August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Iowa glad you are on the road to recovery and Have ditched the drains. Sounds like things are going well. Libraylil
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GOOD EVENING WARRIORS!!!
I hope you all are having a nice weekend and remembering those that fought for our freedom. It is funny, when I was young Memorial Day weekend was beach and party time and not much has changed!!!!! I am joking...a little! In any case, you don't really realize what it all means until you are a little older. It is the kind of weekend that makes you proud, and grateful, to be an American.
Lil: 20 pounds is great!!! CONGRATULATIONS! You are heading downward...that is the best part! Who cares how much as long as the numbers on the scale are going in the right direction! Glad you got a deal...doesn't that just feel great?!
I am considering what kind of hair stuff I am going to use. I shall see...I am still a bit nervous to color it because I had gone to a salon for so long but I am not spending $200 to highlight 2" of hair!
Omaz: what is shakin' sister?! Did you try Zumba yet? That is why I asked what is shakin!!!!!!!!!!! He he he!! Hope you are having a nice weekend.
Ginger: thanks so much for all the great advice and reminders like the "don't stray too far from your natural color" as I pretty much forgot anything I knew about coloring! You saved me from making a big mistake. Also, I will definitely stay away from the purples and, to be honest, I might be 41 and most people think I am late 20's but I knew I was on borrowed time with the killing off of estrogen. Sure enough tonight I got out of the shower and there it was...a wrinkle next to my right eye ...so sad! All those years of working out and eating right and now this....but I knew it was coming as estrogen and collagen go hand-in-hand...effin bc!!!!!!!
OMG..do I ever have color preserving shampoos! Graham Webb, Sebastian, Nexxus, Paul Mitchell etc..! As for you, go pink again...have some fun with me this summer!
Sptmm: thinking of you and hoping you, too, are having a nice weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be so hot and I am soooo looking forward to it! Those memories of January are haunting me and I want the mercury to go higher! I am laying out in my back yard tomorrow with my SPF4000 (!) and getting some color!!!! I went here and there this weekend but what I a bore I am! I don't drink, I can't swim with this hole in my chest, I am not eating junk and everyone was like "where is Liz!?!?!" She is bc prison, that is where she is!!!!!!!!
Iowa: isn't showering "THE" best after that surgery?!??! Man, I was sooo happy to take a shower and those freakin' drains...I will have those again soon enough...not happy! Another summer with drains hanging out! Gross! I am so happy you got in the shower again. Glad the sleeping pill is working for you. Between that and the shower I bet you do feel like a new woman! Have a good day tomorrow.
Tex...where are you?! Hopping around Texas with those adorable kids, no doubt! I hope you are having a lovely weekend wherever you are! Miss you.
JSW: I hope you are having a good weekend and hopefully will be getting some snaps on your house...if in fact you have not sold it yet!
Well, happy trails all and I hope you are having some fun for yourselves-
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Night Lizzy - we haven't done the zumba yet, been busy playing at the pool and house stuff and work. Thanks for reminding me - shoot for tomorrow! We had a very blustery day here, lots of dirt in the air, tons of debris in the pool. Reminded me of swimming in a lake. Have a good Memorial Day. Hey, did you go to see the new construction at ground zero?
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So I still have about 18 hot flashes per 24 hours so I figured it out last night - let's say a conservative 15hf/day times 30days/month times 9months since they started which means 4,050 hot flashes. Whew!
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Omaz: thanks for doing the math!!! I have the added dubious benefit of now sweating with my flashes as it is getting warmer in Connecticut! I don't have as many as you, and mine are largely at night, but that sure is a lot of flashes! Speaking of these lady issues, I just read on this site that our "cycles" can come back up to 2 years post-chemo...ugh. I was thinking that 6 months was it. I know for younger women they want it to come back so they can have children and although I am not old, per se, I was sort of wondering if after a certain point it is declared gone. Two years?! That is a awfully long time!
Well, of course they screwed up the weather report here and it was supposed to be 90 and sunny and instead it is about 78 and has been raining most of the day!!!!! I hope the weather is better where you are-
Have a good day
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Lizzy - My onc said if I go for 1 year post end of chemo without a period I will be considered post-menopausal. But I am now 52 so I don't know if that logic applies to you young'ins. It's a heck of a lot of hot flashes. Sheesh.0
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Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!
Wow Omaz, those hot flashes must really be bothering you for you to do all that math...LOL. I don't get that many per day, I will consider myself lucky. Funny hot flash story..we were driving to Phila. Saturday morning and I was having a cluster of hot flashes (I tend to get them that way, a bunch over the course of an hour or so then they stop for a while..I usually get them 2-3 times a day). Anyway, I have the AC on because of this and I am still dying...sweating!! But my poor son is sitting in the front seat wrapped up in a blanket because he was freezing! So, I couldn't turn the AC on higher and just had to deal with it. Poor kid, stuck in the car with crazy hot flash mom!!
Ginger: I am with Lizzy. I say you throw caution to the wind and go pink if you feel like it. Hey, just a couple of months ago you were bald and you handled that! So, I think you can definitely pull off pink if you want to! Go for it!
Lil: 20 pounds is great!! Congrats! As long as the scale is moving in a downward direction we are doing good!!
Sue: Yayyyy on the drain removal. That shower must have felt so good!!
Lizzy: I don't know what the rule is on periods, but I am certainly hoping that mine is gone for good!!! Glad you got out and about this weekend. I am sure even a "boring" Lizzy is the life of the party and a very welcome site to all your friends. And remember, there are plenty of women out there who eat right and still get breast cancer...so a little junk food or a drink is not going to doom you to recurrence. We definitely have to make plans to go into Manhattan for the "insiders tour" in the fall. I go to the city once a year at Christmas, and then I follow my kids because they are more familiar with NYC than me. I am quite "city illiterate". We'll have to see when you are scheduled for your surgery, I think you mentioned you were aiming for September.
My son and I had a great weekend. The weather was gorgeous, and we really had a nice time. They lost in the semifinals so we came home last night....four hours for a trip that took us 2-1/2 hours Saturday morning....but that is life on Long Island, you always have to double your trip time when coming back home! My son was actually glad they lost, because if they won we would have had to stay for the final today...and he wanted to go spend a couple of days at his friend's beach house over on Fire Island. So, we no sooner got home, and I was driving him to the ferry....when last I spoke with him he was busing tables at his friend's father's restaurant..LOL.
JSW: How is the house selling going? Have you guys gone up to Birmingham to look for new houses yet?
Hey Texas..hope you are enjoying yourself!! Any decisions on what you are going to do for the fall semester yet?
Ckptry: Hope you and the family are having a great weekend! Maybe heading off to the beach.
I was so paranoid about the sunscreen and getting a sunburn on my left arm this weekend..OMG I have to learn to relax. First game I went back to the car at half time to reapply the sun screen because I thought I was looking a little red...LOL. And I wore a hat the entire weekend....boy short hair really does not do well with hats......major hat head with curls sticking out the side of my head where the hat ended..quite the lovely look...LOL.
You know we all complain about the post BC world and how we constantly deal with the fear of recurrence, etc. But I was reminded this weekend that our families also deal with these issues. My kids had been joking with me a couple of weeks ago that I had lost so much weight that I could stop exercising so much now. I explained to them that I exercise to stay healthy, not to lose weight (although I am still about 20 lbs from the ideal weight for my height so I can certainly stand to lose a couple lbs....LOL) and that the doctors have said that this is probably the best thing I can do to prevent recurrence so that's why I continue. So, we are at the hotel and my son comes up with his friends to tell me that there is an exercise room so I can exercise if I want. After dinner he asks me if I am going to go exercise, and I said I wasn't sure because it was a little secluded and I wasn't sure if it was really safe to be down there alone. He leaves with his buddies and comes back alone about 10 minutes later alone so that he can exercise with me....I told him it was okay that one day wouldn't matter but I guess deep down they worry too..So, we exercised together!
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Debbi
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Ahh Debbi - what a cutie your son is!0
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Hello and happy Memorial Day ladies!
Lizzy and Debbi Thanks for asking about the house. So far it hasn't sold and only 4 people have come to see it. I am a little disappointed but I know it is not a great market so I'm trying to stay hopeful that someone will want to buy it soon. My husband and I did go up to Birmingham a few days ago to find an apartment. His position is a year-long internship so we might be moving again after a year so we are just getting an apartment for now. But we found a good one (Lady if you are reading this - our new apt is near the Summit mall) and it was fun to see the city and explore a bit. If any of you are Top Chef fans we ate at a burger restaurant where Richard Blais is the creative director. The burgers were super yummy and the menu totally reflected who Richard is as a chef. My husband and I are both big Top Chef fans so that was really fun for us!
I have also been on Tamox for one week now and so far, so good! I'm hoping it continues!
I am also enjoying the advice on hair dyeing. Mine seems to be coming in a sort of blah greyish brown so I'm thinking I will probably color it. I want to wait for it to get a little longer, it is only about an inch long, but I'm thinking I might try a little bit darker brown.
Sue I'm glad you got those drains out - I just had 1 with my lumpectomy and I hated it so much! It sounds like you are recovering really well, which is great news!
Lil and Debbi Good job on the weight loss! You gals are an inspiration, I need to get a workout regimen going. My husband wants me to do P90X with him but that sounds too intense for me. Netflix has a bunch of workout DVDs so I think I'm going to try out some different ones and see what I like.
I hope everyone has been having a lovely, relaxing long weekend!
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Glad to hear you're doing good iowa,
lizzy- i missed the pics cuz i've been offline, pls republic them for a while
i will look at them later tonight Also your hair is looking good!Re: Drinking- to be honest the last time i drank was Nov 1st 2008, i am sorta a mean drunk. Alcoholism runs in my family and i found when i drank 1 drink i wouldnt stop til i blacked out. Oh i've done some crazy stuff, beat girls up, or really get violent with anyone LOL in that state to wake up the next day and not remember a thing, and i've NEVER had that hung over feeling EVER. Before i had children i quit (LONG story drinking basically ruined a relationship with a close friend) except for the very occational drink, which i would have to tell myself ONE only... That that last drink in nov of 08 was one of those occations a freind and i went out for our bdays and i had A drink...
Anyhow my point is alcohol does a lot of things to our bodies and mind, who know if it causes cancer or worsens it or whatever, but its really a personal decision wether to abstain or not...
Last week of school for the kiddos and BTW they HAD school today! Who the heck heard of going to school on memorial day!
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Debbi- i am still waiting on my transcript request from my old college- this other college wont let me enroll til thats compleate.. Tomorrow i am going to call them to see if they got my fax, or if i need to re-fax it.. I am going to take some classes just to get some college, maybe go back to work part time....
I am not sure if i mentioned this yet but i bought Zumba for the WII and had a blast- footwork isnt too hard, but i forget to work my arms LOL porb cuz its movements you dont normally do while dancing, my 5 yr old loves the belly dancing part. Oh even my 3 yr old gets into it, he is too funny!!!! My fav thing so far is the calypso dancing... Oh btw i cant access all the levels until i "unlock" them by dancing, i've only unlocked the second level on the easy level, it wont even let me try the harder stuff... Its so fun, my husband wants me to sign up for a real class LOL (oh and he enjoys just sitting on the sofa watching me shake my thang!)
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Good day warriors!
I hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine was very nice and, for the most part, relaxing which is the way I like it!
JSW: don't do P90X...I don't think there is anything good in there for us bc girls! Don't forget, those that never had it can still do all they want but those of us who have need to avoid waking up it's potential. I am so glad you found a decent place in Birmingham...good for you! Being near a mall never hurts!
You know, JSW, your house might take some time to sell but I am sure it will. I even noticed on Ebay, things have slowed and on Craig's, things have come to a halt because of all these "I moved to Africa with my church to save children" stories all about wiring money etc.... They have decimated CL. I just think it might take a little time but not to worry, you can always rent while you are gone to Birmingham for a year and until you know where/if you will be moving after Birmingham. All things to consider. Also, so glad the tamox is treating you well. Good deal!
Sptmm: you like to live on the edge!!!!! SUNBURN?!?!? OMG.....unbelievable...we talked about the SPF4000!!!!!!! Guaranteed to keep you chicken white all summer...ain't post-bc life just grand?!?! The way it looks on surgery is probably late Aug/early September so at the very latest, I can plan for October. I just don't want drains and TEs etc... when we do our tour!
BTW, I will eat anything I want but I noticed lately every time after I eat my stomach is upset. For this reason I did not want to eat this weekend. Deb, I love Fire Island! One of the guys I worked with had a house there and then my friend and I rented a house one weekend ....he is gay and spent more time in the water taxi going back and forth to bars and fighting with the boys!!!! Aside from that, the rest of us had a blast! I don't blame your son for not wanting to win! Go Fire Island!
That is so sweet that your son left his friends and went to exercise with you! What a nice story! I know what you mean about the hotel gyms...some of them are just eerily located. As I am a gym rat, I am always scoping that out and I like to wear my headphones when I workout...at least at gyms anyway. I am so glad I spent the money and took the time to build a home gym...so tired of that gym nonsense! OMG...this weekend I realized on my Weider double pro I can do mule kicks (for the old rear end!!!!!!!!!!) I was so excited! There is a similar machine at the gym, in the freeweight area but, to be honest, the position you have to get in to use it is sort of profane so I never did! Now I can do it in my home...yay! I finally figured out why the leg press plate went out so far!!
Tex: I am a wicked happy drunk!!!! I have had a lot of fun times and, in fact, at times like in the Wall St days when I was upset or stressed, I do not drink. Drinking is something I only do when I am spirited myself! You are right, to each their own....I miss having some mojitos, margaritas and beers in the summer. Maybe I will feel more confident next summer?
I can't believe your kids had school today! Even in the Northeast with our several days-off-from-school due to snow, they were off today. That is macabre....especially in TX! Speaking of TX and municipal policy, I saw your Gov on Greta Van Sustren the other night. My brother "loves" him and hopes he runs in 2012. Apparently he is thinking about it. He seems like a good guy...any opinions either way? Just wondering.
I have had birds outside my windows singing all weekend! It is so beautiful! I hope you all have a good night, all-
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Lizzy why will you have drains again? I thought you had immediate diep?
Guess what they told me about water skiing?
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JSW: Cool, you are in a good area. Lots of traffic on Hwy 280, but you get used to it. Had I already told you about all the fabulous food in Bham? There are several restaraunts run by James Beard award top chefs, Frank Stitt has 3 restaraunts, Chris Hastings has Hot & Hot Fish Club. Cafe duPont, the chef's name escapes me at the moment. The Five Points/Lakeview area is where all those are. But there are other great places to eat elsewhere.
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Sue - What did they tell you about water skiing?0
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Hi everybody, I hope you all had a good weekend. We had our daughter and SIL and baby over for dinner today. It is my SIL birthday this week and I got him a box of candy from teh 80's since he was born is 76 he is a child of the 80's. I am happy to say he loved it, recognized lots of candy he ate back then. It was a lot of fun to see him and our daughter reminiscing about candy. Haha.
I am glad the hair color info was helpful I was a hair dresser before I went to college. Going too many shades lighter with a one step hair color is probably the most frequent error people make. The other would be going too many steps lighter with a ASH color. The base of ash is green and leaves a less than lovely cast to hair that isn't meant to be ash. Oh yeah, only products with pexoride will lift the color of your hair lighter. Going a little lighter is usually better than going darker unless you look young and have naturally dark features, eyebrows and such.
Since I don't know any of you I will write what I could never say to anyone I don't know really really well. Please highlight you hair if you are primarily grey or white rather than going dark. Coloring light hair dark, if your roots are light, looks bizzare as it grows out. Sort of like a dark wig levitating on ones head. Just sayin in peace and love.
Right now my bright white hair looks like I have some sort of weird Grandma too tight perm. I need to get it shaped now because it looks rather like a giant permed bubble cut afro. My hair is curly but never like this, I prefer my hair to be sort of scraggly and I just scrunch out of the shower and don't need to think about it again. Right now my hair is the antithesis of how I like it to look. I couldn't go pink with it like this, it would look like a clown wig. Seriously, a clown wig.
Texas, you are smart to follow up on your transcripts. You will have so much fun going back to college. I totally loved going to college when I was 29. It was one of the high lights of my life. Of course I was there with the returning Viet Nam Vets wihich made it all another level of amazing.
SO I have been on the Arimidex for three weeks now. WHen do the hot flashes start? I am getting joint aches, knees mostly, headaches not too much else except on evening of extreme, want to get out of my own skin crankiness.
Lady in Bama, do you know Huntsville? I went there once to Lace Camp with Martha Pullen, we did heirloom sewing and it was alot of fun. Honest a lot of fun!
Love GInger
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Tex: BTW, the pics are public again!
Iowa: Oh..let me guess! We can't water ski!??! Gadzooks! About my situation, I had TEs en route implants. Sadly I will have drains again in about a month.
Omaz: I read on this site that at my age we have to be 2 years without the crummy cycle to expect you will never have it again. I am looking forward to this! It would be nice if I could get this menopause over with NOW while I went through all the rest of this crap! That would be nice. Plus, if I am past menopause, my body just naturally slows down estrogen production, right? Something I have to look up. My very good friend is a pharmacist and she also has endometriosis. She referred to estrogen recently as being evil. I sure wish I knew that sooner! For her endo she avoids meds that awaken/invite estrogen production.
I have to say, however, after reading that RI is number 1 for bc and CT is #2, I am convinced our very old infrastructure, as we were settled many moons ago, is breaking down and these cancer-causing agents are in the water. It's has got to be environmental with the 2 smallest states in the union having the highest incidence of bc. Very weird, indeed.
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BTW, I caved...I just love to live on the edge! I painted my finger and toenails!!!!!!!! I could not take it anymore!0
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JSW i did p90x before cancer and loved it, i tried getting back into it but three is a lot of arm workouts (well there is a whole DVD for the back, chest and shoulders) and i am also worried about lymph problems (i think thats what lizzy was talking about)
Lizzy- i love love LOVE the CP pic! Yeah you do look like a happy drunk! Dont get me wrong, at the onset of dunkeness i am happy, but there comes a point where i cross the line LOL... With NO provocation! A nurse explained to me that because i dont get the hang over affect my body has shut of the "too much alcohol" warning that most people have. Usually thats developed when through trial and error we over drink and wake up feelin it. She told me that it was a common trait in alcoholics and may be a reason some of them cant seem to quit. So because of that i often over consume... lol sounds like a bunch of hog wash but she seemed to know what she was talking about.
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how are those stats being compared, per state or per capita? WHen i was first dx'd i read that Washington state was high on that list per capita for bc..... i think RI is more populated than WY which is MUCH larger.... so if it was by state that'd make a little sense...
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Lizzy Do you mind explaining why you think P90X is a bad idea? Is it what Texas said about the arm stuff? I don't want to start doing something that might be bad for me! What I am thinking I will try is some aerobics type stuff with mostly leg movements but some arm movements. I am not terribly coordinated so I have to do pretty basic stuff as I just cannot keep up with the routines that are really choreographed. I have also heard that light weightlifting can help prevent lymphedema so I want to start some of that too but I will start with really light weights and only a few exercises and gradually work my way up.
Sue I am betting they told you not to water ski! But is it forever or just for this summer while you are healing? Hopefully you can do it again next summer.
Lady Yeah we actually did experience some of that heavy traffic on 280 but fortunately we are not living too far away from where we will be working and I think my hours are going to be flexible enough that I can avoid rush hour. You had not mentioned the food there but I had heard from other people that it is a good food city. I am looking forward to checking that out!
Ginger Thanks for all of the hair coloring advice. I am worried about going lighter because I thought it might be bad to use peroxide on my fresh from chemo hair. My eyebrows and eyelashes have always been darker than my natural hair color so maybe going a couple of shades darker will be ok. I think I want to let it get at least another inch longer before I color it though and maybe at that point I will be happier with the color it is. As it grows in it seems to be getting gradually darker.
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Onc said my estradiol was 5 today, which is post-meno but he said I have to go 12 to 18 months without a period before they will switch me to an AI.
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Ginger: I'm from Birmingham, but I live in Huntsville now. I've only been here about a year and a half though. Mostly I know where all the doctor's offices are
Lizzy: What's up with the nail polish? I've had my nails polished the whole time. Are we not supposed to?
I went to see the gyn/onc for a check up this morning. It was pretty much a wasted visit. He said everything is being done that can be done about my hot flashes and other symptoms. About all he did was look at my incision, which has been healed up for a month or more. I wonder what in the heck he wanted me to come in for? He said we would do a pelvic exam and test CA125 (the ovca marker) in 3 months. So today was just a waste of time??? I guess I'm just cranky because it's hot as hell here. When I was out at 10 a.m., it was already 87. They say it's going up to 96. What the .... it's only May???
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I was just looking up low dose aspirin and breast cancer and this news report talks about the study my onc was telling me about last week. Now I just have to put it on my shopping list so I remember to actually buy it!
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Hair update: I am 6 months post chemo and here is pic update of my hair. As you can tell, I haven't had a haircut hence the messy, scraggy, 80's shag look I have. As any hockey fan may know, I look like a have a great hockey/mullet look going!
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Your hair looks great!!
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Rachel- you have passed me in hair growth, wow yours looks great!!
Yes the PS told me they prefer no water skiing this summer I know it is just one summer, I will have to workout extra so I can do it next summer.
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Okay ladies - I'm finding myself spinning into a mini sort of panic state..............
I had CA125 bloodwork for the first time today since January. I will find out the results on Thursday.
problem is that I'm right in the middle of the period from h#ll. I just read that CA125 should never be done during menstruation because just menstruating can cause elevated levels.
So now I'm waiting to get this bloodwork back and am preparing myself for a panic if it's high, which it might be because I have my period, EVEN THOUGH I know it might be high BECAUSE of my period.
I know this makes no sense. I wish I knew this before -I would have asked if I could have just come back next week for the blood draw! DOH!
I'm; gonna worry until the end of the week - I thought i was getting better at this.
Also, my onc recommended body scans in August due to my not being able to tolerate the Tamox. I just had a CT to the head in January (when I landed in the ER due to the tamoxifen causing severe dizziness and they were trying to rule out a stroke). But before that I had three; an abdominal, pelvic and chest one. A CT exposes us to SO much radiation. Not sure I wanna agree to routine scans. But if my 125 comes back elevated I may not have a choice.
I guess I'm thrust back into the waiting game and I HATE IT!
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That's a bummer Cal - You would think your doc would know to ask you about menstruating. Ugh for the waiting - again. Nice to hear from you though!0
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Cal--sorry that you are thrust back into the waiting area. I had quite a few scans last year and had 2 bone scans...to be very honest, I didn't think too much of the radiation at the time---just wanted those scans to put my mind at ease. I am sure that they may redo your bloodwork again if it does come back high--they would want to rule out any other things that may come into play. Sending you hugs for this wait.
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