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

CeliaC

Like Wren, I have been on statins for several years. Very interesting to hear that they can be beneficial for ER+ BC. Thanks, Sandy for sharing this valuable info and welcome back from across the pond.

IllinoisLady

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,
places to play in and pray in,
where nature may heal and cheer
and give strength to the body and soul.
- John Muir

IllinoisLady

Cloudy this a.m. as we wait for more rain today. It came down several times yesterday but didn't last too long each time. Rain is in for all week on my extended forecast. Some days less chance then others, but it will likely be fairly gloomy and I'll be not at all happy. Time to get the special lights out for sure.

Plenty of inside work to do. I helped Dh with the yard so I'm behind in here. Living in the woods like we do --- I could pick up droppings ( small branches ) that drip down all winter long and in Spring, but it will be too wet -- so I can continue on with my indoor work and will have some to do outside later.

Spring is looking so pretty now. Our trees are growing out their leaves fairly quickly now and it is already becoming hard to see the houses on the street in front of us. We are actually a bit more on the edge of the woods due to our road being built long ago. Also one of the people who bought on that front street not aware of rulings -- whacked out a lot of the growth. It is growing back but has taken time. Hopefully in a couple of yrs. it will be all grown up again and even less view. In winter we can generally see the few houses on that street fairly well.

When Dh and I 'found' this house it was not apparent by walking on that front street ( all that undergrowth ) that anything was back here. For awhile I could not even remember how to get here --- but lived here long enough now. Still can't imagine living elsewhere.

Hope you all had a great Easter and are going to have a good day today as well. Sunny for you hopefully.

duckyb1

LMAO........3 feet to 8 1/2 feet.................yea I stood in water up to my ankle.......still LMAO......hey you...its not nice to make fun of old people.......hahahahahah

duckyb1

Was on statins for 4 years before BC......not sure I agree with that study............would not recommend taking them unless you have to....lots of SE's, at least for me.....was given 4 different brand names before they found one that the muscle aches and pains were not as bad.....still bad, but not like the others......a very old drug believe it or not.....all of the newest ones played hell on the body........I would agree with the BMI though, cause more fat means more estrogen which means a better chance for hormone related cancer........just saying

carolehalston

I take a statin and don't have any SEs that I notice. DH has heart disease and has tried all of them. They turn him into a cripple with the leg pain. After a long battle with BC/BS, the company has ok'd a new injected med. The question to be answered is whether it works for him. Blood work will tell.

Easter was a nice family day with a big meal. My mother was feeling good and enjoyed getting out of the nursing home for the day.

duckyb1

Me too Carol....I take coq10 which is suppose to help, and I think it has....I take 200mg a day.....100 morning, and 100 nightime.....I was on all the new ones, but the one who gave me the least pain was Pravachol...... (generic pravastatin)....Aetna covers it all no co-pay....

bonnets

Me too, both DH and I had SEs to most statins. We found we are both able to tolerate Crestor. Never sure if my current aches and pains are from that or just my arthritis giving me a hard time!

Hard tp believe we had 2 feet of snow a few weeks ago. trees are blossoming and leaves coming out. Love spring.

duckyb1

Bonnets......I do believe some of this is arthritis, but until I went on a statin I didn't even take an aspirin or anyting for the pain.....within a couple months of being on a statin, I thouht someone put me in hell..........then came the BC and the Letrozole, and I could barely move.....horrible pain.......after 4 years I went off the Letrozole.....decided QOL was better, even though I am not going to say thatis anything to write home abut..........but with the statin the coq10 did help the aches and pains to a degree....not gone, but a bit better.....

bonnets

Ducky, Thanks, I may give CQ10 a try. Feel like I'm 95 some days. I almost went off Arimidex when I started it, I ached so much. It will be 5 years on that in the fall. Sure hope I can eliminate that one!

duckyb1

Bonnets.....it is worth a try...it can't hurt you.......you can't overdose....there are no SE's, and my Drs. all know I take it, and some say aits a good idea......also a friend of my daughters who is a nutritionist told her when I had the pain from the statin. ...is your mother taking CoQ10....at the time I had been taking 100mg......she told my daughter......she need to be doing at least 200 to 400 mgs.....her father was on a statin and that is what she recommended to him, and he took 400.....his pain went ccompletely away.....I did the 200......it isn't cheap, but look for. sales on it......they have them a lot.

ChiSandy

Those injected biologics are a last resort for those with hyperlipidemia who can’t tolerate statins—they came out last year and their mfrs. have been running ads online but not on TV. I don’t think many insurers cover them. And they might not be a good idea for those of us with cancer. I think I will try the lowest dose of generic Crestor (rosuvastatin) that works. Bob’s been on Lipitor over a year with no SEs whatsoever, but he takes it for prevention. Ironically, it could be that statins are roughest on those who need them the most.

IllinoisLady

There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don't expect you to save the world I do think it's not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.

Nikki Giovanni

IllinoisLady

Dh could not take statins at all. I think it is one of those things that either works well or not according to your system. I was offered them but my Dr./NP always offers things before I need them, and so far all the "offerings" haven't managed to make my numbers get to a place where I REALLY need to do something--anything. Of course, I'm knocking on wood right now so I don't jinx myself here. At least my care-givers are being watchful of potential issues, but I really don't want to take medicine I don't actually need. Seems to me you may start to operate under false information - how would you keep up with progress if you started out NOT needing a drug. Sigh !!!

Going to heat up here today -- 78 or so. I don't think we will get rain. It is not forecast, but we are a tiny bit cloudy now, and we don't always 'follow' the stated forecast so we will see. I'm just glad for the warmth so the doors and windows can be re-opened. I like the nice fresh ( if a tad pollen-laden ) air coming into the house.

I'm going to knock on wood again, but since my bronchitis, I don't feel as clogged as I usually do this time of yr. so hoping that it produced some not thought of results in that dept. We will see.

Hope you all have a beauty of a day.

bonnets

Lovely day today.I like the windows open too, but it's a bit cool today. I was supposed to do a presentation with my senior players group at a local nursing home today, but what I thought was allergies seems to be a cold! Haven't had one for ages, had to back out as I'm afraid I might get to coughing and sneezing during my skit. I'm praying DH doesn't catch it , as he does his second cataract surgery a week from Thursday. Wud hate to have to postpone it cuz he had a cold.

kcrd4766

One side effect of statin drugs is that they can lower CoQ10 levels. In fact, studies show that CoQ10 levels can drop by up to 40% due to statin drug use!

(Source: Evidence of plasma CoQ10-lowering effect by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study)

Low CoQ10 levels can be a concern because CoQ10 plays a key role in 95% of our body's energy production at the cellular level. Within our body, the biggest producer and consumer of energy is the heart muscle, which requires ample amounts of CoQ10 to keep it running optimally every day.

(Source: University of Maryland Medical Center - Conenzyme Q10)

The addition of a CoQ10 supplement to statin drug therapy can help replenish CoQ10 levels. However, CoQ0 has poor absorption, therefore, you should choose one that is both water and fat-soluble which is better absorbed by the body than regular CoQ10.

(Source: Plasma coenzyme Q10 response to oral ingestion of coenzyme Q10 formulations, Mitochondrion, 2007).

CeliaC

Re: Statins - On 10mg Atorvastatin (Lipitor generic) for almost 5 years now and no discernible SEs. Also take soluble CoQ-10 and Carlson Labs Fish Oil. These have worked for my situation.

Wren44

DH takes atorvastatin and I take simvastatin. Neither of us have had any side effects. He has leg problems, but they're caused by having had veins removed to use in bypass surgery.

bonnets

Wren, Yup, those pesky absent saphenous veins are one of the residuals for my DH too!

MinusTwo

kcrd - welcome to BCO. When you get a minute, please go to my Profile and complete the information about your diagnosis and treatment. It helps us to know you better.

IllinoisLady

"But oh! The blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort -- the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person -- having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

-- Dinah Craik

Chevyboy

I know! xoxo

carolehalston

I guess I've caught the adult coloring bug. I recently bought a book of garden designs and a big pack of pencil colors. My intention was to encourage my mother to use the supplies she received at Christmas.

Today I sat down after lunch and became absorbed in coloring a new picture. There were many household chores that needed doing but then that's always the case.

duckyb1

Carole, is it really that much fun.....I thought many times about doing it and always walked away.....you can even do it on your Ipad.....easy if your willing to spend $100.00 on an. Apple Ipad Pen........LOL.....otherwise it might be fun to try it.......

Wren44

I volunteer at the front desk of the senior center on Tuesdays. My partner and I sit and color thru the nothing to do part of the afternoon. He got me started. I'm just using the Crayola box of 36. The public library has started handing out cards to color, advertising the library's services. I color them and send them to politicians who need advice.

carolehalston

Ducky, I probably wouldn't spend $100 to color on an IPad. I have an app called colorfy (sp?) on my iPhone. You touch a color and then touch a picture to fill in the color. Would be more fun on an IPad with a bigger screen.

Off to the gym and then to the nursing home

IllinoisLady

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
- Lao Tzu

IllinoisLady

Just wow !!! Don't know if we will get a little rain shower or not today, but I'm coloring my spot in the woods as sensational. The sun is out -- a bit muted, but it is already nice and warm out -- not hot, as there is a nice breeze and like a house fan it stirs things up nicely. Men were here and got the new garage door in yesterday. They have to remove windows from the old door and put them in the new one -- we saved a bit of money that way. Of course, no one bothered to figure just how much since it costs to have the carpenter do the work --- but it still makes you feel like you are trying.

I've been working in my little office and can't tell you how much I've thrown out and wow --- there is a whole lot more. I'm feeling pretty good about that though. It is making me feel good. How many times I've said " production is the basis of morale " and did so to encourage others --- never realizing that the same would hold VERY true for me as well.

Not sure how we get so good at KEEPING things. Or exactly when it starts even. But it does have a tendency to take over with or without your approval. Hopefully there will be a lot of disapproval on my part since I can see ( very obvious ) on one side of the room how neat and organized actually looks. I do have more that I could do -- but there is so much in here that I'm anxious and will go back later at a time when I have time to do a second sweep. It is Spring and I want some good improvements staring back at me so the obvious first layer and down to bare wood for now. Mainly thinking of what lurks inside the drawers etc.

Happy day to all.

Seedsally

Good morning to all. Been a while since I posted. But I've been reading all your posts here. Boy has the weather changed. We went from 80s to 50s in a days time. Gonna have to turn on a little heat for the weekend.

My update since December's heart problem has been severe vertigo for over a week. It started with dizziness that was the worst I ever had then vomiting and an ambulance trip to the ER. After ECG, CT scan, labs and X-ray found nothing. I was told it could be medication induced and go to my regular PC. I don't think they even gave my ears a thought. Now after researching on my own, and still having dizziness when starting to lay down and get up, I think I have that BPPV problem from loose calcium crystals in my inner ear. I also think my BP and heart rate are too low. My cardiologist is deliberately doing that to try to strengthen my heart and get it to beat right. She did tell me to move the doses around however I wanted in order to tolerate the meds. So I started breaking the beta blocker pills in half and taking them as 4 spaced doses instead of 2 and today I feel a little better. I'm still dizzy at times but feel a little more energetic today. Anybody else having problems like this? She's also put me on pravastatin in December 2016

bonnets

Sally, My husband had severe dizziness and weakness last spring, after 3 trips to the ER, being given meds for Vertigo, and finding nothing, they finally admitted him. Ended up he has Anaplasmosis, a tick born disease, like Lyme. He never knew he was bitten! the little buggers are so small. Also as with lime and Babesiosis another little known tick born disease, if tested in the first week to 10 days you will likely test negative, as he did. When he was tested later , he tested positive for the Anaplasmosis. The CDC says it is the fastest growing tick vectored disease in 3 countries , including here. Most people , including the doctors are not aware of these , only think of Lyme. The same antibiotics treat it as Lyme. MIght be worth looking into!