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

petite1

Good morning, Ladies. Jim and I came down with a 24hr virus, but survived. I feel GOOD today. It is a blessing. It is nice and sunny, but the cats just want to be lumps in the bed.

I agree, the half time show was trashy. Everyone I have talked to thinks the same. Some of the ads were pretty good.

Chevyboy

I mean about the 1/2 time show... I usually don't watch much of the game, but look forward to the commercials and the 1/2 time show! But I wasn't alone, in thinking that show was all about trashy costumes and moves that should have been viewed on pay-per-view porn sites! And I haven't even watched them! A LOT of people have commented with their thoughts also, on FB.

See, Cammi and I have this running joke, that when I fell in the alley, by twisting my ankle on a little rock, I fell on my hip and broke it! Man, I was dead-in-the water.… as they say. I could not get up! I tried pulling myself up on my Husbands pant-legs, and he tried to lift me, and here all the time, this man was watching us from the end of the alley!! We finally got me on both feet... but I could not move my leg!

So here comes our neighbor, and he has a wheel-chair in his car... Took me down the alley, and got me into my car, and off to the ER for a broken hip with a rod & a few screws!

So Cammi said I must have fallen off the stripper pole at midnight... in the alley! That's really not what happened, but it COULD have... Hah! This was 5 years ago.... just another bump in my road.

Reader425

Illinois I think the book is simply called "The Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cookbook" - its small, hardbound and of course blue and white. The recipe was good but caloric. My sister is limited in her diet but this recipe was cool, creamy and agreeable to her dietary restrictions.

Long day today sitting with a friend in the hospital. Was supposed to attend a study group tonight but was weary, so instead I ate leftovers on the sofa in my pajamas since my husband had a late night. 🍝🙂

carolehalston

We have a "sick person gets the bed" policy. DH slept in the guest bedroom several nights while I was the sick one. Last night I took my pillow and eased out of our bedroom to get some sleep. He was coughing and moving a lot. Today he has an appointment with his PCP. He thinks he has bronchitis.

I'm not "well" but hope to be on the way there. Yesterday I accomplished a few household jobs and hope to do more today.

It isn't a Jackie day outside. Looks dreary and there's a chance of rain.

IllinoisLady

You cannot fail at being yourself. A cat doesn't try
to be a tiger, and you shouldn't try to be something
you aren't. You are a process, not a product. Your job
is to discover what you are and to create that creature.
You still won't be perfect, but success isn't about
perfection--it is about authenticity. You are a success
if you are being your real, authentic self.

Bernie Siegel

IllinoisLady

Not a Jackie day here either, Carole. I thought it would rain last night. Even Bill started pacing for a bit but then quit. So, it waited til' this morning. Yuck. Not a lot planned today, but I've been doing a little everyday. More when it is prettier though.

Reader, the books I have do include a small hardback P. Cr. Cheese as well as a slightly larger soft cover and one bigger that is hard cover as well. Reason is that I go a lot of places and find these books at antique/not antique malls and if they are a decent price will take them. Just for the variety. Sometimes too -- depending on date of actual production there could be more recipes. I don't worry too much about calories when trying things -- but sometimes after making something the fat/caloric or whatever fits will 'play' with defatting or whatever gives me about the same results w/o sabotage of diet or any current restrictions I may have imposed on myself.

I hope everyone has a good day. Also looking to send wellness to all.

Chevyboy

Started out with 6 inches of snow here in North Denver, with more snow... But NOW the sun is shining! Not very warm yet, but a lot better than it has been for the last 2 days!

Carole... Bronchitis is the WORST! It just really takes you down! Always so hard to breath, and waves of just plain sick! I tried so many cough medicines, even prescriptions, but Mucinex, or the generic helped me... along with day & Ny-quil! Plus the humidifier.

Taco1946

Carole - I laughed at your "sick one gets the bed." We seem to argue about it. I think it's better if DH keeps it rather than try to relocate his CPAC machine. We did put in a Murphy bed in the den but after my lumpectomy, I found the couch actually gave me needed back support and I read when I couldn't sleep. Fortunately, we have stayed healthy the last two winters and haven't had to have "the bed" discussion.

We're having a "cold spell" here in Arizona - cold enough for some to cover plants and for golf times to be delayed. I'm glad my sister came from Boston last week when it was in the 70's. I don't envy any of you your snow.

Wren44

We're back to the rain but we had TWO DAYS OF SUN IN A ROW. It was so nice. I feel recharged. I was starting to feel down after 28 days of rain (2 more had a trace), tying Jan rain records. New Year's Day was lovely after it being too windy to have the fireworks at midnight.

I'm going to try out a new job at the shelter, doing laundry in the clinic. I'm the Friday lead and I feel like HR trying to get it staffed. A simple job that you do and leave looks really good to me. Plus the clinic is interesting.

keywestfan

So, almost one year since diagnosis, Valentines Day being that fateful day. Saw MO today, all is fine. Will see him again in 6 months, and BS(so cute) at end of March. Every months for each. I had trouble - neither age or anastrozole to blame- just me, figuring out that I’m seeing one or the other every 3 months.I think that’s right. Mammo once a year, no blood tests or scans. MO very hot on exercise- which I do- elliptical 65 minutes every morning , treadmill or a 45 minute walk every afternoon. Going to Palm Springs for a week on the 18th. Last year we did also, but I was a total wreck, anxious to the nth, all of treatment before me, trying to figure out which surgeon to go to, which hospital, should I get a second opinion. This year will feel like a regaining of what was lost, the ability to enjoy, to walk Palm Springs streets with DH and not be shaking with terror. So it’s all turned around since last year and, of course, I always know it can all turn around, and will in one way or another, eventually do so again.

IllinoisLady

What do we live for if
not to make life less difficult
for each other?

George Eliot

...

Studies of volunteers have shown there is a benefit to performing acts of love for other people. The irony is that it is actually in your best interests be selfless. The things you do for the benefit of others not only make you feel fulfilled, they increase your chances of living a long and happy life. Remember that an act of love always benefits at least two people. -Bernie Siegel

IllinoisLady

Gray today with huge chances ( usually means it will happen ) for us to get a rain/sleet/snow mix towards evening. No taco night at the Moose tonight.

Keywestfan - how wonderful now the tumult associated with a cancer dx is a yr. past and the ability for a whole different outlook has arrived. It is a wonder to be able to be free of the fears, and know that opportunities have come to live much freer and getting to resume a life more in keeping with the outlook before the 'diagnosis' took over your life. Grace and gratefulness. A fine combination.

Sending thoughts of wellness to anyone who needs them and to our other halfs who may need them as well.

keywestfan

Thank you, Illinois Lady, for the words, “Grace and Gratefulness.” I do wear a thin black bracelet that has “GRATEFUL” written in white on it.

carolehalston

It's dark and forbidding outside. I cancelled a hair appointment made on Monday in a mood of optimism that I would feel like going to the appointment today. I seem to have hit a plateau in my get well cycle. Just two more anti-biotic pills left.

Last night I did cook dinner, mostly for dh's benefit. I'll do a few chores today like folding laundry.

On the horizon of things to do is deal with income tax return. The documents are in the jumble of papers on my desk.

Wishing everyone a healthy day.

petite1

carolhalston, I was working on taxes, today, as well. We have a "retirement" business that gives us something to do and rarely makes enough money to worry about, but have to do the taxes anyway. The personal ones I do after I get those back from the CPA.

IllinoisLady

Sad, but making it to 103 is nott too bad.

Kirk Douglas, Hollywood Tough Guy And 'Spartacus' Superstar, Dies At 103 With his cleft chin and gritty voice, Douglas was often cast as a troubled tough guy, most famously as the rebellious Roman slave Spartacus. Off-screen, he also led an open revolt against Hollywood's blacklist. In 1994, he told NPR he was proud of that fight: "I think it's one of the good things that I've done in life." Read More

ChiSandy

RIP, Spartacus. Even after a massive stroke, Douglas stayed in the public eye as outspoken as ever. A life well lived, full of grace, often in the face of adversity.

Had my PCP visit yesterday--the staff hadn't seen me since I weighed 211, and they were amazed. My a1c is down to 5.4--no longer pre-diabetic. My total cholesterol & LDL are elevated (might end up having my statin dose increased), but my HDL is back up to 71, VLDL nice and mid-normal, and ratio--3.6--still low-risk even with a family history that's a cardiovascular train wreck. Blood count is normal, but almost mildly anemic. So I have to stay on iron (and all the stuff to keep it from stopping me up). Primary showed me some yoga poses he does for his back & shoulders, so I will try them. I never could get the hang of the ellipticals, so it's bike/treadmill/rower for me after the strength (weights, resistance) & balance work. Now, if it'd just stop snowing so I can get to the gym... (I have a bike & treadmill, bands, inflatable yoga ball, and a set of 1-5 lb. hand weights to use in the meantime).

He listened to my carotids and said he didn't hear any "bruits," but I should wait to see the ENT and find out what she suggests. And those lumpy things I can palpate under the skin in my midsection that I thought were intestines being pushed forward by who-knows-what? They're lipomas--I simply had too much subcutaneous fat over them to notice them before my weight loss. Seeing my GYN next week to make sure my ovaries are appropriately shrunken and dead and my uterus remains empty & useless. But the intertrigo in the folds beneath the panniculus (the "apron" of skin--and what used to be fat--beneath my C-section scar) and my L breast is really problematic--it's blistering. My primary says that at least 10 lbs. of my weight is that excess skin--not counting the "bat wings" dangling from my upper arms.

CindyNY

ChiSandy - are you considering having the excess removed? I have no real input one way or the other. I did workout with a woman who had a gastric bypass, she lost many many pounds and had a lot of excess skin, with issues from it. I think she used cornstarch on her body to prevent some issues. She spoke of getting the excess removed, but she relocated and I've lost track of her.

IllinoisLady

When we don't take life slowly, piece by piece, we avoid the greatest discovery of all, the person within. When our attention to persons, places, things is deliberate and steady, the beauty within the object of our focus shines forth, and we, too, are made more beautiful in the process. - unattributed

IllinoisLady

Woke up to a thin layer of snow this a.m. I was worried that the ground would be icy underneath but that seemed the case only on our deck. It gets cold from the bottom and top. The streets and our sidewalks were okay. Turns out the three days previous when we had temps in the mid to high 60's warmed the ground so much that the rain/sleet/ice just couldn't get a foothold. Well, I liked that. Starting tomorrow it will warm slightly ( above freezing for sure ) so likely we will avoid issues. Guess we could have gone to taco night after all, but I didn't want to drive in that.

Glad to hear Sandy that your PCP visit went well and nothing major save for dealing with your iron. Wow !!! I had no idea ( but sounded reasonable once I read it ) skin could weigh that much. Make me curious as well -- if you might want to have it removed.

Yea Carole for being nearly done with your anti-B's. Sort of a pain I know. Have to take them all to avoid a re-bound infection but it is a pain when you know you will likely have to make up acing some good bacteria. Not sure why but with age it just seems like your always having to pursue better health because you have done something lately to HAVE good health.

I hope you all had a really good day.

ChiSandy

I have to wait a year after my weight stabilizes before a surgeon will consider removing the excess skin--if I regain, there could be dire consequences.

petite1

Good morning, ladies. Bad weather overnight. A tornado touched down near my niece's home and we are waiting to hear from her.

IllinoisLady

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them."

-- Maya Angelou

carolehalston

The sunlight is brilliant today. We're having a brief "cold spell" with last night's temperatures dropping to the 30's on the north shore (New Orleans is south shore) but there will immediately come a warming trend. Next week looks wet and humid. Golf has become just a memory of activity on dry ground.

My weight is down about 5 lbs as a result of having little appetite. The antibiotic seems to have had a negative effect on my stomach's sense of well being. I'm hoping that goes away but I would like to continue some weight loss. I haven't been to the gym in two weeks. I'm hoping to ease back into normal next week.

Sandy, the surplus skin sounds uncomfortable but it makes sense that a surgeon wouldn't want to remove skin until it's certain it won't be filled out again.

Here it is already February. Well or sick, time chugs on.

Chevyboy

Looking out onto my back "garden"... 10" already here in North Denver, and you can see it is still snowing!

I DID IT! Hah! Still snowing...

Wren44

Petite, Hope your niece is ok.

karen1956

Chevy - we have about 8" inches in SE Denver - and it just started snowing again. Its supposed to be in the 50s tomorrow and 20s again Sunday - gotta love winter in Denver!

IllinoisLady

Well ladies ( Karen & Chevy ) I am just going to sit here and keep my mouth shut about my weather and Petite's wasn't so great either. I was feeling a bit moody because the sun wasn't out enough to suit me. Out for awhile but then some clouds and it was no longer out bright. I'm a little ashamed of myself now. So, I wish it wasn't so icky there and snowy. Our temps sound like they will stay around thee 40 degree mark give or take so it should be tolerable. Only may seem not so great if we get too much wind.

Nice that the days are a bit longer. It was getting dark right around 5 straight up and now it is almost 5:45 and I can still easily see the cars sitting outside. Spring will come.

MCBaker

I went crazy today. I got tired of seeing all the ZuLily advertisements. Their choices are so attractive to an ageing hippy, and the prices are, too. I bought seven items for about 125$. In between such craziness, I drove my dog nutty with brushing him and attacking the matts in his fur. He refuses to sit with me on the sofa, but by tomorrow he will have forgotten. I have an appointment for PT on Monday, to figure out why exercise is triggering sciatica, but lack of exercise causes my upper back to cramp. Numbness from the mastectomy goes around under my right arm and a little beyond.

IllinoisLady

Perhaps the clearest and deepest meaning of brotherhood is the ability to imagine yourself in the other person's position, and then treat that person as if you were him or her. This form of brotherhood takes a lot of imagination, a great deal of sympathy, and a tremendous amount of understanding.

Obert C. Tanner