new and future flat sister, with questions
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Talk to your RO about your concerns. I flat out asked mine, he said they can stop it before it gets to heart and lungs. I'm 15 months from last rad, no problems. My LE showed when I woke up from surgery.
If I wore bracelets I'd want that one too!
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vintage- not a big fan of the f word either- but it fits and the bracelet is fabulous! If only I could wear silver! Congrats on the great echo! Glad to hear your skin is doing well! We haven 't had a lot of spring here either-went straight to summer! Way too much heat and humidity for me, but I know people up north would welcome the warmth. Hope you have some good riding weather this weekend!
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Thanks for the information, Spookie. This decision is going to drive me crazy! I really appreciate your input and guess I will talk with the RO.
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Hi Ladies, so glad I found you all! This is my first post, I will be a uni flat sister in just 10 days.
Deep down I have felt that recon was not for me since diagnosis. Reading all your posts has been a tremendous help and I so appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and being so willing to answer all the questions from newbies like me.
Though I would not choose to join this "club", the love and support you show each other is so uplifting that I am sure it will help me get through this difficult and life changing event.
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Good Morning all, another chilly Saturday in Aus!
Great to see you Vintage! It sounds like you have so much fun on your bike rides and your hunting for wonderful things.
I am so glad to hear you're doing well and getting back good test results and you're "Foobulous" I love that word! So pleased to hear the soft foobs are working for you in the knit bras too, so many girls have lots of trouble finding a good balance!
I thought of you recently when I had 2 wonderful scores from the local Opp Shop. I found a great chair last week, very well made, timeless style, brought it home and took off the linen, loose covers, it was just lovely, with down pillows and the chair covered in calico. It weighs a ton, so had to wait till there was someone around who could get it into the house. I couldn't decide where to put it, maybe the family room, or the bedroom. Since I didn't really need it, placement wasn't a cinch.LOL I went back to the same Opp Shop yesterday and low and behold, the matching pair to the chair is sitting there, naturally, I have to buy it. I know Colin will throw a fit when I get it home, because I still haven't decided what to do with no1 chair. The upshot of the story is, the first chair was $10.00 and when I removed the loose covers, I found $6.00 in change, hidden down the sides, the 2nd chair cost only $5.00 and it revealed $1.00 in change, so for $8.00 the pair. I have one sitting in the entrance hall and one in the family room and 3 offers to buy them, if I find I don't want them, from visitors who've seen them. I am thinking they may be just right, recovered and in the boat shed, when I have it finished.
I love the bracelet! I bought the same T Shirt! Take care....M x
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Helenna Welcome to our merry little band of Uni's and Flat ladies. We are so pleased when someone else finds us! We were all newbies not too long ago! We all know the fears and the dreadful waiting that is part of this roller coaster.
You're right about everyone being supportive here, it is fantastic to know that you can say anything, talk about anything and the group all "get it".
Ask away, nothing is out of bounds here and you'll usually find at least one of us will have some experience, with whatever it is that you need to know. There are several Uni's, me included, who can help you out with Boobs, Foobs and Prosthesis and some clothing options.
Come often, and let us know how you're getting on. It is life changing, but not all bad, we have all had things come from this, that were unexpected and positive. The friendship here is a definite! M x
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Hi M, we are posting at the same time!
Just popping in for my Goldie fix! I just loved that story about the toys. I was just telling it to DLLP.
Happy birthday GB! You did sneak that by. Your real butter on cauliflower sounds so good -- I am jealous! Your cake sounds miraculous. I don't have a microwave, so will have to live vicariously.
ND, miss you! Wish I could come to ND and do some canning. I have a yearning to do that.
Fia, I wish I could see your JCrew camis. Are they very thin? I like mine very thin and soft.
Welcome Helenna! Let us know if there is anything you need.
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Hi sgc, sorry you are so conflicted. It is a really tough decision to make.
Hi Spookiesmom! I like that bracelet too, but then as you know, I am not averse to that word! LOL I've mentioned my "Guttergums" nickname, which in my defense was given to me a long time ago when I was a fairly prolific renovator, doing much of the work myself.
We have gone straight to Winter here, I just changed the bed to the doubled up doona which is a Summer weight and Winter weight on both sides that zip and clip together. I have also changed over from the light cream beachy, Summer bedding, to the cozy black and cream set. There are some things I love about the winter, and a cozy bed with a big fluffy doona and a nice coverlet at the bottom of the bed does it for me!
Just picked a big bag of Grapefruit to drop in to the ladies at the Opp Shop this morning.
I hope you all have a good Weekend planned, I am going to battle the tourists who have arrived for the long weekend here. Take it easy M x
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Hi there Bobo! I love it when we are posting together, how are you doing?
All's well here, just getting chilly! M x
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Ariom~ what a deal on the chairs! No scores like that around here! Can you send a pic?
My FB biz page is LKellsAntiques if you want to see some of my stuff.
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Ariom, Good score on the chairs! I have 2 Queen Anne recliners in the living room. They match and came from different thrift stores. Not as good a deal financially, but together were under $100.
With all the cats coming thru here, I think my next furniture will be Ikea with slipcovers. Then I can have summer and winter sets. I keep thinking I'll make slipcovers for the current stuff, but I hate to spend so much on material without having any idea how they will turn out. DD says to reupholster because that's easier.
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Hello! M, you are such a good housekeeper (not sure what word to use, but you know what i mean)! Winter set, summer set, and what's a doona? I feel so unsophisticated! And great find with the chairs, so cheap!
Hi bobo, I hope all is well! Are you done home schooling DD? What are the summer plans for the kids?
Welcome Helenna! You sound quite positive and not too nervous about the surgery? That's great! Ask anything you feel like!
sgc, good to see you! I know what you mean about the tastebuds being back, I eat everything in sight too! With all the apts I still have, I get weighed so often - I've been gaining 1 kg a week... At this rate, I'll have enough tissue for a DD recon in a few months! About rads, I'm no expert. With my 1 affected lymph node, which only had a micro-whatever, rad was offerred to me but not necessarily recommended. My LE (although minor) and wish for recon made the RO recommend that I don't get rad. However, you seem to have 7 lymph nodes that were positive? If I were you, I would go for it - easy for me to say, I know... I trust the research done, and if you want to feel that you did everything in your power to beat this beast... It's just too bad there is no other RO you could see? Your MO doesn't know any other one in the vicinity?
nd, sorry about the bugs ruining your radishes. I hear you about organic vs pesticides & fertilizers... although I work in software now, I'm a chemical engineer so I understand their benefits.
Hi Zills and Wren, I agree with you, eating right and exercising can only help. I've got the exercise part ok, the eating part could improve - way too much sugar and not enough veggies... Argh! Zills - I start tamox in 25 days... not that I'm counting! :-)
Fia, congrats on the tank top deal! Sorry about the hip pain, I hope something can help you.
Spookiesmom, my trip is finally confirmed, I will be in Tampa on June 15 and could see you that night if you're available. PM me if you want. I have a meeting the next day, then off to NYC (yeah!) for a day for other meetings. Looking forward to this short trip, I haven't been away for work in almost a year!
Have a great weekend everyone!
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Hi again ladies, sorry for so many pics but I had to show you the sequence of Dexter in these new chairs. He had Colin and I, in hysterics this morning.
otceb, Oh boy, not a great housekeeper, LOL just nuts for decor stuff and Machester! Can't help myself. I always have pale coastal colors for the Summer, and this is how we have the Winter bedroom. Some may think I have way too much time on my hands, but I have always done it! LOL
Anyhooo, the "doona" cover is a bag that you put a quilt inside, I think they call it a duvet and Duvet cover in Britain. The Doona itself is a big puffy quilt that can be Down or Micro fiber, Wool, Alpaca, all kinds of filling. We have one that has 4 pieces, 2 Winter weight and 2 Summer weight, they clip together and zip down the center so we can have whichever warmth level we want on either side. It goes inside the Doona, or Quilt cover. You then only have to have a fitted sheet on the bed base, no blankets or flat sheets.
Vintage,this is one of the chairs I bought at the Opp Shop. What do you think, not everyone's taste, but a bargain for under $10.00! and super comfy with the down seat and back.
I got up this morning and this is where I found Dexter, he always finds the sun! We have a series of roof windows across the ceiling of the family room and living room, and Dex can usually be found lying in the pool of sunlight under one of them.
I went to have my shower, after telling Dex to get off the chair. I came back and this is how I found him, trying to hide the fact that he was back on the new "Favorite Chair".
This is chair number 2, which hasn't made it past the entry hall yet, but Dexter has already claimed it too! Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth!
Wren, I doubt you can see it, but the couch to the left of the chair in the Family Room is an Ikea Ektorp, I love it, they are timeless, and it has removable covers. I have 2 sets, but they are both white, so I have to cover it with furry blankets, because that used to be the "Favorite" for Dex and paw prints just ruin the look of a lovely white couch. LOL
Take it easy everyone and have a lovely weekend! M x
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Vintage, I loved everything on your FB page. I could have a ball in your store! M x
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Otceb, well I'm trying to be positive but am definitely scared to death about the surgery! This will be the first time I have ever had surgery or been in the hospital, I've never even had stitches for anything……my bs got a chuckle out of that and said you really had to do it BIG.
If you knew me and my love and dedication to helping animals, you'd know this happened for a reason--I went to a mall this week to pick up a few things and get my mind off everything. Well it could only happen to me, bright sunny hot 80's afternoon, I get out of my car and notice in the car next to me is a dog panting like mad and windows barely cracked. So damn I thought and off in a fume I go to get security. Long story short, the owners finally come out, security guard was calling the police, and a shouting match ensues. Stupid people couldn't understand how hot a closed car can get pretty quickly. I was so pissed at the ignorance and callousness of those people that my mind did not think about my bc much of that afternoon. My car was guided to park in that spot!
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Helenna, you are an excellent badass! Shout extra-hard for us. You can get some of your other rage and aggression out, in addition, on someone who really deserves it! Excellent work.
OTCEB, NO, I am not done homeschooling our princess! Well, summer is officially in session, so I guess I am. And I have w boy. Yikes. It is already not fun. Read back if you like for many interesting stories about how lazy he is. We call it 'work-saving.'
M! I pored over those pictures of Dex! Oh, I just love him! I especially love how in the second picture he had his head hiding in the shade so that you would not see him! You may as well put one of his blankies over those chairs and call it a day. It seems that you should be a furniture 'scout' for Vintage gal, work in exchange for store credit. You are a match made in heaven.
I'm at work, incredibly. OT, I think you will be gone by then, but did you know there is a Tampa gathering of BCO sisters on June 21? I think that's when it is. I am thinking about going. Spookie are you going? I know we had talked about it. XX
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Welcome Helenna. Good for you and that dog. Stupid people. We all cleaned and organized and shopped before surgery. We can answer any question, day or night. Don't hesitate.
OTC. My biggest SE from tamox was hot flashes. Effexor helped but had SEs too. My other complaints can't be directly tied to tamox. Don't be afraid. It can save your life. I will tell you the first week or two I didn't want to eat much on it. Just ramp up slowly.
SGC. I'm in love with my RO. He listens plus he's good to look at it, even if he's blonde. I prefer dark haired men. Well I guess DH is gray now.
I didn't need to be convinced about rads. The grass is green, the sky is blue, I have bc. Get BMX, chemo, rads.
I know how careful they were with me and mine was on the right. I believe the LE came from over exercising not rads. Any SEs down the road could be age, chemo, life, rads.
If you do rads, learn from me. Silva dyne is a miracle worker for the skin at the end. You will be amazed how quickly your skin heals. Then it's massage and stretch daily.
Took boy to drive in last night. Rio 2. Got chilly and itchy. All of us. Stayed up too late and paying for it today.
Cross your fingers. California Chrome to win the Belmont and become a triple crown winner. Go baby go!
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vintage. Where did you get the bracelet?
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Helenna- you go girl! Give them hell! Damned idiots leaving a dog in the car! Thank you for educating another set of stupid dog owners! I have been highly involved with a dog rescue group and it kills me to see how cruel people are. I often wonder if they would treat their kids as badly, and sadly some would. Hats off to you! Oh, by the way, welcome to this passionate group! Aren't the wonderful!
M- I love the photos of Dex and the chairs look great too! He is such a cutie! I never seem to be able to come into such great finds when I go out looking. You must have the magic touch!
Zills- I am green with envy over your great RO. I think that is part of the problem-I can't stand the guy. Why wouldn't he look at me when he spoke to me? It was just too weird! I might try and find another one even if it means driving an hour+ each way. Thanks for the tip! Still fretting about using the "last bullet". Go Cali Chrome!!! (I lived close to Belmont when I was young.)
Bobo- so good to hear from you! Working on Saturday? Oh no, way too much! Time to get out and let the kids run themselves ragged so they will pass out early and you can enjoy the evening! Glad the homeschooling is over? I tried to homeschool my youngest in high school- didn't turn out as I had planned, but she is in college (premed) and one day she will get off her lazy butt and get a job! (If only to pay off her college and medical school loans.)
OTC- I don't know what you do for work, but enjoy Tampa and NYC! I don't know how much a kg is. Never did learn the conversion tables. Will def. have to look that up! Can't be as bad as 3 lbs in a day though. I swear the doctors need to calibrate their scales equally so I don't freak out. I don't think I will schedule two appts back to back again!
I will be going on the dreaded fing pills in the next few weeks. I went through surgerical menopause in 2000 so I don't know if it will be tamoxifen or the other kind. I have already lost 2 inches in height and am not looking forward to the SE's. I am hot all of the time which I blame on the Herceptin as I haven't had hot flashes for years! I image the extra weight isn't helping either! My daughter says, and DH apparently agrees, that I turned into a bitch when I "got cancer". I like to think of it as I no longer put up with anyone's shit. Wait until I go on these pills- "they ain't seen nothing yet"! Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!
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Helenna, Welcome and thanks for notifying someone about the poor dog. It was probably over 100 inside the car. He is really lucky you parked there. I volunteer for an animal shelter and we will send an officer if a dog is in a car on a hot day.
M, I love the chairs and, of course, Dex. The chairs look so comfortable. I had a big white armchair and used it for studying when I was getting my degree. I have my great grandmother's rocking chair and can't decide what to do with it. It's sentimental for me but I'm sure neither of my children will want it and we don't really use it. She used to sit in it and tell me stories about growing up in Missouri when it was practically the frontier.
Helenna, My first surgery was for appendicitis. I woke up afterwards and thought, I still hurt! Then I thought, they do use a knife, of course it hurts. Actually MX was not high on the pain scale for me. My surgery was late in the afternoon and I spent overnight in the observation ward. By morning I was ready for the latte my daughter brought me and left right after breakfast. Just don't forget the pillow for the seat belt on the ride home. I pinned my drain to a fabric belt during the day and to a long shoelace around my neck in the shower. You'll want button down the front shirts for the first few weeks. I think I took Vicodin for about 2 days.
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Z, you make me pee:
'Vintage. Where did you get the bracelet.'
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Oh, and SGC: If you are a 'bitch,' as your DH and DD say, then what am I?
Helena: picking up on what birdie said, I had my appendix out too, and it was much more painful than any of my (five!) bc surgeries. Okay, one of those five was up there. But it was not the BMX. You've probably heard these two pieces of advice:
1. Don't buy a bunch of surgery-related junk: special camis, post sx robes, pillows, etc. I think for the most part we all agree that you can just safety-pin drains to whatever you're wearing, or slip them into a robe pocket. Regular pillows work fine, though I do have a V pillow because we all jumped on a V pillow bandwagon -- but I believe none of us were having sx at the time. I think Z started a V pillow kick.
Save the money for a treat for yourself -- why spend $50 on something you'll use for a week or a month and then you will hate? You will need a lot of treats after sx -- cookbook, as you said, takeout, new bracelets perhaps, aromatherapy, you might go on green smoothie binge, etc. And you will want to go clothes shopping. Save up for the fun shopping.
2. Stay ahead of the pain with pain meds after sx. Don't be a hero. That's ridiculous. If it says take it every six hours, take it every six hours. Don't play around with it. Set an alarm if you have to, and have someone around to make sure you stay on schedule with pain meds. I think this is for the first 48 hours or so.
That being said, I didn't take many pain meds with surgeries subsequent to the BMX. I am such a badass at this point, and I was just 'finished' with being what I call 'on the hop' -- so I didn't even really take Advil. DLLP was really alarmed about it. Telling you this to let you know that none of this is unbearable, pain-wise. Please see my PM regarding additional info about medication
Missing our granwe! Jonesing for a baby update. X
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Hi all, glad the pics gave you a smile! Dex is such a little character!
Unfortunately, idiots seem to leave dogs in cars with monotonous regularity, I have no clue what they are thinking, but think the same punishment for them, may be a deterrent. Also hear the stories on the news about children being left too, it is unbelievable.
Helenna, glad the others have chimed in with tips, if you read back you'll find tons of info. I was another one who had no pain from my surgery. I know it seems amazing, before you have this done,but I didn't need any painkillers at all, not after the surgery or when I got home. I actually had a broken toe at the same time and it gave me far more grief than the Mx. I always describe the Mx surgery as a surgery of strange sensations, not pain. In saying all that, I totally agree with Bobo, if you feel any pain or discomfort, take the meds!
My tip for the Hospital is to take lozenges for your throat. I woke up with a really sore scratchy throat, from the breathing tube. I would have given anything for a throat lozenge because I was starving and they only had sandwiches on hand, trying to swallow bread was near impossible! I was brought back to my room at about 7pm and was allowed to go home at 8am next morning.
I didn't buy anything, other than a couple of front buttoning shirts. I only had one big drain that was on a very long tube. I could sling it around my neck, or even drag it, I clipped it to a lanyard in the shower and hid it in a cotton shoulder bag, when I went out. I can't recommend the V pillow highly enough, I still use mine, while sitting on the couch. It is more manouverable than a regular pillow, especially if you have any nodes removed. I found the under arm was the most uncomfortable area and this pillow could buffer that. I had another revision surgery that took my incision around to my back so I used that pillow consistently.
Just ask anything here, we have heaps of accumulated knowledge about how to get around the issues that can crop up.
Take it easy!
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Bobo, I had a look for the bracelet and I found the same one in Silver or Copper on Etsy.
I would love to hear how Gramwe is doing too, and the baby of course.
Wren, thank you, I really like the chairs and I love the price! I get such a buzz out of a bargain like that! LOL
I understand what you mean about your Grandmother's chair and the sentiment of it.I would be the same, I'd just have to thimk about havimg a story read to me and I wouldn't be able to part with it! LOL
I have all my Mother's, dearly loved china, in boxes, but I can't part with it. I will never use it, there is all kinds of collectable stuff, including 100 year old dinner sets and English as well as Australian art pieces. My Dad used to buy china for my Mother and Grandmothers when he was at sea, so I have all that stuff too, with the memories of where they were collected.
I also inherited all my Mother's jewellery, some I would never wear, so I had it melted down and reused the diamonds to make another ring and the gold made two, heavy golf bangles. I wear them all the time and I love the fact that I had her wedding ring incorporated into the ring I wear. I used the diamonds from her eternity rings, in a random Gypsy set pattern in the ring. Bec isn't into gold at all, so I wonder what she will do with it all. She's even worse than me when it comes to sentimental things. I can get rid of just about anything that doesn't have any sentiment attached to it, but Bec has a hard time.
Breaking news!!!!! Colin's niece just had a baby girl, named Willow! How exciting for Colin's sister, they live a long way from here, so it will be a while till I can start baby sniffing! LOL
Take it easy....M x
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Thanks I pretty much buy/sell what I like, good old pieces, real wood, easily painted, since if they don't sell in a timely matter they come back home with me. Yes my house is full of shop rejects LOL
& those chairs are awesome! What a score!!!!!!! Our thrift stores never even have upholstered pieces, well an occasional couch or chair that is disgusting, & for $40-100.
We have sky lights too & the cats & dogs follow the sun patches.
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bobogirl
I just found the bracelet pic online, & saw it was $170 so alas, I didn't buy it!
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Hi Vintage, you'd have a ball over here. Especially where I live now, the yard sales and the thrift stores are just amazing for picking. The prices are really low because they just want to move everything fast, there is no point in putting on Ebay, we are too far away from the big city for freight to be a reasonable cost. Being a country area, there are old Homesteads that have everything auctioned off when it is a deceased estate. I love those, even though I find it sad that it is someones lifetime going under the hammer, but the families just don't want to move all the stuff. I have found some lovely things at our "Star Auctions".
It isn't unusual to find lovely furniture pieces that are in as good condition as the chairs I found for under $20.00, I could easily go nuts, but nowhere to put it. LOL
I learned to find good stuff, from my Mother, who although she never had to, she loved to shop the second hand stores, go to auctions and best of all the Pawn shops, for jewellery. She had a great eye and she loved beautiful things. She also loved the thrill of the hunt, for a great bargain.
I just made lunch after coming back from a big walk with Dex, we went to the Market and got lots of lovely fresh produce, walked through the Classic Car display down on the foreshore and watched some Rock and Roll dancing with a band on the water.
I feel a bit of a nap coming on...catch you later M x
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Vintage, you could probably have the bracelet made for a lot less. And maybe trade for it too.
M, Congratulations on the new family member. The little girl next door is named Willow also. Her little sister is Hazel.
My niece became a grandmother Thursday. Jackson Cash Lorenzo arrived with a head of hair. SIL's coming up next week and the price of her staying with us is a visit with the baby. I'll take a sniff for you, M.
Is doona an Australian term or Scottish? We have one here, but just one weight, not fancy like yours. We use an electric blanket to warm the bed, then turn it off as we crawl in. Our heat upstairs is electric baseboard and I won't use it unless I'm in the room. You hear of them starting too many fires.
I've been wondering what to wear to my travel agency reunion in one of the pricey condos here. The owner died last year and his widow wanted to have the reunion. I decided today that I'll just wear either my white or black jeans and blame it on my air cast. I have a 3/4 sleeve black and white patterned T shirt. It will go with either one. I'll let the weather decide on the jeans color. When I worked there, I did a lot of sewing and had a lovely coordinated wardrobe which traveled well. I managed with just a carry on bag except for Russia in December. I needed more space for sweaters on that trip.
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Hi Wren, thanks for the baby sniff! Congratulations on your new family member too!
Doona is the Australian term, but I am not sure about it being Scottish too.
The black and white outfit will look great. I rarely wear anything other than B/W. I wore white jeans with a black waterfall cardigan and a white camisole to the meeting on Friday. Those were the days Wren! Traveling with just a carry on bag. I used to do that too. I liked to hit the ground running!
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Ariom ,thank you so much for posting these gorgeous photos. Dexter is too adorable!!! I had a good giggle....he's a character. You have a beautiful home Ariom....you've done a lovely job with the decor. If I lived there I'd be fighting Dexter for that comfy chair myself lol
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