TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP

Hey you guys might be on to something.  I started to take my tamox in the afternoon or evening when I was used to taking it right in the morning when I got up.  I don't know if that is it but I will try and go back to taking it in the morning.  see if that helps.

soriya - echo percentages are subjective to a certain extent - it can vary according to who is doing the measuring, and the calibration of the machine.  As long as you are in a normal range you are probably fine, or have not dropped a large percentage between two of your checks.  Your drop is over the course of a year, and factoring in a minor measuring discrepancy, I think your onc will think it is ok.

livin - had this too - from Arimidex and it required a shot of cortisone to the knee.  That solved the problem, but I will warn you it hurts like a %$#^&, and if you had the steroid flush from chemo, you will def get it from this - my face was neon red for about 24 hours.

Living in sunshine...you are correct from now on, we all are at increased risk of clotting.  From an IV, A PICC line, a port, flying in a plane or a long car ride to name a few.  If you ever have unexplained swelling or pain in an arm or leg contacted your doctor.

LeeA..I did the 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse.  Book by JJ Smith.  She is a nutritionist that developed mercury poisoning from her dental fillings.  She came up with this and it is a detox.  As I had just finished chemo I wanted that poison out of my body. I am a marathon runner and not used to my body in this shape.  Weak and unresponsive. 

If you follow it well, it detoxes you from dairy, gluten and starches, caffeine and sugar.  And I don't know about you but all I wanted on chemo was sugar!!  Aas a nurse, when I looked the program it was all greens and fruits and you add protein powder or eggs and nuts, peanut  butter for protein, so I could not find fault with that.  Also, I was extremely swollen as I finished chemo and I wanted that water off.  I felt so bad.  There were girls at work that had done it and I watched how they did.  What I noticed was the one girl, her skin was glowing.  After chemo mine was tight and dry and drawn.  Now if glows too.  I have had several people comment on how great I look!  LOL  So next week about 8 ladies in my office are doing it together.  There is a full version and a modified too. 

What I can say is that I am less tired. My skin looks wonderful.  I am sleeping better though not like I did before my diagnosis. I feel more even through out the day, no sugar spikes from lots of bad carbs.

I still seem to have legs muscle weakness and aching.  I am not sure how much is due to the Taxotere or to the Herceptin. 

Soriya..mine MUGA scan/ Ejection Fraction dropped 5% on the first 3 month check. I was not happy.  I have returned to exercising and I hope that will help keep it more even

livin - no idea why the one knee - I also had triggers in random fingers/toes and one ankle, so who knows?  I had static (regular) x-rays, but no MRI or other type of imaging. I was treated by an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine. Cortisone solved the problem and it has not returned.  That is actually tied to princessrn's post - I am following a diet that is similar to hers, I have eliminated dairy, gluten, sugar, corn, peanuts, eggs and soy.  I use vegan protein powder.  I no longer have any joint pain, and I had a bunch, and the discomfort and swelling in my LE arm is way better.  I have lost the weight I gained on chemo from steroids and hormonal therapy (Femara, then Arimidex, then Femara again), which so far is 22 lbs. - I weigh less than before I started treatment.  The theory behind this diet some foods create inflammation that makes weight loss difficult, causes joint pain and GI issues.  I doubt that Herceptin is the culprit behind your pain, especially this late in the game.

princessrn -  my echos dropped marginally over the year of Herceptin, but rebounded once I was done. 

momx2 - my last chemo was 5/21/13 and I started tamoxifen in mid-November.  So, almost six months! 

princessrn, thanks for all the details on the detox!  It sounds great - especially the glowing skin part.  12 pounds and glowing skin would be a dream come true :-) 

livin-in-sunshine, while I was on Levaquin my right knee went haywire.  I'm not sure if it was the Levaquin or if it could have been the combination of the Levaquin with the Anastrozole.  Either way, it was so swollen I had to keep icing it and wore a brace for a few days.  Fortunately, it has since gone down and is almost back to normal.  I've read that Levaquin can cause tendonitis and the knees/shoulders are common areas for pain and I had problems with both areas. On the other hand, Anastrozole on its own is a bag of mixed tricks, at least for me.  There's that "I feel like I'm 80 years old when I get out of a chair feeling" but on the Levaquin it was more like "I feel like I'm 180 years old."  Heck, I never even thought about a blood clot! 

Congratulations, GIGIF - this is a big day!

i am going to study and try to give up gluten, but i cant give up peanut butter, or trader joe mango gummies.

dance-I also wondered about over treatment. Although about two posts after I wondered, someone posted about their friend who was early stage, no nodes, finished herceptin and didn't do anything and a year later was stage IV. 

I mentioned to my ONC about good quality of life and he told me I had to be alive to have quality of life. Lol. Funny guy, but it kind of put it in perspective. 

I can't figure out why we don't have to take these things the rest of our lives. If Tamoxifen blocks stuff, doesn't it just stop blocking it when you quit? And if AIs suppress, wouldn't we just go back to producing estrogen even if it is a small amount? Doesn't seem like they are designed to kill stuff permanently.

Fluff, my onc said almost the same to me when I asked about the chemo being cut back because I couldn't handle full strength. I asked him if it was still going to work and he told me "you have to be alive for any of it to work"! LOL yes. Perspective. 

Gigif, congrats!

Pbrain, Hugs. Yes. I think everyone has those very dark moments. When we think we see a light at the end of the tunnel and are quite sure it's a train. Sometimes it is and sometimes it's not. And I'm still gonna try to out run it til I cant!  Of course if it's just the end of the tunnel, I'll be running for a long long time! LOL

This thread is one of the fastest ones on the site! Although the dinner thread gives it a good run for the money! LOL

Much love to all. 

Have to respond to the falling EF on Herceptin. Soriya-your MO may have you take a break from Herceptin for a dose or 2. 57% is certainly within range but it is a drop from your baseline @ beginning of treatment. I always get twitchy when I read about a drop. I started @ 66% and did a slow drop to just below 50% with a couple of breaks and then a cardiac approval for my 2nd MX. Had a dose several weeks after surgery then an ECHO and a rapid drop to the low 30s high 20s and off Herceptin forever. It is very important to continue to have MUGAs or ECHOs-whatever your MO prefers throughout your Herceptin treatments-with follow-ups after. I  have been on cardiac drugs 9 months and am still very short of breath. EF up to mid 40s. Hoping to increase and be able to wean off some of the drugs. The weaning process will be slow. My oxygen saturation levels still occasionally run < 90%. And my BP got so low I was seeing black and dropping to the floor. A lot. 

As I have often said. It is the treatment that has really really tried to kill me. 

Good morning - I must say I have learned more in this thread about BC, my treatment, SE, surgery, the latest studies, and being strong, then I have from anywhere else on the forum.  You all rock!!  I think it is just one more positive to add to my triple positive - so I am now officially a quadruple positive!!   I hope that someday I can contribute like you all do - thanks again for sharing what you know with so many.  It is such a huge help - even the scary stuff. 

Hi Ladies, I've had a rough couple of weeks, and this morning, the two women I work with brought me flowers and a card to cheer me up.  I want to share with you because I know we all struggle and get down. 

efcjax - What a beautiful surprise!  

Susan - Thanks for the reminder about the followup echos/MUGAs.  I was supposed to have one in March and haven't scheduled it yet.  You've really gone through a lot and I hear you loud and clear on the treatment part, although in my case it's more the reconstruction.  I want a t-shirt that says "yes, they're fake - the real ones tried to kill me and the fake ones are trying to pick up where the real ones left off."  I hope you don't have extreme summer temps where you're located.  I think the going into cold air (AC) and outside (really hot) can be hard on the system, but that's just me. 

dance - You're right.  BC decisions really do suck.  I agonized over the micromet in one sentinel node and whether or not I did the right thing by not going back for an ALND and a lot of that came down to quality of life as well - plus, I didn't want to delay chemo/Herceptin any longer than I already had.  I read a few good quotes about uncertainty within the last few weeks (I read them here but I don't think it was on this thread).  There's a member on another thread who has decided to discontinue the AI because her husband is ill and she wants to be able to spend the time with him feeling as good as possible, i.e. traveling, etc.  Again, quality of life.