thread for middle age to older Christian women.

bandwoman1234

Ellen, so glad to hear your good news about Mark and glad to hear Pam's surgery turned out to be less extensive than they thought.

Cindy, I get it and tonight I am about to go out to the pasture and shoot myself. As those of you who know me well I am kidding and this is my sick sense of humor when I am at the end of my rope. I just spent well over a half hour very late tonight on the phone trying to get something resolved on my mom's credit card bill. She was doubled billed and I was pretty sure that was the problem but because of the privacy laws I could not get any answers and I was about to throw the phone across the room. The guy on the other end was doing his best to help me. Finally we got my mom on the phone and pretty much told her what to say so this guy could say yes, I believe this is a double charge. How have we come to this craziness all in the name of privacy is beyond me. So it is almost 11 pm and I just got my second load of laundry in. It will be a late night.

Please pray for my mom. She has lost a lot of weight without trying and will be having a test to see if there is any internal bleeding. She has been ordered by her pcp to use a walker now but she is resistant. She will be trying some new pain meds to see if this will help and to see if she can tolerate them.

Yes, our faith is not based on our feelings thank goodness. My feelings and emotions are all over the place today but I know that God will get me and my family through this tough time with my mom.

My GI tract is still in a mess and i am wondering if I got the bug that has been talked about when I first got to my moms.

I pray that God will meet all our needs and that we can draw close to Him and learn through these difficult times.

Have a good night dear sisters. Yes, because He lives we can face tomorrow.

Love

Nancy

Lita57

Nancy, so sorry you are sick as you deal with all of this. I guess some older folks get really stubborn about walkers. I still use mine when I have to, and I'm only in my 50s. If I fall one more time with all my bone mets and compression fractures, I could end up paralyzed. Try to make your mom understand how serious this is.

Enjoy, yes, I understand how we sometimes drift away from God. You can't do that when you have Stage 4, however. Every minute of every hour you have to walk with the Lord. You depend on Him for pain relief...physically, emotionally and spiritually. There is so much anxiety and uncertainty with Stage 4. We can't do it by ourselves.

Prayers for relief to you all.

Lita

bandwoman1234

Hello dear ladies,

The very cold weather has returned but the sun is shining and we haven't see that for a few days so I am very grateful to see that.

Lita, my mom has dementia so reasoning with her is unfortunately an effort in futility. I only have another week here with her so I have to get her used to using a walker. Luckily we already had one that my Dad used before he died several years ago. I can imagine the fear of falling for you is great and I can't imagine what that is like but I do know that clinging to to the Lord because He is the only one who can get us through the fiery trials on this earth is crucial and becomes more real as our situations become more dire.

Yesterday marked the seventh year of my nephew dying at 36 years old so it is always a tough time for my sister especially. Every year she puts in a picture of him in the paper as a memorial.

Jean, praying that Alexia will be able to get her life back on track and that God can do a mighty work in her. I am so glad she is safe and has returned.

I pray that each of us no matter what we are dealing with can have hope that the Lord understands our situation, has compassion on us and is guiding and directing our steps as we trust in Him to do His intended work in perfecting our faith and molding us into the women of God that He has intended.

Love,

Nancy

auroaya200882

Nancy, sorry to hear your mom's difficulties and I can only imagine how stressful it must be for you to leave her behind under those circumstances. Praying she will be safe and God give you strength.

Aurora

zjrosenthal

Well today I am grateful that my port removal was posponed till a week from Friday. I still have a lot of congestion and they felt it was prudent to wait a week. With this head cold I think I wouldn't mind if they just removed my head and left it in the freezer for the week. They could reattach it and remove my port at the same time. Teehee, just a little gallows humor. Love, Jean

Mini1

I'm still waiting for the results of my MRI. I have to admit I'm scared. Trying not to be, but the thought of a bone mets...

My surgery for my eye is early Friday morning. It is at U of M which is about an hour from my home, so we are praying the worst of this weather is over by then.

Blessings

enjoyevrymoment

Oh Mini, I am sorry you are going through all the waiting and I am praying for good results.

Lita, I am praying for you as you deal with stage 4. Obviously no one knows anyone's walk unless they are going through it.

Aurora, are you doing ok?

Joanne thanks for understanding, I am so much better today! While being a Christian does not assure that we will be perfect it is nice to know He carries us through everything even things not related to cancer.

Jean, glad they are putting the port removal off! Get better!

Nancy, oh my what a crazy time with your credit card episode. Crazy but glad things got straight.

Waving hi to everyone else and please know I am praying for you. Has anyone heard from Deb (foots).

Cindy

auroaya200882

Hi everybody! Enjoy thanks for asking in feeling relatively well but I'm worried the cancer might grow since I haven't ha treatment in a month. Please pray for that and for ni to be able to see the oncologist soon

Lita57

My dear sisters in Christ....

I just found out my first cousin was whacked OVER the head while coming out of her Hospice Care patient's house and horrifically RAPED!!! I am SO bleeping angry!!! My aunt just contacted me....she wanted to WAIT to see how it would all turn out...and it turns out my cousin now has "traumatic brain injury" and may never be able to return to hospice care working. My cousin LOVED her job!! And now she won't be able to do it because of several seizures per day. (Cousin was unconscious outside for several hrs and would have FROZE to death if the next SHIFT worker had not have found her.)

Really weird...haven't reached out to my aunt for a while, but got the msg from God to try and reach out. And now THIS!

Please pray for my aunt and my cousin. I am so distraught…but not as distraught as my aunt!!!

And I thought my life couldn't get any worse.....

Lita

zjrosenthal

Oh Lita, how horrible. I can imagine the depth of anger you must feel. I pray first that God would give you a calm and peace so you can minister to them. Also for healing for your dear cousin. And help for her mother. Love, Jean

zjrosenthal

Prayers for the victims and families of the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting. Love, Jean

zjrosenthal

Thanks Jo, I needed that.

Ladies would you please pray for my friend Caroline. Her doctor found a mass in her neck. She is going for an ultrasound on the 17th.

I am grateful my brother in law got back home safely to Orlando last night without any problems. How we take for granted our safety flying till something like yesterday happens. Lets keep praying for all who were victims, family or traumatized witnesses. We both both miss him but it's nice to have the house to ourselves after 3 weeks. I am also grateful for seeing the doctor yesterday and getting meds for my bronchitis. Love, Jean

enjoyevrymoment

First of all Lita let me say how very sorry I am to hear of your cousin's experience. I wish there was a protection cloak over ever angel that does what she does, and for that matter of course anyone! Will be praying her head injury resolves if at all possible. I know you are going through enough without this added so I am praying for your Aunt as well as all the family as well.

Jo I am glad your grandson and family had the best possible outcome from an accident.

Nancy praying for your work to be done with your Mom, security system and all.

Aurora I am praying things don't jump the tracks.

Jean, I am home from church with the GI bug, hope your bronchitis gets well soon. Glad you had a nice visit.

I heard back from Brutersmom in a pm she is doing well and adjusting to medications, these medications are not for wimps I am sure we all agree!

Mini and everyone still praying for you all.

Take care and have a wonderful day and hoping you get renewed in spirit each day.

zjrosenthal

Jo thank you for that reminder. I continue to pray for your families needs and rejoice with you that no one was hurt in the accident. God is good.

I am grateful today that my bronchitis is finally getting better. I resceduled my port removal again till next week. I just don't feel strong enough yet after fighting this infection. Thank you all for the prayers for my granddaughter Alexia. She called last night and was very cheerful. She told me she attended a Bible study on Sunday! Please keep praying for God's perfect plan for her when she comes home in early April. Another piece of good news. She will be allowed to see her daughter Valentina. Oh yes ladies God is good. Love, Jean

Mini1

After a miserable week, I got my stitches out this afternoon. I have an infection in my eye, and had a bad reaction to the tape used in my dressings which has let my face extremely red and irritated, but I have to say I'm amazed at how fast the graft healed. I had a big gaping hole under most of my lower eyelid, and now you can hardly tell where they did the graft. All in 6 days. And I can't believe how good washing my hair and face felt tonight. I'm looking forward to sleeping lying down in my own bed tonight!

Thank you everyone for the prayers.

Blessings

zjrosenthal

Yay Mini. So happy to hear the good report. It must have been scary. God really was with you through it all. Very encouraging l, thank you. Love, Jean

Ade

I am hesitant to even write this to you as you are all going through so much yourselves - but I don't know of anyone else who could possibly understand. I feel pretty much alone in this, though I have a loving husband, family & church family.

I awaken in the night feeling like I am on the edge of a cliff with a rattlesnake right behind me. I break out in a sweat then and can't get back to sleep for hours. Many nights I get up and read my Bible and talk to the Lord, then head back to bed for a while. By the time it's almost morning my bones hurt so badly I can't stay in bed and I'm up to face another day of dreadful fatigue. With sleep deprivation I fall into an emotional sadness so very deep that I feel like the Lord can't even put up with me and I am no use to Him - which is the deepest despair possible I think. I KNOW what the Word says and I can really relate to David when he said, "Why so downcast O my soul, put your hope in God"...and I know God's wonderful promises are true. I could blame the meds for this and try a 3rd one, but I think they are just doing what they're supposed to do and this is what life without hormones is. If I go off the meds my chance of cancer returning gets higher. But can I do another four more YEARS of this - and is it even worth it? I am hoping someone has been through this too and can relate. I feel like I am far out to sea treading water - and I'm very, very tired. Thanks for listening. Ade

Lita57

I really don't know what to say, Ade. I was Dx'd with Stage IV right out of the gate (and no history of BC in my family), so I'm not the one to ask about discontinuing anti-hormone meds. Is there a possibility you could cut the dosage down? We shouldn't have to take ANOTHER med to deal with the problems caused by the first, but that is often the way it is.

I was reading an article in a supplemental issue of CURE magazine, and they insisted we let our drs know when we're having rough se's so they can be informed and help other patients as these concerns come up. It's essential that we get our sleep, as you know, so I would recommend contacting your dr or nurse practitioner and hearing what they have to say. Right now, the lack of sleep is really impacting your quality of life.

Sending prayers,

Lita

Blessedteacher37

Ade,

I agree with Joanne...an anti anxiety or antidepressant can help with some side effects. My biggest struggles with Tamoxifen were helped with generic Effexor (Venlafaxine) and helped when I was on Arimidex too. it doesn't interfere with those drugs' effectiveness. I still take it with this current round of Tamoxifen. Since I'm not so wound up emotionally, I sleep better.

Ellen

bandwoman1234

Hello dear sisters,

I am sorry for not being more present but I just did not have enough emotional energy to deal with my mom's declining health and the mad dash to get her a walker, a medical alert system, install a new phone so she wouldn't have to get up to answer the phone and then to practice all of these things with her before I left late on Wed.

This has been one of the most difficult times for me on so many levels. I have prayed for your needs as I continued to read posts but just didn't have enough energy to post until now.

I pray for those who have had to stop treatment and are waiting to resume. I pray for those dealing with SE with their life saving chemo. I pray for those who have had surgery and are recuperating from illness. I pray for those whose families are dealing with sickness and legal issues. I know Tracey was going to have her first ever surgery in January but not sure of the date. I have been thinking of her as well. It was going to be a 12 hour surgery for her first ever!

Ade, I wanted to weight in on your dilemma because I am on Arimidex as well and I have struggled with it from the get go. When I first came onto this forum I heard ladies talking about how much exercise helped with the SE of Arimidex. I already was a lap swimmer. I only learned to swim because I knew when I retired six years ago that my insurance would not pay for all of the chiropractic and muscle therapy that I had had for years and years. I have fibromyalgia and I have pain and fatigue all the time.

I didn't even know how to swim but took lessons my last year of teaching. I was deathly afraid of the deep end because I just about drowned in the Gulf of Mexico when I was 17 years old. Once I finally got into the groove of swimming it really did help my fibro pain. While at my mom's for three weeks I did not have my swimming or my light box. I use a light box because I have the SADD during the winter. So I can really identify with what you are saying.

I started having terrible GI issues after three weeks on Arimidex and after going through a myriad of tests to rule everything else out it all pointed to Arimidex. I remember thinking how in the world am I going to make it through five years of this and then hearing how some people were recommended for 10 years I just thought just shoot me now. ( please excuse my sick humor)

I vacillated between nausea, terrible GI pain and insomnia. I played around with the timing of the AI to try to deal with all of these issues. I think I initially took it at night and changed that. I settled on taking it at noon and somehow that seemed to be the time that helped the most. I have found that I get stressed much more than I use to and my fuse is much shorter as well. I considered myself a very patient person and as an elementary band director for much of my life I was considered a very patient teacher. While dealing with my mom's dementia now as one of her caregivers there were times I wanted to punch my fist through a wall!

I counted off the months as I struggled with the AI and I remembered Joanne posting something similar when I was having issues and others as well. Dealing with cancer coming back seemed much worse that dealing with the SE. I just realized yesterday that with my new Medicare plan that just started the other alternatives to Arimidex (Anazstrozole) for me are not Tier 1 drugs but much more expensive. I really didn't want to switch anyway because it has taken me so long to deal with this one that I wanted to tough it out. I will soon be coming upon my half way mark.

I take sleep meds to deal with the insomnia and they don't always work. I had a real battle with my insurance over this drug and they finally approved it after two appeals.

The alternative things for sleep interfered with my AI but I did try some of them recently and guess what............really scary dreams. Melatonin did work but I needed to only take a tiny piece as it made me drowsy if not.

I agree with Joanne and Ellen that if you need some support in the form of something to take off the edge then I certainly don't think there is anything wrong with that. Yes, it is the pitts to have to take more meds to counteract the meds we have to combat cancer but it is what it is. I HATE having to take night meds but I know that I will continue to take them and tough out the next 2 1/2 years.

No one can make your decision for you and in the end only you know how much you can stand. If you can do any form of exercise I would encourage you to try that and see if it helps with any of your SE. I pretty much dug my heels in a very long time ago and I told my MO that I wanted to stay on this drug but I am honest with him regarding the SE.

I pray that you can find some answers that are right for you and that you will have peace after making.

Cammie, my cat was acting strangely today before I left for swimming. Yes, she helped me to realize there is a mouse in my house and I got to see it run into my kitchen and disappear. It was not a little one either. From snakes to mice, satan doesn't stop with his trying to get us off track. Unlike snakes and I not afraid of mice. I just have to deal with one more thing which I may put off until tomorrow!

Take care my friends.

Love,

Nancy

zjrosenthal

Nancy, nice to hear from you. Please dont think you need to apologize when you are too busy to post. Both my parents had dementia so I know how stressful and time consuming it can be. I am just about 2 years into the 10 year AI plan. My chemo doc switched me to Tamoxifen before Christmas and I think the joint pain is a little better. I've been battling bronchitis for the last 3 weeks and not doing much exercise so it's hard to tell. We didn't hear from my granddaughter Alexia tonight so I am praying all is well with her. I pray all here have a blessed night. Love, Jean

Ade

Thank you very very much for your input, suggestions and prayers. I will take this all up with the Lord and trust He will show me what is His will. I do feel better just knowing I'm not alone. Bless you all. I am praying for all of your concerns. Love, Ade

Teka

Ade, yes, never alone on this thread.

Thank You, this thread is a blessing!

bandwoman1234

Amen Teka.

Ade

Just wanted you to know I slept clear through the night last night! Except for a migraine I am really good today.

THANK YOU so very much for your prayers! I'm praying for you.

Love,

Ade

Mini1

Ade - I couldn't take the Arimidex or Aastrazole. The side effects were awful. I can tolerate the Tamoxifen SE's but couldn't do the AI's. I hope you find some relief.

I have an eye infection that is quite uncomfortable. I could use some prayers healing.

Blessings

bandwoman1234

Good morning dear ladies of faith,

Thank you Jean, for the welcome back. Hope you are feeling better. Mini, praying for your eye infection. Ade, so glad you got a good night's sleep. I hope you have many, many more.

Aurora, praying you can find a treatment plan and new oncologist in your move.

Arcats, praying that you are meeting all of your challenges with God at the helm.

Lita, praying your pain and discomfort are under control.

Ellen, praying for a good day back at the helm of your Bible Study.

G, praying you all had a great holiday season.

Cindy, how is your son doing in his new music position? I hope you are getting some needed R and R.

Angie, praying you got some good R and R over the holidays and are recharged to take on all of your responsibilities.

Faith, praying you are enjoying being off the cancer planet for a while.

Teka, keep warm up there in the North country.

Joanne, praying for you and your family and your upcoming doctor apt.

I know in all of my struggles the thing that most resonates for me is that when I take my eyes off of God even for a short time and concentrate and try to figure out all the challenges that life throws my way I lose my peace and spin my wheels wasting time and energy. When I realize what I am doing I can call out to God to help me. He allows me to spin my wheels as long as it takes and He is patient and loving towards me in this process. He is always waiting with open arms. It is so much better to be in the loving arms of Jesus instead of running around yelling the sky is falling, the sky is falling!

Have a great day today dear sisters.

Love,

Nancy

bandwoman1234

Welcome Susie. I am glad you found us. There are quite a few ladies on this thread praying for the same thing for a longer path and I pray that you will get it. Feel free to post whenever you want to. We are here to encourage, lift up and pray for each other. Take care.

Love,

Nancy

bandwoman1234

THIS IS FOR JOANNES SPECIAL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Teka

So cute! ;o))

*Happy Birthday Joanne*