INSOMNIACS place to talk in the wee hours

Kjones13

sorry sas.

Spookiesmom

Sorry Sas.

Spookiesmom

? for those who use melatonin. Do you take it every night, whether you may need it or not? Or do you got to bed, and then find out if you need it?

Been having trouble getting to sleep. Probably cause it's hot in my room. No problem staying asleep. Got some melatonin but didn't take last night. Zonked right out. Not sure how to do this.

sas-schatzi

Thanks KJ Hugs, frustrating with brother. He is the poster boy for a life lived healthily. Exercise, diet, weight, you name it. I'm Not. He has always pontificated. He didn't get that a bad gene doesn't care about what you do. He has ignored or blew away the stats I collected on family. It was obvious when I asked if he told the doc about family cancer hx on paternal side. "Well, I told him the few I could remember". I said you are the 23 or 24th primary cancer out of 53 blood relatives. I'm beginning to loose count. Four or five with double hits outside that total number. Of course, I have taken the attitude that it's gonna happen so don't stress, do as I want. It's five o'clock somewhere enjoying my wine as I type.

Thanks Spooks

Melatonin. interesting drug. Interesting how it's produced in the body.Interesting how it has it's own CYP450 metabolism path in the liver. Interesting the connections being found about it and cancer. Interesting.

Wren44

Sassy, Sorry about your brother. Perhaps he will stop pontificating. That is quite a family history.

sas-schatzi

Thanks Wren. The numbers were less when I decided to do the prophy. Then the prophy turned into a necessary. But the numbers were still off the charts. Had a three way consultation with two cousins while I was with the genetic counselor. It was a study funded at Shands in Florida. Both cousins RN's with advanced degrees. My goal was to get their cooperation on a plan to alert the family that genetic testing and surveillance plans needed to be developed. Totally didn't happen on my cousins parts. I was shocked that they couldn't see the risk was elevated. One -an ARNP when told her risk was 23%(I thought the % was low). Her mom and sister had BC. Had to be couched in hypotheticals b/c her sister was dx'd at the same time as me and newly dx'd cousin didn't want this Rn sister to know. I gave up. One of the RN cousins brother already had prostate and since has developed lung cancer. Her other brother since was dx'd colon cancer. Has a colostomy. Had he been scoped the year I was pushing, he would have been diagnosed earlier(3 years). May have prevented the bag. My brother would only pontificate that if we did this and we did that....every friggen moment was a lecture how he was doing such and such to make sure......

Now in his defense, he has been the greatest protecting brother a little sis could have. He always looked out for us in a horrible life circumstance. Was the one that stepped forward in time of need. He has been the best.

---------------------------------------------------

Okay need to go some more. Soap box item of mine for several years was getting tested for CYP450 metabolism. It was on a thread. It's how your liver metabolizes everything, but it was specific too drugs in this case. Of the six that are most involved with drug metabolism, I have three that are abnormal. Two are in a very small portion of the population--5% and 7%. That's small. Plus, and abnormality in processing Coumadin/Warfarin. Not a small deal when approaching open heart surgery. They didn't tell the doc. THEY have it in their notes. FUCK. Doesn't help if he's not been tested for the abnormalities. They are familial. GAWD, I get so frustrated.

Wren44

Sassy, Send him some asparagus. I hear it's a cure.

Spookiesmom

puff puff, pass. Cluck!!!!

Chevyboy

http://safeshare.tv/w/FEDEwZHZXu

Chevyboy

Oh you GIRLS! I KNOW what you are doing! Hah! xoxoxo

sas-schatzi

OMD---------------Asparugus..... I forgot. ROTFLOL

sas-schatzi

I can't warn him about all the stuff coming, b/c he discounts what I say..... poor guy....he'll go through it and then say......." I have had all these things said, sent, implied, suggested"

luvmygoats

Sassy - All I can do is offer a hug sister. Pretty lame considering. Is DB still back in ?Ohio? Wish I could do something for you.

queenmomcat

My husband says he figured out how to produce alkaline lemons, should anyone need it....my sympathies, Sassie. For what it's worth.

Loveroflife

Asparagus and alkaline lemon don't help?? Ok, I will stick to red onion juice.

magdalene51

I will stand on my head and drink water upside down, with a spoonful of sugar.

Oh wait. That's for hiccups.

chatfield852

Hi everyone! I'm new to the site, but I posted a message about my situation in the new members forum and I thought maybe if any of you have time you could read it and maybe offer me a little guidance. Hope your night is well.

Loveroflife

Hi Chatfield, have they ruled out fungal infection? If you have a fungal infection and your Doc used antibacterial, the problem will not be resolved? Did they take a culture

JWoo

Chevyboy

Morning gals... this is what "chatfield" posted on another thread... Maybe with all our nurses, med people on this thread you might have some suggestions?

8 hours ago chatfield852 wrote:

"Hi All! I'm not sure this is the right place to post this, but I'm sort of grasping at straws here. At this point in time, I have not been diagnosed with breast cancer-in fact I have been told that this is absolutely not what my problems represent... but I have this nagging, and maybe I'm hoping that someone here who has been through this experience can help reassure me that "they" are right. I just turned 30 in August, I still have trouble believing that and admitting it. I am the proud, exhausted mother of two little ladies who are absolutely the light of my life- and the reason I already have grey hairs sprouting up every morning. My issues began when my youngest daughter, now 3, was about 6 months old. I had breastfed my first daughter but only for about a month and a half. I wasn't producing enough milk and despite every effort to avoid it, I ended up putting her on formula. My second child was a little less adaptive than the first and our attempt at breast feeding only lasted about 2 weeks. I noticed that my nipples were a lot larger by the time I began nursing my second child, and always wondered if this was part of the problem. Either way, I never had any issues with mastitis or any other infections while pregnant or breastfeeding either child. About 6 months after I quit breastfeeding my youngest, I was diagnosed with my first case of mastitis- unilateral, left side. I took antibiotic which maybe seemed to help with the pain a little but it never really went away completely. I continued to have "mastitis" about once every two months, sometimes more often for the next year. In August of 2012, I got in the shower and noticed that my left breast was really tender and a little red, the nipple looked weird, flakey, red, maybe a little ulcerated in the middle. While I was inspecting the oddity I noticed a little bit of drainage and applied a little pressure to the area that seemed red- a large amount of pus colored fluid and blood came out and I made an appointment to see my PCP as soon as I got out of the shower. I saw her the next day and was referred to the breast health clinic where they performed an ultrasound of the left breast. They found nothing- no signs of infection, no pocket of abscess, no cyst, no evidence of what I was explaining to them had happened. They treated me for mastitis again. Took a little longer course of antibiotics and seemed to have a little improvement in pain as usual. To spare you a two year saga, I will just tell you that this has happened upwards of 10 times since that initial experience. I have been on basically every antibiotic you can imagine and nothing seems to ever make this issue resolve completely. I have had two mammograms, 5 ultrasounds, and many awkward office visits, but I don't seem to have any answers. With a recent switch in jobs I got better insurance and didn't need a referral to see a specialist so I had a friend in the office set me up with an appointment at a breast health clinic in the city. I thought this would ease my mind once and for all, to have someone who sees things like this every day be able to tell me that I was worried about nothing and they could fix my problem. I had been treated in my PCPs office 4 days prior with antibiotic for the worst flare yet I've had with this issue, and cellulitis to boot. My whole breast was red, swollen, my nipple was retracting and the bump that I have present directly under my nipple was double in size. The skin below my areola is brown, hard, and flakey all the time but seemed to be exaggerated with this bout of infection. 4 days later I'm in the specialty clinic where they order a mammogram, and an ultrasound and find nothing. No signs of infection, no pocket of fluid, no masses of any kind on mammogram, but an enlarged lymph node in the breast which they attributed to an infection that they see no signs of. I have nipple discharge constantly- it's usually clear, maybe a little blood on normal days. When the infection flares it's obvious as the discharge becomes milky, thick, varies in color from yellow to green to brown. I know that this has to be an infection, but what about the other symptoms that I have? I feel like they were completely dismissed, even by the specialist. I have obvious skin thickening under the nipple, the whole areola is now a different color and the brown half moon underneath the areola seems to be getting more pronounced. I have weird stabbing pains in and behind the nipple at times, redness and swelling even without signs of other infection. The palpable mass I can feel under my nipple was felt by the specialist but wasn't seen on imaging so they say this is just tissue. About three weeks ago I had a lump in my armpit that was about the size of a Ping-Pong ball, but that has shrunk back although its still noticeable and I have a strange weird purple colored circle about the size of a pea over the spot where I felt the bump. I have a personal history of cervical cancer in-situ and a family history of a paternal grandmother who died of ovarian cancer at 53. If any of you have any ideas, or reassurance, or similar experiences I would love to hear them. Do I ignore my suspicions and let this run it's course or do I continue to be annoying until I have a 100% solution to what is happening... Thanks in advance, I appreciate any help I can get!"

Now don't you worry none chatfield! If one of us don't have the answer, I'm sure amongst all of us, we'll help you decide what to do.

Gotta get you connected with some medical team that knows WTH they are doing! Stay on those people! Sometimes they can't figure us out, but then you ask for someone who can... You doin' okay?

Zillsnot4me

Chat field. How frustrating. No answers. Good luck.

Did you find the timtam cheesecake recipe?

Sorry sas. Your baby brother. At least he has you in his corner and you are a force to be reckoned with. Are you dumplings homemade? That soup sounds wonderful. May make a crock. It's supposed to be in the 70s this week!

Just finished a huge cup of earl grey. Sitting in the sun for my next set of tests.

What was the result of the MRI?

Hootie hoo Patty.

Keeping up with homework and kids activities keep me hopping.

sas-schatzi

Hi Chattie, Not sure how much help I can be, but I'll try. The info in your post is incomplete so it makes a response more difficult.

I've taken a look at info on the net and found some good info and taught me stuff I didn't know. I'll leave the links at the bottom and cut and paste some info as it applies in my response.

To summarize you have a chronic situation that has repeated evaluations by PCP and at least three visits to two breast health centers, one local and one in the city. You have had a two mammogram that were negative and an 5 ultrasounds.

Chit(our word for shit). The info I've found does indicate that you need to be more seriously an aggressively evaluated. You stated " I have nipple discharge constantly- it's usually clear, maybe a little blood on normal days:".

--------------------------------------------------

This info is from BreastLink

"Nipple discharge can be an early symptom of breast cancer, but most cases of nipple discharge are due to benign conditions. The following are guidelines to differentiate benign discharge from discharge that is associated with malignancy:

• Spontaneous Discharge: Discharge that comes out without squeezing is the only type of discharge of concern. If the discharge only occurs with squeezing, ignore it and stop squeezing your breast. Check your bra or night clothes for evidence of spontaneous discharge. If you see a spot, save it and show it to your doctor.
• Color: Worrisome discharge is typically either bloody or clear. Discharge that is green, milky, or other colors is almost always of no concern. Note: if you have large amounts of milky discharge and you are not breast feeding, it should be brought to the attention of your physician. Tests should be done to evaluate for the possibility of a pituitary tumor. Milky discharge with squeezing is not of concern.
• Single verses multiple ducts: If a woman squeezes her breast and notes discharge from multiple spots on the nipple, she can be reassured that the discharge is usually nothing to worry about. However, if the discharge is consistently coming from one spot on the nipple, it is of more concern. This observation should be confirmed by her physician (see link to picture)."

-------------------------------

You describe two sign/symptoms(s/s's).i.e spontaneous, and clear sometimes bloody. The third symptom is perhaps one you never thought to look for. Simply based on this you need a better work-up. What bothers me is this may be new info for me, but a breast health practitioner should know this. That's the point of being a specialist in a field.

The BreastLink web page goes on to describe a step by step approach for the evaluation of your problem. I would add consideration of a breast MRI, and either a strerotactic biopsy or excisional biopsy if the MRI is negative.

Reasons 1. to determine absolutely that no hidden cancer exists. Based on your s/s's and the length of time, you need to get an answer from the specialist as to why not. 2. the study of the tissue will define further action.(histopathology).

What I read is you have been repeatedly placed on antibiotics. But you don't describe and studies of the fluid. If no culture and sensitivities have been done, it's completely inappropriate to randomly prescribe antibiotics. INAPPROPRIATE. Besides bacterial evaluation for fungal, and mycobacterium evaluation should be done. Mycobacterium is not routinely tested.

They're was another study that defined that treatment in the absence of bacteria/fungus/mycobacterium that steroids be used. That doesn't appear to have been part of your treatment plan. That link will be at the end too.

Before I close, you describe that it occurs every two months. That again further supports excisional biopsy to look at the wall of the abscess. Sometimes the only way to keep the problem from recurring is to cut out the whole cyst/abscess wall.

Laboratory studies ought to include a Prolactin level

At this point the PCP should not be managing this case. They are in over their head IMO.

A breast specialist MD, not ARNP should start from scratch to develop a diagnostic plan, and then a treatment plan.

Hope some of this helps, sassy

http://www.breastlink.com/breast-cancer-101/common-breast-problems/nipple-discharge/

http://radiopaedia.org/articles/intramammary-lymph...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3318163/

sas-schatzi

Thaks Zils, but he's my big brother. And he is really great in so many ways. Too numerous to count.

Thanks Queenie

Jwoo we need an update (WAVING)

We haven't heard from a few for awhile Frenchfrye, Marley, Patty, Susan Who am I missing?

I learned allot in trying to answer Chattie. Hope she gets some better care too.

luvmygoats

Sassy - I bow before you. You are so thorough. I too would certainly want some cultures done. You would think in today's less is more thinking on antibiotic therapy that would be a given. If that abscess had a been say on a private area bet for sure it would have been gone. Geesh. Docs. Chattie (we nickname everyone on here - like a personalized greeting lol) let us know what happens. We care!

Calling for a search for some of our missing members. Sassy - I will add to your list but know I will miss someone and apologize in advance but here goes: Dune, Mags, Rosie, Hole in One. Anyone else free to jump in and add. Spookie not hearing much from you. Guess Smaarty is still busy touring.

Howdy back atcha JWoo.

Tea - I found some Harney & Sons black currant I'd put up on a massive kitchen cleaning for the plumber. It tastes kinda like grape jelly tea.

Spookiesmom

I'm around. Too hot to think.

luvmygoats

Fingers melting onto keyboard huh?

Watching the Panda cam (twin babies born) at the National Zoo between watching stock market news which of course I can do nothing about.

sas-schatzi

I tucked away some money in a safe place..........been searching for along time. AND the pool pump is broke. Likely do to the solar heat panel load. That was one of the negatives on the reviews. I specifically checked with the owner re this. It's always something.

LMG BTW Mags posted on this page.

luvmygoats

Oh I forgot about the hiccup cure. Sorry Mags but you can still post again lol.

sas-schatzi

LMG, I know my mutual funds are taking a hit. But a correction was expected. It just takes so long for it to build back up. I haven't seen an explanation yet RE: China;s action about devaluing their currencies as to what it means to us since they own so much of our debt.

sas-schatzi

Rosie, you haven't posted sweetie in a few days. Whatup?