Motivation

Okay, guys -- I'll trade with any of you.  It is 115 here this afternoon, and supposed to hit 120 tomorrow.  And we were hoping the worst of the summer heat was over...

Hi, Allie ~ Sounds like you had a lovely time away!  And congratulations on your first anniversary! 

Kari ~  Loved the photos!  That is so charming to have sheep and goats right in your neighborhood.  Are they often there?

Kathy ~  How exciting about your son's wedding!  I'll pray for good weather for you all! 

Spring ~  Glad you got that room taken care of.  Wanna come over and help me with a couple? 

Let's see... I did 5659 steps this a.m., before it got too hot.  Yesterday I enjoyed a really special treat -- a facial my DH had arranged for me.  I'd never bothered to have one of those before because I have sensitive skin and I'd figured I'd regret it.  But it was heavenly!  That was my second treat this week, although I have to report I now think the vigorous reflexology tx I had on Monday was not a good thing.  I've had some significant leg (ankle) swelling since then on my left (mast) side.  It's somewhat better today, but it was really bad yesterday and Tuesday.  No more reflexology for me.    

Deanna

Deanna--ugh!! that is HOT. We look to have another nice day here--into the 80's it says. Maybe I will take the dog out for a hike along the beach--his favorite thing (the beach that is). I really want to get to the gym--did extensive house-cleaning yesterday instead of going--maybe that counted for something!

Kari--great quote!

Have a great day all! 

Spring, give your body what it needs!!!!!!!!!!!  No worries girl, you're a superstar!!

Allie, NICE for San Fran!!  Get out there and soak up the rays. 

Allie you are so smart!   (grass fed and the omega 6/3 balance!)

Hi Kari - and everyone else.

Doing OK , had to cut back a bit on the walking and exercise as it was really causing my muscle and joint aches to flare up (and I was doing very little compared to some of you!!). I still do a little but probably not enough to do any good and I guess I'm doing a little comfort eating too - I just have no will power (and considering the possibility of recurrence I just can't understand myself!!!). Onc put me on Lyrica (just started it yesterday) so I hope that will help and I might get back to the exercise.  Apart from the nerve damage I am also slightly anemic but onc said to try to treat it with diet and get bloods redone in 2 months.

Freaky coincidence - my onc told me to make an appointment for a mammogram on remaining breast and visit to him for next Jan, the secretary asked would I prefer Tues or Thurs. I chose Tues and she made the appointment for 19th Jan '10 - exactly one year after my mastectomy!!

DD heading off to University of Lyon in France on Monday to do 2 weeks orientation. She is studying Civil and environmental engineering here in Ireland. She has one year done and three left but she can elect to do her third year in France once she has the orientation done. I'll miss her - she is such a good friend, what will I be like if she goes for a year???  DS is being conferred (degree in microelectronic engineering) on 10th Sept, DD will miss it. I should really buy something nice to wear as there is an official function but I know I won't get anything to fit me - I just end up being in foul humor and drowning my frustration in food.

Mum - Very best of luck with surgery.  I hope it will all go well and that your recovery will be swift and trouble free. I admire your courage.

Very best wishes to everyone. Even when I don't post I read and I am so encouraged by all your wonderful experiences, advice and humor. I seem to take much more than give here - thank you all for being so tolerant of me.

ainm ~  I wish I could help you go shopping for something to wear for your son's celebration!  Kari is right on -- you are being waaay too hard on yourself!   Don't try to figure out what to wear at the last minute, which we often tend to do when we're busy with our children's needs.  Give yourself plenty of time to try things on and to go shopping if you need to.  Thinking you know what you're going to wear from your closet and finding out it doesn't fit or feel right at the last minute can be extremely stressful and upsetting!  Plan ahead and treat yourself to something new -- even if it's smart new shoes or a beautiful scarf.  

As far as exercising goes, do they maybe have one of those salons there with the machines that do the movement for you?  I forget what it's called, but I went to a day spa a few months ago for another type of treatment (that foot bath thing with the electrodes) and they gave me a tour of their entire complex, and those machines looked very effective.  They're supposed to be excellent for people who have injuries or conditions that make it hard to put weight on their joints, etc. Hope you know what I'm trying to describe -- they move your body for you.

And congratulations to both of your engineering students!  You must be very proud of them both!

Spring ~  I think your body will let you know what it needs in these days leading up to your surgery.  Less exercise to conserve energy & fat  -- a bit more iron from that red meat -- it's all good!       

Mum ~ Glad you've decided what to do about surgery and have it scheduled.  I'll be thinking about you.

Where's Joy and Val and Meg and everyone else???     Deanna   

Reporting in- I've been reading but not posting for the last few days. Today is my 1 year anniversayr. I was dx last year with bc. Had my mamo and it came back great and my bloodwork is marginal. Slightly anemic and the counts are low but coming up slowly. Go back in three months. I have been putting things away for the storm but ended up cooking out tonight., No rain yet and the wind hasn't arrived either. I have ben working days and by the time I get home and walk and eat  I'm ready for bed. Working nights Sat and Sun and then off again on Monday. Then back to days. My DS got back from Kansas and seemed to like the girl he met a lot.. She is coming to NC in November and bringing her daughters and I have been invited to go up and meet them. I very rarely meet his girlfriends. Good luck and prayers to all facing sugeries.   Have a great weekend. Joy

Question for you gals. If I am exercising above my targert heart rate (becasue I am so oout of shape) is it doing any good????

Ainm,
Baby steps........make a list of things you can do to lose weight and only add what you can handle....examples...wear a pedometer.......walking each day for 30 minutes, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking far away in parking lots......as for diet cut out all soda even diet soda they are worse than regular...eat fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, chicken or fish once a week, cut out desserts and anything that contains high fructose corn syrup.....that s*it is in everything from barbeque sauces to cereal, juices....UGH it drives me crazy.    Are you doing any sort of excercise?  Have you changed any eating habits?  All these things are hard to start all at once.  I was DX in Jan and had not completely committed to excercise and eating healthier until a month ago or so......with so much on my plate I didn't want to change anything while going through surgery, chemo etc......I know though that excercise and eating healthier will help me with whatever future health issues arise.  In my opinion my BC is gone, never coming back.....BUT that isn't to say that I won't have to deal with other health issues as I age and I figure now is the best time to start making those changes.  It is hard too if you don't have support from your family.  My husband could stand to lose 25 pounds and he eats horribly.  I wish he would work out with me or help in preparing meals or even go grocery shopping with me.   UGH sorry this became a mini rant of my own....BACK to you.  When you are stressed or depressed COME to the boards and let it out here!  Try to make subtle changes and maybe your DH and DS will come around and see how hard this is....especially when you have BC in the rear view mirror.

Don't worry if a SE of a drug is weight gain....that doesn't mean it will happen to you.  As for Tamox, I think if there is a side effect it is weight loss more often, not weight gain.  Not sure of the other drug you are taking but if it is helping with the pain, take it and start walking a little bit every day.....excercise is our best medicine for so many health issues.  Once you start losing the weight and changing your eating habits it all becomes clockwork!  YOU can do this.....but it will take time!  Stay on the motivation thread, these gals are awesome!

big hugs.....

Diane

Ainm ~ Depending on the dose you're taking, it looks like the weight gain SE from Lyrica is in the 4% range, which seems quite small to me.   http://www.rxlist.com/lyrica-drug.htm

And I was surprised to see that Diane is right about Tamoxifen, which I, too, thought caused weight gain due to lack of estrogen:  http://www.rxlist.com/nolvadex-drug.htm

I, too, had a lot of muscle, nerve and joint pain after chemo (Taxotere/Cytoxan), so I know how miserable it can be.  I could barely climb a flight of stairs months after I finished chemo, my legs were so weak, and the pain, especially at night, was excruciating.  In fact, I remember sitting in a large stadium one night, watching people much older than I am bounding up the steps I had just struggled to climb with a lot of pain -- and I honestly wondered for the first time since my dx if I'd ever be healthy again.  But in time your body will heal and repair itself if you feed it nutritious foods and get adequate rest.  You are still in such an early stage of recovering from your treatment; I honestly think you are expecting too much from yourself at this point.

To answer the question you posed, you are going to succeed now because it's your future at stake.  Extra fat is more of a concern for all of us now because fat promotes estrogen production.  That's why each of us here has made a serious commitment to lose the excess fat that could diminish our future health.  You are going to succeed now because this is not about hoping to look better or wear a smaller size.  This is about living.  And you are going to succeed now because you are going to stop yo-yo dieting (diets do not work) and start eating more nutritously to heal and rebuild your body, and as a consequence the extra weight will come off.

I don't want to sound like I don't appreciate how hard it's been for you.  I just want you to see that what's required is a mind shift, and if you could get through all of the things you listed -- the surgery, the infections, the chemo & hair loss, the radiation -- you are truly a strong woman, and I totally believe that you can make the mind shift and start building a healthier body and life.  (((Hugs)))    Deanna

Ainm......10 pounds is an AWESOME start!  Sorry I forgot to mention that in my previous post.  I had some aches and pains and neuropathy post chemo but I mostly feel like myself (even better) pre BC!  One other thing you may want to add to your routine is stretching excercises.  A great way to start and end your days!  This should help with sleeping issues, too.  Keep us posted and keep that head up!  You're doing great.....oh and crying does count....I am sure you burned a few calories .

hugs

Diane

Joy, congratulations on your 1 year.... you are still here going strong and the cancer is long gone! Good for you girl!

All of you are doing so great!

Spring.

Deanna, Diane, Joy & Allie, and everyone else!!

I really appreciate your encouragement, advice and support. I have decided to take the Lyricia and see how things progress. I will keep up the exercise and I will try to be more aware of what I eat and my portion sizes. Today I did just over 30 mins on the Wii Fit mainly aerobic stuff but some stretches, twists and balance stuff too. I know the Wii Fit may not be considered a serious exercise tool but it gets me moving and that's something. I also did a 30 min walk with a good uphill stretch. I had a healthy breakfast of porridge and blueberries, lunch was salad and some cold meat but dinner was  traditional roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, gravy lots of veg, melon to start and a home made cream and strawberry swiss-roll for after. I wanted to do a good dinner because my DD is heading off to France in the morning and my DS is going to Prague and I had my Mum here too.  At least apart from the cream the swiss roll was fat free!!!

With your help and support I will do this - I am sorry that I seem to be taking all the time, I hope that as time goes on I will be able to be as supportive to others as you are to me.

 JOY - Congratulations on being one year on and cancer free, hearing from people like you is such an encourgement. Stay strong!!

Sweet dreams!! (that's if your se's don't keep you awake!! LOL)

Ainm ~ 10 lbs. is a super start!  Keep it up!  I was thinking about you as I was swimming this afternoon, and I wanted to suggest that you stop thinking in terms of  how much you want to lose. I think it's less daunting to instead aim for another 10 lbs.  And don't give yourself a time limit because you'll be disappointed if you don't make it.  Just work on the next 10 lbs. by making healthful, energy-building food choices for every meal.  Another thing you might try doing while your kids are both away is a one day juice fast to kick-start your next 10 lbs.  And if you don't already have one, pick up a pedometer.  They're really fun & motivating.

You asked me how long it took to get beyond the aches & pains of chemo.  If you go back to the beginning of this thread, which was early March, you'll see that I was still very achey and could barely drag myself out of the chair and out the door -- and that was 5 months after my last chemo, but probably less than a month after RT ended.  But getting out and walking was the best thing I could have done for the aches & pains, which have pretty much diminished by now.

Joy ~  YaY for your one year anniversary!  Always nice to hit that milestone and move beyond it!

Well, I managed to walk all 5 weekday mornings this past week for a total of 15.03 miles.  I didn't walk over the weekend, but I swam and did water aerobics for about an hour today. 

Oh, DS went to a naturapathic doctor on Friday.  She put him on several natural and homeopathic supplements -- things I've never even heard of --  as well as a very vegan diet -- absolutely no meat or animal products of any kind.  Boy, does that ever limit your food choices!  Anyway, she sounds really good, and DS is really into it, so I'm just praying her no-nonsense regimen will cause that difficult kidney stone to pass. 

Have a great week, everyone ~   Deanna

Hi everyone

Just been away for a while.

this is another gr8 week starting.  I have finished 18 rads... so thats 12 left

As of weight loss..doent look like anything significant has happened.  i have started my walks, some yoga and as i said previously, pranayams(breathing).  i hope it shows results.

Uma