I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Momine

Psycholibby, I am quite practical, but I did not realize that the ooph-femara would render me incapable of having a sex life, and I do miss that part of myself. 

bluedahlia

bluedahlia

pip57

I look at the sex life as just more of a challange.  There are lots of tricks to help and it is worth the effort.  

RetiredLibby

I kept the uterus -- it wasn't making any trouble at all. Momine, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not taking any anti-hormonals, so sex life is OK. Just have to use a little more astroglide, but otherwise not impossible. I know that it has made a big difference for others, though. I got lucky.



L

Momine

Psycho, Pip, it is what it is. Still glad to be alive, but it is definitely weird to have the whole thing "broken." I have heard about things like astroglide, but the thought just grosses me out, and since there is nothing happening down there anyway, it seems like an odd exercise.

Enjoyful

Same here, Momine.  I hate cancer SO much for stealing my essential femininity.  I don't even feel human anymore, let alone female.

Bren-2007

Crazy-E ... I know you may feel that way ... but the truth is you are extremely feminine and a lovely and loving woman on the inside and outside.

hugs,

Bren

bluedahlia

bluedahlia

Anonymous

Momine - there's a "getting my mojo back" thread someplace on BCO - with a fascinating discussion about Scream Cream.  I'm not kidding - it seems to work for many women.  That's where I learned about cocoa butter, instead of coconut oil as a vaginal mositurizer - really really helps vaginal atrophy drying.  Don't know about the SC - I don't use it.

Anonymous

Bren - did I miss a post?  Hope Tim is doing well.

Bren-2007

Sunnyflowers ... I think the thread about the "scream cream" is in the Stage IV forum.

Was hoping to see a note from Crazy-E about the results of her bone biopsy.

Also very concerned about Athena.

hugs to all,

Bren

Anonymous

a lovely diversion: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-bay-eagle-cam  Bald Eagels feeding 6 day old chicks in nest, eaglecam - addicting.

I must be missing posts - didn't realize E was having another biopsy?  Or are we waiting for results from the "hammer" one?  Oh, I HOPE ther's not another hammer one....shivers, shivers, shivers....

I'm concerned about Athena's advocate, whoever is making sure she is getting all the medicaine she needs, know there is someone who must be with her....such a tense time.

Enjoyful

No biopsy news yet.

River_Rat

Momine, I tried all the natural lubricants and finally gave up and used a silicone lubricant - yay! This was after a couple of very frustrating years following my BMX, chemo for lymphoma and a hysterectomy/oophorectomy, thyroid lobectomy - which all came in quick succession. I had reached the point where I didn't think things would ever work right again. My libido was about nil but I just felt really bad about losing that part of myself and my relationship so I never gave up and I'm glad I finally gave up on the natural stuff. Success with a silicone lubricant did wonders for my libido.

I also found this article, written by a BC patient and female chaplain to be helpful (I figured if a chaplain wasn't too uptight to deal with this then I certainly could manage):

http://www.curetoday.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/article.show/id/2/article_id/1246

Anonymous

rr- the Debroah Jarvis book is fabulous - I LOVE that she's a minister.  Reminds me of our bartender ;-))) Great, great sense of humor.  That's the author of the article in curetoday you linked to...

E - ok, fingers still crossed for good news.

bluedahlia

River_Rat

Sunflowers, I remember looking the book up and wondering if the whole thing would be as good as that piece. 

bluedahlia

gardengumby

CrazyforCarrots - thanks for posting the link about Big Pharma.  In my opinion it's not only the drug companies, but also the drug STORES that are part of the problem.  I may have posted this before in this thread (crappy letrozole memory...).  Anyway, about two weeks ago I decided to call around to various drug stores to find the price of letrozole. 

I buy mine at Costco and do not use my insurance for it, as I get it cheaper without.  I pay $7.00 for a one month supply (with insurance the minimum co-pay is $10.)

Called around and got these quotes for a 30 day supply of letrozole (the generic), mind you - NOT the brand name Femara

Walgreens - $374 (unless you had their discount card in which case it was $274.)

Fred Meyer (Krogers) - $394

WalMart (I won't shop there, but wanted to know their charge) - $414.

So how is it that Costco can charge as little as $7.00 when the others are uniformly charging $400?  I also checked Costco online and there they charged $30 for letrozole and $535 for Femara.  I didn't ask any of the companies which generic they were supplying - I only verified that it was indeed generic and not the brand name.

There is something severely wrong in how Americans are getting ripped off.  And I am so incredibly SICK of hearing about "free enterprise" as if cancer patients, or asthma patients, or high-cholesterol patients or any one else who requires medicine can choose to not take the medicine.  Corporations are interested in one thing (usually) and that is making money - and yet more money.  We are just fodder for the machine.

Moderators

Whenever we see discussions about the high cost of medicines (even with insurance), we want to point out the Tips to Lower Medicine Costs section of the main Breastcancer.org site. Scroll down on that page to Medicine assistance programs information for more on help with the cost of meds.

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

Just read headlines of two articles from Add. Info.  To be fair, it is only the headlines, but both are saying that the Republicans are blocking again. I'll have to read them but off the top here, it seems that some just want to get the party failure over with...or so it seems to me. 

Jackie

edited to say.....Blue, I've enjoyed your pretty pictures and flowers so much  that I decided to just use some in my avatar.  Been a while since I changed my avatar....spent a while learning how to do it again.

IllinoisLady

Thanks Mods.  I appreciate the link.

Jackie

IllinoisLady

I'm going to try putting something I just watched in here.  Never been able to do it before so may not work now. 

http://www.upworthy.com/representative-brian-sims-brings-the-house-down-with-a-single-sentence-about-abortion-3?c=upw1

crazy4carrots

gg:  Here in the GWN (Great White North) my script for a 100-day supply of Femara was $703.74.  Then, this January, my supplemental insurance coverage stopped covering the name brand so the generic letrozole is $177.35 for 100 days.  This is through Shoppers Drug Mart, a Canadian company similar to your CVS or Rite-Aid.

Big difference between Femara and the generic, but an even BIGGER difference north of the border.

I too wonder how Costco does it.  I like Costco -- they treat their employees well.

Anyhow, I'm finished with it the end of July.  And then......will I see a return of the 30% hair that never came back after chemo and during the AI?????

Anonymous

gg - nobody beats costco, nobody!  Unless you are eligible for assistance, or free meds.  BTW, you don't have to be a member of Costco to use their pharmacy.  There was an article in a major newspaper about this - seems costco is willing to make less in their pharmacy - it draws so many people into the store.  AND, it is a fabulous place to shop.  They also treat their employees really, really, well - excellent benefits, and CEO of Costco LIMITS his own payment, unlike many other corporate leaders.

gardengumby

yeah...  I've got to admit that I'm a Costco addict.  I told hubby I'd live anywhere as long as it was within 30 miles of a Costco.  He was one of their first customers - when they only had the store on 4th Ave in Seattle.

Belinda44

Costco's wonderful.  I've never shopped at a Walmart and never will.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/12/costco-profit_n_2859250.html

"Costco is known for paying its workers wages that are generally above average for the retail industry. An average Costco worker made about $45,000 in 2011, according to Fortune. That’s compared to an average of about $17,486 per year for a worker at comparable Walmart-owned Sam’s Club.

And apparently the extra pay pays off. Costco makes more than $10,000 in profits per employee, while Walmart takes home about $7,400 per worker, according to the Daily Beast (Walmart and Costco aren’t exactly the same type of business, however).

In addition to offering its workers high pay and the opportunity to unionize, Costco also provides a benefit many of its competitors don’t: health insurance for part- and full-time employees."