TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
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LOL...YAY for the poop (God I remember that feeling)! I am here to give my cheerleader pitch and then I will melt back into the background. I know exactly how special everyone on this board is cuz I've benefited from it over the last year. I was diagnosed as stage IV from the get go with mets to my lungs. I had a lumpectomy and then 6 rounds of TCH. Chemo was not as hard as I had imagined but it was no cake walk! I had my share of SE's but feel pretty lucky. I took the advice of my sisters on these pages and they got me through it all. I was declared NED in July and yesterday at my 6 week check up and Herceptin my MO said I was in remission! I still can't wrap myself around it and I suppose I will always have that fear, but I did let out a little sigh of relief. I will keep my port and have Herceptin for as long as it keeps working. I will gladly pop my Tamoxifen and happily fan myself when I am drenched from hot flashes. I am 46 years old and have just endured the worst year of my life.....but I endured! Thanks to all the wonderful ladies on this site! I hope that I can come out of lurking once in a while and give a little advice or inspiration for someone else. It's the only way I can think of thanking God and giving back what was so selflessly given to me on these pages.
OK I am done now. Moral of the story: you can do it!
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Jenn, congratulations on the news!!!
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PBrain, I'm so glad your friend is picking up the phenergan for you.
There's a diagram of the P6 acupressure point on the link below. I have no idea if this might work for you but perhaps it's worth a try? (ETA: until the phenergan gets there or in conjunction with the phenergan?)
http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/nausea-natural-treatments#axzz2C8hZxfee
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Kelly, congratulations on being in remission!! And thanks so much for being here!
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OK the mods fixed the screen===Thank you
Now to try to remember --Oh I can't OK
I think Nancy got deported right??? Great it's over.ight?
Kelly words we love remission and NED
Pbrain unfortunately the first seems like the worst cuz u don't have a clue what to expect, but like what was said u'll see a pattern and they'll no doubt find some concoction for u'r nausea--but sometimes u do get severeachiness and headaches it just depends . And use the mouthwash and toothpaste that they recommend it helps u'r mouth for dryness and some taste --I can't think of the name Benedrine maybe.
And chemo is predictable and unpredictable I had lessor does obviously at a time so I had mine every week, but I still got SE--not fun.
I have my bone scan 1 week from MONday she did say the lump on my rib was small and it might not show well enough so I told her I'd wait til Jan. for a different test cuz I'm not ruining another Christmas hahaha, beside my heart needs attention first so I'll just work with the card. At this point I'm more worried about that than cancerI'm so goofy I know.
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Thanks Lee, I ordered the sea bands from Walgreens about 2 weeks ago and they still haven't arrived. Dang Walgreens, that is my chemo kit I'm waiting for. I'll let everyone know how they work.
Kelly your presence here is so very welcomed. Your story is such an inspiration! I want to feel like my old self again, and you let me know that's possible, so do a lot of you guys.
Ok, funny story for yins, although I didn't know it was funny until I told it to my Mom on the phone about a half hour ago. I call the cancer center's nurse's number early this afternoon to see if I can get a better anti-emetic. The woman on the phone was very sympathetic. She asked me lots of questions and I kept telling her I was worrying and kind of scared since I live alone and was feeling so sick.
So I say to her "do people die from this?" (meaning chemo, of course) and there is this pause...and then a "um, no..." with no conviction. I was thinking "is that all you can say?" My mother is convinced she thought I was asking if people die from breast cancer.
I'm a ditz.
Why does my mouth taste like rotting celery?
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P brain get that stuff I said it does help u'r mouth
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Jenn-yay for just "brains"! And I say brains in the best zombie voice I can make!
Why, oh, why does my husband make me watch walking dead with him? Lol:/0 -
PBrain, I had gotten the impression you live alone and I would be scared sh**less to go through all that alone! No wonder your furry friends are so concerned, God love their furry little heads!
I'll be very curious to hear how the sea bands work. I've been reading reviews on Amazon and they vary. One guy blamed the Sea Bands Corporation for ruining his deep sea outing! He strapped them on his two young 'uns and they didn't work and boy, was he ever mad about it! I do know they helped my girlfriend with her nausea during pregnancy (this was years ago).
And you're not a ditz! You're scared and puking and by yourself! You're actually really tough - like everyone else here - fighting this damn cancer with your worried dog and cat by your side.
We had to put our 16 year old beagle mix to sleep this past summer. She had been with us through so many life upheavals. I found her on a rainy night next to a creek back in Indiana (in 1997) and from that moment on she and I bonded. We used to call her Nurse Val because whenever anyone was in pain - emotionally or physically - there she was, standing by. At the beginning of all this I even thought "how will I get through this without Val?" (I found her on Valentine's Day night - thus, the name).
All that said, I'm so, so glad you have your pets there with you right now! And I'm so glad that phenergan is on the way (or hopefully already there).
(HUGS)
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PBrain - the weird thing about rotting celery (or any celery) is that celery contains the flavonoid apigenin which is thought to be a natural cancer fighter:
Apigenin, Found In Celery And Parsley, Could Help Fight Breast Cancer (May 2012)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/apigenin-celery-parsley-breast-cancer_n_1525717.html
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I guess what I'm wondering is am I getting sicker than most women? Supposedly my boss was back to work on day 5 and was fine. My buddy's wife had the same treatment and she never threw up. I just hurt all over and am still feeling so crappy. I'm going to go crawl into bed at 7 p.m. Holy crap, I'm old and dried up!
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pbrain everyone is different, yes there are the superwomen who can get chemo and go back to work after a few days (yes i know one) and then there are the rest of us. I WAS SICK FOR 7 DAYS STRAIGHT it was such a predicatable pattern that i would plan outings on day 8 because i knew the cloud would lift on that day. They had to adjust my nausea meds many many times to get relief. Chemo is cumulative so i did find that the last few kept me down a little longer but the pattern was pretty much the same. Dont beat yourself up, its normal for you
im feeling pretty much the same way right now, went to see my PS and we discussed the extreme discomfort (downgraded from extreme pain just recently) with my expanders. He said he has never had a patient 4 wks out feeling this way. Felt like such a loser...i can't do anything right. They are sending me a PT to see if they can "loosen" me up and if that doesn't work i will seriously consider removing them.
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Pbrain, everyone is different. You saw my post. I am still recovering and going to physical therapy light version while there are a lot on here doing 5 mile runs. But it is what it is and you are at least hafway through the worst of this tx. It will get better for a while begorevthe next wave knocks you down. But you will get through that one too. Much love.
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Thanks ladies, for making me laugh. I needed it. At work today I was writing up all my questions for the breast team doctors tomorrow and started to get overwhelmed at everything I am facing. I cried most of the way home. Then my neighbor shows up with a lovely card with cash in it for me to use for a wig! That did it and I just broke down and started sobbing. I have been pretty good at holding it together since my dx, but the last couple days were just not good. And I haven't even started treatment!!!! I am not normally like this! You would think I know the drill because this is my second time around!
(ok, calmer now) It so helpful to get on this board and read what all the rest of you have gone through and are going through. I am thankful for you all.
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Bren58, how nice of your neighbor. People are so kind to one another...it really does my heart good to read stories like that.
I hope the rest of your week is calmer.
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Pbrain
I get what your feeling as you see in my signature line I had to have some harsh chemo...I was very sick for over a week than by the time I felt ok I had to have tx again...they would give me before tx Emend,Benadryl,zofran and all that did not help and decatron..than like I said three months later finally received the Kytril,decatron, scapolamine patch, Emend ..still felt quizzy bloated like your head is going to fall off..compazine made things worse and reglan didn't work either..but all ends well made it through and you will to...0 -
Bren58- what a great neighbor love to hear things like that.
Hope everyone is doing good --
sorry have not been on in a while been really down and tired of all this and was starting to go in dark thoughts all over again with crying all the time feeling like I did not want anyone around me. Feeling like no one cares. I'm trying to pull my self out of it .
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I was MIA again because this was removed from my favs. Hope I'm not too late with responses. 3 pages to catch up
If you are looking to be paired up with a chemo/cancer mentor with similar diagnosis or would like to be a mentor: http://www.imermanangels.org/ American Cancer Society has a similar program called Reach To Recovery.
Lee I went to the hair dresser to get my hair washed.
Welcome back fluff
Powermom how sweet of your daughter. Setback sucks but we all seem to have at least one. Mine was shingles. OUCH!
Nancyjill how soon till it stopped hurting. I'm only 1 week post deportation. Did you limit your movements? I was told not to work out. Granted I'm doing it anyway but not moving my port side arm. Really want to get back to upper body strength training again.
Pbrain I got chemo on a Tuesday. Wednesday I felt great. Thursday-Saturday not so great but my first round I felt like shit till Monday. I had to get used to all the SE of the meds that were to help with chemo SE. I'm no help on the puking. I never had any nausea but I did get Emmend. I sucked on ice during taxotere after I got a mouth sore from TX2. Never had another mouths sore after that. I was told it doesn't always work but my onc recommended it and it did work for me.
Remember everyone's journey is different. I do think I did OK because I somehow managed not to get nausea. I feel bad for you gals that have it. Granted that's why I never did narcotics. I would have nausea and even worse big C (if that was even possible).
I too have a funny story. I went to see my dermatologist after my last chemo regarding one of my fingers that swelled up from the nail lifting. He said it wasn't infected and not to worry. I said "Oh so I'm going to live?!" He said "well yes that's why you did all this treatment so you can live to a very old age." I realised I can't joke like that anymore with my doctors now that I've had cancer.
Big C I was on a probiotic (Nutraflora from Vitamin Shoppe) and Metamucil 3X a day as directed on package.
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Pbrain-it is so true that everyone is different. I got sick days 3-6 and then felt pretty good til my next treatment. I was lucky in the fact that I could take each week of treatment off work. I threw up after a few of my treatments. Some don't throw up. Take your meds ...and your stool softeners, lord, please remember to take those:) And don't compare yourself to how anyone else did. This is all about you right now. I hope you feel better soon. Hugs...
Rozem-sorry you are still in some pain. Does your ps seem to think you are healing correctly? I can't remember how many ccs you got...
I have heard that TE can look square when they are first put in. Are yours looking better but still uncomfortable?
I hope the pt is able to help you.0 -
Ang: We are here for you the best we can through cyberspace. Vent, vent, vent as it really helps.
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Solt, very succinct! LOL, its just so many to respond to! LOL. Ang, Rozem, huggs! Pbrain, hang in there. To everyone, much love.
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Ok, I have to post it here for the new girls. COLD CAPS to keep your hair. Go to the cold caps blog or message me. Night all!
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soltantio - that was very succinct! And the use of the word hurl, well, not only was it succinct but it was fitting (not sure if you planned it that way).
I'm curious about your theory about insomnia and nausea!
ang, glad you're back and hope you'll continue to vent.
rozem, I have the tissue expanders as well but have only had them in for a week. If you'd like, I can ask my PS this Friday if he has ever had any patients with similar situations to yours and what suggestions he might have. He is an assistant professor of plastic surgery at USC and one of his specialties is complex reconstruction procedures.
Another idea might be to do a quick join at realself.com and see if any of the surgeons who frequent that site might have had patients with similar situations.
This is kind of an off the wall observation but last night I felt more aware of these things than usual. I have noticed that, where we live, there are a lot of changes in barometric pressure. We live close to a mountain range and there's a complex meteorological process that has to take place in order for the weather systems that develop over the Pacific to get moved up and over the mountain range. It's called orographic lifting. I had never heard of it before but since living here I've become a bit of a human barometer
. I can actually feel the weird sensation starting (sometimes it's a headache - sometimes a fluttering feeling in my chest - sometimes a ringing in the ears) and I'll check wunderground.com and sure enough - the barometric pressure will be rising or falling. Last night these tissue expanders felt more noticeable/bulky than at any other time since they were placed and I looked at the barometric pressure and it was rising.
I just did a quick search on barometric pressure and implants and found this thread - right here on BCO:
"I noticed that my implants ached whenever the barometric pressure dropped" http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/787883?page=1#post_3031128
I realize yours hurt all the time but I thought I would throw that out there as I've read about many people having unusual reactions to barometric changes.
Also, the tissue expanders have magnets in them (or that's my understanding) - is it possible you're allergic to the metal in the expander? I just googled "magnets" "tissue expanders" and was skimming an Allergan pdf about magnetic fields and tissue expanders. There's mention of a rare-earth permanent magnet.
As an aside, the Allergan pdf indicates women with tissue expanders shouldn't get MRIs (again, I'm just skimming and have no idea what your brand of tissue expander is or what my brand is, for that matter).
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Oh my Stars Sol u crack me up-go with the questions.
Rozem truly u shouldn't be in so much pain, please let them help u like now.
And all of u who are doing chemo--Bless u all--it's a tough road to go on even tho everyone feels different u all feel the same--It;s crap.
I remember dragging myself to work on Sat.--just 4 hrs. and lock myself in the office and just say I had to cstvh up on paperwork and lay on the desk with my arms open wide until Noon and go home. I hadn't had my operation yet. We were off Sun. and Mon Feel a tiny bit better Sunday, then go back Monday for chemo And start all over again. It sucked --before u start no one wants to say how bad it could be cuz some women at Chemo went fairly well so u never know. And I loved being alone so I wouldn't be bothered by anyone my DD's would come to do stuff and I don't think I; barely talked to them, but PBrain I have a cat and u'r right she was so gentle and would stay by me like crazy and she was enough company--she loved my bald head and always wanted to lick it. I hink they sense things so easily when they love u. I notice the last couple of weeks she all about me again--so I hope she's wrong this time. LOL
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Pbrain, everyone has different side effects and different degrees of the side effects. I had so many anti-nausea drugs that I had very little nausea - I'd usually need to take a compazine or two about day 5 and/or 6. But I had other side effects. DON'T get dehydrated. I found that adding lemon to my water made the water a little more paletable. Also, someone told me to eat a small spoon of plain yogurt before eating, as it would clear your palette, and for a short time let the food taste a little better. It did work for me, but there were still more foods that I couldn't eat because they tasted awful, than there were foods that I could eat.
On a positive note - I saw my MO today and he said he didn't need to see me for 1 year, but that I should see my PCP at least once during that time, since I see her every 2-3 months for pain management. But this must mean that my MO thinks I'm noing well!
Hope you are all feeling better as the week goes on!
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K I'm reslly glad u'r sleeping much better, it helps during the day.
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soltantio - congrats on that 1.9 mile trek to and from the ATM! I hope the pool you plan on hurling yourself into is either indoor or very well heated.
Ours in unheated and I froze every time I got into it this past summer - even on the hottest days so I can't see me hurling myself into it (other than by accident) for many months to come. I miss my old thermostat (kind of). But I don't miss being hot and sticky all the time. A happy medium would be nice. Ha ha. What are the odds!
That's an interesting theory on stomachs/sleepiness/nausea. I remember being on a boat on very rough waters off the Big Island several years ago. Almost everyone on the boat was seasick. Fortunately, I was not. It was a bad afternoon. I couldn't believe we were forced into going (my ex-husband's company outing).
I was also fortunate during pregnancy (I just had one) in that I had some pretty icky moments but never had morning sickness. I remember telling my girlfriend (during one very wiped out day) that I must have been misdiagnosed as being pregnant and felt more like I had something like cancer (this was in terms of the extreme fatigue).
Who knows what chemo will bring...
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts on that.
camillegal - it sounds like you know your body well and if working on the heart stuff is the right thing right now then maybe your cat is sensing (as soltantio suggested) some anxiety based on that back and forth, internal, cancer/heart tug-of-war you're going through right now.
kayb - glad to hear you're sleeping better - which reminds me - here I am all situated in the chair - left painful arm propped up and I've forgotten to take my melatonin.
Linda - one of the protocols of the 17-Day Diet is drinking a cup of hot water with lemon juice first thing every morning to aid with digestion throughout the day. Your mention of water with lemon reminded me of that. Lemon supposedly helps the body maintain better alkalinity but some people think that's a load of BS because the stomach is always acidic in nature. In any case, acidosis is hard on the body so there's that. I wonder if chemotherapy pushes the body into a state of acidosis. I suppose I'll have to google that now.
Also, Linda - congratulations on not having to see your oncologist for a year!!! That's great news!
PBrain - I hope you wake up feeling better than you did today.
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Angie - you and I had our lumpectomies at about the same time last year. I know that this upcoming "anniversary" has been really impacting my mood and emotions recently, and I also think the Tamoxifen is playing some tricks with my moids too... Do you think it could be the same for you?
Anyway - big hug!!!!!!
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Solt,
GO GO GO!!! WOO HOO!!
Your performance will only get better from here. YOU MADE IT! I think Herceptin alone shadows performance a little, but not too much!
When do you start rads?
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solt I used to be an excellent sleeper till treatment. Once out I never woke up. Now I do wake with the occasional warm flash at 4 am. I did find that wearing a sleep mask really helps me stay fall asleep, stay asleep and fall back to sleep when I wake up. I high recommend blinks. They not only keep out the light but you can blink (REM sleep in them). You can open your eyes and still see blackness. I have 3 pairs. I hand wash them. Adjustable velcro/elastic strap. I bought mine at Marshals for 1/3 the full price.
Keep fighting ladies. Trust us that have been through this. It does get better eventually.
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Jennt28 - I was hoping there might be somebody else on here familiar with DS! My daughter commented that she hated my hair when I got it cut shorter in preparation for non-hair. By the end of the day, she was saying that she changed her mind and it was ok. I showed her my wig when I got it, and every once in a while she tugs on my hair and says, "where's your wig?" She will probably be unhappy with the bald thing at first, but she is amazingly adaptable.
Pbrain-You can do it! Hang in there through the SEs. That, of course, is coming from one who has not gotten her first treatment yet. Love your spirit and your sense of humor and feel your strength through your posts. Hope you feel better today. The nausea is the part I am dreading/fearing the most.
rozem - So hope you are getting some relief. I may have had to smart off to the PS; what does his saying he has never had this happen before do for you? This is about YOU, not his other patients.
Sorry to not personalize, but congrats to everyone who has gotten positive reports and warm thoughts and prayers to everyone who is having a hard time.
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