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

1Athena1

I'm so sorry for those of you on AIs. Very, very stupid question (because I'm sure you have thought of it), but do you load up on Vtimaon D3? That MAY ease bone and muscle pain.

Bren-2007

I didn't have joint pain with Arimidex, but I had severe nausea, vomiting and vertigo while taking it.  I had to quit .. it was just too much for me.

Bren

crazy4carrots

Athena -- I take between 3,000 and 5,000 IUs of VitD3 per day.  But thanks anyway.

Bren, those are horrible SEs -- no wonder you quit it.  I thought I was doing just fine on Femara, but then the generic started the cycle over again.  Boo Hiss! 

RetiredLibby

Well, I went to Nordstrom to get the post-surgery Amoena camisole that my PS wanted me to get and stopped and did a little browsing on my way back to the car. I haven't been shopping in a mall in a department store in ages... I buy almost all of my clothes online through catalogues... Or at the Chico's outlet. Undies come from good ole' WalMart. I didn't go crazy or anything, but picked up a really cute Jones NY blouse for $20 and very nice cotton PJs (for post surgery) for all of $8 at Macy's. Back home now and doing some laundry and continuing the restoration of my computer. Since it is 3-1/2 years old, there are approximately eleventy-jillion updates to reload just for starters. Thank heaven for my iPad and 3G, since I am too paranoid...er, convinced...to turn on the wi-fi on my modem!



E, I hope you can find something tasty today that tickles your appetite... Boca burgers are ... Well... They just are. And, for me, not in a good way.



Rosemarh, DH said he used to think he was stubborn, but he is a rank amateur next to me. He has officially conceded the title of "Most Stubborn Person in the Universe" to me. It is not a compliment, sometimes. I point out that I would never have made it this far in life had I not been tenacious and stubborn.... He concedes that, but wishes I were just a little less...immovable sometimes. Ah well, the dimples should make up for it!



Back to work ...

L

1Athena1

On Tamoxifen, I might have ended up dying. I did 18 months and stopped. IMO, those of us with certain comorbidites can have effects that make them worse while on hormonals because of the effect on the hypothalamic-pituaitary-adrenal gland axis, which is believed to be dysregulated in cases like mine. That is why I am choosing not to make myself postmenopausal before my time. It would be a total disaster. Besides, I was only 10 percent er and 1 percent pr. Not worth betting the vinyard on 11 percent. 

Bren-2007

I wonder when we can get back on the active topics.  It kind of feels like a time out.

Happy .. you got some great deals at Nordys.  The closest real mall to me is an hour away.  I haven't been to a Nordys since I lived in San Diego.  They have the best half year sales.

I'm the stubborn one in my family too  .. but when Tim is emphatic about something, I'll give in.  Since his favorite line is "Whatever you want baby," I have to give in once in awhile.  ha!

Bren

EDITED:  Athena .. I was 100% ER/PR +.  Thank goodness I didn't have any positive nodes or I would have tried to stay on the Arimidex.  The doc even gave me meds for the nausea and vomiting, but all they did was make me so depressed I cried all the time.

1Athena1

Bren, I don't think we ever will. It does feel wierd, doesn't it? 

Which other threads have been taken off? 

Bren-2007

I don't know which other ones were taken off the active list.  It's hard to tell.  

Just so our friends can find us, I guess that's all that matters.

Bren

1Athena1

Bren, that must have been awful for you. The decision for me was torturous. I essentially had to answer the following question to myself before I could feel comfrotable going off Tamoxifen:

1) If you reach stage IV, will you regret having gone off it?

2) If you reach stage IV, will you take hormonals?

Today, I can say that the firm answer to number one is "no" and that the firm answer to number two is "no" but it took a long time and many events before I could arrive at those answers. 

Enjoyful

I've tried the synthetic version of medical marijuana (Marinol) but it just make me nauseous.  I also have 90-yr-old syndrome (aches, pains, fatigue).  Arimidex is not my favorite thing in the world, but if it keeps me NED I'll put up with it.  :-)

Bren-2007

Athena .. I understand.  I don't know what I will do if my cancer comes back or is advanced.  I couldn't drive, could barely walk and cried all the time.  The same with the Tamoxifen, which I tried for 6 weeks.  I spent months coming to terms with my decision.  It wasn't easy in the face of all the literature, but I had to risk it.  The benefit to me with Arimidex was about 5% and a little less for Tamoxifen.  I weighed the percentages carefully when I made the decision.

Bren

EDITED:  If I was Stage IV, I would have found a way somehow to take the medicine.  Of course there would have been meds added for the SE's.

E ... I'm sorry the Marinol didn't work for you.  There was a whole thread on here devoted to marijuana and medical marijuana.  It was really interesting.  For me, there is nothing worse than nausea.  I'm sorry too about the aches and pains you are suffering with.

1Athena1

It's a torturous decision for everyone who has to make it. I think every person makes their compromises/sacrifices/difficult decisions based on the squeakiest wheel, if you will - the part of them that most begs for attention. For some, that squeakiest wheel might be a child. For someone else it is sanity. Edited again. 

crazy4carrots

Bren -- This is NOT meant as medical advice, but would you consider grapeseed extract?  I'm going to try and find some studies on it as an estrogen inhibitor and will post what I find.

Bren-2007

Do you have to get it at a healthfood store?  I've tried taking vitamins before and they made me sick to my stomach.  I bet my doctor knows about grape seeds so I'll ask her too.  Can you get the same benefit from just eating the grapes whole?

Bren

crazy4carrots

Or drinking the wine made from the grapes?  No, more's the pity!  I have to go out, but I'll look for the info when I get back.

BarbaraA

Here's some:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19459306

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/66/11/5960.abstract

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00100893

BarbaraA

All I can say is it seems to be working for me. I had been through menopause 7 years ago and once I started on the GSE, bam, hot flash city.

Bren-2007

Barbara .. thank you for the links .. I read them.  I can certainly try it.  How much do you take?  I'm just afraid that it will make me sick like the Arimidex did.  I've been in menopause since my diagnosis.  I was on HRT up until that time for a prior hysterectomy.

Bren

BarbaraA

I take muscadine grape seed extract from Vitacost. 500mg

Enjoyful

Does it also have resveratrol in it Barb, or is that from another part of the grape?

Bren-2007

I can get Reservatrol up north at the Sam's club.  Does that work like grape seed extract?  I'll have to check into a healthfood place next time I'm in Roanoke.

Thanks for the info!

Bren

EDITED:  One more question .. does the GSE mess up your mojo like Arimidex and Tamoxifen?

Enjoyful

PLEASE tell me that GSE actually improves mojo.  Please?

Bren-2007

Athena .. the temp is 97 and the heat index is 113!  I hope it's not that bad up north!

E .. I sure hope it doesn't mess up the mojo .. because that would also enter into my decision to take it. 

Bren

bluedahlia

mrmojorisin

Bren-2007

Blue .. you're funny!

BarbaraA

GSE is GREAT for mojo and I am getting me some mojo working tonight.

Enjoyful

THat seals the deal for me.  Just ordered me some.

duckyb1

Well into the 90's in the Philly area...............I think 95, just no relief in sight.............Thank God for a/c..............should be down the shore in the pool, but no one went this weekend, so why drive 100 miles to do what I can do up here...................especially when I get 10 miles to the gallon in my stinkin car...............oh well.

Enjoyful

Hey ducky - you want some guinea pigs?  They're amazing pets.  A shelter in your area just picked up over 40 of them - some guy dumped them by a river.  Creep.  I can give you a cage.  :-)

Bren-2007

Ducky .. the weather sucks!

Barbara .. thanks for the info!  I'm going to see if I can find some of that stuff locally so I don't have to drive up north!

E ... that's awful.  I feel bad for those little guinea pigs.

Bren