Stage 2 Sisters Club
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Thanks everyone! It went well today and I talked to the doctor afterwards. He said they did take some tissue but it all looked good. He has some irritation from the re-flux but nothing that looked abnormal. The left a little device that will eventually slough away into his system. It "talks" to a monitor that he cannot have more then 3 feet from him for the next 48 hours. It will register the severity of his re-flux. Crazy stuff. He also has to write down everything he eats and when - they called it a diary he called it a "captain's log" He could stand the first procedure where he was awake and they tried to put a tube down his nose to his esophagus. He made them take it out, it was making him gag. After all I've been through, that sounds even worse!
Nisa - There are threads for word games etc. I would like a college football thread
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Thinking of you, Poppy.
Peggy & Home, hope your kid's health problems can be resolved quickly. Nothing is worse than when your kid is in trouble.
I imagine that we can talk about whatever we want to! Also, if you want some fun & distraction, check out some of the humor & games threads. I spend way to much time on them....playing games is suppose to be good for the brain, right?
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Homemom, I take it your son is a Star Trek fan. "Captain's Log" made me smile. I have a 26 year old nephew who is a mathematics grad student and lifelong Trek fan, and even my own 24 year old daughter is a fan. She prefers the original series from the 60s. It really is the age of the geek.
It sounds like good news for your son, let's hope it stays that way.
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How did it go Poppy. Hope you are well.
Nisa, I am with you. Glad there are these drugs to fight cancer. I do my second week of t/h today. My daughter stayed over to drive me. Yay!
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He couldn't be called a "trekkie" (sp) but he likes a lot of 70's things, including shows. There is a doctor here that has performed a new procedure for GERD that gets rid of it. I'm just nervous because it is fairly new. That doctor sent him to this doctor to get this test first so they can gauge how bad it is.
On a side note, yesterday morning picking him up was very frustrating. I don't go to that part of town much and used my GPS on my iPhone which totally had me going in the wrong direction once I got off the turnpike. I never use my car GPS because that has proven to be worse. Usually the phone is very accurate. I was just going to pick him up at 10, my DH dropped him off at 7:30. Procedure was supposed to be at 8. I get there at 10 min til 10 and the receptionist tells me the doctor just got there!
I'm like "HUH?" She said "yeah, he always does this to us, comes in late even if he schedules patients at 8". Then she follows up with "But he is the best at what he does, world renown". I said "That's nice, but don't you think he should respect his patient's time just a little?" I mean you can't eat anything after 12midnight the night before and this guy keeps you waiting because he wants to sleep in?? She agreed, you could tell she was frustrated.
THEN she tells me it will be anywhere from an hour to two hours. So I call my husband because he works nearby and he agrees to pick him up during his lunch hour. I leave, stop to get gas and pick up something at the Wawa, get a little lost heading to my office when my DH calls and says "He's ready, where are you"? REALLY? LOL I go back and pick him up. My word!
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NIsa Villa,
On the other forums I visit there is a range of topics and I see no reason why this forum can't be that way. I think our lives intersect with BC in so many ways large and small that we should be able to talk about anything that is going on with us.
What do others think? Right now I am going through working with my doctor to get off some benzodiazepines I have been taking for a long time in order to sleep. It is a disruptive process. Our first trial left me with 5 hours of sleep for 5 nights and we're going to try something else. But there was s,o much collar paternal dMage to my routines--healthy eating, exercise, etc. went out the window and today I am trying to get back on track but it is difficult! And I'm trying hard not to beat myself up for the thousands of unhealthy calories I ate!
Hugs,
Peggy
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homemom - what procedure does this doc do for GERD? I am curious because I had reflux surgery a number of years ago and always have to be conscious about it. Sorry about the confusion with the apt time - what a pain!
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Special K - The Dr here who does it was I think on Dr. Oz and he wrote about it on his website:
http://www.doctoroz.com/article/new-magnetic-devic...Here is his website:
http://www.celebrationsurgeons.com/medical-team/ph...
My son saw Dr Rosser first and he sent him to the doctor who put in the device. I'm a little leery of new surgeries, but I will look into it.
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Alright ladies I have so much happening and my mind is crazy but I have some questions I hope you can help with....My mamogram showed a spot where my lumpectomy was AND I've had nipple discharge in my other breast for over a year. I had an MRI on Tuesday and don't find out the results until Monday when I see my Onco - don't mind waiting becasue it is what it is, BUT all of a sudden last night after being on the Tamoxifen since March of '12 I woke up in the worse pain in my right ovary - almost went to the hospital it was so bad - kept me up from 3am to 5am and since has been a dull ache. Now all of a sudden I'm having horrible cramping. I had an ablation in '09 so I no longer get a "period" but I've always had a small hardly noticable cramping which after the tamoxifen was pretty much gone.
Do you think this pain is anything to do with the possible regrowth? My cancer is Estrogen positive so I'm wondering if my levels are too high?
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mommado - Tamoxifen does not stop your estrogen production or its circulation, it blocks the receptors on the breast cells, so you could still have quite high estrogen levels, and also have an ovarian cyst - which is my first thought with ovarian pain. Sometimes they are asymptomatic, but if they are large - or if they rupture - they can be VERY uncomfortable.
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Special K - that's what I'm thinking I had one before all this cancer stuff and the gyno actually popped it during my exam - didn't know until I went for the ultrasound the next day and nothing was there. I just find this so odd as I haven't had anything like this in forever - its so out of the blue. I emailed my Onco who I see Monday for my MRI results to see if she thinks I need to see her or my gyno about it.... So dang tired of all this!0 -
mommado - probably a good idea to have a pelvic US to check, but hoping it is just a cyst, as they are relatively harmless - painful though! The thing that causes so much discomfort if one ruptures is that the fluid and/or blood has no exit from the body so it acts as an irritant. You can have pain from the cyst itself if it is large, then pain from the rupture.
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Homemom- What an ordeal with your son. I read your post earlier, but wasn't up to posting due to my chemo infusion. (I'm fuzzy brained, so hope I can post coherently.) I've been thinking about you. My DH has had serious reflux problems since his early 20s. He had some narrow, weird bend at the base of his esophagus. The monitoring has worked for him- over 30 years with no serious problems, no cancer. His meds have been changed from time to time. I hope that this gives you some comfort to know and wish you and your son the best through this whole process.
Mommado- I have no advice for you, since I haven't encountered anything like this. But it sounds like SpecialK has shared her insights. She is amazing!
Here's my story from my first TC infusion on Tuesday: The soreness, redness and white spots around my port site are believed to be a reaction to the Dermabond used to close the site. This meant they couldn't use my port.
Labs were great... starting an iv... not so great. Poking and prodding went on for a while... I actually had tears running down my face. Very un-warrior like. Second nurse finally got an iv started in my wrist. Lots of nerves in this area and hard to keep it still. When the T infusion started, the pain was unbelievable. They stopped it and tried to start another iv. No luck. Adjusted the original iv, and the dilution of the T and continued on. Alternating heat and ice packs on my entire arm. Finally made it through.... a little over 6 hours start to finish.
So far side effects are manageable, I know it's still early. Heartburn is pretty bad (taking OTC meds for that), dry mouth, red flush on chest and neck. My arm is feeling a bit less sore today. Mild nausea and not being able to think or speak complete thoughts.
My DH surprised me at the infusion center with a giant heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie he made and decorated it himself. It said "Beautiful Warrior, I love you!". I am very surprised and touched. He also gave me a lovely pink sapphire pendant and told me thank you for going through all of this for me and our children. Usually I'm not the soft, mushy kind of girl...but I must say, I've got a keeper. At the birth of each of our children, my DH gave me a piece of jewelry; usually including the birthstone of our new infant. He told me this fight is longer and harder and he is so thankful that I'm fighting so hard.
Thanks for listening to me.
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poppy - your DH is a keeper - so sweet! In my fam we have done the baby birthstone gift too! Keep on eye on the heartburn - chemotherapeutic agents irritate all soft tissue so your heartburn may worsen and call for prescription strength assistance. Bland foods are helpful - potatoes got me through chemo! The red flush is often due to the steroids, it usually goes away within 24 hours. I always looked like I had a sunburn, but it was consistent through all six infusions and disappeared in a day. Did they indicate they would be able to use your port for the next infusion? I know the wrist stings like a you-know-what for the IV - they blew the hand vein at my last surgery and had to do the wrist - I made some rather inhuman noises as they set that IV. If you have some arnica gel/cream you can use it on the IV site - helps with bruising.
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Heard from my Onco and she told me to see the gyno today or tomorrow so I have a call in there! Thanks for all the information Special K - I'm leaning toward cyst - wish the dang thing would pop already cause its so painful!!0 -
Keep us posted!
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My oldest daughter gets ovarian cysts and the dr will apply pressure and pop them. Very painful. Weird this is done, but she thinks it is normal.
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Got a message from the nurse at gyno - I could go today and see on call dr but I decided to push through it and go tomorrow and see my doctor since he knows my history. Just need to make it to tomorrow at 3:30. My wonderful husband who has worked all day and has rehersal for a play he is in is going to make dinner and take care of everything tonight so I don't have too....
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Thanks Poppy I appreciate that. He brought the device back today and I hope he made the follow up appt in two weeks. Odd they were real nonchalant about scheduling it that day we were there, like we could come back or not. I'm so used to everything being bam bam!
I am also going to talk to the nutritionist when I see them tomorrow about what foods etc cause GERD.
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homemom - not sure any foods cause GERD, it is usually due to uncontrolled stomach acid or something mechanical in the gastro-esophageal junction - but there are definitely foods that exacerbate it. Obviously, acidic foods are a problem - tomatoes, pineapple and citrus fruits will irritate. Fried and fatty foods are a problem because fat slows down the digestive process and causes food to stay in the stomach longer - thus producing more acid. Caffeine, chocolate, and mint are things that people don't always think of - I had trouble with my toothpaste because it was too minty and I would get a burning sensation all the way down my esophagus. Some people have trouble with too much dairy (probably because of the fat - but also because it is a food that is known to cause inflammatory sensitivity). I have a sensitivity to mustard now, most likely from the vinegar, and I have to be careful with vinaigrette dressings too. Carbonation is also an issue for many, so soda is not a great idea. None of the meds (they were all prescription at the time) worked for me so I had a laproscopic Nissen fundalplication procedure done - I had a gaping GE junction and a hiatal hernia - they pulled the stomach lining down back into the stomach, then used part of the stomach and made a belt-like structure around the esophagus with it. For the most part, my problems were solved. I never had heartburn, but rather esophageal spasms that felt like a heart attack. I had a bunch of cardiac workup - which was all normal, and it was not until I aspirated an antibiotic and it ulcerated my esophagus that they figured out what the problem was. I had eight cases of aspiration pneumonia within a five-year span - I was aspirating stomach acid and tiny food particles into my lungs, so I needed to do this surgery or end up on oxygen due to the damage.
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SpecialK - Wow. Sounds like you have had more then your share of crapola to deal with! Hope it's settled down now for you.
When you think about it, a 20 year old eats just about ALL of those foods! Did you read the link? The surgery has something to do with using a magnet of some sort. I hate he has to deal with this at such a young age.
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homemom - I had the surgery in 1995, when the laparoscopic version had just been invented. I did read the link and it looks like they are using a magnetic device to do the same thing as the surgery I had, but without disturbing the stomach - sounds like progress. I was in my 30's at the time of the surgery and thought this was the beginning of a downward health slide - fortunately, after having the surgery things improved a lot and I coasted for a pretty long time until more issues surfaced, lol! I am sorry that he has to face this issue at such a young age too - the diet impact will be harder for him!
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Mommado, tell us know. Sounds like cysts to me too.....which are no fun! Ouch!!
Poppy, sorry you had such a horrible chemo start. I hope that they can get the port thing worked out. Like SpecialK, I ate tons of mashed potatoes (with cheese). Biotene has a great mouthwash & toothpaste with the dry mouth (I liked the mouthwash so much that I still use it). Dove is the most gentle soap. I would keep my fingernails & toenails polished too. This is just antidotal, but it seems to help them get through chemo better for some ladies.
HomeMom, yes, 20 year olds should just be having fun and not have to be worrying about stuff like that!
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Result day!! So I go for my results on my MRI today and I'm actually nervous! I've never been nervous, always calm, cool and collected and have dealt with everything handed to me but today my stomach is in knots, my hands are shakey and I'm just a ball of nerves. Not quite sure how to handle it as it's so foreign to me. I'm confident that both breast will be clear (Mammogram showed spot on left breast where cancer was - they think it's calcification from radiation - and right breast has been leaking for about a year).
Went to the gyno on Friday and was diagnosed with a ruptured ovarian cyst and put on rest for the weekend and then follow up in 2 weeks. I think maybe it's just too much at once....
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Let us know
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Mommado - in my town, if they have bad news for you, they call and have you come in. I hope it is the same way where you are and today you get good/neutral news.
Ruth - the humor thread could really become addictive for me too. Will check it out.
Missing - you doing ok girl?
Apologies if I owe responses, lost track of last weeks conversations. Been busy getting one of my kids off to college. My mommy-heart is breaking since the weekend.
Hugs to all, Nisa
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Hey, Nisa. I don't like this weekly t/h. It is wreaking havoc with my whole abdomen. Lots of discomfort, bordering on pain and intermittent bowel issues. I am also getting some joint pain. I have left a message for my onc. Big hug to your mommy heart. My two are finishing up this year and next.
Good luck, Mommado. Hope it was good.
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ultrasound went well....most likely ruptured cyst but antibiotics of not better by Wednesday. Mri results...right looked good but doing blood test to confirm and left showed nodules that Dr thinks are benign but going for ultrasound and possible biopsy this week.....
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Mommado, Thanks for the update... sometimes one test ends up leading to others. Glad you got some answers though.
I'll be thinking of you.
Poppy
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Don't you just want to run away sometimes and never see another doctor ever again?!!!!!
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