Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
-
hi ladies I'm here just got home yesterday from hospital BMX with reconstruct 600 cc's saline per side no path yet 1:24 am and just emptiedall 4 drains for 2nd time. Very tired. CHeck back later
0 -
Welcome home, Seedsally. Rest up and check back in when you feel up to it.
0 -
As you take a few minutes each day to quiet your mind, you will
discover a nice benefit: your everyday, "ordinary" life will begin to
seem far more extraordinary. Little things that previously went
unnoticed will begin to please you. You'll be more easily satisfied,
and happier all around. Rather than focusing on what's wrong with
your life, you'll find yourself thinking about and more fully enjoying
what's right with your life. The world won't change, but your
perception of it will. You'll start to notice the little acts of kindness
and caring from other people rather than the negativity and anger.
Jack Canfield0 -
Good morning,
ChiSandy, I may have mentioned that Dh had gall bladder issues last summer ( probably close to this time of yr. too ) and the interesting thing is -- he complained of pain, not constant by any means, off and on for yrs. w/o any sort of diagnosis. Last yr. it was in fact consistent enough and problematic enough to require a hospital stay. He still has his GB though.
Seedsally, wow, I must have missed your post about going into surgery, but glad you are home and starting the process of recuperation. I didn't have to have drains for anything, nor did anyone I know personally, but it has always sounded difficult. You may be having naps for while to catch up on working toward getting more energy back and healing well. I'm praying for that with lots of healing energies on the side.
Jackie
0 -
Mornin all,
Seedsally- like Jackie, I didn't know about the surgery, or more likely, knew about it, but forgot the date. I came home from the hospital with 3 drains. Three of my 5 children were there for the surgery- my oldest DD who is the best caretaker ever, and my two boys. When the nurse came in to empty the drains the first time, my youngest son asked if he could watch how it was done, my daughter moved out of sight. My son was not known for liking other people's bodily fluids. But he had started working in an ER while I was doing chemo. Nurse never had to empty drains again. I was in the hospital for two nights, mainly because Atlanta had shut down completely due to a snowstorm. No one, including staff could get home that night. The second night there was some discussion of who would go home, who would stay. Usually, my daughter would decide that because she's the oldest. Nope. Tim said over all the other voices " I came to be here for Mom's surgery, and I am not leaving. If anyone elsewants to stay with me, that's fine, but I am not leaving." He took care of me like he had been doing it for years. He emptied those drains and measured the amount of fluid like a pro. When they released me, he continued to take care of the drains for the rest of the week. He had to go home on Sat and my middle DD was flying in to be with me for a week while my other daughter returned to work. Tim waited till he knew Tracy's plane had landed and she had met up with her brother-in-law before he got into the car to drive back to FL. Nancy was still complaining about how disgusting the drains were, every time Tim emptied them . He wasn't leaving until he knew there was someone there to take over. By the middle of that week, Nancy made her husband learn how for when Tracy left, but at that point, I could do it myself. It was three weeks after surgery before the final drain was removed.
PS No one else had a problem with the drains. They all watched and waited to see how much fluid was in them each time. And, other than than the drains, my oldest took absolutely wonderful care of me.
Hope your recovery is problem free.
Anne
0 -
Anne, you have a new avatar:
Jackie
0 -
Rita, the website I was talking about is the Gluten Free Digest. jean
0 -
Went to a local, non-Chain supermarket. This time I hit the jackpot! They had 3 private bakeries that do gluten free! I got chocolate chip cookies, cranberry scones and s small frosted carrot cake! Had a cookie for lunch and am planning tea and scone this afternoon. Woohooo!
0 -
Yes Jackie-I have a new avatar. The one I had was at least 7 yrs old and pre BC. I have had pure white hair since my thirties but had always colored it. When it came back after chemo, by the time there was enough to color, every one had gotten used to the white and encouraged me to leave it white. And while it initially did seem a little thicker at first, it soon went back to the awful thin fine hair I have always had. Except I think I have less of it. There is nothing I can do with it to make it look normal. With the wedding coming up, I found a new local wig store and this is the result.
Anne
0 -
Your right Anne --- my hair is thinner somewhat now too --- but it was always very thin and fine. I keep permanents in my hair and that keeps it looking much thicker. I never really tried it, because I got use to having SOME, though I won't say it is the greatest, style/thicker/curls sort of, no matter what, but was told as well that colored hair tended to SEEM thicker or LOOK thicker too. Late to test this theory out now with the wedding close but it may be something to ask of people/hairstylists some time in the future. Lots of people don't keep the pigment in their hair very long into adulthood. Knock on wood -- at 70 I don't have much gray hair at all and it seems by doing perms that what their is tends to now show even less since it winds into curls pretty much -- and is another reason that I keep on doing things as I have. Mind you --- if and when the gray hair comes to the degree that it does for most people --- I will learn to live with it I'm sure --- I've spent most of my life not being I don't think too vain at all, but I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say that I'm happy to have so little gray right now. It keeps me from having to make any REAL special arrangement -- even if that arrangement only had to be semi-temporary.
Glad you found a local wig store -- I like it.
Jackie
0 -
Jackie
I have tried coloring, perms, product, etc on my hair. My middle daughter was the receptionist at a very nice hair salon, and my youngest DD was a hairstylist for ten years. The first time I went there for a haircut ( a few months after Tracy started working there, I was surrounded by most of the stylists and words were flying around- highlights low lights, perm, layers etc. They decided I need color and I think perm. This place had prices way above my usual $12 for haircuts. Tracy had said I would get a discount, but even so... I finally asked how much it t was going to cost me. They all huddled together and came back and said it will be $3 - for the chemicals used- no charge for the labor. My hair looked it's best ever till Tracy moved on. Tracy is still friends with one of the stylists from that shop and she comes by the house on a fairly regular basis and whoever is here gets a cut, or color while we visit. a few months ago I needed a haircut and she couldn't get here so I went to her current shop. With a 20% or 40% discount, my cut cost over $50. I don't have enough hair for $50 haircut.
My hair is so awful that on my wedding day, the man who did my hair actually said that it was such a shame I didn't have hair like my sister- you could really make hers look good. I answered that she may have gotten the good hair, but I had the beauty and the brains. Not necessarily true, but I had to retort somehow.
Anne
0 -
Seedsally, good luck with your recovery. I either didn't know or forgot that you were scheduled for surgery. I had a similar surgery but my implants were not saline. I had two drains, one on each side, and got very tired of them before they were removed. My dh took care of them for me for several days until my disgust over my own bodily fluids eased. It will all pass and you will forget the pain, discomfort and inconvenience.
I learned a little while ago that my mother is ill with an intestinal virus. My sister went to visit her but will not stay because my mother is in bed and not feeling well at all. Apparently some of the other elderly patients in the rehab wing are also ill with the same ailment. I feel sorry for everyone involved, including the CNA's who are on duty.
Bonnets, you sound really happy with all those GF bakery items!
I was not blessed with beauty but I do have an abundance of hair. Every stylist I've ever gone to has commented that I have "good hair." It is strange, though, that my hair is curly in the back, straight on top, and wavy on the sides! I went gray a couple of years ago to see if the color was nice. The top was rather pretty with a white streak through the gray but the back was an iron gray. So I went back to color. People always tell me I don't look as old as I am. I think a lot of that reaction is based on hair color. My mother has beautiful silver hair but it took a number of years for her hair to get to that color. She still has a lot of hair for a 93 year old.
I think I heard my washing machine telling me the cycle is finished.
Hope everyone has been having a good Friday.
0 -
Sometimes during the day, I consciously focus on some ordinary
object and allow myself a momentary "paying-attention." This
paying-attention gives meaning to my life. I don't know who
it was, but someone said that careful attention paid to anything
is a window into the universe. Pausing to think this way, even for
a brief moment, is very important. It gives quality to my day.
Robert Fulghum0 -
Good morning,
The sun is finally coming out and that makes me happy. First of the week we will have two or three days of rain. Their is so much pollen out of doors. My car has a slightly greenish yellowy haze on it. Guess I'll see what kind of job the rain can do first of the week, though I may try the car dust mop that I have if the sun comes out a bit better.
Anne, you have definitely tried it all. Hair work ( perms, cuts, frosting, color ) all seems to be pretty costly now-days. I used to go to the Beauty College here but gave it up. Their really good prices have slowly inched up to where I was paying $30.00 for a perm given by people who didn't always know how to yet and never mind some of the really bad hair cuts to boot. I could tolerate a bad mistake now and then for those who are just learning, but not when it gets to nearly the price of a regular salon. I now pay $50.00 total for a cut, perm, and style and the gal who does me has been at it long enough that my results are always consistent and nice. As I consider myself something of a plain-Jane, I don't feel that I have to have extra-ordinary results. I can settle for nice with consistency.
Jackie
0 -
Jackie, that's a very reasonable price for perm and style. DH and I went to some cheap walk-in places during our rv travel. My favorite to tell about was a "salon" in a Walmart, where we both sat in chairs to get hair cuts. I tend to chat with people and soon learned that our two young "stylists" had just graduated from their training not at a beauty school but some sort of technical school. We left with butchered hair. That was it for me. I would ask for recommendations from locals in a town and seek out beauty shops with experienced stylists.
I spent the afternoon with my mother, who did get up this morning and went to therapy for some non-strenuous exercising. She had dry toast for breakfast and crackers for lunch. She can deal with diarrhea but is bent on avoiding the throwing up. She had me go down to the nurses' desk and ask them not to bring any dinner meal to her room. She says the sight and aroma of food are not pleasant. I'm hoping she will begin to feel better. Apparently the nursing home has many patients who have caught this intestinal virus. My brother said that a lot of children in the schools are ill with the same virus. Is there anything more distressing than a nursing home full of older people with stomach issues? I feel sorry for them and for the workers.
0 -
Jackie that sure is reasonable. Around here a perm&cut runs $70-90. I color my own hair, so save on that.My good friend went grey and tried to convince me, but I'm not ready for that. I agree my hair has been thinning, especially where I sleep . The gal who I had cut my hair for about 30 years retired and went to Florida recently so have been trying to find a new stylist. Think I did this time, a friend recommended her, but again, aint cheap. She has been in the business for 40 years! Only thing about hair, if you don't like the job, it will always grow out again!
0 -
Hi friends,
Just a quick update: Mike is doing great. He is at day +43, which means 43 days since his bone marrow transplant. Although it took much longer than usual to "engraft" (for the new stem cells to find their way to the bones and start creating a new immune system, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets), once it started it increased rapidly. Of course he is still quite vulnerable, but the critical first 30 days are over so I've given myself permission to breathe once in awhile. Our next BIG goal is to make it to day +100. There were 4 people I know who had their transplants 2 weeks after Mike. One died on day +11, two engrafted quickly and were out of the hospital even before Mike was released. (One of those has been readmitted for lung infection.) The final person is too weak to get out of bed, is not making platelets so she gets daily infusions. We feel lucky that Mike has made it this far without any major problem.
My son, Ryan, has been a huge challenge. A week ago we had decided to have him committed against his will but his beloved doctor asked to give it one last try. It worked. Ryan has decided to voluntarily admit himself to an inpatient alcohol program. They will also address his mental issues. He should go in sometime this week. Monday he has a meeting with someone from the staff to find out all the details.
My intense stress level has diminished. A week ago I was in the middle of a migraine crises...5 straight days and I couldn't kick it. Fortunately it is gone now. I keep busy making jewelry and doing adult coloring - the more intricate the better. It forces me to pay attention to something other than my husband's and son's illnesses and relieves stress.
0 -
Sandra - thank you for the update. Wonderful news about Mike. And good news about your son too. Still sending extra hugs & thoughts your way daily. I like the idea of adult coloring as a diversion.
0 -
Okay, I'm feeling good about what I pay to get my hair done now. Well, this little town only has about 13,700 here so that likely accounts somewhat for better prices. There are a couple of places here that get BIG money. They are likely the places that give custom cuts --- by that I mean, if your hair is thicker on one side they thin that side out and things like that. The stylists that do that spend a lot more time with the "cuts" because every thing turns out better when the cut is REALLY good.
I really do like my gal and she uses really good products on me --- I have the same hair repair product from Chi ( thank goodness it doesn't take much ) in a small bottle for $25.00 that you use right after a wash & condition. It is left in and takes just a little dab. She uses that every time she does me.
Sandra, I have been thinking about you and so glad that you gave us an update. Despite coming out of the starting gate a bit slow, Mike really does sound like he is making good time now. Prayers continued for both he and Ryan. Glad as well that Ryan made the decision to get treatment help. Here's hoping that he too while starting a bit late will make good progress.
Yes, do all you can to put yourself and too much stress at a good distance from one another. Prayers for you as well. I hope you will be able to look back at the desert you have had to walk through and feel so amazed at yourself and hopefully easily see your "growth" and the strength you were able to pull in when you thought only turmoil was there.
Will be back in the morning
Night friends,
Jackie
0 -
Sandra, so glad to hear that Mike’s cells are engrafting and Ryan is finally going into rehab. You get to breathe DOUBLE!
I am pretty vain about my hair while I have it. Because I sweat from my scalp and neck so much (even before Letrozole). I get a keratin treatment (tried various ones but now went back to Braz. Blowout) every 3 months or so, and get my grays touched up and split ends evened out every 8 weeks (due for one now). I’ve never been comfy with short hair, and it simply doesn’t suit my face or figure. Back in my mid-20s I tried one of those Dorothy Hamill cuts but couldn’t style the back & sides properly--even when it was its untreated natural-color “virgin hair” it still would get wavy in the wrong direction--as my bangs still have a habit of doing (they sometimes look like a handlebar mustache). I used to go to top salons, but there were so many people there to have to tip--one person for the shampoo, one for the cut, one for the color. another for the blow-dry--so I gave up (especially when I got tired of following my colorist all over Chicago & its suburbs--a problem I inevitably have after a couple of years or so). One salon was on Oak St., nowhere near the train, and the cab or the parking fee were outrageous. Another was up a steep flight of exterior stairs (no elevator), and the Astroturf carpeting on the stairs would chew up the backs of my heels if I wore sandals. One was great.....till it went belly-up. Another was in my neighborhood, but then my stylist (who did all the services) moved. Fortunately, he’s at a salon which, while a bit further away in a neighborhood with no amenities, has much easier unmetered parking (and an espresso machine). You don’t want to know what I pay, though. In between treatments, cuts & color I do my own styling (and if I clip my hair up atop my head before sleeping, I generally can get away with not having to use a flatiron every day). If I just wash & dry it, it still frizzes somewhat (but not as badly as before the keratin treatment).
0 -
Sandra, great news that Mike is doing well and your son is seeking help.
Happy Sunday to all.
0 -
There are no guarantees.
From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough.
From the viewpoint of love, none are necessary.
- Emmanuel (Pat Rodegast)0 -
Sandra - I echo the others- great news about Mike, and I will pray Ryan goes thru with his plAns for rehab.
I have decided that all the "little" things that Tracy and I have been letting slide need to be fixed. Some aren't so little- the kitchen floors have major puddles between the fridge and sink on a regular basis, but since we have no idea where to begin looking ( or what we are looking for) we are going to get someone out to help. The toilet in the main bath clogs at least every other day. Our neighbor- a retired plumber says it's because they made us all go to the water saving size tanks and our pipes are still for the larger tanks. His son, also a plumber is supposed to come by and check it for us. I have no problem conserving water, I just don't want my 13 year old grandson unclogging my poop that often. And the main bathroom door no longer locks. The above ground pool in the backyard is a mess and we have been looking for someone to get rid of it. My SIL called the other day- he used to run a pool service, and he has asked a friend of his, who normally doesn't do above the ground pools, to put us on his weekly roster and get it cleaned and maintain it until the wedding so it will be there for the kids. Then we will get rid of it. We need to get the whole backyard re-sodded. Of, course with all these must- dos comes an even larger list of want-tos. So I started yesterday - we went and bought a sofa and love seat for the family room, and a new coffee table for the front living room- the puppies chewed the table to pieces and it was too large for the room anyway. Today we are going to pick new paint for some of the rooms. We just repainted the house a couple of years ago, but the main color came out like more of a mustardy yellow than the tan, beige I wanted. I was afraid to say anything because Tracy and her ex had put so much time into painting it, but when I finally mentioned it, she agreed she hated it too.
So off we go to Home Depot to pick paints - they look so good at the store, but look totally different on the walls.
Have a good Sun.
Anne
0 -
Beautiful day here, DH got the grass mowed, I usually do the beds weeds, but it]'s getting to be too much for me. Need to get an estimate to have them weeded and river rocks put down. Mulch is not recommended I read , after all these years, because we have a log house and mulch can draw termites. Log homes are a different thing, they are also loved by borer bees and woodpeckers! Just had a Goldfinch in a tree, right outside the window!
Sandra, so glad you have some good news.
Hope to hear from my surgeon tomorrow on the gall-bladladder sonogram. He never got back to me Friday, but maybe he was off for Passover.
0 -
Anne, Many paint stores will sell you a little jar of the color you think you want. Paint that on a piece of poster or foam board, leaving a white edge. Then you can put the sample on the wall to see what the light does to it in your room. DS had a color I loved and wanted for the living room. It was Benjamin Moore, who has already painted samples you can take home. In my house it was the ugliest dullest color you can imagine. So it's worth the little you pay for the sample.
Sandra, Happy to hear your good news. How many coloring books have you filled up?
I'm 75 and my hair still reads as dark, despite an increasing amount of gray. It's fine and straight. I keep it short enough to fluff it up. I tried perms and I'm just not a curly haired personality type. DH and DD have curly hair. She looks like one of her parents might be African American.
0 -
Friends came over today and helped sort through the bins in Lew's closet. After several hours of work, here's the before and after photos.
0 -
Puffin, what a difference!
Today it hit 64 here by the lake (80 in the burbs). Bob desperately needed both a haircut and new running shoes (the old ones had gotten trashed over the winter, what with slushy puddles--he will NOT wear boots or rubber overshoes, and didn't want to get salt stains on his black leather walking shoes). He was going to get an electric blue version of the gray/orange NBs he was replacing, but the salesman found him a discontinued model (made in the USA) that was $58 (nearly half off the price of the others). I told him he should snap up the remaining pair in his size, since it might be gone soon and if these got ruined or wore out, there'd be an identical new one waiting in the closet. Well, the Scots & Swiss in him took over and he said he only wanted to spend the $58 (when 10 min. earlier he was willing to spend $118). So we bought the one pair....but I'm going back tomorrow and buying him the second pair. At the very least. he'd be able to rotate shoes and keep them from getting too stinky from sweat. (His feet perspire like crazy, especially when the heat is on in the car; he spends half the day on his feet making rounds and in the cath lab; and he likes to take 10-mile walks on his days off).
After that we went down the street to Forever Yogurt. Amazingly, he'd never been to a self-serve fro-yo parlor; after he recovered from his bowel surgery & bland soft diet, he stopped going to Lickety Split on the corner for frozen custard because it was too fattening and didn't want to regain weight too fast. He was astonished that he could get as much or as little of whatever flavor he wanted, and that he could taste first. I usually get half of whatever is sugar-free and half of their plain “tart" or “Greek style" yogurt--maybe about 3-4 oz. with a few dark chocolate flakes or sprinkles. He loaded up with 8 oz. of plain, no toppings. That was about 5 pm, and we're both still full!
(His favorite barber was all booked up, so no-go on the haircut).
0 -
Puffin- doesn't it feel good to start with something so messy and transform it into neat and organized?
Today starts another day of travel for me. My daughter is insisting we leave here at 10:30 for a 20 minute ride to the airport for a flight that leaves at 12:50. She says worst thing is I will have to sit and read at the airport longer, but I won't be taking the chance of missing the plane. I told her she has no idea how uncomfortable those plastic airport seats are. She also forgets that she has flown once or twice in her life and i fly constantly. Going to Atlanta and back is a full day event. It's a 15-20 minute drive from the house, to the airport, then I sit at the airport for well over an hour. The actual flight is almost 2 hrs, then I get on the local Marta train system, ride that for 40 minutes, then back in the car for another hour's drive to the house. I will leave here about 10, and get to Nancy's about 5. Makes for a very long drive. And in 16 days, I'll do it all in reverse. Plus I have to check my baggage, no matter how small because the lymphedema makes it impossible for me to raise the weight over my head into the storage unit- so add time waiting for luggage to this day. If didn't have grandchildren, I would not travel nearly as much.
Chi-Sandy- hope the second pair of shoes are still there when you go back.
Anne
0 -
You are here to evolve and make your consciousness high
You are here to dance, sing and celebrate life.
You are here to help others to make their life happy.
We are here not to compete, but to learn, evolve and excel.
We are not here to make divisions in the name of prophets and religions.
We are here to encompass the world with love and light.
- Amit Ray0 -
Fantastic day here....about 84 degrees. So very nice with a nice breeze so you didn't feel too heated. I worked for awhile today. A little extra -- always nice. Will be back again tomorrow. Maybe a bit on Wednesday too --- we'll see when the time comes. Sure thrilled that we are having the nice weather -- though of course, starting tonight --- rain can be expected. Can't complain, as I don't think we have actually had all that much this month, but easy to get VERY spoiled with a few great days in a row.
Dh got some extra work today as well. Things will thin at some point so we will just be glad for now.
Hope you all have had a wonderful day today --- and that your weather is good.
Jackie
0
