For Older People with Sense

chrissyb

Carole no I never really got into wearing contacts........by the time I was looking toward doing just that I was told I needed bifocals and it was impossible to wear contacts.  I did try.....being me...lol.....but it was so difficult having different sight in each eye so I gave up and just stick with the glasses.  I still wouldn't be able to wear them as I have trifocals now........getting blinder by the minute......lol.   The only thing I'm really grateful for is the new feather weight lenses as mine would be thick and heavy if they weren't around.

Ginger that is way young for macular degeneration!  Has she had any treatment for it?  My mum had her cataracts done only to find out twelve months later that she had macular degeneration.......girl! she was soooo ticked off about it you would have thought she was in her twenties instead of eighties!  It really made no difference to her as she was close to the end of her days anyway but I chuckle about her reaction and little tantrums over it.

I am aware that macular degeneration can strike anyone at any time so it's something that should always be checked when having your eyes tested.  Most optometrists do just that here as part of the eye test so that's a good thing!

Love n hugs all!    Chrissy

sas-schatzi

Hi, popping in. I was posting with another member. I thought sharing the below information may be helpful to you .

The link www.needymed.org is to a web site started by a Social Worker and a doc. It is a tricky site to use. The first page leads to a several hundred resource pages. But I think this first page, does not project the wealth that lies beneath. Be patient when following the links within the site. There are sections that are disease and drug specific. The specific page then links to lists of organizations that provide monetary or other types of assistance.

Register first and do the request for assistances form. Reason: the request for assistance form is filed. If you apply to 1 or 20 organizations/companies, the forms don't need to be repeatedly filled out.  The system is designed to pull information from the original form. There may be a few particulars that need to be added to a companies/organizations form.

All the pharmaceutical companies have patient assistance programs. All the drug manufactures are listed there

The other way to reach drug manufactures is 1. call the manufactuer patient assistance number(goolge keywords: drug name and manufacturer, then to webpage>>>patient assistance. Very time consuming.

There is so much more on www.needymed.org. It took a bit of time to wander through the whole site. I've shared a telephone walk through with many friends and relatives. I even called healthcare facilities to tell them about this link.

For completeness, there are many ways to get financial assistance for whatever you need. There are organizations that will do things for you i.e volunteers that buy groceries, drive, install handrails, build wheelchair ramps.

How to find the info besides from the link above?  FIND the SOCIAL WORKER(SW).  It's there job to know these things   Talk to all of the following 1. cancer center SW,  2.hospital SW, 3. Insurance companies SW, 4. County SW. 5. church outreach leader.

I requested from my insurance carrier, a consult with a SW. That one appointment with the insurance carrier Social Worker, led to grants totaling $10,550. The meeting with the cancer centers SW, led to coverage of neulasta  for $4000.00.

chrissyb

Thanks Sas!  As usual, some very useful and helpful information.

Love n hugs.    Chrissy

macatacmv

chrissyb

Hahahahaha!  Good one Nancy!!!   Love it!!

barbe1958

SoCalLisa

for Barbe

chrissyb

Happy Birthday Barbe!!!!   Hope it a good one for you!

Love n hugs.   Chrissy

carolehalston

Ditto to Chrissy's birthday wishes!!

barbe1958

Awwwwww, thanks ladies!!!! 56 years old today and proud of it!

Wren44

Hope it was a good one Barbe.

barbe1958

I always try to have a good day, so it was good! Nothing done special or anything, but nice to be alive.

wirdgirl118

being alive is the best!

Gingerbrew

Happy Birthday Barbe!   56 is a very good age!   Yes being alive is good. Are you working on any projects lately? Oops that is on the stitching thread isn't it? lol

I walked for 4 minutes at 1.1 mph at PT yesterday. I felt SO good when I got home, I had energy and some motivation and made several needed appointments that I have been putting off. It only took me about half an hour, I have put off some of this for 9 months!  I am so silly.  Yesterday was the first time I have felt energy in a long long time. I am grateful for it and hope with physical therapy it will continue.   

Wren44

Ginger, Good news! No energy is really hard to deal with. 

brigadoonbenson

About energy or lack thereof.  I crashed emotionally this morning feeling I would never have the energy to even start the long list of things that need to be done.  Spring here (I guess everywhere) is very busy with the extras; the garden, the flower beds, cleaning and moving all the porch furniture out, not to mention the changes in the house.  I use to look forward to starting those tasks.  Now I can barely get my wash on the line and fill the birdfeeders. 

Fast forward 5 hours and I have done laundry, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen and worked in the flower beds for two hours.  Guess the toxins I cried out left me with some room for energy!  It may not be there tomorrow but at least I felt some power and hope today.

I will be 70 in August and have a hard time separating the normal losses of aging and the effects of the cancer and treatments. 

Ginger - 4.4 at 1.1 mph.  You have inspired me.  I may have to go to my treadmill - tomorrow.

carolehalston

Barbe, you're too young for an "Older People" forum!  The 50's were very good years for me.

sas-schatzi

Happy BirTHday Barbie, yes, it's nice to be alive sassy

Wilsie2

Brigadoon,Iwill also be 70 in August. I agree, don't know what to blame my loss of energy and strength on, some sie effects and some normal aging. It's discouraging that I don't have any stamina, much lost over the past year. 

I feel I am blessed to be 2 1/2 years out from recurrance, and am trying to lead as normal a life as I can. You have to count me out if it's lasting past 8 pm!  I go to bed with the chickens!

Wilsie

carolehalston

Brigadoon and Wilsie, I "celebrated" my 71st birthday in March.  This is my 5th year since my bc dx and surgery and my 5th year on arimidex.  I changed after bc from being full of energy and feeling much younger than my age to a person who experienced a lot of fatigue.  I think part of that change was discontinuing HRT after my dx.  But all of a sudden, I didn't keep up with housework, didn't feel like doing yard work, just generally became a less active person.  I continued to play golf, but my game went downhill.

I also gained weight, my blood pressure went higher, my cholesterol went higher.  I blamed a lot of these changes on arimidex.  In Feb. I went back to WW and have managed to lose about 11 lbs.  And I am starting to feel more energetic.  When my prescription of arimidex is used up soon, I plan to stop taking it a few months shy of my 5 yrs. 

It will be interesting to see if my bp, cholesterol and weight control improve once I stop arimidex.  If not, I'll realize it was aging and not taking the HRT that were responsible for my fatigue and downhill slide.

In retrospect, I am not sorry I took HRT.  It made me feel great and staved off aging.  Plus I am not convinced that I wouldn't have developed bc anyway.  Some women do and some women don't, regardless of breast feeding, consumption of alcohol, child bearing, taking HRT, being overweight or being underweight and on and on.  Maybe someday drs. will know WHY but they don't know why now.  I figure it's all genetic.  Like heart disease.

barbe1958

Ginger and Brigadoon...WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!

As for me being on this thread, too funny! It was only YESTERDAY that I realized it was for women older than 60!!! I followed my bud Chrissy here without even thinking. I also felt MUCH older while on so many narcotics for my back. I used to sleep 16-18 hours a day.....do I have to leave....???

sas-schatzi

Barbe your so funny . They love you.

Mac and Chrissy, Ginger or anyone  I wrote a new thread re discussion between Members and Mods I'll bring back the link.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/110/topic/821164?page=1#idx_18

 

 

wirdgirl118

brigadoon....it's amazing what boo-hooing does for the body and soul. Whenever I get a good sobfest going, my nerve pain lessens remarkably for days afterwards.

wirdgirl118

psst, Barbe, I'm 58. I didn't follow anyone here, the posts were irresistible so I hunkered down around the campfire with the amazing ladies here. Lol

wirdgirl118

I agree that it's hard to sort out what changes we experience due to breast cancer treatment, and which ones are due to aging. My belief is that no matter what brings you to the Frequent Napper Club, it's all good. Nappers rock!

chrissyb

No one has to leave and anyone is welcome no matter what your age! 

 When I started this thread I was 59 and the reason this thread is in this forum is that the thread that caused this one to begin was in this forum so that's where I put it but it doesn't mean that women under sixty are not welcome.

I started this thread just over three years ago after what I would have called my home thread became a battle ground.  I know that we are all different and we all have opinions but there can be calm discussion which has been proven time and again right here.  

I am so pleased that this thread has remained one of friendship and support as this disease leads and has led us to places unknown and created fear that was and is hard to control at times...........it is through the loving posts of the women who inhabit this thread that life can feel normal even when it is not.

Sorry girls but it seems that the closer this knee replacement gets the more emotional I am becoming which is not really like me at all..........I usually take all of this in my stride but this time around I guess I'm just not looking forward to the long recovery.

Deep breath.....let it out and calm down......all will be well.

Love n hugs all!    Chrissy

Wren44

I always thought the "with sense" was far more important than age. Don't you dare leave, Barbe.

Chrissy, I can imagine that knowing too much about the knee replacement aftermath makes it very emotional. Why can't it be like childbirth, where the result makes you forget how hard it was? Maybe get some travel brochures so you can see yourself able to walk the cobbled streets in some awesome place. Or imagine a cruise with you taking it easy on the balcony of your stateroom.

wirdgirl118

hi Chrissy, it is scary to know that your hard won return to vitality will be dealt a bit of a setback with the knee replacement. But, you have healed like a champ before, and you will heal again. This time, you know you've healed like a champ before. You're experienced. You've been there. This is not your first rodeo! Or horse race. I had a setback when I fell on the ice in March. Today I was diagnosed with bronchitis. I hate having a Vitality Setback. But I will battle back. So will you! Hugs!!

mema4

carolehalston, I'm with you. No regrets with the HRT, some say yes, some say no, but no one knows yet. And, my hair is dry, skin is dry and I don't know where these spots and flaky things came from, fatigue set in and somewhere 20 more pounds hit. All this happened a year before my DX. Have to get my new boob tattooed and I'm done with looking at it. I had implants back in the 80's so frankly, I'm tired of worrying about how these things look! But that's me, not the same for everyone else to feel that way.

Other than trying to get all the TX women together, I only lurk around these threads. I was DX in Nov 2013 and have yet to get on Arimidex. Still pondering whether I want to deal with ruining my life now, or wait till later. I have a 5% Oncotype scope after 5 yrs on an AI, 14% without after 10 years. No data on smaller dosage yet but again, who knows?

sas-schatzi

Chrissy at least they will get the anticoagulant thing right this time. No guess work there now. Sorry, though, that you have to go through this again. Wrens suggestion is nice. Remember when you talked of how good it felt for the knee that was done 

My memories bad, did I tell you I had thyroid cancer? I'm still glowing from the RAI 131. Not as paranoid about it now.  Glowing till July 25th. Have to carry a letter in case I set off a security alarm. Also, I didn't expect to get ALL the s.e.'s listed...a few... okay, but got way more than expected. Frustrated with docs, too much they can't tell me about this. i.e. like if it's a primary etc. Going to request a referral to MOffit where I had the crainiotomy. I've already picked the doc by her resume. She covers lots of systems and body parts. Here to many docs with their particular "part". I want one alpha dog that looks at me as a whole person and devises a plan.