August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Debbi.....yep, he is from around here and so his Brad Boyes who now plays for Buffalo. John Tavares came back home last summer for a wedding and him and a bunch of other NHL'ers had a shinny game in our local arena and the kids watched. Kids get all excited watching them play. Both my kids are in playoffs right now so I think we spent 4 nights at arena last week!
I am same as you for sleeping....think I slept 2 1/2 hours last night and of course have pounding headache now!0 -
I do love my remote control fan with the timer....really helps me out at night. The hot flashes are from estrogen withdrawal right? So eventually they end right? Sheesh
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Omaz: Just so you know, I am so praying your LE goes away! LE be gone!
In any case, and in response to your question on hot flashes, at this address:
http://www.imaginis.com/breast-health/coping-with-the-side-effects-of-tamoxifen-1
I found the following information on this particularly cumbersome SE of tamox and why they happen:
Hot flashes occur when estrogen is blocked in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls the body's thermostat. Some women find that regular exercise can help reduce hot flashes. If the hot flashes are particularly bothersome and do not respond to conservative measures such as exercise, calcium, or other interventions, physicians may prescribe medications such as clonidine (brand name, Duraclon) or Megace (brand name, Megestrol). Physicians may also recommend taking 30 to 60-day "breaks" from tamoxifen to help reduce hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.
Hope this helps and take your of yourself, my desert friend!
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Hi All..
Finish Rads on the March 1st... No skin breakage... Lil sore...
I go see my plastic surgeon on the March 9th for Diep Flap date... I am having delayed reconstruction on left and immediate on right...More than likely it will be in September...
I was told to start my Tamoxifen on April 1... I am dreading it...
I am praying for all of you... Thanks for the support...
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IOWA,
Last week I had a bump on my face...I had some strong words for some people (PMS)...
I was very short tempered... Felt crampy... No Blood...(sorry)... Im still waiting....
My ONco said since I am only 38 , I should expect it back... My last chemo was Nov. 16, so I expected it by now...
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Thanks for the info Lizzy! My doc suggested megace and effexor, my gyn suggested clonidine. Right now I am fed up with meds so just working my way through them. I haven't started the tam yet. I go in for herceptin infusion Tuesday, I imagine they will give me a script then. Joy. Not sure about the LE. When I did a little free weights last weekend, only 3 pounds, it made my arm hurt in a band from my armpit to my wrist. I haven't done them since but have been stretching and massaging and wearing my sleeve. I can't see any edema so I guess that's good, just waiting for the band to go away. I guess I have to start out with super baby weights!0
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sohard - your hair is cute!!0
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That is a wig... I wore wigs before cancer...
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sohard - it's still cute!
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Sohardbnme: wig or not, you look fan-tastic! Great pic.
Omaz: what you are feeling is "fascial cording." If you search that topic, you will find that band is actually cording. I have started working out with light weights and doing some yoga. I also ride my recumbent bike. I did notice the other day, after yoga, I did a stretch called "morning star" where I am laying on my back, arms stretched out from each side of your chest. Your legs are curled up and either your entire left leg is on the floor or your right. You then turn your head opposite of your legs. In any case, my description is horrible but it was during this stretch I felt cording. Now I do that stretch every day to release some of the tension that has built up in that arm. I am going to STRETCH those cords, woman! I refuse to let this happen.
More to this point, I am going to PT at Yale so they can give me some more guidance. I am going to ask specifically about this cording business. I will report back my findings
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Lizzy - I'll ask my LE therapist about it too. I will keep stretching as well.0
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Omaz: cording happens as a result of an interrupted lymphatic system "line." From what I understand, it has nothing to do with LE and that they are seperate issues. In any case, your LE therapist might have some insight. Unfortunately, studies show rads can cause LE a certain percentage of the time. I forget the exact number but it is not low....like in the 30-40% range I think.0
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Sohard- it is very cute. I suppose I am at an in between age for getting it back or not. Need to change my name to Iowasue45 lol. I have noticed there are more ladies on here in their 30s particularly 35-40 then it seams next its 50 + and I notice this locally too. Anyone else notice?
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My hair seems to be getting thicker too, but not longer. At least it's coming back dark instead of gray (except at my temples, but I'm 53 so that's normal). I guess I'll lose it again. I wonder if it will come in the same color and at the same rate of growth the second time around?
I have a question for ya'll to mull over: After my initial shock and sadness at being diagnosed last year, I've been pretty much OK, emotionally. Even after my OV CA diagnosis 2 weeks ago, I've been pretty calm and my overall mindset has been "ok, let's do the next treatment(s) and just get done with it." I haven't felt fearful, although my brain tells me that it can't be good to have been diagnosed with cancer twice in less than a year. Do you all think I'm nuts or in denial? And if denial gets you through the day, is it necessarily bad?
Maybe I'm just overthinking things on a rainy, Saturday night.
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Iowa: now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case about 35-40 and then 50+. I think the onset of menopause for women in their 40's negates the ability for bc to get started as your body is naturally shutting down the estrogen factory. It is an interesting point, however.
Lady: I don't think you are in denial and, if denial gets you through then, no, it is not necessarily bad. I have not been whining and crying since my dx either. I just think that so many are dxd with cancer these days, the number is now 1 in 5, that we have so much company and so many are getting treated and successfully moving on and having long lives, it is no longer the awful dx it once was. There are several diseases far worse and more deliterious than cancer. I think we all have hope also b/c bc, sorry to say, is a popular cancer for funding for research and development that for that very reason, we all can have hope for the future. If you look back over your life and during catastrophic times, if you were a basket case, I think the blow cancer delivers to the psyche forces your mind to help you deal more effectively. I don't think we can process the enormity of the situation, with all of it's connotations, over a long period of time anyway.
I don't question my lack of emotional response to bc but I think Sweeney posted once that she felt, for one reason or another (I forget), that she could not tap into her emotions. That got me thinking. I don't know if it is in me and has not come out but, either way, cancers of all sorts are life-long diseases and can be destructive to your mindset if you deal with them at full emotional throttle which, quite frankly, would be an awful existence anyway. I think your mind knows what is best for your body and their is a symbiosis that goes beyond comprehension during these times.
On a much lighter note, and if you want to have some laughs, Miley Cyrus is hosting "Saturday Night Live" in about an hour
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Rachel: Good luck to the boys in playoffs! Our hockey playoffs start next weekend, although my son's team isn't really good so I don't think they will advance far. But that's okay because next week starts the spring soccer season and lacrosse season is only a couple of weeks away. So, life is about to get really busy around here and not having hockey will be a relief.
Sohard: Great to hear from you! I am glad you got through rads okay. Tamoxifen hasn't really caused me major side effects, hopefully it will be the same for you.
Lady: I agree with Lizzy I think your mind does take care of things in the best way possible for you. No, you are not in denial. I am sure you know exactly what is going on, you are just handling it in a constructive way; concentrating on how to treat the cancer instead of crying about why you got it. It's possible that the emotion might hit you after treatment is over, or maybe not. But for now, you just deal with it your way. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the way you have handled this second diagnosis with strength and grace.
Lizzy: I am in awe of your ability to watch late night TV...I can't stay up past 11:00 anymore..too tired. In fact, it is 10:48 now, and I think this is the latest I have been up in months!
Good night everyone.
Debbi
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Debbi- if i have the tv on i find its hard to turn it off and go to bed! there could be absolutly NOTHING on yet i still stay up til 2 in the AM!
I actually watched a Hannah Montana episode in full for the first time ever the other night cuz nothin was on! The other day as i was flipping endlessly i thought to my self "turn the damned thing off or you'll never get to sleep!" Without the tv i can fall asleep at 9 LOL
Hotflashes- i was gonna post i havent really had those on tamox but then read i think lizzys post that said reg exercise may prevent that so thats prob why....
Lizzy- MAN i missed SNL tonight! well the 1st half- i'll catch it on re-run this week- i would love to see how they make fun of her this week....
For some reason i just feel yuck! I am not sure if its my body wanting to cut out meat cuz i feel gross after i've eaten things like burger or hot dog.... i had a really healthy salad the other day and felt great... its like i have a wad of meat stuck in my gut or something LOL
Lady- i like to read into things and i find comfort in the fact that they scheduled your staging appointment on the 16th- if they felt it was urgent they would squeeze you in (i know my appointments were fastracked a lot because they had suspected stage 4) I am praying for you
well it is almost midnight so i best get to bed! LOL
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Good morning everyone!
Texas: I don't have that problem with the TV...LOL. I am so tired these days that honestly by 9:30 if I am sitting down or laying in bed watching TV I will fall right asleep....sitting on the couch if that is where I happen to be. It is soooo sad! All the good shows are on at 9 and 10 and I haven't watched anything in forever. On the food...listen to your body. I read somewhere that "cravings" or "aversions" to certain foods, like you get when pregnant, are your body's way of getting the things it needs to function, or eliminating the things you don't need. So, as long as you are getting all your required nutrients, like protein for example, from other sources, just skip the meat for a while. Hope you feel better. Study Hard!!
I think Lizzy might be on to something with the exercise too. I have been exercising regularly since just after starting Tamoxifen and I only get "warm flushes" not really bad hot flashes. And I only get them a couple of times a day. So, maybe exercise is the key.
On that note, I am off to the gym! I have been doing aerobic type classes at the gym (kind of a combination step, kick boxing, and light weightlifting)...they really are fun. My oldest daughter and I have a weekly date on Sunday at 9:15 and my youngest daughter and I go on Monday nights together. A good way to spend some time together and get in shape! And they get a little laugh because I will be honest I really look like a spaz when I do kickboxing!! I hope I never get into a fight because I will definitely lose....I am such a wimpy boxer..LOL!
St. Patrick's Day parade here in my hometown today.....our favorite day of the year!!! Hope you all have a great day!
Debbi
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Lady---I don't think it is denial--I think it is our brains knowing what needs to be done to get through. I know that after my 2nd diagnosis in one year also---people would say "I don't know how you do it"...and basically you just do. You look around you and know that it needs to be done and that you need to do whatever it takes to get through. After speaking to some people who have gone through something similar--the shock etc can come after everything is done--and you look back and say WTF?
I am jealous to here about people falling asleep at 9pm--I am having a really hard time sleeping--I cannot sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time...it is so strange and I am just craving a good nights sleep. Lack of sleep makes me miserable!
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Rachel: I have no trouble falling asleep, however like you I can't stay asleep. So, I will go to sleep and then wake up every couple of hours and have trouble getting back to sleep. You are right it is very annoying!! I am going to try the Melatonin next weekend, hopefully that will keep me asleep all night. It is very aggravating to go to bed at a time that should allow you a good eight hours sleep and then still be exhausted the next day because you kept waking up all night!
Debbi
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bama no you are not in denial. you're focusing your strength on get this sucker done. libraylil0
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Tex: SNL was good! They did the "Miley Cyrus Show" and she was a guest...and Miley was supposed to be Justin Bieber! It was funny and the salvia thing came up more than once! BTW, there have been studies and regular exercise does diminish tamox SEs in *most* people. Thankfully, and so far, I feel like I am in that "most" group. BTW, that was a good point on Lady's staging appt and the amount of time that will elapse before she is called back for it. Good point.
Sptmm: that class sounds excellent! BTW, congratulations on the CW Post funds. Is that annually or flat for the full 4 years? In any case, that is a nice chunk of change and she won't be far! That is good news. It is really great that you workout with your daughters. It gets them into good habits now when all the sports and lack of recreational athletic activity sets in. I really think there should be more adult leagues of all sorts of sports and not just football in Central Park and basketball for men at the Y! How was the St. Pats parade? I am Irish and Italian and go to the New Haven parade but I do miss the Manhattan parade! My imbibing usually got in the way of full appreciation of that event, however!
On the spaz-look when you kickbox, that might get your opponents in a real boxing match scared!!!
On sleep....I can stay up late and watch tv because my sleep patterns are all screwed up AND I also get up every 2 hours. I drink a lot of water also and that gets me up and down. Where are the days when I could drink for hours, go home and pass out, wake 9 or 10 hours later and never have gotten up once?! I feel like an elderly person on the "are your pipes rusty" commercial! Seriously, though, I think I *might* have had 2-8 hour nights of sleep since I was dxd.
It is raining and although I don't want to go out, I must go to the store! Later, gators-
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Now that we are post chemo....time for a laugh. How many of you get tired of being the "happy cancer girl?". Your job is to make everyone feel lucky that it is you and not them with BC. Someone told me after I went for my RO appt "I know you get tired of having your breasts poked and prodded". I said not really my RO is quite the eye candy. Shut them up.
Off my my rads simulation "stimulation" . Just need to be treated for something. After so many dr appts if I am not going it feels weird. libray lil
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Lil-I know what you mean! This morning I had acupuncture scheduled for 8:45 and I was thinking I would go to my rads appt at 7 and wanted to remember to bring my laptop so I had something to do while I waited for acupuncture. Sorry me - I finished rads two weeks ago!!0
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I caught Miley doing the Beiber bit and the Disney actors workshop... pretty funny. (c:
15 of 28 rads done.
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I've been in bed for two days with the stomach bug. Ugh, I never felt this bad with chemo. I can't even keep water down. I did drag myself to my onc appt this morning. They drew blood for BRAC testing and he says where we go from here depends on path from my surgery next week. So send up prayers for good results on my cancer, round 2.
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Lady - Hope you feel better soon. My ofice mate today told me about a friend who is BRCA positive, had BC treated and then decided to do a prophylatic ooph and the ovaries had cancer in them. (((hugs to you))) stomach flu sucks!0
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Lady I'm glad you got good news from your scans and I am sending good thoughts your way both on your surgery next week and on healing from this stomach bug. Also regarding your post from a couple days ago, I think that you have a good attitude about things and the timing of the diagnoses is really just random. I don't think getting two cancer diagnoses in a year is any worse than being diagnosed with cancer twice several years apart (perhaps psychologically worse but not physically worse). It seems like in your case the OV CA was caught extremely early and basically by accident as a result of your BC treatment. So overall it seems like your prognosis is better than if several years had passed before the OV CA was detected.
Sleep I think I may have read somewhere that insomnia was associated with menopause? Has anyone else read that? It may help explain why we are all having sleep problems. After having been a really good sleeper for years I started having problems last July. My onc prescribed Ambien which worked great all through chemo but finally I decided I wanted to stop. I cut the dose in half several weeks ago and then 2 weeks ago stopped altogether. Since then I am having a lot of trouble falling asleep but once I get to sleep I seem to be ok. I know that it can be difficult to sleep well right after stopping sleep medication because your body gets so used to it but I am wondering if this is going to be a permanent problem now, especially once I get started on the Tamox.
For the last several days I have been extremely congested, coughing a lot and my nose is all stuffed up, this is also not helping my sleep I am sure. It is the third time since January that I have been having cold/flu symptoms and I am wondering if my body is just not up to getting rid of this cold and that's why it keeps flaring up. Anyway, time for me to go lie down and hope to fall asleep sometime in the next couple of hours!
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jsw - I have had a cold cough in various incarnations for the last 4 weeks. It's easy to keep track these days since I have the every 3 week herceptin. Can't seem to get it cleared either.0
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Good evening, girls:
Lady: I include you in my evening prayers. I sure hope the results on the path are very good. A stomach bug on top of what you are already going through just plain, old sucks. I think you just have so much on your mind and with what you are going through, your defenses are down and so something like a stomach flu could sneak up on you. May you get over this stomach bug immediately!
Omaz: I wonder if there is any link between BRCA+ and the potential to develop ovarian cancer?
JSW: it has been hard for me to sleep since tamox. I am getting to sleep at 4ish, getting up at 9 (in addition to getting up several times during that 5 hours) and then I go back to sleep for a few more hours. I really need to get as close to 8 as possible, no matter how fragmented. In any case, I was getting all upset because now I am getting up at 12-1ish and I just decided to not worry about it and to just base my day from 1ish to the time I go to bed and don't get so worked up about it. I think we can really stress ourselves out if we are not sleeping when we deem sleep "should" be taking place. If you are not working, take it easy and sleep when you can. I am looking forward to a normal sleep schedule again but, for now, I am just going to sleep when I can and not get too concerned about it for now. The weirdest thing: most days now I eat breakfast later than when I used to eat lunch!!! What a life!
Adey: you missed the best part on SNL which was in the beginning, Bill Hader was doing Charlie Sheen and mock interview of all of those "winning" which was Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi, Lindsay Lohan and there was one more! It was beyond hysterical! The best I have seen on SNL in a long time.
Well, I am going to do a few more things and watch "Entourage" and then try to get to bed by 2, shut the tv off and try to hit the hay a little earlier tonight! BTW, there was just some big study about the use of portable electronic devices close to be time and how it is causing sleeplessness. I forget why!!!
Big deal Wednesday: I have my annual gyn appointment
Here we freakin' go. Poking and prodding, looking for more cancer hiding places. I just remembered when I was filling out their bring-it-with-you paperwork that I had a suspicion of some cervical nonsense about 13 years ago, had a :colposcopy and all was clear. I am only pretty sure they will be revving up that hunt-it-up machine to see what is going on there! I am so not looking forward to all this crap. Here we go....ah-gain! 0
