Bottle 'o Tamoxifen

June2268

Sherry So glad you have a great boss, and that you can be there for your parents......So many of us have so much on our plates it's a wonder we keep it all together.....I am thinking and praying for you my friend and more importantly sending you a great big HUG!!!!!  Please keep us posted.

Sandee hope your doing well today.....

Haven't had the chance to talk to my Dad yet as the house is always chuck full.  I will be seeing him on Monday, so maybe then...

Cool day here today, but heck there is no snow or rain so I will take it......hugs to you all.....

phxsunshine

Hi Ladies, I have missed all of you the past couple of months.  I lost 2 people I love very much, one to suicide, only 22, and my brother, who had not spoken to me the past 5 1/2 years because I voiced my concern over his alcohol consumption, named me his medical power of atty 6 weeks before he died of cirrhosis on 30 March.  I felt like I fell into a swamp and could not find solid ground. But I'm doing better now, and how I know is that the Jehovah's Witnesses came to my a week ago, and I saw them through the peephole and I answered the door anyway!

Good news to share is I had my first post procedure mammo on 1 April and it was clean!!!  Now, I have a problem that I need your help with.  My right calf muscle is very sore, from about 1/2 way up my calf to the back of my knee, and only that leg.  Couldn't hardly walk right when I got out of bed this morning and it is still sore.  Has anybody else experienced this?  Of course I, right away, thought about blood clots, but I've read up online and don't think that's it.  I also read some people suggested tonic water - any thoughts you have I'd sure appreciate hearing from you. 

Sandeeonherown

Sunangel-that is why I signed up for apersonal trainer in December...I wanted to lose weight but more than that, I needed to ensure i did not gain weight!.....going off Tami has shown me that it was keeping he weight on me and was hiding my sleep from me...the nurse in the cardiac wing said 7-12 pounds ...everything else I have read said 5-15...but if it keeps cancer away....right?

Sherry- Soooo sorry to hear about your dad....soooo glad your boss has stepped up and is doing the right thing...gives me hope....I am thinking that once my mammogram and cardiac stuff is over that it will be time for me to go...I am really disappointed with how things have turned out at work...18 years is a long time to give to a private school and only get 5 paid sick days when your key person has a heart attack....think I might be done

pinkie- I understand the no drinking thing...but now that it is my heart , time for a glass of red wine...went and bought a bottle for the holiday weekend....not tha it will all get drunk bu tgood to have it on hand should I decide to put on my jammies, watch "off the map" and have  half a glass....hmm...sounds like something I should do in between threads!

Sandeeonherown

phxsunshine- oh my ......such sorrow this spring...so sorry you have had to deal with all of this...but so delighted to hear that your mammogram went well...blood clots are possible (given I had a heart attack from a blood clot 4 weeks ago...and was taken off Tamoxifen as soon as my oncologist heard)...so please go and check it out...not to be messed with my dear

phxsunshine

Oh, nooooo, Sandee, I was reading some of the thread, but I had missed too much, now I know what happened to you. Oh, God, Girl, I am so sorry to hear that.  I will phone my Doc in the morning and ask to be seen.  Did you have any symptoms ahead of time?  I'm so glad you are still here typing away.  That makes me glad at least.

Sandeeonherown

phxsunshine- I was exhausted....absolutely, 1000% wiped out..thought I was finally (albeit late) getting radiation fatigue and pushed my way through it...exercize 3x that week, walking to and from work....working my typical insane week....had acid reflu the week before one night- tried to sort out what I had eaten....nothing that shoud have caused that...carrot soup?? bu the night of the hart attack, I woke up at 2am...again a bit of a burning feeling in my throat...my left collar bone was aching....the left side of my neck was aching...and then I felt heat in my left shoulder...the heat turned to pain...intense 12/10 pain....by then, I had already called 911 and opened my door and put on a sweater over my jammies..the things you think of!but i had googled women and heart 4 nights before because something seemed 'off' to me....so...thrombosis is possible....so is cramping in the legs form tamoxifen...but get it checked out to be sure, hmm?

and thanks....I am glad to be typing away here too...I was supposed to be away on vacation and all I could think of when I woke up in my hospital room was' dear god...this could have happened on a mountain top in Nepal...this would hav ebeen a very different scenario"...there was no damage done to me heart so I am a very very fortunate woman. 

Sherryc

pxsunshine so sorry you have had such a rough spring time.  I have one brother who has a terrible alcohol and drug problem.  He always calls when he wants help.  I finally got him into a rehab program and he stayed 5 days and caught a ride home.  When I got bc I finally told him he had to take care of himself I just could not do it any longer.  It was time for him to take care of himself.  It is so hard to deal with them when they don't want to help themselves.  Do check into to blood clot thing.

I had a terrible leg cramp last night.  First one since being on tamox 2 1/2 months but I have heard others having that side effect.  It was painful hope it does not happen again.

thanks for all the prayers for my Dad.  Went to see the MO today and he does in-fact have colon cancer as well as lung cancer.  So he will have surgery on Tuesday to remove the colon cancer because it is bleeding.  If they try to do chemo for the lung cancer it will cause the bleeding to get worse and the MO said he would die from bleeding before he would die from the cancer.  So surgery it is.  Three weeks of healing and then they will start chemo on the lung cancer and will then have path back on the colon cancer and decide what to do about that as well.  So my dad has had two different lung cancers and not colon cancer.  The odds of someone getting three primary cancers are so rare so leave it to my dad to to it.  He use to be a heavy drinker ( does not drink at all now) and said jokingly today he thought maybe the alcohol kept him from getting cancer before.  He likes to joke and as long as he is still joking that makes me feel good.

phxsunshine

Sherryc, I will be keeping you and your dad in my prayers.  You take good care of yourself.  I ended up in the ER a month ago with an extremely high pulse and blood pressure.  They did every test on me, including a CT scan of my head and the good news is, there is no medical reason that that happened, except for stress.  My Doc put me on Xanax and then tripled it when I had to go to my brother, when it was near the end.  I was waiting to get better, but there was no more time for me to, because he was at the end.  I'm weaning myself off of it now.  They told me that I have more than enough stress with just the cancer.  The suicide was a friend of my son's who lived with us their Sr year of HS, 4 years ago, because his family is such a bunch of crap.  He shot himself the day before my daughter was married, we just didn't find out until we got home from Texas and I think, God in His infinite mercy, kept it from us, or we would have all been unable to attend, I swear.  So 6 days after the happiest of days, I'm sitting beside the grave of this fine young man, digging my hands in the dirt that blankets him and crying like a baby.  I guess God thinks I am pretty strong now, huh.  Not as strong as I think sometimes, so you be careful and baby yourself. This is going to be hard on you.

Sandeeonherown

phxsunshine- .........strength comes in a variety of packages....that boy was lucky to have had you in his life..your brother too. You cannot help someone who does not want to help themselves...sad but so incredibly true...and even then, when they hit bottom again or want to use, you cannot stop them with your love or your anger or anything else if it is the path they choose....I am sorry for your losses because not only is it sad and senseless but that it adds to the burden you already carry. don't feel guilty about the Xanax too....it has helped you through and will help keep things in perspective while you cope...it will get better...it is the gift of time....I hope your son is doing ok...a lot to shoulder. Glad that your trip to the hospital showed no medical reason..but stress is a medical reason. With my cardiac event, I am now going to a stress classs for 5 weeks...they teach relaxation techniques...and talk about the causes of stress (emotional, physical, financial, grief, daily hassles, etc)....you have a lot going on. Let me know if you want me to pm you the strategies he suggested.....You arelikely doing them already...you are a lot stronger than you feel you are...

sunangel27

(((((((((((((((((((Sherry))))))))))))))))

I am so so so sorry you are going thru all this but so thankful for you that your boss is being so understanding!! That is awesome to hear. I have been fortunate to have the same type boss thru all this.

Rest well tonight! 

marlegal

Wow, just went to Active Topics and found this one, and see some friends and some really awesome posts. Obviously couldn't read all, but a few thoughts to share.

Tamox - I did tamox for 3.5 yrs, then aromasin for 1.5 then .... just this week ... got the go ahead to finish my bottle of aromasin and that's it - done - no more!!!!

Leg cramps - muscle pain - that is definitely the tamox ... I literally would wake in the middle of the night screaming and jump out of bed trying to walk it off - sorry, but usually took quite a while.  The good news is that as soon as I went from tamox to aromasin (when postmenapausal) that stopped.  I used to get leg cramps before BC, and I still get the occasional one now, but nothing at all like when I was on tamox.

For those dealing with family issues and other heartaches, including the suicides, my heart goes out to you. I just hope and pray...and you are all in my prayers daily ... that things get better for you soon.

Hugs roomies.

Caroline-H

Interesting about the leg cramps. I've had them too, a sharp pain in the middle of my right calf, and sometimes in my left. An ultrasound came up negative for blood clots (yea!). Experienced them more two months after starting Tammy, but they've decreased and stopped since. I'd since attributed them more to exercise, as my massage therapist noted that three main muscles converge at that spot. But from your experiences it sounds like Tammy is also quite likely the culprit.

sunangel27

Caroline...... I get them too and even had to go have the ultrasound to find out if it was a blood clot and thankfully it wasn't. My primary dr. didn't want to take a chance at not finding out that it might have been one.  Yes, to me they are extreme every once in awhile since I have started the tammy. I have been on it for three months now, have had this happen three times.... and yes, I did have them before but very seldom and NOT as severe!

Sandeeonherown

mine were not severe either....more of a charliehorse in the middle of the nigth so I wold immediately put my foot on the cold wall beside my bed....made thte cramp go away (?)..no idea why it works for me but it does....so maybe a cold compress that you keep int he freezer would help the cramp go away faster?

phxsunshine

Thanks for your prayers, your thoughts and your suggestions.  I went to bed with bad calf pain and woke up and it was barely noticeable and by noon it was even gone to the touch. Very weird indeed and I blame cancer.  Sandee, I am doing tension relieving exercises that they offer at  Luke AFB's mental health clinic.  Ladies, these are awesome, you can look them up yourself at www.traumaprevention.com.  You are so right about getting rid of stress. I have had a lot of time to think about many things in my life that are like piles of dirt I have been stepping around instead of cleaning up. I'm cleaning them up now, I am empowered.  Nothing makes me afraid anymore. I was so ashamed of my life growing up, but I have figured out, it was not our fault and I have laid the shame down and left it there.  It's not my burden to carry anymore.  Those Xanax were lifesavers when I needed them, but I don't think I need them anymore.  I am down to .25 mg a day for the past 2 days and I will be done in a couple of weeks at the latest.  I'm keeping them around though, just in case, and nice to know there is something that can keep me from stroking out whenever the shit hits the fan again.  But I'm pretty sure that there will never be another 2 months like this in my life ever again.  The odds are astronomical for this to have happened in the first place.  

Now, here's something I want to share with all the Hot Flash Girls. I have found through trial and error that I don't have hot flashes if I don't eat sugar, or hardly any. I had a tsp of honey in my oatmeal yesterday and one butter cookie with 2 grams of sugar in it and I have not had a hot flash in over 48 hours. This happened once recently and I did not want to admit it was the lack of sugar that did it, because I love a little bowl of ice cream and chocolate sauce with peanuts from time to time.  Figured I could get away with it because I am officially skinny now.  My Rad Onc told me to "eat" three times this past week when I saw her.  I am what I weighed my Jr year of HS now, but I feel fine, I just don't eat when I am stressed and man, have I been.  So, just what you wanted to hear when the Easter Bunny is set to make the rounds.  But there you go.

 Hope you all have a blessed Easter. All my hugs, love and prayers go out to all my sisters here. 

Sandeeonherown

phxsunshine- ok...I will check out that website in a few minutes...always looking for exercizes that will help...I spent part of today o abeach by myself with a book....one you might enjoy given what you just said "the women we become" by Ann G. Thomas (Prima publishers)...was my christmas gift from my dear friend who walked this journey 6.5 years ago.....lots of buttons being pushed...all good...learning to let go ..as I dsaid to a friend last night..."I am very good at holding on and not giving up but I am not very good at letting go"....where did my spontaneity go? Need to get that back...clearly.....as for eating.....we need our strength....and when we are stressed, some eat and some don't....maybe keep your happy food around so even if you are too stressed to eat a big meal, you can niblle and keep your energy up. good for you on the xanax!!....weaning yourself off is a better option than jus being done with it and then having to cope with that!

hugs to you

tinkertude

Hi Ladies... just checking in... so much to catch up on.....

Sandee hope your feeling good and taking care of yourself.... hugs

Sunangel.... hi there good to see you on hear

marlegal  that is fantastic you are almost done good for you!!!!!!!!!!

sunshine ...thanks for the website I will be checking it out~

Sandeeonherown

Tink- How is your daughter doing? How are you doing?

heartnsoul76

You ladies have a lot of wisdom to share, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. I actually take notes and re-read the parts I really need to absorb, especially how to treat ourselves better! Thank you for all the recommendations and big HUGS for your strength and bravery!

tinkertude

SANDEE... sent you a pm..... love the new profile pic!

Tink

Sandeeonherown

Thanks Tink- Ecuador...and it really and truley looked like that. No modifications....thought at the time that experiencing a sunset like that would never get boring, even if it does happen most nights! I have answered your PM:)

Sherryc

Back from camping and had a great time with one of my high school friends.  She is going through a divorce and came and had dinner with me and DH.  It was nice to visit with her.  Her soon to be ex is not very nice and is giving her such a hard time.

Sandeeonherown

So hard....splitting up is hard in any way you shake it....when people are jerks about it, it is so unnecessary. How can people forget the love that brought them together? I never have understood it...She is lucky you were with her this weekend. Friends help.

Sherryc

Sandee I just don't get how people can end up being so nasty some times.  My friend is such a sweet person and has dealt with alot with her soon to be ex.  I hope that she will be able to find someone that can treat her the way she deserves to be treated.  Of course when the time is right for her.

Sandeeonherown

yeah....but as we get older, the time is a touchy thing....I have sixtten under my belt...hard to let go to let someone else in....been working on it for 18 months and still not there. I wish her better luck....sometimes if the person was an asshole it is easier to let go because you go through the angry stage which propels them from you....I just want to run...and am close to doing it....don't want our meetings to be hook ups to catch on the last month of life of chatter...we nevef did chatter...i do not want chatter....I hope your friend has a clear picture of what she wants...that will help.

sgreenarch

Hi, i am new here, been on T since september. Nice to read your suggestions and see that i am not alone or crazy (ok, maybe a bit.) Sorry to commiserate.



Ive had the usual hot flashes, stiffness, Joint pain, etc. Now having yeast infections. Think thats from the T? Any suggestions. Med is gross and not working. YAY.



Thanks, shari

chabba

Welcome shari.  I know this is a place none of us want to be but it is a good place for those who are in our situation,.

I've never been prone to yeast infections, only a couple of them in my life and probably 30 years since the last.  Like you I've been on tammy about six months.  I  seem to have developed on and will be calling the Dr Monday.  I'm sure it must be related, if not why now?  And I have heard a couple of others mention it here some time back.  Sorry I can't help you now but I'm sure someone else can help us both.

pinkcandy001

Dear all, hope u are all having a fab easter, with lots of chocie

Went to onco recurrence rate 96.1% without tamo or similar, was in hell of alot of pain when i went (constipated, swollen, stomach cramps, dry bleeding heels) so very bad tempered.  Short appointment. Not pleased as the splash from radio is all up my chest and neck, broken red blood vessels and spots, she said it isnt the radio - BULLSHIT.

They took me off tamo cause of family heart history - which i did tell them about in the first place. They did another blood test for post meno - had one 3 months ago, which i already discussed with them.  Did i feel as if i achieved something - HELL NO.  Did i get anywhere - HELL NO.  Now i have to wait for bloods, and then see what hormone tabs they will stick me on.  Am i getting pissed off with being sick, feeling tired, does it piss me off - probably but never mind.

Good thing is my boyfriend brought me an easter egg (only meet him after i fpund out about BC, and he is very patient caring person), got chatted up by a young guy on the Barclays Bank telephone line, wore a sexy dress which was nice and summery and very sheer, so i wore really nice sexy knickers underneath, decided that if i feel well enough in a couple of months time i shall maybe get a nice bottle(s) of red wine, cause ive not had a drink in a year.

Rang my mother in Aussie, and said after we chatted - "u know i love u dont u", and "I do miss u".

My kids are being perfect (and they are 13/17 both boys), the dog who is 13yrs old now just sleeps, and follows me around - so I DO FEEL BETTER ABOUT SOME THINGS IN LIFE. HELL YES.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, and speak soon.

Love this site - always good to LET IT ALL HANG OUT.

Pinkie

PS: Onco said no to any soya products while on tamo etc, a no no apparently.

Sandeeonherown

sgreenarch acidolophogus (or however you spell it)..you can get it inthe health food store or grocery store. Helped immedialtey with the yeast thing

pink- my BS and onco said not to soy as well...no point risking it...moved back to cows milk but organic skim only....yeah....tamoxifen and family heart problems not a good combo apparently...or so my heart attack seems to indicate so....i am wih you. they are testing to see if my estrogen levels have changed since november to see if they can put me on anything this summer.might say no regardless....between the heart meds, the angina and the fear...don't know if I want anything else in this body i am currently calling a host!

sgreenarch

Thanks to all for the acidophilus recommendation. I will run and get some. Gyn prescribed yucky cream thats not working and an antifungal pill that ... Conflicts w tamox! Www.drugs.com has become my armchair at home doc. The asthma med i was prescribed also contraindicated. And who discovered this? Moi! I made them find an alternate drug but i no longer take anything without first checking as i see that each specialist mostly knows their own corner of medicine. Happy easter and passover to all. Thanks, shari