CRAZY TOWN WAITING ROOM - TESTS coming up? All Stages Welcome.

M0mmyof3

Eggroll, stay away from the Crazy Lady!!!!!!

WenchLori

Eggroll, WOW! What a strange thing to be doing so late at night! You need to hide better next time! A meeting with the crazies would make me nervous too!

Cubbie2015

I'll admit I've finished my mowing by headlights a couple of times, but I've never gone out in the dark to weed. Are the dandelions easier to dig up in the moonlight or something?

My dermatologist office just called back, and my biopsy was benign. Whew! Tomorrow I have an appointment with a counselor who specializes in working with people who have a cancer diagnosis. I had to go out of town to find someone. I'm really looking forward to talking to her.

Sandy, your statin experience has been interesting to me. I have a feeling I may be headed that direction myself, as the Arimidex and Lupron seem to be affecting my LDL. I've been eating a lot more salad, but cheese is my big downfall. I love me some cheese, and since I don't eat meat very much, it's always been a mainstay in my diet. I've heard the same thing about the hemoglobin. Maybe an endoscopy would be a good idea, if it would set your mind at ease.

Lucy, I'm so sorry they haven't made any progress with your little guy. I can't believe it's been this long.

ChiSandy

Well, X-rays show no spine or rib fractures or lesions, or anything in my lungs except air. They do show some narrowing/“wedging” between T7-T8 (i.e., kyphosis) and some bone spurs on the vertebrae due to “mild degenerative changes of aging.” Tell me something I didn’t know. So back-rib pain dx is strained lats. Treatment is PT directed at the T-spine, and then work again on the lats when the soreness subsides. PCP says my trainer can do it, so I don’t need a formal PT clinic referral. So we worked on thoracic posture, balance, weights and hamstring stretches tonight, backing off a few lbs. from what we did on 6/10, when I probably overdid it.

Ferritin, iron, folate levels all normal. Ditto RBC, and no weird levels of anything reported on the CBC—but no visuals because no smear was ordered, just values. Uh-oh. Actually hoping it’s a mild GI bleed (from NSAIDs or a tiny AVM in the small intestine). Not going to invasively test yet. The last time I was anemic, in 2013, my ‘crit and hemoglobin were both low (the latter was in the 10s), and an upper GI endoscopy showed a little esophagitis and a gastric “ulcerette” of “probable chemical origin.” All that Aleve I took while recovering from my first knee replacement and muddling through before my second. So out with the Aleve, up with the H&H counts.

MO is more worried about the slowly declining hemoglobin coupled with normal-everything-else than is my PCP. He (PCP) wants me to re-test after a month off NSAIDs, COX-2 inhibitors, and baby aspirin. She (MO) might order a smear or even a (gulp) bone marrow biopsy to test for atypical blood cells—looking for a myeloid disorder (myeloma, MDS, even leukemia). I once heard a saying: "when oncologists go looking for cancer, they usually find it." Just when my breasts decided not to kill me, my blood might. Ugh. Maybe there'll be a weight loss...

proudtospin

samdy, with all my shit goimg on, appitite is gone and, yeap lost a cole of pounds

duckyb1

Keep hanging in their Iris.....thinkinking about you

Molly50

Just a quick post to say hi and hug everyone!

proudtospin

thanks ducky, actually made it to gym for a short visit but back on sofa for now

duckyb1

Good for you....I'm sure your being active as hard as it is on you is going to be a good thing......I have a free membership to a brand new YMCA...amazing place......notice I said "I have a membershi".....I didn't say I go........"My road to hell is paved with good intentions"......one day maybe...........I did a lot of walking yesterday, and by last night everything hurt.......knees both need replacement.......I am so concerned that my LE from my arm could have an effect on my legs if I have the surgery....no one can give me any assurance that it won't.........what get when I ask is........."Its not likely, bur there are no guarantees".........and I have heard of cases where women wil LE who had knee replacement did get LE in the leg they had done......

Anyone know anyone who had LE, and did knee replacement.....would love some info....

M0mmyof3

My ankles and feet are pretty swollen tonight. Happens every time I am on my feet for a prolonged period of time, even if I take breaks.Was extremely busy today with doing a belated Spring Cleaning. Took everything off the kitchen counters and gave them a good scrub down. Did laundry on top of it too. My left foot that I had a bunion taken out in '01 looks like a balloon. Got my feet up on hubby's orders.

proudtospin

gee my sister sent me a gift, why is it she picks things for me that, well would have been great years ago but now..

So got a potted plant, pot and all, gonna, need help to get that planted, she means well but a visit would be more appreciated

ChiSandy

Ducky, unless you have truncal lymphedema with inguinal (groin) nodes removed, your arm LE should not be affected by knee replacements. IMHO, other than getting rid of my bc, my knee replacements (a year apart) were the best surgical decision I ever made. I don’t know how I managed with bone-on-bone, ragged cartilage, etc. I won’t lie to you—it is a rough rehab. But you’re a tough cookie. And once you have “bionic” knees—with inert plastic surfaces instead of cartilage—that’s two fewer joints that would suffer AI-related joint pain.

duckyb1

Sandy....You have LE don't you

duckyb1

I have been bone on bone for several years......I had surgery to repair my left knee and was told back then "in about 5 years you will need a knee replacement".....that was years ago...but in 5 years it did go bad again........so here I am still dealing with it...

Maybe once the summer is gone, I will relaly take this seriously....

ChiSandy

My LE diagnosis is Stage 0, or “subclinical.”

There are two more things you can do before getting knee replacement: an “unloader brace,” if you have one side of the knee with more cartilage than the other—it shifts your weight to the “good” side of your knee. They’re custom-fitted in your choice of colors (I chose purple). I got an extra year from one. The other thing is lubricant shots. The conventional wisdom was to inject the knee with hyaluronic acid (extracted from rooster combs) in an attempt to stimulate the body to produce more of its own hyaluronic acid to cushion the cartilage. But the shots were done “blind” (sans imaging) and the stuff missed its target over 1/3 of the time. They now do it with ultrasound or fluoroscope, and it’s a thicker gel that stays put and is a better lubricant. I had the old-school shots, which didn’t work, which was why I got the brace.

Cubbie2015

One of my co-workers had a knee replacement in the spring, and it's just amazing how well she is moving now. She had some trouble with the stitches, but the new joint itself went great. The first few weeks are tough from what I've seen, but the people I know who had it done say it was worth it.

I have a tiny bump on the skin a couple of inches below my scar on the BC side. It's been there a few weeks and doesn't seem to be going away, or getting any bigger. It's not red or itchy, and my derm PA didn't say anything about it last week, but because I live in CrazyTown, I've been concerning me. Today I was talking about when to go to the doctor or not with my new counselor, who is supposed to be my guide out of downtown CrazyTown. When I got home, I decided to punt and call the doctor's office and leave it up to them whether they wanted to see me or not. I talked to the nurse, but she didn't call me back before the day ended. I'm guessing I'll hear back from them one way or the other tomorrow.

I did not know they were going to take my blood pressure while I was there! Of course, that freaked me out and it went right through the roof. I may have to call me GP in the morning as well.

My new counselor wants me to try meditating. Has anybody done this? I'm not sure I can empty my mind for a one second, let alone for ten. She recommended a site called Headspace.

pennsygal

Cubbie - I started using the Calm app during chemo and I still use it every day. You can start with as little as five minutes! I highly recommend it.

ChiSandy

Headspace is the app that the counselor at KCC’s Mindfulness Meditation group recommends. If you have an AppleWatch, or even the built-in Health app on your iPhone, it reminds you several times a day to breathe—and tactically guides you in the rhythm.

At my “teaching session” before lumpectomy, my BS’ NP mentioned several things about which not to panic—the electric “zaps” of nerves reconnecting, and formation of scar tissue which can feel very much like a lump.

Cubbie2015

Thanks, Sandy and Pennsy. I'll take a look at Calm as well. I'm not sure how well I would do with a meditation technique that focuses on breathing. I have had panic disorder in the past, and being aware of my breathing took me on the wrong direction, anxiety-wise. I had better luck back in those days with sensory grounding exercises. I suppose it's the same idea, though, and I could just substitute that for the breathing.

duckyb1

Sandy..don't think mch would help the knees....I can hear everything crunching when I walk.....I was told a few years ago to get it done....even efore BC.....my bad.........now I'm 82, and wonde rif its worth it.

ChiSandy

Yes, Ducky, it’s worth it. I was 61 & 62 when I had mine done, and half of my fellow rehab-dwellers (it was basically a hotel with drugs, nice dining room and a gym) were in their 70s & 80s. It boils down to whether you want to hurt like hell for the rest of your life, or hurt like holy hell for a few weeks but then have no more knee pain for the rest of your life. (And of course, how good a surgical risk your doctors say you are).

octogirl

Hi all!

Yes, I was in Australia and Papua New Guinea for almost a month...just got home tonight! Visiting Lucy was definitely a highlight. She and her hubby (and her sister who hung with us a lot too) are lots of fun, really lovely and wonderful hosts. Her garden is to die for. I just wish her DGS was doing better.....I had a great time. Loved the area around Brisbane, loved PNG...

Will get caught up and post some pics after I recover from jet lag and do some laundry.

There were only two downsides (besides that long airplane ride): 1. the weather in PNG was pretty awful (lots of rain, little sun), though it was mostly nice in Australia.. and 2.) my knees, which are bone on bone, were killing me. Ask Lucy about the short hike we took :-) I am scheduling my first TKR in July (surgery will probably be in early September) and the second one in February. Traveling will be much easier after that, I think.

Hugs to all;

Octogirl

ChiSandy

Octo, welcome home! And good call on the TKRs—mine gave me my life back.

PoppyK

Octo, Glad you had a wonderful trip! Looking forward to the pics.

Lucy, Thinking about your GS. Saying prayers. Glad you met Octogirl. So many amazing women here!

My MiL had a knee replacement about a year ago. The recovery was a long, but not painful (her pain was well managed). She complains about everything in life... but not the knee replacement. She's glad she did it and wonders why she didn't do it earlier.

rainnyc

Lucy, any word on your grandson?

Welcome back, Octo. One more week at work and that's it?

Nice to see you Cubbie!

Ducky, my mother had a knee done at age 78. Age 85 and it's still chugging along nicely. She only had a few days where she really seemed incapacitated and from then on was very happy that she'd gone ahead.

I'm in Crazytown because it looks as if the Affordable Care Act is really going down the tubes. DH and are are self-employed. We're not rich, but we have a paid-off mortgage and an ok, not lavish lifestyle. Before the ACA, we self-insured for years and got the care we needed, though we were also healthy at that point. Insurance paid for doctor visits, but it would have been miserable if we had been ill. Our first year on the ACA was the year I was diagnosed, and it truly saved my life. Literally. And now, well, the lack of insurance might kill me. DH is 62 and healthy, though probably uninsurable because of well-controlled high blood pressure. But three more years and he can hop on Medicare. As for me, well, I'm a few years younger. Tell me who is going to write me a policy that I can afford?

And my friend whose daughter is 24 and permanently disabled and dependent on Medicaid--who will take care of her?

Sorry to inflict this on you, but This. Is. My. Crazytown.

duckyb1

Wow good news from you ladies about KR.....I really have to get it done......Ugh

ChiSandy

Scary stuff indeed, rainnyc. Bob & I are on Medicare, but Gordy has a high-deductible private plan that predates the ACA (he aged out of our plan well before the ACA kicked in). He has asthma and depression, and may be stuck with the lousy plan he has unless he can get employed with benefits--and being an actor & writer ineligible for union membership (Equity or WGA) I don't see that happening

duckyb1

Went to Optomologist yesterday..I have macular degeneration....short story..eyes were bothering me a lot....retina specialist suggested Ristasis........no samples so she wrote a script....checked with the Pharmacist......$141.00 co-pay.....it was for dry eye which she thinks I. "migh" have.....thanks but no thanks.....

rainnyc

Go get 'em, Ducky! I have only heard good things about this surgery. And who knows, you might want healthy knees to attend more of your talented family's graduations, or perhaps fly off on a glamorous vacation?

Sandy, I worry about people like Gordy, too. Maybe it's working in the creative professions, but I know so many people who've been self-employed and had a family member diagnosed with something. Or just had some ordinary pre-existing condition that would have meant they'd be uninsurable under the old--and now the new--law. Freelancers Union, which used to be extremely vocal, and carried excellent private insurance, has been curiously silent these last few months.

M0mmyof3

That's the reason I thank my lucky stars that my hubby gets insurance through his job. We pay for it before he even sees his paycheck but it's worth it!!!!! Don't need the drama of having to scramble for finding health insurance!