Starting Radiation October 2019
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You ladies are indeed my friends. You both got me through a really tough year. I can see now why folks linger on this website for years. Most of the names I know from this site don't come with faces. So, in my head, I create a persona and face for them. Many years ago, I was a consultant and traveled around the USA. I called a travel agent every Friday for to make arrangements. In my head, she was a short, brown haired, slightly plump lady. One day, after two years, we decided to meet at a restaurant. We didn't describe ourselves so I'm sitting in the restaurant waiting for this middle aged plump lady. To my surprise, a woman walks up to me and says my name. It was the travel agent. She was tall, 40s, blond hair, gorgeous and had tattoos everywhere. Not what I expected!
Anyways, thanks to you both for listening to all my stories and my whining from time to time.
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Kamboka - That is so funny because I do the same thing. If I hear somebody on the radio/podcast or I talk to them on the phone, I get a mental picture of what they look like based on the way they sound. It is usually totally opposite of what I was thinking. LOL. It sounds like you have led quite a life that not many people get to do? I am quite the homebody but now that I'm getting older, I want to travel and see more places. Do you mind traveling so much? Any word on the house yet?
Petite1 - Our "moment" anniversary is almost the same. My 2nd "anniversary" was 8/22/19. My first was 2/12/08. I went on a bus trip with my family the day after my 2nd dx on 8/23/19. It was the best thing for me because it got my mind off of it and I got to see things that I never saw before and look at the beauty, marvels, and tragedies we have/had in this country. Puts things in perspective during a hard time.
We got news yesterday that our cat's kidneys are failing and there is nothing we can do. It's so sad. Lots of crying because he was my buddy and is my son's best friend. Hard to see an almost 18 year old crying, without it ripping my heart out. We don't know how long he will live. He is pretty alert but isn't drinking a lot and we have to force feed him because he is not eating on his own. We will see.
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mocame, I am sorry to hear about your kitty. My elderly cat, Miss Felix, is about 22 yrs. She is diabetic, has hyperthyroidism, arthritis, and dementia. (Just like aging people) It will be a sad day when she uses up her nine lives. She and Louie are our children, as we don't have any of the 2 legged kind. My thoughts are with you.
Kamboka, How is it up there in DC? The news looked pretty crazy, last night. Such a shame. Hope you are safe.
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mocame: So sorry about your kitty. I am highly allergic to cats but used to have them anyways.
I love their independence. I'm sure you are doing everything to make the kitty comfortable. I think I started traveling over 30 years ago. It was more fun then since planes weren't crowded, no security checks and safer countries. Now, I'm actually tired of traveling and I guess I'm ready to be a home body. I got news yesterday that I was being put back on a portfolio as an overseas person to one of our countries. I guess the good news is that I probably won't have to travel there since the country is shut down. And, I'm seeing that many countries are not wanting Americans since our numbers are staying high.The house went through appraisal on Monday. My agent said the report could come back within three days or it could take a week. I'm hoping that I get it tomorrow. The seller would not negotiate with me last week for repairs. However, my agent sent me a text today saying the seller was willing to leave any furniture at no cost. He has a few really nice pieces so I said, I'd take everything he didn't want. (I have no furniture to my name and was going to have to buy everything--albeit at thrifty stores. I love thrifty shopping) Anyways, I hope the appraisal is on target and I can proceed.
petite1: I live about 8-9 blocks from the White House. Most of the activity is in that area. Since weekend before last, no protests have come through my street. Every weekend the police have a truck blocking off my road. I next worry about the 4th of July. Last year, it was so nice to walk to the parade and be happy with everyone. Now, that will probably not happen. I'm so disappointed that some people want to destroy our beautiful capital. There is a better way to do things.
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Petite1 - 22 years old! Wow! She is living a nice long life! Our cat, Sparkle (it's a boy, kids named him when they were little thinking he was a girl. LOL) is 13 years old which is an average age, I think, for a Maine Coone. Monday night we didn't think he would make it through the night but he did and it seems like he is the most energetic in the morning.
Kamboka - I hope you get to stay put in the US and everything goes well with the house and the appraisal comes back where you need it to be. It saddens me to see all the historic monuments and areas be destroyed. My opinion only, but I feel they are there to tell a story, good or bad, and for us to learn from. It is our way of showing others later in life, what to do or not to do in the future. Does that make sense? So sad. I pray that you stay safe through all of this. I miss everyone being happy with everyone else, no matter what their opinions are. Too much divisiveness.
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Kamboka, I am glad you are safe. I have been to DC once, in 1990. I hate what is going on. It saddens me. Hopefully you will soon be in your new home. I love shopping at thrift stores. I have 2 junking friends and it is definitely the thrill of the hunt. LOL
mocame, The Maine Coons I have seen are big, beautiful cats. I have heard that male cats have more kidney problems for some reason. My little black cat, Midnight Louie, doesn't drink as much water as Miss Felix. I worry that he will have kidney problems.
Today is day 2 of the new roof process. It is very noisy and the worse is yet to come. They are still in the removal stage.
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Ladies, my appraisal came back on target! The lender called and said we are on track and asked for more documents. It's neverending. I'm hoping that in three weeks, it's a done deal. I will fly back to Jax to sign papers and hopefully do some cleaning. The house is actually immaculate. I'll just get a one time cleaning and carpet cleaning to make me feel better since boatloads of folks have traipsed through the house in the last three months.
mocame: I agree with you about our history. Some of it's not good but we can't erase history. I work in countries where that is what they do. We are not them and shouldn't do what they do. It seems like there is calm tonight d/t an afternoon rain. Yeah for rain!
How is the kitty doing today? Able to eat or drink?
Three of my colleagues want to meet tomorrow for early dinner at an outside restaurant. I agreed but now I'm worried that we won't be sitting six feet apart. Luckily, DC is on the decline. I think we only had 50 or so cases yesterday.
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Same here reading about the vein damage. I had the port taken out after completing chemo. I really hated it. It hurt, pain radiated throughout my shoulder, tube would tickle my heart and make me crazy. But I was also anxious about it. That was the worst part. So it's out. But I have 9 months of Herceptin injections to do. The infusion nurses are not going to be happy that the port is gone. And I'm hoping my hands can tolerate the infusions.
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Petite1 - A new roof in summer heat! Ugh! I hope it gets done quickly.
Kamboka - Yay! I'm glad the appraisal came back where you wanted it. I'm so happy for you!
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Kamboka, That is good news.
mocame, Day 3 of the new roof. Constant pounding. My poor little black cat is so terrified. Not only is he under the bed, he made a hole under the boxsprings. When this is over, I will staple it back. How is your kitty?
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It was so nice to go out and have dinner with my three colleagues. We all had masks but it's hard to eat with masks on so they mainly hung around our necks. The weather was not to hot for 5 pm and one of my colleagues walked me home. I do miss my clique of colleagues from work.
petite1: I can imagine the roof noise is driving you crazy. One day, they were doing some roadwork outside my window. The drilling noise almost drove me to drink! I couldn't concentrate on anything but that sound.
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Petite1 - My cat is still here but is slowly losing strength in his legs and he threw up yesterday morning. That being said, he was up and walking around more yesterday than he had for a while. We will see.
So, last night was the first night I took Effexor instead of Amitriptylin for my migraines, achiness, and hot flashes. It was a horrible night and morning so far. I was dealing with some acid reflux during the day yesterday. Last night I had eaten some food and then about 45 minutes - 1 hour later took the Effexor. I know I'm supposed to take it with food but since my stomach was full, so I thought that would be okay. I spent almost the whole night feeling very nauseous, couldn't sleep (only got 3 hours total), I got a headache, was dizzy when I got up to go to the bathroom, and uptight (almost jittery) and just tossed and turned. This morning I am fuzzy headed, tired, and still not feeling well. I'm assuming the acid reflux contributed to the nauseaousness but I never had this problem on Amitriptylin. I had a very busy day planned and I don't have much energy to do anything. I found out they didn't start me on the lowest dose of Effexor, and I tend to react to medications, so maybe that was some of it too.
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mocame, That sounds miserable. I hope your body will adjust to it.
Kamboka, We did have a bottle of wine last night. LOL At least it is done.
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Well, we ended up putting our cat to sleep this morning. Everything happened so quick. Right after I did the above post, I heard him meowing and he was just laying there. He kept trying to get up and walk but wouldn't get far and lay down again and he barely acknowledged us. We knew it was time but it was very hard to say goodbye. Lots of tears for my big furball.
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mocame:
So very sorry about your kitty. I can only imagine how sad the family is now. At least know that kitty is not in pain any more.Sounds like you did not have a good night. Maybe it was something you ate instead of the medication. If you pill is one that can be halved, maybe you can reduce the dose for a few days and work your way back up. If not, call the MO and get them to reduce the dose. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to get evened out on the medication before the majority of bad side effects go away. I'm hoping it can work for you. They can also try another SSNRI that might be better for you if this one doesn't work. I do feel like my Celexa helped with the hot flashes and even my mood.
petite1: Congrats on the new roof and the reduction of noise!
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Kamboka - I think part of the problem was my reflux, although I haven't eaten anything out of the ordinary. Maybe the stress of the past few weeks? But I have felt fuzzy headed, really fatigued and not right all day which I think is due to the medication. I had already decided to take just half a pill tonight so you mentioning that just reinforced my decision.
Petite1 - Congratulations on the new roof! Now you can relax and enjoy the quiet!
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mocame, I am so sorry about your kitty.
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mocame: Let's see how you do with the reduced dose. I hope it works.
I've been moved to a new job assignment starting tomorrow for the next five weeks. It might be more work and I do know it's another learning curve for a few weeks. My mind is just on getting my house so I'll have to be more disciplined. Today, I booked a GYN appointment in Jax. I will wait a few more weeks before booking the Oncology visit since I don't need the mammo until the end of September. I don't think they have as long a wait time to get an appointment as DC. My primary takes about 6 months.
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Kamboka - Can you do this new job assignment from home or will you have to be traveling some? I hope Jacksonville has good doctors that you like. It's nice that you can get appts quicker.
So, today is the 2nd day that I am only taking 1/2 a pill of Effexor and today should be interesting to see if I notice any differences in achiness or hot flashes while at work. Yesterday, I didn't have dizziness or fatigue but I did have periodic nausea, especially after I took my pill last night. About an hour after I took it and I was feeling fine, I got hit with sudden nausea that made me stop what I was doing. I also am now really restless when I go to bed and I can't stay still for more than a couple of minutes. So, I've only been getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep the past couple of nights. Ugh! I haven't had many hot flashes. Just times that I get warm and wonder if it's a hot flash or just stuffy and humid because it's summer. Hoping the side effects die down.
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mocame: Could some of the side effects be withdrawal from your other med? Seems like nausea, HA and dizziness might be. I guess it could be a combination of withdrawal and new side effects. Hang in there and see if it can level out. I am lucky. I take all my meds in the afternoon and have not had any problems. I get the occasional hot flash but it's usually due to the environment getting too hot. I have sensitive skin now and get red itchy spots quickly but they go ahead.
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Good morning, Ladies. The A/C broke, so it was a very hot night. The A/C repair guy was out here at first thing this morning and now it is fixed. Just a minor repair. Thankfully.
mocame, How are you doing today?
Kamboks, New job assignment and new house. Wow
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petite1: aren't you lucky to get the repairman out so quick! It is miserable without air. I sometimes have flashbacks of when I lived overseas in places without constant electricity. I remember laying in bed trying to sleep but all I could think about was how hot I was. Makes me appreciate electricity!
I think I'm still on track to close on in a few weeks. I need flood insurance because aobut a foot of the house is in a flood zone. I now need to pay some hundreds of extra dollars to get a survey. Always something.
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Kamboka, Some of the houses I have had in Florida have needed flood insurance and some have not. Is the flood insurance something the mortgage company or bank is asking for? I have moved around alot, but we also are landlords. We have been selling them off and are now now to 3. Nothing is in a flood zone. Elevation survey or boundary?
mocame, Are you sleeping better? I hope the SE's settle down and you can get some rest. Is the new med regime working?
I am PCP visit Thurs. to go over labs.
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petite1: The insurance company says they can't write the policy until they get the elevation certificate and the lender says they can't lend until I get flood insurance. At least the lender is trying to get a copy of the certificate from the seller's lender. I hope he can get it as it's cheaper that way than to have a new survey. Tomorrow, my agent goes to the house for my wind mitigation survey. She'll let me know what, if anything, the seller left me. I hope he leaves everything. He had some nice furniture and I have nothing!
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Petite1 - I'm so glad you got your a/c fixed and quickly too. It is so hot right now! We don't have central air. We have one a/c unit on our 1st floor and we just put a unit in our bedroom window. Otherwise, we just use fans. I've been trying to talk my husband into getting central air due to my now increased internal body temperature (Haha!) but he is looking at the amount of $ it would cost to put it in and says no for now. Bummer.
Kamboka - I hope the seller left you a lot! Is a lot of Florida in flood plains or is the need for flood insurance due to potential effects from hurricanes?
I put two calls into my MO's nurse yesterday to talk about the Effexor I'm on. My aches and pains are mostly gone with this drug. My hot flashes are better (not as frequent or intense) but I still get them. The bad side...I am sooo tired in the mornings that I have a hard time concentrating and getting things done at work. It gets better as it goes into the afternoon and evening. My acid reflux has gotten worse and I still get sudden intense nausea at times. I still get fuzzy-headed sometimes too. Also, two nights ago, I woke up twice feeling like I couldn't get enough air. I don't know if I was having a panic attack (Like I was hyperventilating but I've never had a panic attack so I'm not sure) or if it was something else. When I would move around, it would get better. Weird.
I have Friday off of work due to the July 4th holiday (Yay!) so I'm excited to have a long weekend. No big plans for July 4th besides doing some sale shopping at the local outlets and going to see my parents. Some of my family haven't seen them since February due to Covid.
What are you doing for the holiday?
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Kamboka, Hopefully, you get most of the documentation without too much out of pocket $$. The flood insurance is due to flooding, not hurricanes. We lived in an area on the Gulf that would flood when it was full moon and high tide. It was beautiful, but we got tired of having to plan trips to town around the tides and moon. The house was on stilts, so it was high and dry, but the streets would flood. I do hope the seller leaves you some furniture. That would be great.
mocame, That sounds miserable. When do you follow up with the doctor? I am going to the PCP today for lab follow up. I am going to talk to him about antidepressants. I am just not myself with all that is going on with me and the world. Will let you know what happens.
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I actually had a decent day today. I hope that continues. I was just a little tired but not much more than normal. My reflux is still there but better than yesterday. I wonder if I continue taking it my side effects will get better. We will see. My MO nurse never got back to me so I will have to wait anyway.
Question for both of you...A few of times now, I have heard people label Tamoxifen, Anastrozole, etc. as chemo drugs. Have you ever heard them called chemo drugs before? None of my doctors have ever mentioned that to me but now that I have heard it a few times, it makes me wonder why people say it.
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mocame: Glad today was better for you. I hope the tiredness goes away. I was very lucky with Celexa and had no known side effects. It also helped my mood which is great considering the times that we are living in now. Your husband will need to get that central air of get A/C for each room. If men had one hot flash, they would understand. Did you ever get that towel that you wet and it stays cool? I used that for two months when I had terrible flashes before starting on Celexa. I just ordered some hat off the internet called Artic hat. It's supposed to keep your head cooler since it has reflectors and uses water. I'll see how that works.
petite1: I talked to my agent today and she said it was really hot in FL. I hope you got your A/C fixed. She said that the seller left me a few things. He left all his office furniture, half his patio furniture and a few other odds and ends. I was so hoping he would leave a bed or two. In the contract was the W/D and the hot tub so anything else is just icing on the cake. On the other hand, I get to shop. I've been on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace and see loads of nice furniture at reasonable prices. The problem is that I can't really buy anything until I get there to pick it up. That will be the first week of August. Now, I won't get to buy a new refrigerator since I'll have to spend money on furniture. I'm planning on painting my appliances and I'll have to do the fridge as well. My new house will be a hodgepodge of thrifty store, yard sale and give aways.
I'm off tomorrow. I might walk around the block. On Saturday, I am planning to walk down to see the fireworks. I am more hesitant nowadays since it's not as many people out roaming the streets as it ususally is in DC in tourist season. I'll not take any money wiht me.
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mocame, I am glad you are doing a little better. I have heard that, but I guess most drugs are "chemo" unless they come from animals or plants.
Kamboka, Yes the A/C is fixed. It has been very hot and humid. It is overcast and ready to rain. I love junking. I bought a bunch of stuff on auction and have to pick it up today. They do it online and not in the auction house due to COVID.
PCP visit went OK. He increased my thyroid medication and I am to start an antidepressant. My body weight has increased 10 percent in a very short period of time. Hope this works.
Happy 4th to both of you. Stay safe.
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mocame: I was told that we are no only immunosuppressed after we finish chemo. The AIs are anti-estrogen and shouldn't cause that effect. I guess you condition depends on what your blood count is. Mine has popped back to normal.
petite1: Hope the rain cools it off a little. It's been nice here in DC. Good luck with the anti-depressant. Some of them can cause weight gain and others weight loss. So far, I've not gained with the AI/Anti-depressant combo. I surely haven't lost any weight in the last six weeks.
I did get my approval for the weightloss surgery. They had me scheduled for mid August. I had to cancel that date since I'm moving. The office said I could still have the surgery in DC and do my check up by teleconference. I'm now rescheduled for October. I'll see if I can work out of the DC office for a few weeks. That is, if the office is back open.
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