I'm bitchy, I moan, I groan.....anyway.

suzie14

totally awesome, KAK!!!!!

BooBee

KAK.....amazing!!!!!!! Beautiful!!!!! Touching!!!!!!  How long did it take before the joint problems went away? 

Aussie....I need to PM you but right know I'm snuggling up with a nice comfortable denial blankie.  I'll come out of this soon.

kmccraw423

Renee - isn't denial a wonderful place!  I've taken quite a few trips there myself.

This evening I started feeling a little tickle in my throat.  It is now 4 in the morning and I have a full blown cold with incredibly sore throat and stuffed up nose.  When I find out who gave it to me I am going to shoot them!

Also, please say some prayers for my aunt.  She and my uncle were over here for dinner and she started to explain her symptoms to my sister (the doctor) who told her she needs to get to her doctor so they can run diagnostic tests and after she left my sis said it sounds like cancer.  She has done so much for the family and I don't think my uncle can live without her.  Please pray it is not cancer.

KAK

I'm saying a prayer for your aunt, Kathleen.  And for you.  Everyone has that darn cold!!

AussieSheila

Renee, snuggle up to ya blanky for as long as you want, you can even suck ya thumb too, it used to be such a comforting thing to do, didn't it?  Pm when you're ready.

Sheila.

KAK

((((((((Renee)))))))))

dreamwriter

Hi everyone.... have been snuggling up with my blankie (not sick, just tired).  So I have only been in for very quick visits.

I started making my first Christmas present this past week.  It is almost finished.  And have been working on my first crocheted top... and it is almost finished.  I am not gonna start anything until those two are finished.  Well except the quilt - gone back to Tues night classes in hopes of finishing the thing.  It is big bright and beautiful.  So I do want to finish.

konakat

I just spent 16 hours straight snuggled with my blankie, and Chloe (my cat).  I'm too stubborn to turn on the heat yet so it sure helps having her warm furry body to heat up the covers.  Aussie -- I'm jealous that you're heading into spring!  Roadtrip to Aussie's!!  Pile on the blankies for Renee.

Jane_M

I was in bed at 5:10 last night.  I set my alarm for 8 so I could get up and let the dogs out and feed them.  I stayed up for an hour, ate a TV dinner and then went back to bed.  I stayed there until 9:30 this morning.  I haven't done a damn thing today except sit in my rocking chair and watch TV with DH.  This is not life!  I have a skirt and shirt that I need to iron and I have two rods of clothes I want to go through and organize and I can't get off my a** to save my life.  I hate this!  

GramE

This must be a go to bed early and sleep most of the day weekend.  I conked out at 10 pm last night, got up twice to potty, finally got out of bed at 10 am.   Just bone tired, not sick.  I have been out for a short walk in the sun and it felt good.   Hugs.   

kmccraw423

I'm jealous - with this cold, every time I lay down my nose stops up and I can't breathe.

Kathi, again, your work is inspiring - I really like the title "Asymmetry Adjusted."

Elizabeth - turn on the heat - your are in MA for goodness sake!  I bet Chloe was enjoying spending all day with you.

Nancy - isn't the human body amazing - it tells you exactly what you need.  It needed some down time and you got to rest.

Dream - you are getting a good start on Christmas this year.  I can't think about it until Halloween is over.

Jane ((((((HUGS)))))))

konakat

I've got a little portable heater Chloe and I can cuddle around.  I'm stubborn and too broke for heat!  I'll put it on in Nov.  Grateful for the occasional hot flash though... :-)

dreamwriter

Arent hot flashes wonderful when its cold outside.... I hate that I get really cold then flash.

KAK

There's a trend here!  Had a couple of decent days, fatigue-wise, then yesterday and today, I feel awful.  Muscle cramps (in my foot!!!), itchy eyes from seasonal allergies, dizzy, lightheaded, ready to fall over.  The usual stuff.  Back on all my supplements.  Thought I was getting enough minerals, but my foot says otherwise.

Yes, dream!  Hot flashes can be helpful!  I know I've saved on heating oil in the last few years!

Oh, konakat.....sigh.  My sweet Himalayan kittie girl who died last February was named Chloe.  Loved her to pieces.  And she was a cuddler, too.  But my new girl, Fiona, is very warm when she sits in my lap.  So I'm all set for winter!

Dream, we want to see that quilt when it's done!

Thanks, Kathleen!

navygirl

Hi ladies...just checking in while I am having coffee. Late risers and no coffee drinkers where I'm staying, so I had time to check in from my blackberry(gotts to love technology). Saying prayers for the colds, the fatigued and the aunt who is having problems.

I did the ACS 3mile walk here and I must say...it was very touching. The survivors were given a diff color shirt to wear that said survivor on the back. It was amazing to see how many men and non suvivors were out there walking to raise awareness and funds. I was also amazed that among the survivors _ so many were about my age or youger. Something wrong with that picture.

Well, I hear stirrings up stairs so I will send u all lots of love and prayers and check in when I return home.

Mary22

Hello ladies. It is really good to see that many of you are going through the same symptoms I have, Achy joints and fatigue. Yes it is finally cooler weather, but so not looking foward to snow. My nephew from Cali is now in Michigan at MSU, he is freezing his num nums off. I do not have to worry about turning my heat on, we burn wood and my DH gets all he wants for free, so all it casts is his time and energy.

Happy Monday, have a great week.

Anonymous

Dearest Ladies,

I have not gone AWOL.  I have been working with my Dad to get him ready for his appendectomy.  He needed a physical, and he expresses the suspicion that doctors do tests a lot of time just to get your money.  I had to explain to him the purpose of a General Practitioner as the coordinator of your health care, and how the GP does the once a year physical and gets copies of your medical records from your specialists, and even sends you to specialists himself.

I also have to get my Dad to eat more fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.  He wants to be a meat and potatoes man, and chuck the fruits and vegetables overboard.  Stubborn males that you love don't SUX, but their stubbornness in some ways does SUX.

Would you believe the doctor I chose from his medical plan's list on-line is retired Navy just like my Dad?  That was just too cool.  They hit it off.  The doctor had a fishbowl nailed to the wall, with Juan the fish in it.  It is like a half orb with a flat side and open top.  I've never seen a Japanese fighting fish or any fish for that matter, alive and on the wall in a bowl.

I shall return.  Soon.  Honest.

Also I had my monthly trip to City of Hope for post-chemo drugs and cooked food for above said loved Dad.

sessna1

kmccraw423

Sessna1 - glad to see you back!!  I just noticed the quote at the bottom of your posts - obviously they are here to be helped!  Also glad your Dad likes his doctor.

GramE

sessna, can dad drink some fruit and veggie juices?  do not have to be blended and peeled and such - out of a can or bottle.  V-8, tomato, cranberry, apple.  They do not go rotten either, just put in fridge and drink whenever he feels like it.   I love pineapple juice.  

If you got those pre cut up veggies, in bags, would he munch on them with hummus dip or some ranch dressing?   glad he has you there to watch over and get him to the doctor.  

Veggie soup, minestrone, chunky soups in a can - prob not as good as fresh made, but at least some in his system.   Good luck, hugs and blessings.   Nancy 

EWB

hope all goes well with surgery. My dad was navy as is my sister...yup they can be stubborn. Gret idea about drinking the fruit and veggies....if you are really ambitious and full of energy you can also make own using blender and/or juicer (less saly the stuff that way). My dh is not one for fruit & veggies but he knows he needs more. Got him to blend/mix juices he likes with stuff he's not crazy about...lots of interesting combos and concoctions but it works. Good luck!

GramE

You can blend with yogurt and/or ice cream for a different "treat".

EWB

Another idea- to make soups or stews, you can put the  veggies into a blender to create a "creamed" liquid/soup/drink etc. Does your dad have any problems swallowing? or is it that he just does not like fruits and veggies? If you bake- can make muffins etc and add extra apples. carrots etc.

CapeBretongirl

Sessna welcome, I'm happy you are back!  You gotta sneak in d' veggies & d'fruit!!! Dads, they are all the same, roflmao!!!!   ((((hugs))))  

konakat

Ugggh, veggies and fruit.  Sessna -- if your Dad likes ice cream -- a banana split would do the trick!  Soup and stew for veggies -- gotta surround those nasty things with something yummy.  I rely on the old one a day vitamins a lot...

konakat

I want the old Elizabeth back.  The happy, hopeful person I was.  It's like I'm in another dimension watching everyone else going along living their happy, normal lives.  I'm angry and jealous -- isn't that terrible and petty?  It's like I died and I'm someone else now.  Just taking up space.  I am so pissed off at my cancer, not because of health stuff (well, yeah, that too, but...), but because it robbed me of me!  Where did I go?  I want me back!!!  Thanks for the vent...

barbe1958

Well Elizabeth....if you find YOU, she's probably sitting beside ME somewhere solving the problems of the universe. Give ME a kick in the ass and send me home....please!

konakat

KICK -- consider your ass kicked!

On a good note, I've already started packing for my move back to Ottawa Dec 01.  Maybe I'll find the old Elizabeth there, over lunch with my girlfriends...

Anonymous

You Ladies are super!

This is a Public Service Announcement.

Ahem.  Please choose a Primary Care, Family Physician, or General Practitioner that you are willing to and can see one time every year, minimum.

Testimony:  My name is sessna1.  I have been struggling to write on a book, help my dad prepare for his appendectomy surgery, and running up and down the freeway as needed to the City of Hope in Duarte, CA.  I have lovely friends on this website.

Recently, I have begun a descent into frustration because my medical numbers keep coming up off the charts.  First, it was blood test ... Pulmonary Embolism.  Then, it was Physical ... High Cholesterol.  Now, it is Glaucoma ... left eye off the charts.

My ophthalmologist sent me to a glaucoma specialist, and they are few and far between.  Most work with universities.  This one is one city away from me.  He saw me yesterday, gave me a slew of eye drops, and wants me back today.

You'd think my eye was going to explode... and I, of course, would hope not.

What's my point?  I have copies of my blood draws since the beginning of cancer time.  My RDW is off the charts, which implies that I have some kind of anemia.

Did anyone in the Cancer World catch that?  No.

Did my GP on my latest physical catch that?  No.

Could it be coincidence or related to my high pressure in my left eye?  Maybe.

I have not been to med school!  I am not supposed to diagnose myself off of the Internet.  Don't let your doctor pick one reading that is off the charts and ignore the rest - call him or her out on it.  I'm sure going to.

I told the ER first off that I was a cancer patient when they discovered a pulmonary embolism with the words, ‘I am a little short of breath,' and they did a blood test.  I knew they would need to know my overriding health status.  That taints everything.

My mom had too many health ailments and pills to keep track of, and she was tired after the draining chemo and rads.  I think about her all the time.  One of my heroes left the planet and left me with a warning how not to let them do medicine on me.  I won't forget, mom, I won't forget.

Get a follow up appointment for your physician to go over your lab results - OR change physicians like I'm gonna do.  My stars and planets, great day in the morning!

We now return you to your local channel.

-sessna1

Connie07

FIND A CARING PHYSICIAN... Isn't that an oxy-moron?  Seriously, I had a good one. He moved away. Took me over two years to find another one that gave a damn. He found a thyroid problem that was part of my fatigue. 

I vaguely remember meeting with a chem.onc. he didn't DO anything. No tests. No base lines. Just one question, How's your bones and joints?... didn't tell me why he asked. No one said anything about what the radiation could do that might be BAD.

And when the rads were over, the "caring" rad onc was showing off my boiled and blistered boob to the interns... "this is a worst case scenario", he said. I saw them cringe looking at me. I'm thinking. . . . YEAH, it HURTS... maybe YOU can find a way to prevent this. AS IF.

I"m so mad and pissed off. I'm so angry and confused. I'm up to here with the entire medical and insurance system... THEY SUCK.

ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

konakat

Oh Connie -- that rad onc should get his man-boobs fried with rads!!!!  Seems that he forgot that you were a human being and patient, not a medical display.  Some docs have the brains but no common sense, bedside manner, or humanity.  They suck is right!!!!

I'm all for interns learning, but that onc should have reserved some of his commentary when you weren't there.  How insensitive!!