Uplifting and Lively Messages. No holds barred..
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I take my aromasin with supper every evening.
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Going to start out a little slower on the Tamoxifen. Dr. ordered 10mgs instead of 20mgs and I am going to try to take at night. I already have insomnia from radiation, and don't need to ramp it up any more than necessary. Tamoxifen kind of makes me feel drowsy, so maybe night would be better. The first Tamoxifen made me feel a bit off, and I did not like that feeling. Hoping the lower dose will give me a better entry point to anti hormonal meds.
I walked 8863 steps on Wednesday, which is my all time high on this new phone. When I used to work in Chicago, I would walk from the Loop to Lincoln Park or some where on North Michigan Avenue where I would either catch a bus or train. Walking was such a big part of my life there, and I want it to be here as well. This town is not geared toward public transportation, so the incentive to walk with purpose to a destination has a low reward. Walking for the purpose of being healthy, is high reward.
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I take my tamoxifan with supper around 6 pm. I have heard about the night sweats some have with it, I don't know if mine are from low blood sugar or the tamoxifan, what are the effects? low blood sugar causes me to be dizzy, my eyesight to be bad, and lots of sweating.
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Hi Michelle,
The first anti-hormonal pill is the most difficult. I found my body adjusted right away to the AI and I was just fine. I still think that exercise is the best antidote for insomnia, and glad to see that increasing. I hear you on places not being walk-friendly. I remember a former work colleague talking about visiting a friend in Germany. In that town, they park on the outskirts and walk in to do all their shopping. Very different from how we do things here. They also aren't overweight there, even if one of their stops is for coffee and cake.
I try to "reverse engineer" exercise into my life where possible. When I did some banking last Friday, I walked the 3/4 mile between the two banks. I normally bus it into Seattle and then walk. I did a trudge in the sleet and slush last night. I got a bit wet, and felt much better. I had been through the day from hell, and the walk set my brain straight. Also good for my balance, as not easy staying upright. Skiing helps here.
Really looking forward to my ski weekend away in celebration of my birthday which is today. One of my presents to myself will be new skis. Last year, I wore out my bicycle; this year it's my Nordic skis.
When I was looking for a new place outside Seattle, one of my criteria was that I had to have a good and safe place to walk. There are miles of walking trails around where I now live. Some of them are in a huge nature preserve. The wonderful thing is that I can swing by the supermarket on the way back to my place.
Have you tried herbal tea with some nice honey before bedtime? That can also help. So does making yourself physically tired. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! - Claire
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY Claire!!! It will be the best one yet, I just know it. Your place sounds just terrific to exercise and take in fresh air. My house is situated near a wonderful park, but my boulevard is the best place to walk laps. The streets and homes in my area are older and just gorgeous scenery. Even when I lived in Chicago, I would come home and utilize the park in this area.
My 18 year old was not feeling 100% yesterday and wanted to watch some home movies that were converted to dvd's recently. We had such fun watching her and her bro through the years. Both of my kiddos like to dance, so we saw plenty of action with various forms of grande plies and break-dancing. We sent away our videos for conversion, and really did not know the extent of material we had accumulated. Let's just say, it provides insight, laughter, and helps our kids see how they became who they are now. From every gymnastics meet, volleyball game, baseball game,soccer match, saxophone solo, ballet recital and karate exposition, they grew in confidence and voracity for life. A metaphor for my walking now, with each step I take my confidence is being rebuilt. From the initial bc diagnosis, I think that our confidence in our bodies becomes eroded and we have to start rebuilding from the inside out.
As always, thanks for your advice. Happy Birthday....
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You are right about the self-confidence, and it's more than our bodies. I think it takes about 3 years to make it to "better than ever". But the majority comes early on - it's just a long right tail to the "confidence curve". Walking helps. So does facing, and beating down, new challenges.
I don't recommend the "wiping out on bicycle" as a way to "recover from cancer" however. What is that we layer in new experiences and new joyous events, and life once again comes into balance. It does take work though, but I know you are more than up to the challenge.
It's been a most wonderful birthday. Can't wait to go skiing this weekend - provided I can get over the Cascades. The mountain passes are still closed as I write this; however, I am confident that all this will be a soggy memory by Saturday. - Claire
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hi everybody, sorry I don't post much I don't really come here much. I saw that I got a private message from Michelle but I can't respond to it so I will respond here. I had my surgery on Tuesday, bilateral salpingo oopherectomy, laparoscopic. I am still very whoozy from the anesthesia, my abdomen is aching and swollen. I've been trying to move around a bit, 3000 broken up steps a day. I actually drove yesterday, just around the corner to pick up my daughter from school. It wasn't easy but I had no choice. It's supposed to snow this afternoon I'm hoping it doesn't
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Sorry about that, Loves to Fly, I think I hit a wrong button as to whom I can receive messages from. I am glad that you are doing well. Just keep on moving and you will be grooving very shortly. I was surprised at how well I felt after surgery. Just started Tamoxifen, this is the second day at 10mgs. Progressing very cautiously to make sure my body does not reject the med. In a week or two, I will go up to 15 mgs, and proceed from there. For me, it is always about the process. How I do things is just as important as all of the other factors combined. I am a very incremental person, no drugs, no alcohol because I cannot tolerate feeling like I am having an out of body experience. My doctor laughed after surgery when I took just one 325 mg Tylenol, and later two 325 mg Tylenol. I tend to meditate and dig deep for recovery strength.
Thursday I did 9,100 steps and today, Friday, I did the same. I can't believe I am walking that far. About 4 miles a day. Thank you ladies, again for spurring me on to get moving before my surgery. It really made the difference.
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Good work, Michelle! I am off in the AM for my skiing adventure. The roads are now open so I should be able to get to the trails!!! Magical vistas lie ahead. Not to mention the FULL MOON on the snow which I hope to see. I am booked in for good eats
Conference today was amazing and so nice to see and hear the brilliant minds that are working on cancer. Big Data and Genomic Sequencing are the major breakthroughs. These allow us to treat the disease using personalized medicine as opposed to a "one size fits most" approach. That appears to be something like five years in the future.
I did mention that my own experience with breast cancer leads me to believe that we set the bar too low for many women post treatment. I still am sticking to my story of fabulousness. I wore my Chanel jacket to prove my point. Anyway, one of the women I know from these conferences wants to go skiing with me. I consider this to be a great compliment. Not to mention that we should have a BLAST!!!!
Off to bed as 4am will come sooner than I think..... - Claire
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Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day with another couple that we have known for 13 years. Our club on the lake had valentine 's day festivities and it was very nice. We have an amazing chef whose menu was steak, salmon or chicken. We had the salmon with a fruit type sauce, candied carrots, small tasty potatoes, with creme brule' for dessert. A jazz band played in the background and it was so much fun. I have been taking my 10 mgs of Tamoxifen at 4pm, which in the last two days, makes me tired by 9pm. I know not the ideal time, but I take a nap around 9pm for several hours, wake up, work for a few hour, and go back to sleep. I am hoping to merge my late nap with my insomnia time table and come up with a reasonable schedule. All in due time, I remind myselt. I hope everyone is having a super weekend and I can't wait to hear about the good times!!!
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My family and I saw Tesla in concert for the 2nd time last night. This marks 30 years for them and they always put on a great concert!
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Logang, looks so much fun. My nephew works for the company Tesla. I don't know much about the band. If you ask me about 70's and 80's music, some 90's dance music and country music, I might have an answer or two. My children were born to John Tesh at Red Rock and Vivaldi's Four Seasons. I enjoy 40's era jazz music, and was heavily influenced by my mother's musical interests of Benny Goodman, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and others. Hopefully, I have taught my children to enjoy all types of music including R & B, the legends like Johnny Cash, and current praise and worship music such as Hezekiah Walker. My niece is a Hip Hop and Ballad artist, out of Nelly's studio in St. Louis. She is very blonde with blue eyes, and looks very German, as does my son. I think of music like a salad bar, a little bit of mushroom, a whole lot of onions, heap on the tomatoes and spinach, top off with sesame seeds and raisins.
Okay, here is my walking rundown over the last few days: 2/9 9,100 steps, 2/10 9,100 steps approx, 2/11 5,727 steps (night on the town), 2/12 11,310 steps. Current daily average steps 8,442. As soon as I wake up, I walk 4,000 steps in my house, today 2/12 I did 5,000. I figure if I can do that at home, the rest is gravy. I think it takes me about 90 minutes to do 5 miles.
So far, I am taking the 10mgs of Tamoxifen, and for the second night in a row, I took a nap and woke up at 11:30pm. Trying to sync my insomnia with the Tamoxifen nap.....challenges....
Claire, can't wait to hear about your birthday trip!!
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Here are my step reports over the last few days, 2/13 10,078, 2/14 10,431! I can't believe I am reaching these numbers, but it takes a long time. Three weeks ago to the day, I had my hysterectomy, double oopherectomy. One week ago, I started Tamoxifen. Next week I will bump up my Tamoxifen in the morning to 10 mgs and take 10mgs at night. I might have to do this every other day to adjust. My body likes to adjust to meds, not be shocked by meds.
I am just finishing up a very nice piece of Chanel jewelry for someone special. It takes a couple of days to make each piece, but I enjoy the design work and configuration. I have some new handcut gemstones coming my way to create something new and spectacular. Sometimes, I have to rip apart a project, if I absolutely can't stand it, and start over from scratch. It seems, once ripped apart, my mind can focus on recreating the piece I imagined in the first place. I always make myself create a couple of projects, once the design is perfected. Does anyone else use a creative process like this?
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Hi back Michelle!!! I am trying to think how my creative process works. I am very visual, and usually process business problems in my head. Then the pieces land in an order that makes sense. I then draw it out in flow diagrams. I am also a cook and combine color, flavor, and textures to make yummy meals.
Congrats on all the walking. I think you are on your way, and that your body is thanking you. More progress as you get stronger post surgery. You should expect to heal back to the strong and vital woman you have always been.
I feel skied out and not at all ready to face today. I had the most glorious time, and the scenery is extremely special. I even snuck in 1.5 hours yesterday prior to the 5 hour drive back. My new skis are light and so much easier to manoeuver. Well worth the investment. I skied about 28 miles over 4 days. It hurts to sit down!!!
I came back with meat for my freezer from the local butcher (fortunately it fit!!!) and wine from the winery. Didn't make it to the cider place next door.
Need to get pix off my cell phone which I couldn't easily do when there as no service, and I didn't have the right connecting cable. The highlight was the moon on the hills which I was able to capture. Just breathtaking.
I feel beyond blessed to be able to do these things. Not to mention being fit and sculpted. Will post pix in the next day or so. - Claire
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Well, got my Dexa scan finished, proceeded by a short trip to St. Louis (1.5 hours each way) to get some phone's fixed, followed by a 10,654 step day. Only did 5,193 on the day I went to St. Louis. I have realized that Tamoxifen makes me tired and trying to sync it with my night time meds so I can sleep. Right now, if I take Tamoxifen at 9pm, I fall asleep for 2 hours, wake up for a few hours, and go back to sleep. So tonight, I am working on clearing off my jewelry work bench to begin a new project!! So, what is everyone doing this weekend?
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Didn't post yesterday as was brain-numb from all the recent activity, and didn't see the need to share my funk. So moped around while I worked on my market research segmentation project. I was in a total brain fog and completely drained. Something about "needing to pay the piper" and pay up I did!!!
Even though moping, I did fit in a 5k run in the sunshine. Very spring-like and lovely.
Today, as it was raining in the lowlands, I took my new skis and went skiing. It was snowing with fresh powder in the mountains, so glorious conditions. The trail groomer was out, so nicely packed too. I was able to do a trail I haven't been able to do in several years. I can't believe how light and fast my new skis are!!! My legs are talking to me big time as I did more than 5k of climbing, not to mention the long 8k or so downhill near the end. The bubble bath I took when I got home felt wonderful.
I will be doing a bit of catchup work tonight as I make my venison ragu Bolognese. I got the venison during my trip....the butcher GAVE it to me as he can't sell shot game. What a treat!!!
I also need to make sure I do my bit in celebration of "National Wine Drinker's Day".
Hunkering in to WORK for the remainder of the weekend. But the ski was fabulous!!! More to come. I want to do 20 or more skis this winter. Today's makes 17*. - Claire
* Noticed that my ski pants are looser as was my lighter running jacket yesterday.
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This weekend had been low key, with lots of walking averaging 9500 steps per day. Did some resale shopping and found a cute jacket/top by Sno Skins, found some great polish. We have had some very nice weather and beautiful sunsets. Still working on my desk area for design, and organization in general.
Do you see lots of pink tones0 -
A different evening and what pretty colors0 -
I have been keeping up my 10,000 step days, woohoo. Basically, I walk while talking on my speaker phone and kill two birds with one stone. Today was the day that I went up to 10mgs Tamoxifen in the am, and 10 mgs in the pm. I had some nausea earlier in the day and bought ginger chunks to nibble on. Still working on shifting my sleep schedule to something normal. I can't believe I am walking 10,000 steps per day....feels unreal. I have you ladies to thank for pushing me forward. Almost at the month mark since my hysterectomy/oopherectomy, and I am doing that many steps a day.
Praying everything goes smoothly with the Tamoxifen.
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Day 4 of increased Tamoxifen. Some nausea/hunger feelings which using ginger to treat (looking into ginger tea), a little tiredness but still hitting 10,000 steps per day. Working on my creative passion, jewelry design. Have a passion really keeps me going, no matter how I am feeling. As long as I have a project underway, that is where I focus my mind. I asked the nurse yesterday how long does the nausea usually last, she said a couple of weeks. Hopefully, I can get that under control soon.
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Today I started 50,000 units of Vitamin D, due to a deficiency. My MO made me do test, cbc, and then iron panel. I will get iron infusions starting next week, for 4 weeks. Being somewhat vegetarian, my iron stores have always been low. I eat chicken, fish, eggs, etc. I had no idea that I was deficient in any vitamins or minerals. Now, I know.
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I was deficient too, but went the take 10,000 units daily route. BLECH!!! This was when pills only came in 1000 units. Now you can get them for 5000 units. I still take 2000 units daily to keep levels up. This may help in other ways too.
I had a checkup with my new primary physician yesterday and all is well. I may have talked him into Nordic skiing!!! Otherwise, work and more work but today is (mostly) a day off. Skiing should be amazing so that is where I am headed.
I am NOT doing the Chilly Hilly cycling event tomorrow. Last year was the wettest on record, and it was beyond miserable. I will let others freeze in the rain and snow. I remember laughing at the end, because you could not have scripted more miserable cycling weather.
Today should be sunny and perfect for skiing!!! Can't wait to do the 5k downhill on my new, sexy skis.
Then a final birthday dinner with friends. They are cooking, but I made a tomato soup last night. - Claire
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Iron infusions start on Wednesday and I will have them for four weeks, just in time for Vegas. I don't tolerate gluten or dairy well, and that is associated with how well I absorb iron from foods and supplements. I saw my niece (a singer relocated to LA) and my nephew who took a new job at a high profile company in California, over the weekend. They are both excited to be leaving the midwest for newer territories. Other than seeing family, my weekend was pretty boring. I did see my mom at the rehab center for a couple of hours yesterday and she is doing great. At almost 88 she is working on her strength and stamina maintenance. I have been getting in my 10,000 steps a day, but it takes me so long. By the time I am finished I have walked 5 miles. Working on some pretty jewelry pieces, which I will show later. How is everyone else doing?
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Day #1, Iron infusion......my body feels like it licked an iron pole. Feel pretty weird with iron type taste in my mouth. Looking forward to getting my iron stores up. Meanwhile, one the design front, working on a pink piece which I will show you ladies later. Hopefully, you are all having a great week.
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Had a brutal week with all sorts of conflicting deadlines, but I am now past most of this, so things are greatly looking up!!! Nothing like making headway, but a couple of days ago, that looked like something that would never happen. I am also two days from more great skiing and I can't wait!!! What an amazing year, and so glad that I gifted myself with my new skis for my birthday!
As for iron stores, an overlooked source is shellfish, and at one time when I was just past chemo, I ate a lot of fried clams at Ivar's which I considered to be "health food".
Just got feedback that one of the things I worked on this week was a "home run". More to come. Wishing everyone a wonderful end to the week and fabulous weekend!!! - Claire
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Day #2 post iron I slept most of the day and did a quick grocery run tonight. I thought iron would have me up and energized, but it has to do its job or creating more red blood cells. That probably means that I am going to need more rest post iron. Tomorrow I am going to purchase a weight scale. I have the medical type (weight balancers) at my office, which I could bring home or get a digital. Any thoughts? I appreciate the input
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Something that slides under the whatever, is quick to stand on, has a large digital display, and is CHEAP!!! I got mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond several years ago and it works just fine. It needs the 9v battery replaced every few years. As good as it needs to be.
Headed to bed after a very long day. Glad not to have to go anywhere tomorrow (other than sneaking in a run). - Claire
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I purchased my new weight scale at Bed, Bath and Beyond and while I was there saw the cutest curtains. Even though we design and build, I never feel like my home is really put together. Until last May, I had been the mother of a high school student and my schedule revolved around hers. Then, boom, the bc diagnosis. One of my goals it to have a really put together, essential home, essential wardrobe and essential life. I am done with owning so much extra stuff, because extra "stuff" takes extra time. As I am thinking about my design conference in Vegas at the end of March, I wonder if I could travel with just a backpack? I would need an outfit for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I travel on Thursday and return later on Monday. So, I would wear an outfit on Thursday and could potentially layer stuff on to strip off later. I envy people that can think simple and easy. Help me out here...could I take just a backpack?
Last Wednesday after my iron infusion, I became tired until Friday. I recovered and had to take my mega 50,000 unit Vitamin D last night. I slept until late afternoon today. This stuff just knocks me out. My walking was non existent on Wednesday, March 2nd 3760, March 3rd 5500, March 4th 8700, and today, March 5th, 10,700. The iron infusion made me so tired I could not get my steps in. This week I will walk before I have the iron infusion, with plans to do minimal things on Thursday.
Thanks, Claire for weighing in one the scale (no pun intended)....hope everyone had a great weekend!!!
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Today is Iron Infusion #2. At least I know what to expect. I was nervous last week when I did not how I would feel afterwards. The infusion took the wind out of my sails for a couple of days. Thank God that I have one next week and get a 3 week break to finish my infusions. I bargained for not getting it the week before Vegas because I want to enjoy myself without fatigue. I have managed to keep up the walking with 10,000 on Sunday, 10,000 on Monday and over 7,000 today. I am going to try to walk before my infusion tomorrow, but it may not happen.
In light of all the drama in Washington, I have been reconsidering my original lumpectomy decision. With dense breasts, I am at a greater risk for bc generally. I have been really thinking about doing a mastectomy with immediate rebuild. My mammogram is in May, and I will have some answers then. My greatest fear is to need the surgery in a later year, and not be able to have one due to the insurance fiasco going on right now. I want to stay in good physical condition, just in case I go that route. Recovery would be easier, the better condition that I am in. Any one's thoughts??
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Well, iron infusion #2 was very easy. Did not have the stomach issues the day after, just felt fatigue for 2 days. Ended up getting out of the house on Friday and ran errands. Been working on this pink and black piece, since I want to wear some pink and not necessarily clothing. The stone was hand cut to my specifications and is encrusted with black spinel. The stone was my valentine's gift from my husband.
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