money or the time. I've heard it's such a long flight!
Lisa, I happen to be married to a Sicilian who I met while I was stationed over there when I was in the Navy years ago. I lived there for 2-1/2 years, learned the language pretty fluently, and now my 2 college age daughters have also become fluent. One of them is studying international business and just spent 2 months studying abroad in Salerno (on the Amalfi coast, beautiful area, and close to Naples and Pompei) this past spring. She will be going back to Northern Italy next, for 2 semesters starting next fall. I also plan on visiting Italy again while she is there and that is also the year that I will turn 50!
I have seen Rome, Venice, Florence, the Italian Alps, and of course, have been all around Sicily, but always with my husband, who is not a tourist like me. He kind of rushed me through most of those places, so I barely remember some of them. Venice is where we spent the most time, and I insisted because it had always been my dream to go there, and it was just like I had always imagined!
If you go, try to learn as much Italian as you can beforehand. It will make your trip that much more fun!
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Northern California Girls,
Come to the Napa Valley!!! We have to do it! What fun! I'd love to show ya'll where I work(secret).....We can do lunch, whatever you girls want. Rachel, I miss Wolfie's picture too!
Hey thanks, everyone for all the complements, maybe it's all in my head, not on it.
I'm going to see about Effexor...Lisa, you sure don't look 49, you go girl!
I've got to walk Wolfie...what a pest.
Bye
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LEEEEGGGGYYYYYYY Smiley girl... so now we need a pic of you AND Wolfie
::::whip cracking:::So jealous of the Napa gathering...
Your hair is long enough to do the temporary extensions- take a look at the pics and links I posted on the Hair thread...
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topic/707348?page=109#idx_3260
Although you look great to other people, you want what you want and I can't see why you have to wait
here is also a link I posted there to some HSN extensions and other temporary solutions, cheap and easy:
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Lisa--hope you go to Italy--I am a huge fan. Been a few times and still haven't covered every area--there are so many fabulous unique areas--can't wait to go back!
Helena--I still need to get down to your part of the world. Know it's beautiful!!
Rachel-I agree with all you said on mammo's. Had the same experience--I found my tumor myself even though I had had a mammo every yr faithfully. Also the MRI I had missed the second tumor which granted was small, only 4mm. Hindsight is a beautiful thing but doesn't help after the fact.
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Thanks, for the info. Rachel. Hey Chelev, I love your picture, how cute, I seem to remember you and Rachel talking about coloring, if so it looks great, do you love it? I do. I love so see everyone's pictures. For me it was like ripping off a band aid, but I did it.
Carollyn, I only see my Onc. every six months, and my surgeon's nurse every three months. Gyno. once a year. That's it as far as BC goes, and that's enough. Seeing my Onc. just stresses me out anyway.
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Rachel, you are funny, I''ll get a picture, of me and Wolfie.
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Ok my last post was a bit off since I missed reading the last page before posting! Oops!
Leggy--would love to meet you girls up in your area and now I'm dying to know where you work since it's a secret!
RoseG--I loved Venice too! So magical...need to got o southern Italy now...
Chelev--I am 5 1/2 months in now and doing ok on it, no SEs really (which always scares me to say in case I get them late!!). I think some can take months to show up but I've also heard some come in the first few months and then the body adapts and they mostly go away. I am also pre-meno so not sure if that makes a difference--I think it helps for some reason. Did develop an ovary "issue" but they are going to watch it and actually it has been feeling better this last month so maybe it will go away on it's own (I hope, I hope, I hope).
Mary--also--hope your kidney infection gets better soon--yikes!!
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