Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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"Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at this moment." (Oneness With All Life)
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Morning everyone....there is sun out there. Our temps are slowly warming and but by the week-end it will rain. Sigh!!! It is all part of approaching Spring. Just that we can't be too sure of what will come or when with the global changes going full tilt it seems.
The kids are anxious to see what will happen. They arrived first week in December and for someone ( my daughtter ) not used to "waiting" for Spring.....the bare trees look rather un-inviting. Nothing seems vibrant since everything, lawns, bushes, even weeds are still in sleep mode. She knows it is coming and the time change that will take place on Saturday night will be the lead-in that usually gets us THINKING that we will soon be eating meals on the deck again.
Memmories are great things. I think of all the lightning bugs we caught....and who often at night, going out all the way through the back yard to the edge of our property, to the outhouse stepping on toad frogs. Our grass was always quite wet with dew. I don't know why that made it 'worse' for me, but it did. We would go to the big ditches when it rained as it seemed there would often appear a big crawdad out of a hole somewhere around.
There are parts of childhood -- like the outhouse, that are a good memory but I sure don't miss them. Besides, we were poor and only had a one-holer. That is how they were defined......how many holes you had. Yikes, those were the days and glad I don't have to do that now. I recall when my parents migrated to California and my mother laughing ( most of you will recall when it was fashionable to have carpet, even in the bathroom ) that she had not only two indoor bathrooms now....they even had carpet in them.
Hope you all have a wonderful day.
Peace and love,
Jackie
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Speaking of lightning bugs....when I was a kid we would catch them and put them in a jar with holes in the lid..........this is gross, when I think of it now...remember how they would light up...well we would use our fingernail, take the little glowy thing out, and put it on or finger like it was a stone in a ring...........it would stay lit for a few seconds, and then go it...........what the hell were we thinking........that is barbaric........lol......
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Beautiful memories ladies--but did we relly know we were poor, I never did--evveryone around us lived the same way. And I remember just always being happy and excted for a new day-school or not it was always fun to me. And we're still making memories.
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Oh yes, lightening bug rings. We used to make them all the time. We caught them and would put them in a jar with holes in the lid but they usually died by morning. Must have been the heat at night, not unusual for it to be in the mid-80s to low 90s at night here. I haven't heard about Spud since I was a kid. Nice memories.
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Pt that's adorable.
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Today is the last day I will ever be 69! I said those words to dh today when we were having a late breakfast after coming home from the gym. His reply was that when Saturday came, I wouldn't feel any different.
So far I'm sticking by my decision to get up early with him on Tues. and Thurs. and go to the YMCA and do a workout. I walked 10 min. on the "machine whose name I cannot remember!" and then did some individual machines. At 8:30 I took the B.F.I.T. class for the 2nd time. What a workout. Aerobic and strength-building and some stretching.
The house has wonderful aromas of the pot roast cooking in the oven.
I, too, remember catching lightning bugs and putting the poor things in a jar. The present is so "present" that I don't spend a lot of time on reminiscence.
Elliptical. That's the name of the machine!
Gorgeous day here. High 50's. Sunny. But all is not perfect, Camille. The air is full of pollen. My eyes kept bothering me and finally I realized what was the matter.
Best wishes to all.
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And boy could those lightning bugs stink!!!! :-)
Carole, I am feeling MUCH better now that I have been off the Arimidex. My joints don't ache like they used to and they were even better when we were in Florida with that warmth last month. I have much more energy and have been able to shed a few more pounds more easily. My mood has certainly improved. I don't seem so "down" as I did at times when on the drug. Unfortunately my sleeping patterns have not improved. I have touble getting to sleep and if I wake up in the middle of the night, I have trouble going back to sleep. This started when I begain taking Arimidex. Maybe it is now an established sleep habit. I don't know but I'd hoped I'd do better in that area. There is a good life after Arimidex! It took about 3 months to notice much of a difference.
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I hope you have lots and lots more too.
Enjoy..........hugs, Jackie
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Oh Jackie that is the sweetest picture for Carole---And Carole u'r going into u'r 70's really kicking--good for u. I'm glad u'r really building up energy like that---and I certainl hope u have a wonderful Birthday. OK I won't remark about the weather cuz it's othering u, but u do have warmer stuff than we do.
Rita I didn't know u were off Armidex--Oh how nice and u'r feeling better. Finally right? Good. Except for the sleep part--hmm like u said it might be patterned now so u have to get out of it, somehow. It's aggrevating, I know.
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Hi ladies, I can't keep up with your weather reports and reminiscing quite yet but I am here to vent again. (Thanks for reading.) I feel like I am back to square one. At a weekly meeting, all the doctor's review each patient. After the meeting, the surgeon called and said they were concerned about operating since mom had a stroke previously. She said some doctor's thought no operation; others said lumpectomy with sedation and local anesthesia (not general anesthesia). Before the group meeting, she told us that she would not do an operation with sedation only but is now saying that is all she would do.
She also said she wanted to talk to mom's cardiologist about life expectancy from the stroke. I told her that neurologists early on told us that stroke doesn't directly affect life expectancy. The surgeon said "I don't know how they could say that, but I'm not a neurologist."
She told me that I might want to go to a larger hospital to get their opinion. I was almost speechless. She also incorrectly said that my mom's stroke occurred during surgery- which it didn't. So, I don't know if that influenced all these other comments from doctors or not.
I had a weird feeling about this surgeon when we met her and now I just feel like she has so much...hesitation or something. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering if surgery is a bad decision. My mom is making so much progress with rehab- walking with less help, talking a little more, etc. One minute I'm celebrating, the next worrying literally about a life decision.
Mom's current neurologist said surgery risk was a little higher because of the previous stroke but that it isn't a reason to not operate or not give anesthesia if that is what is needed as long as the stroke was at least 6 months ago. Still waiting for cardiologist to call me back.
So, I hope that we can get an appt. quickly at another hospital- maybe Penn or Sloan-Kettering. Maybe they have more experience with less healthy people. I hate waiting longer to get it out.
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Happy birthday Carole, from snowy NY state!
Rita, haven't had sleep problems with the Arimidex, the arthritis, joint aches seem somewhat worse. That seems to be all, at least for now. Told my onc I wud only stay on it, if the Se's were not too much to live with. Told that to a woman at seniors who is on it. She said, "You HAVE to." Cudn't believe I told onc that! Good some things have improved for you.
Reg, after getting another opinion , in the end the decision may be yours, with no definite advise as to which way to go. I know it is difficult for you.
Well guess I better get dressed and shovel snow. It's beautiful, but heavy. tomorrow supposed to be 50!
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Ritajean.......lol.....forgot about the stink......OMG, they did stink...,
The Arimidex...we're you on for 5 years?...........so glad your got rid of the horrible SE from that shit.........by the time I'm off the Femare, I will be too old to care, not live long enough to get off it............lol.....I'm 78 now.......so many times I have thought...."take your chances....go off it........at least enjoy the years you have left.........the cure will kill you.........right,......like there is a cure........glad your through with the "Beast"
A side note....my son-in-laws mother is a 25 year survivor.....mastectomy....13 years later recurrence, mastectomy again......she was on Tamoxifen for 10 years, then onto Arimidex......has no SE....nada, zip, none......I say she attributes all her "shit" to "old age", and would not know a SE, if it introduced itself to her..........get real......not 1...........anyway just a comment about her either luck......or .....complete oblivian.......lol0 -
Happy Birthday Carole: When I turned 70 I have to admit that it was the first time that I actually acknowledged that I might be getting "old". Now, I will be turning 73 in June and I feel great...not old at all, so there is hope as long as we keep active and stay healthy, watch our weight and diets, and you seem to be doing all of that and more...bravo!
Regbeacj: Get a second opinion on your Mom and a third if necessary. If you don't feel comfortable with the answers you are getting, don't settle.
My BF came in late yesterday with a terrible stomach virus, don't even know how he drove all the way from SC to FL, so I am now giving him TLC, trying to get him to follow my medical instructions to get better...lol...he's like a kid...doesn't want to drink anything, just lay in the bed and moan. Some things never change.
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Regbeach, what a difficult situation you are in, having to make such important health decisions for another person. Especially your mother. I hope you get more clarification from a 2nd hospital and group of doctors.
Ducky, did you have the oncotype analysis of your tumor? It's hard to say what I would do in another person's place, but your info is the same as mine. 1 cm, Stage 1, 0 nodes. If I were 8 years older than I am and the med. made me miserable, I just might opt for quality of life. In fact, if arimidex made me miserable, I probably would opt for quality of life at my present age. True, there are some statistics but this is all a guessing game anyway.
That's the reason I choose to drink alcohol in moderation. It adds enjoyment to my life and there are lots of women on bc.org who never drank a drop of alcohol.
Looking forward to my day. Playing golf at 9 am with my Friday group of women golfers. Dinner tonight at our favorite local restaurant with another couple.
Wishing everyone a great day.
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To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the Ultimate Purpose toward which I am working; to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done—this is how I desire to waste wisely my days.
Thomas Dekker0 -
regbeach.....I am so sorry that your surgeon seems somewhat wishy-washy about your Mom and how to handle her current issues. I would likely opt for at least one other opinion. It does seem you have felt a lack of connection from the start with this surgeon/Dr. and it would be great if you could find someone that was able to connect with your Mom and her needs as well as reassure you about what he or she feels in the best thing in this case.
One of the positive aspects of age when these things turn up.....is they seem just from age to be slower, as in fact so many things are. So hopefully, if you can get a second opinion appt. and then with your Mom reach a decision that would probably be good. I know the feeling -- had it myself -- that once you know a 'tumor' is growing inside, your whole being just wants it gone, so I do know as you wait to decide you have conflicting emotions going on not affected much by the fact these decisions are for your Mom.
Carole...I'm another who is having so few se's with Arimidex that I choose to just go on taking it. This coming Nov. a decision will be made as to what I will do then, as it is the 5 yr. mark for me. The way I feel now.....if he said stay on it for a bit longer it would not bother me. The only thing is...I'm not a good pill-taker.....so any I can be rid of is just one more thing I don't have to worry about.
You might think about that anyway ducky. It is hard to say for someone else, especially if there are problems with something. I think Kaara ( not sure how your doing it now ) started out only taking half a pill and slowly increased it and may have helped her body adjust..
Rita....golly, sleeping or not as the case may be is not an easy thing. Knock on wood.....I've attributed so much of my "lack" of issues for the most part on sleeping rather soundly through the night. I do get up a time or two to use the bathroom, but generally I easily fall back to sleep without effort. I don't know if a short term -- non-habit forming sleep aid would help or not. So hard to say sometimes since we all change as we age and possibly Arimidex brought a change all at once instead of the 'gradual' change that we hope to experience if it even happens. I have to admit that I "enjoy" my sleep and rest and not sure how life would be if I 'became' wakeful at night.
Saying hi to everyone and wishing you a great day. Sun here with temps in the 50's. Higher tomorrow but that brings the rain.
Love and peace,
Jackie
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I worked for big Pharma for 15 years in Mkt. Research....I know how the mechanism of action works in Meds.....have spoke to many specialists ...the point of taking your AI every day is to keep the level up in your system......I was told it will take care of stray cells by always being present......altering the prescribed delivery, can render it out of your system when needed..........read up on altering the AI dose on Web, MD.......it explains it.......I don't want to alter the dos.....I want to be off it altogether........
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Happy Birthday Carole. It sounds like you have a great day planned. Wish I was playing that round of golf with you and helping you celebrate in person. Enjoy your dinner tonight.
Ducky...yes I was on Arimidex for the entire 5 years. There were many times when I was ready to throw those little white pills down the drain because of the joint aches and pains but I kept going. My onc opted to take me off at the 5 year mark because I had the joint pains and he didn't think there was enough research about side effects and permanent damage after the 5 years. After putting up with it all that time, I was really hesitant to stop. (crazy, right? I couldn't wait to hit the 5 year mark and get off it and then I was afraid to get off it!) It was like my security blanket and without taking that little pill, I was on my own. I had some real emotional issues with this for about a month or so.
Today is the day that I am going to stop procrastinating and start pulling out all my tax info. Gosh I hate that job! Everyone have a great day!
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ducky....I think ( with her Dr's blessing ) Kaara did it that way so that her body would assimilate the drug slowly and hopefully she would not be burdened by big alterations of hormonal effects all at one time. My thought was you might try being off a couple of weeks and slowly re-introducing that drug or another. It is just putting ideas out......if you are happier going totally off......then that might be your answer.
Peace and love,
Jackie
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Jackie......frowned on when I suggested going off......my MO suggested, something to take the edge off the pain.....told her "no thanks".....,.no more friggin medicine......last thing I need is Oxy.......not doing it.....the Onc I have now is excellent and is highly recommended by her peers, and really respected by the Onc Dept, as one of the best........however, she is leaving...having a baby, and not coming back....gonna stay home.....I was shocked, but respect her decision......
I did find, when I reached the "donut hole", and switched from Femara to Letrozole the SE's lessened........of course now you think....okay is this new Med doing its job......oh we'll.....it is what it is.......
The only thing I did do was insist that my Letrozole was always from Teva Pharma, so I did not have to get use to new fillers, and dyes every 90 days.....so far they have complied.......0 -
Ducky, is it mainly the joint pain that's getting you?
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLE--In honor of u'r BD I bouht myself a pair of shoes==TY--Have a wonderful day.
Reg I personally would get another opinion, after all this can't be the first time this has happened to someone. Different Drs. with more experience maybe--a bigger hospital. Good Luck
Ducky I totally understand--I think I'm switching soon myself--I don't know if or what are SE's or age or an accumulation of eerything anymore but if these tiny little pills are adding all this to an otherwise aching body I'm tired of it too. I don't know if changing will make a difference or it might be worse-who knows but I'll stick with it for a while.
Jackie u have better weather than we do up north-haha--same state just different locations.
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Yes Jackie, and the feeling of can't do a lot for very long......I hate it, They say exercise, who can with all the joint pain, and how about hen your get up up and go. Got up and went......yea I know exercise helps the pain....didn't me, just made my joints hurt more......fed up with it all..plus how about the "where the hell did my life go" days......was never like this....not even during surgery, or Rads......that little shitten "devil pill" caused it all....felt great before that....
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Ducky I like that name for it--what gets me it's so small and u wonder WTF in it.
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Cam.....that goes for all the shit I take.......believe it or not, other then an aspirin when I could not handle a headache any longer....I did not take a single pill....at 72 had a mild heart attack, an that's when the "shit hit the fan".
2 BP meds, statin med, a 325mg aspirin every night, and now the "devils pill.....WTF.....and I wonder why my head is up my ass most of the time..........oh and the little "water pill", which I take if I am not going out........I take all this so I can feel like "shit" most of the time......0 -
I'm with you Ducky.... I only had the "warm waves" while on Tamoxifen, plus the god-awful leg cramps during the night. I DID take it for 14 months, then woke up one morning and was deaf in one ear. I researched everywhere... Asked everyone I could think of! Then my OTHER ear lost the hearing. Needless to say I did not need to get hit over the head again..... I quit that pill. And I will not try anything else. It scared me half to death.
I WILL say that I WANTED to take it... to keep any cancer cells from going nuts. But I did not want to lose anything else along with my hearing. Cataracts are another possibility with Tamoxifen. I have looked all over the internet, and can find a lot of posts from me, trying to find any answers. But the prescribed dosage makes sense.... I DID take the generic... maybe THAT made a difference? But that's all I could get.
It's like my DH.... only takes 1/2 of a Tylenol PM when he goes to bed.... hoping that will help him sleep. Nope, it doesn't, but he will not take more.... even though it SAYS to take more... He thinks he is a 6 year old kid.... AND acts like it occasionally...
And oh... 1/2 of an aspirin at a time! BUT will drink 6 cans of beer.... no problem.... which is considerably less than he USED to drink. There must be some dosage on those cans, which DH thinks he has to consume! Have you guys seen that other thread? Something about "They've found the cure for stupid?" That is the funniest thread I have seen! If I try and link it here, I will almost positively lose this post.... But it's about some of the dangdest things some people say about curing cancer, etc.! Anyway, I was laughing out loud.
And Happy Birthday Carole.... and hi to Jackie, Camille and Kaara! Kaara, is the buys stomach problem better?
Can hardly wait for yet another snow day tomorrow!!!!
Maybe if I keep buying junk from the dollar store for my gardens, it will make Spring come faster? 0 -
This is the thread.... I read some of the last pages, then thought it was so funny, I went to the first page...
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/102/topic/765586?page=192#idx_5750
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Chevy.....know about that thread.....it i hysterical....almost unbelievable......been on their, but not lately....
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