For Older People with Sense
Comments
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Chrissy, just wanted to tell you................took my first Femara today...............hoping for the best.........I had to do it, even if I end up stopping because of SE's at least I can say I tried................
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Dragon, any drug can make you feel 'loopy' when you first take it. Or nauseaus even. You may have to take it for a couple of weeks to even know if it is working. So many people give up too soon and don't get the benefit that they deserve. Lisa probably took a while to find her balance in meds, it's taken me about 2 years to get my present balance, but it's worth the effort. I always have to take more when I've actually done something.
As for sleep, so far today I've only been up for 4 1/2 hours! It's 5:30 pm right now. That's a lot of sleeping but I let my body do it because it obviously needs it!! I'm not drugging myself differently, in fact, if I had been at work I probably would have already have to take an extra Oxycodone or two!!
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Chrissy - I had a very lovely 2 mile walk on the beach before my cousin and friend showed up. Also got primo parking since I was there so early. It feels so good to be able to walk without pain. 2 1/2 years ago, prior to knee replacements, I was using a scooter at work and avoiding walking whenever possible.
Lost_Creek - my mother made the best bread and butter pickles. Then, when the pickles were gone, she would put beets in the pickle juice and put them in the fridge. What a treat the next day. She also made the best white grape jelly from the grapes in my Dad's arbor. She used to put up tomatoes, too. I can still hear her in the kitchen, sweating over the stove, saying "If I wanted to be a farmer's wife, I would have married a farmer."
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Dragon, I started with one Lyrica at bedtime and then got used to that and took one in the am too..that is what I have been on now for these many years..a bitsy loopy but I got over that, but then I was a little loopy to begin with..
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Duckyb1
I knew you could do it:) Hang in there:)
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Wally................thanks girlfriend, I'm hoping and praying............I truely want to do this.........I have 6 children, 18 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren depending on me.......I can't let them down........................hoping and praying.................# 2 tomorrow...........
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Welcome all you new ladies. Hope you find this is a great place to hang out.
ducky - here is hoping that the SEs with the Femara are easy on you. Mine have not been too bad, at least they are managable. And it is working well for me and has been since last August.
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Sad news re Junie, her family is turning the life support off in the mornng. It seems that her organs are shutting down. Thank you for your prayers.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Aw, Chrissy. So sorry.
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I already knew about Junie, Chrissy and am also so sorry. It was just a month ago she sent me all that info on places to go in Branson and Eureka Springs and I had some really nice instant messaging sessions on Yahoo with her. She was a special person and I know will be missed by many.....but who knows, a miracle could still happen. It's in someone else's hands now.
I am at my Dad's and am going to church with him this morning and this afternoon we are going to try out a new restaurant....need to try them as soon as they open because things dont last long in this small town.
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Aw, Chrissy, so so sorry about Junie. ((( Junie's friends )))
Ducky, I started AIs last year and I can say it isn't such a big deal for me. I was very concerned about QOL. But it seems I'm one of the majority - who tolerate AIs ok. My BS is kindof a major player in the BC world and I trust her, and she assured me that most do tolerate ok, but those who don't, just don't. But give it a good chance - and don't let every new ache or ouch go straight in your mind to AI problems. Most of us have "aging" issues anyway...
I had no major joint issues yet, and have kept up weight-bearing exercise & walking. I'm taking extra calcium + magnesium, and Vit D. But DH's doc cousin who is really into nutrition wants me to try to get more calcium from leafy greens (he'd rather not do dairy) and I am going to call him and talk again - the last time was at my birthday party and he is such a serious guy that any conversation can turn south, so I just flitted through and said I'd call him. My biggest hit is my skin. Any good suggestions for a firming lotion??
Also: I was doing great on the Arimidex (similar to Femara) and then added statins in December - now those statins sent my muscles into achey spasms for several months and I found myself taking a pain pill a couple of nights just to be able to sleep. Afte I found out my cholesterol went from 225 to 134 in less than 6 months, I began splitting the pill and taking just 1/2 the recommended dose. My muscle aches really eased up, right away. So it wasn't the Arimidex, but the statin causing those extra aches.... I hope you sail right through Femara!
Went up the hill into the cooler elevation yesterday, local jam session in a mountain meadow, wired for sound. It doesn't get much better.
Hope you all have a peaceful, restful, or even a good-exciting day!
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Lost, that sounds like an amazing concert!!! I can just imagine....hope bugs weren't a nuisance.
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Ducky, I've been on Femara for about 14 months and found it tolerable. I had killer hot flashes in the beginning but those have pretty much petered out. I get the achiness but it's usually when I've been sitting for a while and after a minute I can walk it out. The achiness is much less when I've been getting my exercise walk in. I do get tired and my sleep patterns are weird.
That said, I LOVE Femara because IT WORKS. I had regression and now I am stable. Obviously since I'm Stage IV I'll put up with SEs that would annoy the heck out of me if I didn't have the mets but you can think of it this way - if the Femara took care of the known tumor I have, what will it do to any cells that might be left for you?
Best of luck.
Leah
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Thanks Barbe, it was fun. Several folks are professionals, semi-professionals, & talented amateurs. The skeeters came out at dusk, but my logger friend had some bug-spray. Four of us sat together and the skeeters were hovering around ME! Why ME?!?! Anyway bug-spray worked. They were just getting wound up when we left around 9. Supposed to be a big jam in a couple of weeks with some serious pros showing up. Small town fun can be surprising.
BarbA, I'm going to comment on something from another thread you belong to, but that I have read and just never joined and didn't want to just chime in with a comment... 1) your wedding cake was gorgeous! 2) the Univ. of Maryland Medicine has a pretty good article about grapeseed extract & its uses. I didn't read the actual studies, but was glad to see UMM presenting the results. I just googled it & UMM came up close to the top.
Marybe, any word from or about Isabella?? She'd had such a rough patch awhile ago, I'm concerned.
ETA: Ducky, I forgot about the hot flashes. Leah is right. They hit at first, and took several months to calm down, but they're pretty much over, and certainly tolerable.
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Lost Creek............just got finished taking the 2nd Femara.................I wanted to tell you something about Statins.
I have been on them since 2007 after a very mild Heart Attack.................I could not tolerate any of the statins, even at the smaller dose 20mg....................A friend of my daughters was told about my heart attack in a passing conversatioln with her, and also about the muscle aches and pains, and how I was having so many problems.
She told my daughter to tell me to take 200mg of coq10, and the aches would go away .........................reason................statin drugs deplete the coq10 in your body, and we need it, so by taking the supplement we replace it the aches should subside.....................I take 200mg each day..............no aches and pains from the statins anymore.......................I do have some arthritis, but that is in a different area...................try it, it can't hurt, and will do you good, especially if your plan is to continue the statin.........good luck
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Lost Creek.............footnote............I am on Provastatin......................most of the others did not work................so its either the coq10, or the Provastatin being tolerated better.
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Thanks Ducky, I bought some coq10 but I don't know much about it, and really didn't know why I was thinking I was supposed to want to use it... so I'll give it a try this week. I am doing much better on the 10 mg of simvastatin, but we'll see where my bloodwork goes. MO and PCP sure thought 225 to 134 in 6 mo was substantial, but the heart doc just saw numbers & didn't want to hear SEs. So I just decided on my own, and confirmed with PCP to reduce the dose. It felt like a miracle, most of the aches & ouches disappeared within a week or two so I knew it was the statin.
I think of the Arimidex as "my friendly pill" and really hope IT is doing its job. The rest I'll work around or with... Good luck with the Femara!
ETA sometimes especially in the beginning, I'd visualize any stray cancer cells starving to death. Thank you Arimidex! None of which is to say that I don't get panic-stricken just before bloodwork or exams. I place a lot of hope in the AIs, but ..... we'll just never be the same, will we?
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Lost Creek.............do the 200mg..........this is what the person told my daughter............She is a board certified Nutritionist, and works in a hospital in Pa. where they do a lot of cardiovascular surgery, and she said this is the recommended dose for people on statins.
I told my Cardio Doc, and he had no problem with it............he is a great guy, and always listens to whatever questions I ask, and always has a good answer................He said "it can't hurt to take it, and even if it doesn't work on your aches, it is a good supplement"....................it worked.
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Thanks Ducky
Hauntie, I forgot to welcome you. I've never thought of putting beets in the bread & butter brine - will try it. If I missed any others, welcome too!
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L_C, I don't tolerate drugs well and my cholesterol is borderline high so my PCP told me to try red yeast rice, a natural statin. Bam...dropped 25 points. Maybe you should ask about that.
I absolutely LOVE bread and butter pickles and I am gonna try the beet thing!!
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Chrissy - so sorry to hear about Junie.
BarbA - I quit taking my statin so I may try the red yeast rice and see if it will help my cholesterol.
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I never heard of red yeast rice. Does it have another name? It sometimes is difficult for me to find natural supplements/herbs etc. since they are available here but not only are they sometimes called different things in different places (called one think in North U.S., another in the South and still something else in England) but then I need to find a translation to Hebrew! My cholesterol was slightly elevated and I managed to get it down with diet but now that I'm on the Femara I have a feeling it's going to be up again.
Leah
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Leah, try google for red yeast rice - I just tried it, and since google likes to think for people, it offers red yeast rice benefits, side effects, cholesterol, (and Latin name which may help you find it) - by sites like Web MD or Mayo Clinic. The fact that BarbA's PCP recommended it is interesting. I noted once that Dr. Oz presented it in one program. It might be worth checking out. Sorry I can't help with translation!
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Is the red yeast rice for cholesterol? Think I didn't read very well. Who makes it in the US?
A good day re doing my daughter's patio as a birthday present. I didn't work but had fun telling everyone else what to do and what to eat!! Just a nosey, mouthy old woman! Love it. Taught my GD how to sew on a button and do embroidery--highlight of the day. Oh, and ate too much sugar (and I'm not sorry).
Dragon
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Leah - here is a little of what I found.
Red yeast rice is the product of yeast ( Monascus purpureus ) grown on rice, and is served as a dietary staple in some Asian countries. It contains several compounds collectively known as monacolins, substances known to inhibit cholesterol synthesis. One of these, "monacolin K," is a potent inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, and is also known as mevinolin or lovastatin (Mevacor®, a drug produced by Merck & Co., Inc).Red yeast rice extract has been sold as a natural cholesterol-lowering agent in over the counter supplements, such as Cholestin TM (Pharmanex, Inc). However, there has been legal and industrial dispute as to whether red yeast rice is a drug or a dietary supplement, involving the manufacturer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the pharmaceutical industry (particularly producers of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor prescription drugs or "statins").The use of red yeast rice in China was first documented in the Tang Dynasty in 800 A.D. A detailed description of its manufacture is found in the ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia, Ben Cao Gang Mu-Dan Shi Bu Yi, published during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In this text, red yeast rice is proposed to be a mild aid for gastric problems (indigestion, diarrhea), blood circulation, and spleen and stomach health. Red yeast rice in a dried, powdered form is called Zhi Tai. When extracted with alcohol it is called Xue Zhi Kang.SynonymsAlkaloids, angkak, anka, ankaflavin, Asian traditional fermentation foodstuff, astaxanthin, beni-koju, ben-koji, Chinese red yeast rice, citrinin, CRYR, dehydromonacolin K, dietary red yeast, dihydromeyinolin, dihydromonacolin K, dihydromonacolin L, DSM1379, DSM1603, ergosterol, flavonoids, GABA, glycosides, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, hon-chi, hong qu, hongqu, hung-chu, hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, KCCM11832, koji, linoleic acid, lovastatin, M9011, mevinolin, monacolin hyroxyacid, monacolin J, monacolin K, monacolin K (hydroxyl acid form), monacolin L, monacolin M, monacolin X, Monascaceae (yeast family), monascopyridine A, monascopyridine B, monascopyridine C, monascopyridine D, monascorubramine, monascorubrin, Monascus , Monascus anka , Monascus purpureus fermentate, Monascus purpureus HM105, Monascus purpureus NTU568, Monascus purpureus Went rice, Monascus ruber , oleic acid, orange anka pigment, palmitoleic acid, Phaffia rhodozyma , red fermented rice, red koji, red leaven, red mould rice, red rice, red rice yeast, red yeast, red yeast rice extract, rice, RICE products, rubropunctamine, rubropunctatin, RYR, RYRE, saponins, statins, stearic acid, xuezhikang, Xue Zhi Kang, yellow anka pigment, zhitai, Zhi Tai.0 -
So sorry to hear the news about Junie.....
Keeping her & her family in my prayers.
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AmyJo's post shows that red yeast rice IS a statin!!!!
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Yes, it is a natural statin. The one I take also has CoQ10 with it which is supposed to make it more effective?? I get mine from Vitacost.
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Barbe - Yes, it is a natural statin and you really should consult your dr. before taking because of alll the other meds some of us have to take.
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Be careful with the red yeast rice...................there are a lot of "fakes" out there, or some with almost no RYR in it at all....................my understanding is that it is very hard to get the real thing, and most that you can get are not the real chinese type.
Remember the acai............well that too was being marketed as real........much of that isn't either...........just be sure of what your getting................and yes you do have to watch your other meds.........just because it is considered a supplement does not mean it is ok, and has no contraindications...................
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