STFU (Shut the F*** UP)
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Ducky, I asked my MO's PA what we could do to help mitigate some of the side effects and she said there is nothing to be done
. No half dose, no every other day. She offered me no other help other than to say some people have such a terrible time with them they quit. So I started looking for options on my own.
I just did an online chat with a pharmacist. This was the conversation:
My question: "I have a question about my letrozole prescription. I have had such significant side effects with the aromatase inhibitors, I have been splitting my letrozole pills taking 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening. Other than not getting the whole dose at one time, is there a problem with splitting the pill?"
Her answer: "I have checked several references that do not explicitly say that the tablet cannot be split. The company's dosing recommendation in their literature is this: "The recommended dose of Femara (letrozole) is one 2.5 mg tablet administered once a day, without regard to meals." At this point, just double check with your doctor about taking it twice a day."
I will discuss it with my MO or his PA on my next visit. My plan all along was to "ease into it" by splitting my dose for a couple of months and then move to the whole dose if I can tolerate it. When I read the literature on the med, it said the med was effective in eliminating estrogen production with doses from 0.5mg up to 5mg. To my way of thinking, splitting the dose is better than quitting. But I will let you know what my doc says.0 -
Just lurking this week. Has not been a good week, I never thought I'd say this but Im looking forward to getting my chemo again. This week has been rough due to liver being inflamed. Start back on Monday. Im ready for this chit to be over. Weirdest thing though, stfu thread has disappeared from active topics. It lists all the others but not this one.???????
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sav....good info,...."let me know how you make out.........I am willing to try anything........just got out of the chair after sitting for about 20 minutes.....stood and hobbled across the room....left foot so bad could barely walk on it.......tell me this is QOL......close to giving up.......take my chances....knowing if I fail, the result is on me.....will I regret it then....maybe, cause I am sure, the recurrence is worse then the SE's I have now........it's a crap shoot....0 -
I agree, Ducky. It's all a crapshoot whether we take the drugs or not. No guarantees of anything.0 -
Mary that has happened to me more than once. I have to go find the thread and Mark it as favorite again.
Cindy AKA Squishy0 -
Cami------loved that you loved your parents so much loving each other--Special
Jackie, I was---" < than detectable"- vita d deficiecnt in late 2007---went through the usual to bring it into normal range treatment. -Tried to study it, it's very confusing, very confusing. Vita d-causes calcium to be absorbed from the intestine. But when blood calcium is normal, vita d is suppressed in the intestine/colon(?). Some research supports that the higher end of normal blood level sample of vita d helps prevent cancer. My endocrinologist and I have had a "discussion on it for 5 years:". I have been as high as 58. Two draws ago it was 30, at 50,000units prescribed level once a month. My question was why? why the drop? He up'ed the dose to 50,000 units twice a month. Next draw after 3 months I was a 33. He couldn't answer why there was no upward change. These two draws have been during the time of the thyroid watch. But it's the Parathyroids that control calcium and calcium is respondent to Vitamin D. Parathyroids sit on top of the thyroid gland on each side.
I finally was able to put together that my blood calcium level was normal. The research said that when blood calcium levels are normal then the vitamin d in the intestine is suppressed. I could not find how? But raising the vitamin D level should have happened b/c it had been higher at 58 in one blood test at 50,000 units. ---------------So my question was "What does it mean?" Endo doc was just happy that it was in normal range. My question again why the drop?
Our discussion of five years now----was it's relationship to cancer. He is not convinced there is a relationship. BUT Docs of all specialties follow the Practice Guidelines of their Specialties. These guidelines are generally produced every 5 years, with interim meetings at 2 1/2 years. If there is a significant change at the 2 1/2 year meeting a change is recommended.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO, why my numbers---first went up after appropriate treatment, then went down, then double the dose only went up 3 points. What does the whole thing mean?------great Endodoc---------has no answer...........
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Vita D deficiency has been determined to be pandemic---i.e .world wide. Why is unknown. Areas like Florida are known but known. We avoid sun from 10.am till 5pm. Wear sunscreen. They now have promo ads, telling us tyo go outside and get some sun for 15 minutes a day at high sunlight versus a few decades of saying avoid the sun.
Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. It has passed rules/laws about children on recess wearing protective head gear. WE are all screwed up with the sun.........and it's benefits
Solaray sun products came out of Australia as a result of the problems there. SO a kinda advertisement----that's why solaray came to be.
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Count me in for the party! I will bring the spanakopita (greek spinach pie) and a Greek salad (can you tell I'm Greek..LOL)
As for the AI and the SE's, I am really tired all of the time too and since I work full time still, that really is hard on me. My boss has been amazing though. She lets me take my lunch hour at the end of the day so I can leave an hour earlier. I am blessed. I don't call in sick no matter how crappy I feel though and she knows that so she is cool with it. Every once in a while, she will say "You look beat...if you don't have any appts, why don't you just go home early and don't worry about putting in sick time" Gotta love a boss like that!
My MO will not switch my AI to Femara or Arimidex as since the only approved drug for DCIS at this time is still tamoxifen. The clinical trials just finished for Aromasin and DCIS and the approval is coming (if it didn't already) and that is the one AI that is chemically different than the others for some reason. It mimics steroids in the body or some such (maybe Sassy can put it in better words we can understand medically) so she did allow me to take Aromasin since I have a family history of strokes and blood clots and I am a former smoker to Tamoxifen is not a good option for me.
I asked my MO if I could take half in the morning and half and night and she said "No, it must be taken in one dose" with no explanation and I did not push for one to be honest. I tried taking it at night, at mid-day and in the morning and the only one that worked for me is the morning because I got too wired at night or in the afternoon and could not sleep.
I nap every afternoon after work and I NEVER took naps in my life except when my kids were infants and I needed sleep due to not getting any with hungry breastfeeding babies who woke during the night to feed. Other than that, even if I had the flu, I could not sleep in the day time! With this pill, no problem at 4:30PM (which is a full 11 hours after I take it) with a nap.
As for the crying, part of that is the season and missing my Mom who passed away in February of 2012. I miss her so very much and with the holidays, I know that is a big part of my sadness.
Ok, enough...hubby just got home from work and he brought us Subway subs so going to go eat them. I told him I did not feel much like cooking so that is what he came up with...works for me!
Anyone here ever try Deal Dash, the penny auction site? I won an I-Pad, a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer a 32 inch television, a 600.00 Canon camera and lots of gift cards so my Christmas shopping is done and I got all of that stuff pretty cheap too! I highly recommend the site if you have a gambling spirit cause you could lose a lot of money if you don't figure out when to fold on the auction and when to go for it.
Ho Ho Ho...gonna go eat my sub! xoxo
EDIT: Sas, I was put on the 50K IU of Vitamin D two times in a month and then I take the regular dose twice a day now and have for the last 4 years due to low D. There is a correlation between low vitamin D and cancer for sure. Mine is up around the low normal range now...but it was really low...and the doctor said it is one of the most common things for post menopausal women!0 -
I was 18 years post menopause at dx and could not handle the AI's. The pain was nearly as bad as my kidney stones were but at least they would go away after a day or six. MO put me on tamoxifen. The se's were doable except for the weight loss. Three years and weight was dangerously low, 5' 10" and 100 lbs. Mo switched me to Megestrol which so far has few se's and one of them I like, it promotes weight gain.
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We have snow LOL
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Crog---------YAY CROG----SGUISHY..............ATTITUDE 1000. love you babe. Basically no one here knows the shit you went through-----you're problem of loosing the leg because people didn't do their job, then you took care of parents. Then you had further complications. It was le caca, after cow cake , after poop............I suppose you may have not wanted that known. BUT squishy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,You have come through so much ........Your parents would have been so proud how you handled the whole garbage.
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Hi Sas love you too... I don't care who knows what I have gone through. I just didn't remember if I had posted about the driving test or not.. Since starting Anastrozole my memory is shot!!! Ha ha ha Yup if I think back over everything that has happened in the last 3 years ( breast cancer was diagnosed December 2010) I sometimes wonder how I ever got through it all!!!! You sure have a good memory or you keep good notes... Ha ha ha
Cindy AKA Squishy0 -
GMA. Very pretty picture as long as you can stay inside and just look out at it.
Cindy AKA Squishy0 -
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$444444444444444444, my hair kinda looked like that for the luncheon today, Matched the top. I was with a range of colors, many white to gray-----------and colors colored.-------I used about 4 color chalks. Only several compliments.
But the group wasn't used to it. Which is odd, b/c they are the Brit qroup-------this was the Xmas party. Their usual parties are pretty wild. Even if they are white hairs.
Unbenownst to me or her------a great gal name Peggy and I sat next to each other--happenstance---------she introduced her self as having a hearing loss and early stage dementia. OMG.. I'm life long hearing loss-------and understand short term memory and long term memory loss. Kept translating the table conversation to her. It was great. Even if she didn't remember it 5 or 1 minute later didn't matter. Kept her in the moment. We had lot's of laughs and asked the table what they were talking about and talked in her ear and she offered her opinion. ...........What I learned later was she would scream out at other functions----take me home etc. I told my dear friend Maureen. If this gal comes to another function------I'm there.
Peggy's 85 has a disability of hearing, dementia she announces to everyone. Why? Every word we shared was cognizant. Did show signs of repetitiveness. But the JOY I had was I kept here in the conversation at the table. COOL. VERY COOL.
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I'm in fir the party! I will bring dessert and the entertainment!
Trying to type on phone. At an old fashioned REAL theater for a Japanese anime showing. I'm chaperoning 10 high school kids in downtown Atlanta! If there parents only knew what a "good" influence I am!!!
I will catch up soon!
Chevy, Yes it was 300 sausages and that wasn't enough! Had to cook more to go with the 500 pancakes! But we made over $500 profit for the 5th grade activity fund :0)0 -
Teka I am in for the party. I will bring my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies..
Cindy AKA Squishy0 -
I'm in. Bringing pecan pie and maybe a mincemeat one,too0 -
I'll bring myself and a new recipe for cookies, not the cookies, just the recipe (sp), I know I'm a little late
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I'll bring chili rellenos casserole. Don't worry, they're mild chilis.0 -
Oh Wren yummy
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i made a fresh apple pie0 -
How about some French onion soup?
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I love French onion soup Chabba! Make sure mine has extra cheese on it
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Good Morning Hoolies Ugh my GS just brought me coffee so I'm not officially awke just going thru movements--HE woke me up to ask if I was ready for coffee??? Brat But I have figured out a routine to fall asleep and it works most of the time so I fall asleep about midnite, it helps to sleep straight thru, but I'm still not awake, LOL Oh of course it all has to do with meds, so I know I'm cheating but WTH.
OK what's going on today--It's Sunday a couple more weeks til Christmas which I can't believe, I did promise Joey we'd start baking this week. I waited til he was old enough to do most of it--cuz I never bake, but he thinks it's fun, and his Mom taught him so I'm goin' for it this year. But they will be easy made cookies, I got recipes off of FB for easy stuff. LOL
Oh my post is still here I was called away cuz of my big D--which my Joey helped me with new clothes, he didn't see a thing--he just helps me get there and stand outside the door for instructions. I'm so bossy.
It got cooollld last nite but my Katie -Kat and I were under the covers, she never goes under so she must have been cold and stolde all my body heat, cats they knw what to do I guess
BBL I hope no one calls today for business, cuz I'm not going to take the phone with me in the bathroom today, it's Sunday.
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(((((no-phone, Cammi ))))))
You probably have already went to the Internet for the no-bake type of cookies and desserts but just in case.....here is the ones I love.
No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oatsDirections:1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Let cool until set.
(Recipe adapted from Ezra Pound Cake)
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Okay dokey--------- jezebel and crackers
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SAS --yum-yum
Lilli
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Mary I am so sorry...
Ducky I was on femara for a while about a year and then it stopped working no SE to speak of.....I told both of my drs. that if I thought that stopping chemo would clear up the breathing thing I would, they both were not happy but they said it wasn't the primary reason it is the cancer so stopping won't be done now, but I will....they will have to deal with it it is my decision...
I'm in bringing cupcakes!!! When is this party!!
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Blondie.........let's start our own tailgate party.......GO EAGLES😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀........BEAT DETROIT...........
Femara sucks.......0 -
Oh Lilli, Lilli, Lilli--u still don't know me---my cookies have 3 yes 3 ingredients that;s it, nothing more than 4 would I ever do. hahaha Some of mine are no bake, fudge, cookies--just mix and drop and put in fridge--u do have to melt the chocolate tho. hahaha
Tailgate---Isn't that outside?? No no not me, it's way to cold
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