Here's what cheezed me off today

Spookiesmom

Tell them, yes, cancer is preventable IF YOU DIE BEFORE YOU GET IT!!! Geez, that would improve the stats wouldn't it.

BayouBabe

I went to a cancer fundraiser where the guest speaker said most cancers would be preventable if we would all take better care of our health and eat things like organic strawberries. Good grief! The world is full of idiots!

Anonymous

Here is my ginger tea recipe.  I think the fresh ginger tastes better.:

1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin, then pounded to release oils and juices (you can substitute 1 tsp. ground ginger)

4 cups of water

bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool.

simple syrup (optional) - 1/8 to 1/4 cup sugar with 1 cup water - dissolve and bring to boil.  Add to ginger tea.

I add the syrup to the ginger tea, but you could also add it to the green tea (whatever strength you like) if you use that. Sometimes I just add the sugar to the ginger tea and simmer it a bit longer. 

(NOTE:  If you use ground ginger, you might want to strain it.  The ginger root is ground but it does not dissolve so you have rehydrated fibrous stuff floating in your drink.  I strain it through a dish towel in a strainer, but you can use a coffee filter.)

For a 12 oz glass of this refreshing beverage I use about 1/4 cup of the ginger tea and 1/4 cup of the green tea, add a little ice and fill the glass with water. I have a 72 oz pitcher of water that I drink every day.  I add the tea to each glass of water that I drink. (That ends up being about 12 oz of the ginger tea each day.) That works better for me than drinking a whole cup of hot tea.

This does the trick and is not so strong that it is overpowering.  Seems to be perfect for the Xeloda.  It's not so great with the Ixempra because I still need the Zofran, but I don't need the Compazine also.

sas-schatzi

PHillimakesuchgreattea----thanks this should help allot of people For a quick fix remedy use 1tsp of ginger in 6-8 oz. of warm water. Won't taste anywhere near as nice as PD's, but will work with sudden onset nausea or dry heaving.

BayouBabe

So I updated my care page today. Got a message from a "friend" that she thought it was too long and too personal. I have not updated it in a month and a half. Briefly mentioned my doctor visits. Talked about my bone and joint pain from femara. Wrote mainly to update people on my exchange surgery next week. Explained "exchange" and "fat grating". I did not talk about pooping issues, my sex life, post pictures of my foobs, or even mention anything about "nipple procedures." Never have.



I reread it to understand what in the world she is talking about. What the f@&$! Nothing. So sorry "friend" that I used too many words to your liking. So sorry cancer is not a rosier picture. So sorry that it was about me and not you or to your liking. What the h$@???? Why am I letting this bug me? She even said that of course she realizes I am still on medical leave and have no one to talk to but my poor husband. What - does she think I am hiding in my closet this whole time??!! Ugh! Vent over. Stupid friend. You do not get me at all.

Anonymous

Welcome MsPh and sbeliz, hope we see you on here often! MsPharoah, the girl at the wig shop is an idiot. I hope you called her manager and complained. She should be working at a sewage treatment plant! Also, I bought a special towel at Bass Pro Shop that turns cold when you run it under water and it stays cold for hours. I just can't take the heat like I used to and hot flashes suck! A lot of us on here have some great advice about how to handle rads and would be more than happy to walk you through it. Just call on us anytime.

Rock, I haven't traveled because I've just felt like crap! But I told hubby what you said and he responded, "Yes, m'am!" We're going up into the Ozarks to see the beautiful foilage and to buy some more "mountain pottery." I don't need anymore but I WANT it! There's a place in Arkansas called Mt. Petit Jean (the locals call it Petty Gene) where we stopped on the way back from our honeymoon. I love that place! We plan to stay for a few days there as well and hike to the falls. I'm already packing!

My eyebrows never came back and my lashes are almost nonexistant so I just paint them both on. My daughter says she can tell what kind of mood I'm in by how dark my eyebrows are.

sbelizabeth, why are hospital billing departments so screwed up? I've been double billed so many times. Don't they think we have enough to deal with? And "Most Cancers are Preventable."??????? Too bad you can't prevent stupid! Good for you for giving them a piece of your mind. Crap like that makes me want to go Elvis on some asses. And I don't mean their TV screens!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend and no one pisses us off. Keep those T-shirt slogans coming. I think we're onto something here. PASS THE CHEEZY PUFFS!

Anonymous

Anyone have any suggestions on how to reset your internal sleep clock? Now I'm not sleeping at all.

sas-schatzi

Yes. be back with links

sas-schatzi

Mar 5, 2013 04:11pm, edited Mar 7, 2013 09:42am by sas-schatzi

Found somthing while looking for something for someonelse. Has to do with Circadian rhythms, a new drug class, and melatonin.Sassy Edit &/28/2013 Drug not available at last look in USA. Store away for future reference. Does suggest taking a look at melatonin--talk with doc

AP-HP Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, Physiology Department, 92380 Garches, Versailles-St Quentin en Yvelines University, France. ma.quera@rpc.aphp.fr

Abstract

The master biological clock situated in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the anterior hypothalamus plays a vital role in orchestrating the circadian rhythms of multiple biological processes. Increasing evidence points to a role of the biological clock in the development of depression. In seasonal depression and in bipolar disorders it seems likely that the circadian system plays a vital role in the genesis of the disorder. For major unipolar depressive disorder (MDD) available data suggest a primary involvement of the circadian system but further and larger studies are necessary to conclude. Melatonin and melatonin agonists have chronobiotic effects, which mean that they can readjust the circadian system. Seasonal affective disorders and mood disturbances caused by circadian malfunction are theoretically treatable by manipulating the circadian system using chronobiotic drugs, chronotherapy or bright light therapy. In MDD, melatonin alone has no antidepressant action but novel melatoninergic compounds demonstrate antidepressant properties. Of these, the most advanced is the novel melatonin agonist agomelatine, which combines joint MT1 and MT2 agonism with 5-HT(2C) receptor antagonism. Adding a chronobiotic effect to the inhibition of 5-HT(2C) receptors may explain the rapid impact of agomelatine on depression, since studies showed that agomelatine had an early impact on sleep quality and alertness at awakening. Further studies are necessary in order to better characterize the effect of agomelatine and other novel melatoninergic drugs on the circadian system of MDD patients. In summary, antidepressants with intrinsic chronobiotic properties offer a novel approach to treatment of depression.

<dl class="rprtid">PMID:21476953[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]</dl>

 

Agometaline--This drug is approved in Europe and Australia and is not approved in the USA. Wiki gives a synopsis of info:

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agomelat...

Mar 5, 2013 04:25pm, edited Mar 7, 2013 09:42am by sas-schatzi

Article --"how to naturally reset your circadian rhythm with food"

www.wisebread.com/how-to-natur...

Edit worth trying 7/28/2013

Anonymous

Wow, sas, thanks for the advice. I'm not sure if I can use the fasting thing with all the digestive issues I have going on though. I've used Melatonin but it seems to be hit or miss. Do you know how much melatonin is safe? It's 5:52 a.m. and I'm wide awake. The tummy doc cut caffiene out of my diet so I know it's not that. this sucks!

Rockym

rohanna, I can say that when my sleep gets messed up, I will take .25mg of Ativan (sometimes .50mg) to relax my mind until I can get back into a normal pattern.  I tried lots of OTC, but they just don't cut it.  After chemo, my sleep was the worst as I obsessed about all the would have, should haves.  Eventually, my body clock got back on track.

Also, I recall I would stay in bed during the 3:00a wake ups without doing anything such as electronics, etc.  I even retrained my bladder so I wouldn't get out of bed.  Here's hoping you get some good rest soon!

P.S. speaking of cheeze... they say that may help with the melatonin and protein.  Not sure if you can still eat it.

Anonymous

Thanks, Rock! I'll ask the dr. about Ativan. Any SE's? I can have cheese now so, I think I'll try a snack and more melatonin. Sometimes, in desperation, I take a Benadryl but it doesn't always work. Hope everyone else is having sweet dreams!

Rockym

rohanna, Ativan (Lorazepam) is in the group of benzos.  They work very quick, but aren't long lasting.  Usually good for acute anxiety or to fall asleep.  They don't work well for keeping someone asleep if they have early morning wake-ups.  I didn't have any SE's with them, but my problem was that I woke up at 3:00a every morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  Some of it was the instant menopause and some was just that fact that I was having some PTSD after all the cancer crap was done.  I recall I had to take more and more for it to work and since I used it for a few months straight, my body got way too used to it.

I had to sort of wean myself off when I felt like I couldn't go without it.  Now I'm back to using it periodically and I am careful not to use it for too many days in a row.  There is also Lunesta or time release Ambian (regular ambian only works with the get to sleep stage), but those drugs gave me weird out of body experiences the next day ;-).  Skip the benadryl... antihistamines are not the right drug.  I used to hate hearing about parents who gave that to their kids for sleep as opposed to allergies, etc.  To me that is kinda like taking NyQuil to get to sleep.  Only good for cold/flu sleep.

Okay... off my drug knowledge horse... signing out from Higherthanmightly Land with cheese puffs in my mouth and my nips pointing up ;-)

sas-schatzi

RO and Rocky, The usual dose for melatonin is between 3mg and 6 mg. I had to go higher 10mg. I did this with my docs consultation. I also took 2mg of Ativan. This was high on both drugs, but I was desperate for sleep. Since being off the AI's I have returned to normal sleep patterns. I rarely take either any more. I have finely pieced together that if I take melatonin now, it gives me a headache all the next day. My headache is in the area of the brain surgery, so, I don't know what that means, but for me at this stage, melatonin if taken at all now will be in the range of 2.5 mg(1/2 of a 5mg tab). If I take an Ativan now, it's either 1mg or 1/2 mg. My choice of Ativan was due to it's greater antianxiety affect versus Restoril's(below) greater sleeper affect. Besides BC and all it's shit, I was dealing with DH's terminal illness dx'd right after me, then  grief after his death, then my damn brain tumor decided to grow and it took months to get from noted growth to surgery-7 months-b/c it was growing but didn't have the characteristics of malignancy. But could turn malignant. Then recovery from craniotomy(brain sx). Point being choose the drug by need. In my particular case, I was dealing with all kinds of anxiety(shit) as well as insomnia.

Each benzo has it's own particular little nitch in this family of drugs.

1. Xanax-aprazolam-antianxiety, but I have found that people tend to end up having physical dependence problems. This is from long term personal observation versus scientific reporting. I dislike the drug intensely.

2. Restoril-temazapam-sleeper see below. I respect restoril allot. Never had a negative patient experience with it. But my experience of use with it was in standard patient population, NOT with patients on oncology drugs, Tamox, or AI's. So even though I respect the drug allot, it may not be a good choice with oncology drugs. I would suggest a first try at it, but if it doesn't work ask for Ativan.

2. Valium-diazapam-antianxiety and muscle relaxer. There is NO drug that compares to this drug for relieving skeletal muscle spasms. The pain caused by skeletal muscle spasms causes allot of anxiety. Valium interrupts the cycle of muscle spasms and anxiety. It's a two for one drug. I respect Valium very much. It used to be used as Versed is used now. But when Versed was introduced, it replaced valium. It commonly is used now for minor procedures or for patients that are claustrophobic with CT scans and MRI's

4. Versed-midazolam-used for surgery/procedures, all levels from general anesthesia to twilight, because of it's amnesic quality i.e. from the time it's administered it causes the patient to forget until it wears off. It also has a delicious skeletal muscle relaxtion quality. Versed is a very strong drug that cannot be used without direct supervision by qualified personnell with monitoring of all vital signs--BP/R/P/EKG and O2 saturation. Oxygen at 2 liters is the usual adjunct when Versed is used. I respect Versed allot. It was a major leap forward when it was introduced in the late 80's.

Rocky, I understand your concern about giving kids benadryl. For adults, back in the 70's and 80's it was often given as a sleeping pill in the hospital. This was before really good sleeping pills without bad s.e's were available. Restoril-Temazapam-benzo was available in the beginning 80's (thereabouts). I perfer Restoril to this day. It's very predictable and doesn't cause s.e's . There generally is no sleep hangover the next morning. Dose is usually 15 mg with a may repeat with another 15 mg if sleep is not attained within usually 2 hours.

Frankly, I am very wary of ambien. Too many reports of unusual happenings under the influence of this drug. Lunesta I have no experience with as it wasn't prescribed in the hospital and have read no reports of unusual happenings that ambien had, ergo, no opinion about lunesta.

Rocky your remark about not using electronics is supported by a recent study that identifies that the stimulation by the light emitted affects the brain and will prevent sleep. So, grab a real book versus the kindle. My quess is your remark was made by reading the same reports. This has been moderately covered by the general media.

sas-schatzi

Ro and Rocky I know this is more than you wanted to know about the above LOL. I am going to write a new pain thread with PDGRAHAM. This info plugs into that well. So, I wrote it in depth b/c I will be transferring it to that thread.

Complete change of thought: For all that have little girls in their lives that are into the dress up phase, I just bought some clip on earrings that were perfect to go with an Ariel costume. The little one -4 y/o was so excited. They can be found at thrift shops. I wouldn't suggest the screw on types

Anonymous

Rock and sas, thanks for all the information. I like to be well armed with info before I approach the doc. I will ask about Restoril and Ativan. My onc. gave me Effexor to replace my Prozac and it was awesome, but it made my hair fall out in clumps. That SE was not listed but I googled it and found a lot of people had the same thing happen. When I stopped taking it, my hair loss stopped. I need to find something that is ok with the AI and my antidepressant. On the positive side, drinking the Aloe Vera juice every day has been amazing for my acid reflux. 1 step forward, 2 steps back.

Goodnight from Higherthanmighty Land, pass the cheeze puffs, nips up (although pointing in different directions) and Bwaak!

Rockym

I think we may have had this conversation before, but ever since cancer, my teeth have been really messed up.  I don't know if it was just their time, the chemo/rads or what.  I had so much work done at the beginning of the year and thought I was good to go, but nooooooooooooooooooooo now I'm off for a root canal tomorrow and then gum surgery on Monday.

Damn, I just want to go at least a few months without something breaking down.  I am having roller coaster of shit.  First it's the house, then it's my body, next it's the plumbing, then it's my teeth... I will spare you all my list as I am sure you have your own.  Either way... I'm gonna need some crackers to go with my cheeze!

Anonymous

Damn, Rock! I'm so sorry. I'm burning some sage for you and chanting "Get Rocky off the shit roller coaster!" Cancer sucks but the crap that happens after SUUUUUUUCCKS! Please get good pain meds and some rest. I'll be thinking about you and sending you astral hugs. Love you!

Anonymous

Oh, I forgot to tell you. I found some 3 mg. Melatonin at GNC and it works. Takes about 2 hours to kick in, but I'll take it. Ahhhhh. Sweet Sleep!

Rockym

Yay sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm so happy that it's working for you Rohanna!  My hubby does Melatonin and it works pretty well for him.  For me... need a bit harder, but less is best.  Have a restful night :-).

On another note, the tooth is done and all I needed was Advil.  Monday is the next stage, but at least the tooth feels normal with a post and core now.  It's a quite night tonight.  Hubby is off with the 15 year old and my dd is hanging with a neighborhood friend.  It's just me, the cats and Netflix... yay!

Anonymous

I'm so glad to hear that the first stage wasn't as bad as you feared. And that you're having a restful night. Is there anything better than a quiet house, jammies, snacks and good stuff to watch? Well, maybe a good book. And cats just add that extra ahhh. My siamese is currently sleeping in a paper bag. He never needs Melatonin!

sas-schatzi

RO, sooooooo happy you have found ttttttttttttthe drug that will help. I noticed you were on the Insomnia thread. I started that thread when my insomnia was at it's worst.

Rocky, the falling apart thing. It just seems that the AI's and Tamox screw up everything.

Rockym

I don't take either, so what's my excuse ;-)

sas-schatzi

Rocky--chemo, rads, mutiple surgeries? Otherwise no clue.

Anonymous

Rock, my onc. blames it on PTSD. We're still working on that. I have what he calls anxiety attacks. I call them the screaming BC squeegies. They seem to hit most when I close my eyes and let the walls down. But they've been known to strike at the most inconvenient times. Once I was describing them to the doc and had a complete breakdown. I don't know who was taken more unaware. He sure did a lot of scribbling in his little pad. I wonder if a glass of wine before bed would help. Couldn't hurt right?

sas, I figured if anyone had the answer, it would be chrissyb. She should write a book about her adventures. I love that thread but don't always post. I hope your insomnia is a thing of the past. The aloe juice is still working for my gerd so at least that is under control now.

On a lighter note, I took my first trip out of town this past week. Yeah, my mom's farm is only 2 hours away but even baby steps count. I ran into a guy I went to jr. high with and haven't seen for 2 years. He said, "Hey, you got your hair back!" I just wanted to give an evil little chuckle and reply, "Not everywhere, bud." Sometimes the funniest comebacks are best kept for our own amusement! Pass the cheezy puffs!

sas-schatzi

Ro & Rock, yeah PTSD too. Still seeing a counselor 4 years later. Used to be every 2 weeks. Now 3-5 weeks. At present he's off for surgery. Definitely would love to be seeing him now, breaking up with DBF. Would love to have him to talk to now. OH well, have another unpaid counselor   The PTSD does wreak havoc on the body.

Ro when I started the Insomnia thread, we did 14 pages in 36 hours. Lots of sleepless people in that time. It takes spurts of activity, depending on who's not sleeping. Sometimes when no one was around,  I'd just go and type. I called it talking to myself.

It's how I met ChrissyB. The southlanders are up when we're supposed to be sleeping. When Chrissy came to the USA. I went to Fort Lauderdale to meet her. It was great fun.

Anonymous

sas, I'm so sorry to hear about the breakup. Just means there's somebody better out there for you.

sas-schatzi

Thanks Ro, Hope he takes it well.  we shall see.

Rockym

When one door closes, another opens up :-)  I'm so effing poetic this morning!

sas-schatzi

To all, we all have discussed chemo/ anethesia brain. We now can call it anesthesia/chemo/drug brain. This article is in AARP magazine. It discusses the drug classifications that can cause memory loss. It describes why each drug class can cause memory loss. It gives specific names of drugs. It gives alternative drugs that can be substituted. I would suggest reviewing it with your prescribing doc if you have concerns regarding any of your meds. I also suggest you put it in your favorite places on your computer. Also, printing it off for future referrence if you have a printer. Please, pass this on to other BCO friends, friends etc. sassy

www.aarp.org/health/brain-heal...

Haven't been here much in alongggggg time, but this artcle is a MUST SHARE type with those I care about