Quality of Life and Longevity

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  • Firni
    Firni Member Posts: 1,519
    edited August 2009

    hrf, do you know what they do to help with "brain fog"?

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  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 3,225
    edited August 2009

    Firni, here is the description they post in their brochure: Brain Fog (previously known as Chemo Brain) introduces participants to cognitive enhancement strategies to address cognitive deficits often associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment.

    Brain Fog - Ongoing Practice is an opportunity for members to refresh the strategies learned in the 8-week Brain Fog program and learn new techniques.

    I haven't actually attended the session so I don't know any more than that.

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  • Firni
    Firni Member Posts: 1,519
    edited August 2009

    Interesting.  I think I'll see if there is anything on line regarding brain fog strategies.  8 week program seems like a long time.  My brain is tired just thinking about working that hard.  Maybe that's part of the problem?

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  • dreamwriter
    dreamwriter Member Posts: 3,255
    edited August 2009

    I got brain frog:

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  • Firni
    Firni Member Posts: 1,519
    edited August 2009

    THANK YOU dreamwriter.  That made my day!!

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  • hollyann
    hollyann Member Posts: 2,992
    edited August 2009

    Oh wow, does this ring a bell with me!.....I have such a hard time with anything nowadays...My coping skills have gone out the proverbial window and I didn't even do chemo!....BUT my onc nurse says it is still normal to have these effects even without chemo cause the AI's can do this to us too!.....Yippee!   I'm a brain frog now!....(Thank you Dream!, I LOVE that pic!).........I guess this is what I am going through now......I can't concentrate I can't sleep without meds and I have a hard time with anything......All I really know is that each and every one of you haev been so kind and understanding with me over the last couple of months......I am so glad I found this thread!.....

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  • dreaming
    dreaming Member Posts: 473
    edited August 2009

    I divorced my husband because of his middle life crisis, I am glad, I had never lived alone, I went to a British boarding school[prep], University , all Catholic, went from my parents home to my husband,married 25 years, IT WAS LIBERATION! I had a good husband till..

    I feel so free, my children are married, professional and very good, I have a new career, that I love, I have O.A. and PMR.

    Every day is a blessing , I do what I want without feeling guilty , I am 15 plus years from surgery and chemo, my quality of life is great, but I am the kind of person that do not look back,feel sorry, I am free, and my lemonade with my lemons is SWEET! It is what one makes with cards given, also I do not asociate with negative and angry people.

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  • lovemyfamilysomuch
    lovemyfamilysomuch Member Posts: 1,585
    edited August 2009

    Holly, Sure hope you feel better soon!  Good for you dreaming, sounds like you got it going on! Blessings on all my sisters

    Ellen

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  • kajan75
    kajan75 Member Posts: 21
    edited August 2009

    I LOVE THE BRAIN FROG!!!!  Thank you for a well needed laugh.  My new nipple appears to be okay, I don't want to jinx it.  I'm still fighting my office, it is amazing to me that I have to explain over and over again that chemo/MRSA and reconstruction are all related.  I've been given a "no stress" position and I should love just playing the game, but that wasn't how I was raised. I read that deep breathing exercises help stress.  I think I just keep hyperventilating though.  Oh well.  Just knowing that I am not alone helps.  I'll let you know if the new drug helps - I think my mood is better already.  But, will I be able to remember anything?  I'll let you know.

     Again, thanks for the Brain Frog.  

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  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 3,225
    edited August 2009
    dreamwriter, thanks for the brain frog .... very funny
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  • bettysgirl
    bettysgirl Member Posts: 938
    edited August 2009

    dreamwriter- that frog is PRICELESS!! Thanks for the laugh.

    I think the biggest issue for me is still trying to come to terms with the "new" me and trying to re-write all the negative thoughts that run through my head on a regular basis. I keep trying to move forward and take a few back....As i look back over the past 10 yrs or so I can't blame all my issues on the BC just that the BC has made me more reflective and moody...so the things that used to bother me are harder to deal with now than before.

    I do get really irritated with myself that my cognitive abilities are not what they once were. I cannot stay focused and every once in a while i do something that can only be described as a HUGE brain fart...

    I am trying to climb up the hill again...it just seems to be a very slippery slope.

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  • kajan75
    kajan75 Member Posts: 21
    edited August 2009

    I felt the same way Betty.  When I saw my GP a month a ago, I just let it all out.  I told him I didn't want to turn into an angry, crabby old lady like my father.  He prescribed Ritalin - which is protocol.  It made me manic.  He then gave me an Rx for Symbyax - an antidepressant.  IT HAS MADE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.  I almost feel like my old self.  It has only been a week and the first three days I slept, but the underlying rage/anger has significantly decreased.  He intimated that we would reintro the Ritalin again in the future - so I might be able to focus.  The big question for me right now is how I will deal with stress.  I am in the legal field - litigation - very, very stressful position, however, temporarily assigned to a "low stress" job.  If I cannot deal with stress, I'm screwed.  I have been off all week due to the nipple procedure.  Guess I will find out later how well it all works on stress.

    Please find a doctor who actually cares and understands what chemo and all the other crap did to your system and brain - hell, it rewired mine!  I wasn't an angry, depressed person before, but I sure have been the past year.  Yes, I am a Type AAA personality, but always dealt with the stress by venting and exercising.  Neither have helped me cope this time.

    Good luck and let me know how you make out.

    BTW, does anyone know of any experiments going right now for BC that has progressed from breasts, to ovaries, to breast, to lungs and to spine?  I have a life-long friend that is willing to try and/or do anything.  Me, I would have given up six years ago, but she really has dealt with everything with a sense of humor.  "You have to laugh at something - every day," is her motto.

    Thanks for any information. 

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