My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer

booboo1

Mel,

Your hands are gorgeous! I also love the purple and snowflakes. I love that you went to have them done. Isn't it good to get out? I know it's cold up there, but your nails are worth getting frostbite!

Tanya, thinking of you. Are you ok? I'm worried that the idiot with the towel gave you something. Hopefully not Covid.

Speaking of…will there ever be a time when we don't have to see it, read it, hear about it, etc.?

Sunshine99

runor, once again you cracked me up! Interestingly, when I had hemorrhoids a number of years ago, the doctor told me to take my magazines OUT of the bathroom. He said reading on the toilet was bad. I still do it, though. Am I just supposed to sit and stare at the wall? These things can take a while.

Living, that's so cool. I lived in Waterville, ME for a couple of years and made two trips up to Canada with my mom. We visited Quebec City and Montreal. Loved our visits there.

cowgal

I have been contemplating bidets for a while after a bunch of these side effects and a couple of weeks ago I saw that Walmart had Luxe Bidets for sale for $25. These are installed on your existing toilet and have very good reviews on Amazon. I bought two (one for each bathroom). They look very simple to install but for now they are wrapped and under the tree.

GoldensRBest

Love the nails Mel

jhl

Kikomoon,

I'm so sorry about your troubles with Xeloda. Let's talk about diarrhea though. We've all had diarrhea caused by a stomach bug or something we ate but the chemotherapy-related diarrhea (CRD) is different. There are three distinct mechanisms. First, diarrhea can be caused by increased secretions & electrolytes due to epithelial damage or the chemical themselves. This is called secretory diarrhea. The second is increased intraluminal osmotic substances leading to osmotic diarrhea. Third, is alterations in intestinal motility. Generally, secretory diarrhea is characterized by large volumes and episodes that occur both day & night. For the most part, osmotic & motility diarrhea does not follow this pattern.

Specifically, for Xeloda we have to consider the drug itself. Capecitabine (Xeloda) is a pro-drug meaning it must undergo change to be active. It is metabolized to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which is the active drug. 5-FU causes damage to both cancer and healthy cells, particularly those that undergo rapid turnover such as the epithelial cells of the GI tract. The loss of the epithelium causes a secretory diarrhea. In addition, this loss of epithelium can cause a temporary loss of the expression of the enzyme lactase which will cause an osmotic diarrhea. So, this one drug will cause two separate reasons for diarrhea.

The best way to treat the diarrhea is to expect it and know it will happen. So, in the week leading up to when you expect to have diarrhea, change your diet to try to accommodate what you know will occur. You will want to avoid milk & daily (see lactase deficiency), spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine, high fat & high fiber foods & some juices (prune & orange). Also, avoid stool softeners & bulk laxatives. You want to aggressively rehydrate with something that contains salt, sugar & water (like broth or gatorade). Glucose promotes sodium reabsorption which is the ion that is rapidly depleted by diarrhea. Avoid chicken soup which contains lots of fat. Because of the loss of absorptive surfaces due to epithelial damage, you might try following the BRAT diet - bananas, rice, applesauce & toast. Avoid fruits & vegetables (except bananas & applesauce which are binding) as they will aggravate the diarrhea. Also avoid supplements that can cause diarrhea including milk thistle, aloe, saw palmetto, Siberian ginseng, plantago seeds, coenzyme Q10, high doses of vitamin C and green tea. A few days of clear liquids will decrease gut volume and allow the bowel to rest.

For treatment, use loperamide (Imodium) by taking 2 tablets at once (4mg) then one tablet every every 4 hours or after each loose stool. This will only help so much because the cause of the diarrhea is actually damage to the gut epithelium and it takes a bit to regenerate healthy cells.

I hope knowing this will help with your frustration. I'll come back to your other question of hemorrhoids and the cost of your suppository.

Good luck,

Jane

Micmel

jhl~ I feel like I learned a lot from Your post. Thank you. I guess whatever medication we are on somethings going to happen.

My mouth is a lot better. Not perfect. But better. So that I'm glad about. I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve! My DH birthday. Such a sucky time for a birthday. No matter what it's all about prep for Christmas. Only worst birthday is Christmas Day.

Mae~ forgot to mention that I was glad your friend was let go and able to return home. You're such good friends.

Thanks for the nail compliments. I like them also. Thank for the compliment on my hands. I always thought they were ugly.

Runor~ hello sweet friend.

BooBoo~ yes it does feel good to go. I'm glad I've been getting out more. Helps the mind. Don't feel so boxed in. Been feeling pretty good lately. I'm thankful for that.

Kittykat9876

Mel, it's Finn's birthday on the 24th as well, which is almost over here, I hope your dh has a great birthday

he had a great day at the water park.

MoCoGram

jhl, thank you for the very thorough explanation of CRD. I just finished my first round of Xeloda and have had several days of diarrhea. All my life I was told to do the BRAT diet if I had diarrhea, but didn't really understand why. It seemed counterintuitive and I thought if stools are loose, I need more fiber. Exactly the wrong thing to do. One question -- do you know why Immodium (loperamide) is recommended as opposed to Pepto Bismal (bismuth subsalicylate)? Happy Holidays!

Micmel

Happy Birthday Finn. Awesome. @waterpark. Wow those were the days.

cowgal

Happy birthday Finn from Oklahoma USA!

Mel, I think your hands are very pretty and love the festive design. It sounds like rumor and I have nails and hands that look like we just skinned a rhinoceros

mara51506

Well, am disgusted with the new owners and I think they are trying to gross us out. There was dog vomit on the stairs for the last couple of weeks. I know I believe the owner of the dog should clean it, no one did. I did email maintenance and no one came to clean it, then today, there was dog poop from someone's shoes on the other set of stairs. I refuse to live in a dirty building so I put on rubber gloves and started cleaning best I knew how, sprayed with a ton of disinfecting spray and will wash and disinfect the cloths used. I think it is disgusting but as said, no longer putting up with such dirty conditions. Might go back and vacuum any remnants, we will see.

On a positve note, ordered a breakfast sausage with egg and cheese on it and a couple of hashbrowns which was very good.

mara51506

I wrote the following email to them.

I emailed a week or two ago about dog vomit left on the stairs, nothing was done about it then today, dog shit was smeared on the other set of stairs.

I am starting to get the feeling that we are being grossed out on purpose to try and get us to want to leave sooner. If this is the case, that is bad politics on your part. If you are not doing that, maintenance requests should be seen to earlier.

I went ahead and did my best at cleaning both spots because I don't want to live in a gross place.

I have cancer and that is not good for me to be doing but this is what it has come to.

Please at least keep the hallways and stairs cleaned, snow shovelled etc. I know you all want us gone but this is cruel punishment.

ilowen

Oh Mara, I am so sorry that you are having to continue to deal with this terrible behaviour. It just boggles my mind how cruel people can be. Good for you for sending them that email.

It’s Christmas Eve!! We have a snow fall warning in effect right now. They’re calling for 10 cm of snow later today. How exciting! We already have a couple feet of snow but I’ll take some more, fresh snow is so beautifu. I have one son driving into town today so am hoping he arrives before the snow.

To all who celebrate, have a Merry Christmas tomorrow! To those who do not celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

mara51506

Ilowen, thank you for that, I have since vacuumed my floor and around the front door. I have equal frustration with the pet owners who left the barf there, no way they would not have noticed the animal barfed as I do with the property managers. I do not have a rug washer or steam cleaner since I do not have carpet so there is a stain on the carpet that I could not get rid of but it is much cleaner than it was, will add a hallway vacuum on my level when it looks bad to me, as said, don't need to live in a dirty looking place. I don't have the energy to vacuum the whole building though. Unless someone wants to pay me to do it LOL.

Chicagoan

Happy Anniversary, Mae!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!

illimae

Chicagoan, thanks! 21 years of love, respect, silliness and adventure. Not doing anything special, just a takeout seafood feast and Netflix but we’ve been so busy lately, relaxing sounds great.

Happy holidays to all 😁🎄

LivingIVlife

Want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday this weekend.

Kittykat9876

Good morning, merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone, I hope your day is full of joy and happiness no matter what your plans are for today, love from Cathie xxx.

LivingIVlife

Cathie- Merry Christmas down under! Is it a scorcher there today? What are you having for Christmas dinner? Please enjoy your day with your family. Finns picture is adorable.

mara51506

Merry Christmas to all. Will be going to older brother's tomorrow for dinner. He dropped off a gift bag a few minutes ago and wants me to wait til tomorrow morning to open it. I will do it this year.

Had a fun evening so far, watched a couple movies, love Bill and Ted Face the Music and starting Matrix Resurrections as well.

KBL

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and happy anniversary, Mae. My husband and I started dating 40 years ago this Sunday. So hard to believe how time has flown by.

Mara, how disgusting. Shame on the owners. My little doxie poops on the road sometimes when we take her for her walk, and we still always clean it up. What is wrong with people?

I hope Finn had a great birthday.

mara51506

KBL, it looked like someone stepped in it but agree about people letting their dogs poop and not cleaning it up really irritates me. I just got sick of the vomit and another neighbour pointed out the poop from someones foot. Did my best with both but the carpet is stained where the barf was. I don't have nor will I buy a carpet washer to clean the building. I also will vacuum my level in the building, no energy to cart the vacuum up as we only have stairs.

Hoping all the little ones in everyone's family and also adults have a nice Christmas.

Kittykat9876

• Living, it's going to be around 100 deg Fahrenheit here today, well be inside with the air-conditioning, my dd is making xmas lunch, roast chicken with baked vegetables and chocolate trifle for dessert, there will only be 4 of us as the rest of my kids and grandchildren live on the other side of the country.
• Mara, sorry you had to deal with that awful mess, it shouldn't be your problem, some people shouldn't own pets.
• Happy anniversary Mae, I hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

Micmel

Happy Anniversary Mae! !

Mara~ how lame the things people will do. I really hope those idiots don’t keep up the unnecessary bull crap! I’m sorry YOU had to be the one to step up and clean it. Losers.

Love to all. Merry Christmas Eve.

Micmel

our Charlie Brown tree this year. We are in furniture transition due to Combining homes this year. So we had less room for the big tree. But it's cozy and will do just fine. My dd and Sil came over for my DH birthday and made him dinner and brought him an ice cream cake . It was pretty special. My ds bought the 4 lbs of shrimp cocktail and salami and pepperoni and cheese. It was a wonderful day to celebrate a wonderful man. Who does everything for everyone. I enjoyed myself tremendously. The kids played cards and ijust listened. Heaven. Sheer mothers heaven. These days like this I am so happy to be alive. Days like this I forget cancer. And today I did. Hope you all had a nice evening.

Let's see those trees.

molliefish

Merry Christmas my darling friends. Love to all. Xoxoox

Kittykat9876

This is my little wonky tree that I've had for yrs, Beck has the big fancy tree but I still love mine.

KBL

That’s wonderful, Mel. I’m so glad you had a great day.

Mara, let’s hope the owners become responsible, but it’s highly unlikely.

mara51506

Going to my brother's house later. I managed to wait and will open my gift shortly.

booboo1

Merry Christmas to all of my MBC sisters. I wish for each of us another wonderful year of love and support in 2022. I could not do this without you.

Love to all