Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

IllinoisLady

Sun is out today which puts a big smile on my face. Going to be ( I hope ) pretty much business as usual today. I am done with my little job of going to the next little town over ( where I went for my four yrs. of high school a wee bit of time ago ) and taking care of two kitties. My friend is back from her 10 day trip. I hope she had a really wonderful time.

Nothing much planned, but taking advantage of normalcy. I didn't get to go to class yesterday as my other clients has a spot ( nothing too bad ) of time they needed to be away from home so I ran over after the first job was done and took care of them. This is a good thing for not having a 'people' sitting job anymore. I do have siome flexibility to actually take on extra needs that someone may have on the spur of the moment.

I hope you are all going to have a really beautiful day and that those in the far North will be improving as well.

Stitch

ChiSandy, 

Louisiana is so behind in the medical marijuana field.  Unfortunately for me, if I want to continue to work, I could not take part in any of that.  Wouldn't matter if I had any condition warranting it - my employer would fire me on the spot if I tested positive on a random.  I will consider the best CBD oil if needed.  They do make some with 0 THC.  

Random thoughts, speaking of work.  I am 60, my husband is 66.  He luckily decided to start drawing his full SSI while still working, to pay down on some bills, and was wanting to retire at the end of this year or next.  That plan is now subject to change.  If he retires, that means I would have to continue to work till at least 65.  He knows he may have to work (he's very healthy) - so that in case I needed to retire he could still provide health insurance for me.  Well, that isn't even possible.  We found out he can't go back on family insurance even if he wanted to since he's on Medicare now.  I have no disability, so once my vacation (4 weeks) are used up, I don't get paid.  That's why I say he LUCKILY decided to start drawing the SSI.  That will make up for my salary when I am no longer getting paid.  Bills won't get paid off, but hey - can't have it all!!  Of course, I'm remaining hopeful we just do a lumpectomy with rads, and I don't go much over my vacation.  I've only taken 3 days of it so far.  

Wren44

Stitch, Just a warning. My GS in the army was told that CBD oil will test positive for marijuana. He's also subject to random testing.

pingpong1953

Beaverntx,

I lived in Ohio for many years, too, in the Cleveland area, where messy winter weather was always lots of fun!

Stitch

Wren44 -- Well now doesn't that just figure!!  The one I was looking at said zero, but I guess that's too good to be true.  Forget pain meds - even hospitals want to send you home after major surgery with instructions to basically burn up your liver or kidneys with over the counter.   It's just even before this that's happened to me, I've always felt so badly for people who have a totally legitimate need for pain killers but nowdays have no access to them.  I've always treated any RX I had (maybe 10 pills every few years) like little gold nuggets - keeping them just in case they're needed at some point.  I don't like them very much, but when you wake up in the middle of the night with a horrific toothache, they help. 

OK my rant is done. 

karen1956

I can't take narcotics as they make me sick to my stomach and constipated - and I can no longer take ibuprofen so my only option is acetaminophen which is good unless it you need an anti-inflammatory - lets hope I don't need any pain meds for some time to come!!

IllinoisLady

Guard within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness; know how to replace in your heart, by the happiness of those you love, the happiness that may be wanting to yourself. -George Sand

IllinoisLady

Sunny and warm, but going back to class today. Don't know who, but there will be a guest speaker. Feel like I can't miss since I had to miss on Monday. It will be a long day as many of mine are but mainly due to spending a couple hours in class and fitting everything else around that. Have to make the trip to Marion on Thurs. or Fri. so we can re-establish our eligibility. So, maybe next week will be the one where we REALLY get started on our Spring cleaning and clearing. Of course, there is some rain in the forecast so how much of the yard gets a share who knows. I seem to be spending a lot of time with my fingers crossed lately.

Sorry to hear of the medication woes. I swear off of it whenever I can which is a pretty fair amt. but some things are have-to's. Like the two big aspirin-type drugs I take to prevent blood clots daily. Also some high blood pressure meds and Synthroid. I seldom have any pain pills around. Dh has all sorts of aspirin so the rare times when I need one he usually has something I'm comfortable with taking.

I hope you all have a great day and hopefully lots of sun with it.

ChiSandy

“Full-spectrum” CBD can have up to 0.3% THC in it, just enough to possibly test positive on a drug test. Look for CBD made from “pure isolate,” which explicitly states “zero THC” on the label. It’s out there—Sopris, HempBombs and some Bluebird products have no THC whatsoever

carolehalston

I'm thankful that I seldom have to take a strong tylenol for pain. At age 76 I'm lucky to have little pain. I did wake up stiff and "creaky" this morning after playing 18 holes of golf yesterday on a day that was perfect for being outdoors.

Hugs for those in treatment and on the journey to the new normal.

IllinoisLady

Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves. If we are at war with our parents, our family, our society, or our church, there is probably a war going on inside us also, so the most basic work for peace is to return to ourselves and create harmony among the elements within us--our feelings, our perceptions, and our mental states. . . . We must recognize and accept the conflicting elements that are within us and their underlying causes. It takes time, but the effort always bears fruit. When we have peace within, real dialogue with others is possible.

Thich Nhat Hanh

IllinoisLady

Sorry to hear you were sore Carole, but wow -- 18 holes of golf is pretty great and after inclement weather preventing a lot of play. It should get better. In fact, in my class I take ( with the gym component ) and for those like me who have been restrained by circumstances of having much for regular exercise, the teacher says that it will take a few days to two weeks for the hormones that cause discomfort ( stiff and achy joints ) to stop getting the resistance signals. Once your body figures out that your not trying to do it in, all will relax and the discomforts will fade out. So -- just for awhile and then all should be great.

No sun today but warmth. At least we will have that. Maybe some rain this evening. I think we will go today to Marion to get our qualification for the yr. Especially since it seems their will be rain earlier tomorrow. I'd rather not go out in the rain if I don't have too. I also have other loose ends and they can be done better on a rainy day then anytime else.

Hope you all have a great day and before I forget --- Sandy, this is why you just have to be here. You are a font of information which so many ladies ( especially right now with our newest friends ) need. You are really a jewel.

nanette7fl

oh my God!! Today couldn't get any worse. Had my pre-OP blood work done and ekg at primary dr office come home ear lunch and lay down. When I get up I see PS ofc called so i called them back. To make a long story short PS sends my ekg and health clearance to the hospital and they sent it to anesthesiologist who now had demanded a cardiac clearance before surgery!! Oh crap!! My cardiologist just retired and I have to find one ASAP!! Well after 2 hiurs,on phone and several faxes from my dr to cardiologists I finally find one (with the help of a girl at BS office) who can see me tomorrow morning and who can do everything in his office...stress test... echo...all that good crap!!

All of this is from the fact... that I forgot about... years ago I was in hospital for something and they find I have some weird heart flutter... I had it for MANY years before that....My heart would flutter in my chest and I remember my nurse being in the room looking at the monitor when she grabs my arm and says "oh my God you're still standing! How do you feel?" Apparent I have something called AV node block and most people pass out from it or have heart attack or stroke or worse due. Well I've only had 2 very short incidents over the past year and NONE since BC diagnosis.

So just what I need is more stress 5 days before bilateral mastectomy

IllinoisLady

Back from Marion and all is well. The weather further South was about 73 or so. We had to turn the a/c on in the car on low as the sun was coming through the windows and making it quite toasty inside. Glad to have that out of the way since rain is definitely in the forecast. Got my hair cut early before we left so that too is out of the way. Here's hoping for a couple of quiet mornings now to sleep in ( seldom happens around here just because ) but more so we don't have to jump up too quick to get things done for some chore away from the house.

Easy supper tonight - maybe just toasted cheese.

jo6359

nanette- just what you didn't need a few days before a bilateral mastectomy. What a horrible day for you . On a positive note you're getting it done tomorrow morning. You are already experiencing enough stress just with preparations for surgery.

HikingLady

nanette7fl Ditto what jo5359 said---I'm so sorry about this. You're right. Exactly what you do not need before the surgery. I hope all goes well tomorrow on the cardio work-up.

MCBaker

Nanette:

Di2012

Nanette,

So So sorry for you!!!!

I know EXACTLY how you feel....however mine was an irregular EKG, that was done along with blood labs in the hospital pre-admit lab FOUR days prior to my scheduled surgery. EVIDENTLY NO ONE LOOK AT MY TEST RESULTS....until the morning of my surgery.

So on Monday morning, I was admitted....arm band on......undressed and then dressed in the hospital "fashions" and was waiting to be transfered first to a lab, for the sentinel node injections, when this doctor came into my cubicle and she introduced herself, as my anesthesiologist (she was also a breast cancer survivor) and told me I had had an irregular heart beat on my EKG.....she would NOT do the surgery, then my breast surgeon came in a said the surgery was off....I had to get an okay from a cardiologist......it is now it is only 7AM....

I am crying ....because no doctors are in! and I need to get a referral from my regular doctor ( all the doctors offices/ buildings are attached to the hospital....husband and I have breakfast in the hospital....and wait for receptionist and doctors to show up....this was agonizing waitng....

A day or two later I saw my cardiologist passed stress test for surgery.....and had my bilateral mastectomies FRIDAY Dec. 21st, 2012 afternoon/evening , in my hospital room before 7pm and told to ORDER FOOD NOW, I did and ate a full dinner ( did not get sick! And was I went home the next morning.

I am sending YOU big big hugs.....

Di

IllinoisLady

Believing is a daring adventure into the unseen, it is a radiant faith in the unexplored, the undiscovered, the miracles of the future. . . There is magic in the art of believing! Believe! Engrave these words of the Master in your memory: "All things are possible to those who believe. "Believe! Believe in the limitless supply of God's goodness. The universe is filled with more wonders than you can imagine. -Wilferd A. Peterson

IllinoisLady

Seemed tailor-made sort of for you Nanette. Wishing you well and hoping all is well.

No sun today but hoping if it rains it will be slight. We are babysitting for our friend's VERY little dog. He is a big tall guy and of all things has a beautiful little miniature Poodle. She may be with us a week. She is very sweet. Anyway --- it is fine as we don't mind. She is easy to love and care for.

I hope you are all going to have a really good day.

jo6359

Pouring rain all am but the sun is coming out now. I performed supervisory duties for Level 1 OT students today. Students are fun to work with. Their enthusiasm for learning becomes contagious. I am so thankful for having a job which provides me with pleasure and challenges. Speaking of plwasure, BTW my orchids are thriving.

ChiSandy

Nanette, we're “in your pocket" for your surgery today! Di, what a frustrating nightmare! Gordy once had a cystoscope scheduled, only to be rejected in pre-op because he was wheezing a little. (So was I just before my arm surgery, but they just gave me a hit off an inhaler and switched my anesthesia to propofol so I wouldn't have to be intubated).

nanette7fl

thanks everyone for understanding it helps. Today was another day of h3ll. Cardiologist appointment happened this morning and he wanted to cancel my surgery until my BS intervened. I was under so much stress that I could have hurt something!! I so wanted to be like our youngest grandchild and have that 3 year old meltdown tantrum and all. Finally a hours later the BS office called and my echo and both parts of the stress test will be done Monday morning instead of Monday and Tues... did help some to calm me.The thought of postponing surgery are way too much for me to handle at this time. See I had heart flutters years ago and its6called an AV node block. For some reason mine went away about 2 years ago... most people it doesn't and under the stress of surgery can cause a heart attack. I KNOW this,is some sort of faith test and I BELIEVING God will get me through this and I'll come out of the stress tests and surgery just fine.

On the brighter side, (yes I'm a forever optimist) I found 2 surgical bras at Jcpenney online in clearance section and I saved $111.00 THAT made me feel LOTS better. They'll be at the store between Tuesday and Monday a week.

Then I asked DH to take me to hobby lobby for some sew-on velcro.. then we found 2 patterns (1 a short kimono style robe and 1 a nice tank top) and then he helped me find fabric for them both!! The tank top I'm going to adapt to something I saw,online where the shoulders and front use velcro for easy on and off. So to ease the stress I'll be sewing my weekend away 😍 Online I also found a pattern for a double mastectomy pillow which I'm going to make shortly tonight. I've already made 4 (2 sets each) of the under the arm pillows and I've also found a pattern for a dogbone style neck pillow to add to my list.

Trying to be brave... but tired of this struggle right now. In the Roses there be thorns

Blessings to you all

~Nanette

MCBaker

Nanette: Sewing is great therapy, and looks like you are sewing up a storm.

I am making headcovers for my onco to take back to the Cancer Center mid-month. I don't know how many I will get done, but one a day is easy.

jo6359

nanette- I had a l 30 minutes break down when my surgeons physician assistant informed me my surgery scheduled for the following day would have to be rescheduled because of a new tumor discovered in my MRI. I ranted and raved because they had this information for 6 days and did nothing with it. But after my meltdown I felt both embarrassed and a little better to be honest. I had the surgery two and a half weeks later and everything was fine. But it is so frustrating when there is a sudden change in treatment plans. I never used any of the mastectomy pillows but I didn't have reconstruction . Keep sewing and in a few days it'll be over with. It won't be near as bad as you're imagining in your head.

IllinoisLady

Peaceful productive feelings sent in droves to Nanette.

HikingLady

nanette7fl YES, those little under-armpit pillows will help a lot after the surgery. Sending you strength as you deal with all this stress! Sewing sounds very therapeutic, for sure!

IllinoisLady

Truth is the beginning of every good thing, both in heaven
and on earth; and the person who would be blessed
and happy should be from the first a partaker of
truth, for then that person can be trusted.

Plato

IllinoisLady

Raining here as we speak. Yesterday was far nicer than we had thought it might be based on weather reports. We were ( though it was wettish ) able to move some leaves out of flower/planting sites. My cousin gave me more starts and so I put most of those in the ground. I was working late ( starting some spot rain ) so took the last items and planted in a holding pot. Got some mulch down so we will see. I'm really glad to have been able to do what we did, though with our little "home" babysitting job Dh could not come out and help. I don't think he was too upset about it though.

I took a bit of a fall -- forgot that I had taken a big sea-shell out of the planting area and stepped back on it. Fortunately I went down slowly and so broke the fall just fine. I'm still a bit sore, but even that could be all the twisting and turning I was doing to get to my planting beds -- so all will be fine.

I will go over this late afternoon and check on my little friends at Dr. B.'s as they need to travel into the city and one of the little ones found a hole in the fence. They think they have it covered, but I will go over and spend some time with them and see how things go. The oldest of the dogs is the one who knows where the hole is more or less and fortunately she comes around to the 'door' when she gets out -- so fingers crossed.

Sunday I will go to the next little town over where the cats are and visit for a while. So, it has been, in addition to planting starts, a busy animal week. That's okay. Sometimes, the more I have to do, the more I tend to get done of the things I can take my time with.

I hope you are all going to have a really great Saturday.

nanette7fl

IllinoisLady, very happy that your fall didn't result in anything serious. whew!!! As for the escapee I had to laugh. My Rottweiler, Missy, is 5 years old and is my shadow. She is very creative when it comes to escaping the back yard and finding her way to the front porch happily wagging her tail. She has been know to move the road blocks and escape so hence her nickname is Houdini …. she also is happy to show me where she has broken through and all I have to do once I find the spot is say her name firmly and she sulks away 8( Animals are amazing and what they will do just to be near us is even more amazing. She's never more than a few feet away from me when she's in the house... was hard to break her of going into the bathroom with me lol

Enjoy your visitings this weekend and may they give you many reasons to smile brightly!!

PS: I'm glad I'm not the only one who forgets she put things in back of her and steps on them when backing away from the garden!!!