Anyone starting chemo in June 08

Oh Wyoming, I am so so sorry about your dog.  I do know how that is. Been there and done it too.  I can't really say anymore than I am sorry.  Boy, am I a softie about animals.  I will stop on that note...and just wish you well.  Summer is gone here.  We have high winds and cold now.  I had my Ultra Sound today and will go to my Surgeon tomorrow for results.  Good vibes to all....Hunkydory

Good luck, HunkyD!  It will take time Wyoming, but I hope your feeling better today.  

Love you all 

Hi, I got thru the lumbar puncture on Tues., but I'm not going to know anything until 11/09Th.  My Neurologist said I have a high pain tolerance, and was a good patient, but I beg to differ.  I don't know, maybe practice makes perfect. 

The weather has really turned gloomy, and it's expected to rain, so I've got to get a move on to beat the rain.

later,

leggy, i never knew the pain of nerve damage before, but that's what is also happening to my right hand/arm. it is so excruciating sometimes! i have just sat and cried for 1/2 hr praying  for it to go away. now i'm trying a chiropractor, as my lumbar puncture showed nothing. the onc's keep saying it cancer, but hopefully the chiro can work something out.

Wyoming, i'm so sorry about your pup! i wish i could have postted sooner. it is such an emotional thing. hopefully you're feeeling better by now.

i apologizze for my tying, i'm tryin to do it left handed.

hugs to all, xo choc.

Leggy, this is so horrible hearing about your pain.  Certainly there is some medications that can help?  I hope so.  I went to my Surgeon following ultra sound and he said it was seroma.  I thought he would just syringe the fluid out but he gave me some pills and a local and installed a dang Jackson Pratt drain.  Oh, what a pain those are.  I have had many of them but have not had to go to work with one before.  Not a lot of clothes you can wear with an abdominal drain.  Next week is oncologist appt.  I always get nervous with those, and then following week is with gyno/surgeon.  I also hope this drain can come out next week.  Hope everyone is having a good weekend.  I bought this really nice wrap around the neck massage and heat unit.  It is so nice as I still have shoulder/clavical  pain from radiation.  Best $30 I have spent in a long time.  Well, we are going to call in pizza tonight and watch baseball series game 3 I guess.  Chocolate...hope you are doing better on the eating end of things and am sorry to hear of your nerve damage in arm too.  Is it same arm as the LE is in?  Hope Deisel is still got some puppy play in him.  Wyoming, hope you are doing ok too...Hi Karen and Bonnie...hope you two are at least doing OK.  Kelly, are you taking your daughter out trick or treating?  Have you got your porch all decorated up for halloween.  We don't have hardly any kids anymore.  People just don't come around anymore.  So, we will probably just turn lights out and not worry about it.  Take care all of you...HunkyD

Thank you for your care and concern about my dog. It has been tough. It helps that I have my cat.

Leggy and Chocolate sorry to hear about your pain. Is there anything they can give you to help?

Hunky Lets hope that after your histo that you won't have to have any more surgeries. We might have to start calling you surgery girl.

Kelly it has been nice here in WY too. It's Halloween and the sun is shining. What is your daughter going as tonight.

I went to State Volleyball this weekend with three of my friends. We all coached together and started gong to state 15 years ago. I haven't gone in a couple of years because of the schedule of my treatment. Had a great time even though our team didn't make it to state this year.

Everyone have a good week.

Wyoming

Thanks for all your good wishes, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  With all that's going on, I almost forgot it is Halloween, until I heard it on the new's this morning. Yes, I'm on meds. for the pain,.  Its called Gabapentin, and its a pain blocker.  The doctors said I wasn't taking enough of it, and I that I can't wait until the pain starts, which I knew but was't doing.  They make me foggy in the head, but I'm starting to fell a little better.

It was so nice to hear about your day, HD, KK, and Wyoming!!!  I can live vicariously through your lives. I can smell the cookies now...I did clean out, my truck and trailer today, and got a few decoration's up for Halloween, this morning.  I've decided to sell my trailer, since it doesn't look like I'm going to use it anymore.  The guys, that make my teardrop trailer are in Wisconsin, and I emailed them and they posted my trailer on their website, on Friday.  Yesterday, I got calls from New Mexico, and Michigan. So it's happening so quickly, I wasn't ready for the calls, and forgot so many things, about my trailer.  Now, I'm scared to sell it.  But it's a 2005 Camp-Inn trailer, and their the best new trailers, and used ones are in demand. The dealer told me I can sell it for $1000. less than what I paid for it, and I can use the money for my medical bills.  So sad to use that money for that, isn't it.  Oh well, someone else can enjoy it, and it will go to a good home.

Sorry I rambled, but now I feel better, thanks..

Hi Everyone,

I have not had time to be on the computer very much these days I manage to read a few notes and then away I have to go.  My CT Scan was good, I was so scared that it may not be although I had a feeling that it was ok.  I have made two trips to Camrose, Alberta to see my daughter, she was having very bad anxiety attacks and they have not been able to get them under control. I was out their the first time for 2 weeks then got home for a week and she called me crying asking if I would come back and go to the Dr. with her and she would pay for my ticket as I can not afford it.  So off I went, she had a CT scan on her ovaries which showed a large sist and she was worried that it was cancer but it turned out it is not. She will be having a hysterectomy the beginning of Dec.  I know a lot of us have had that but a few years ago she had all of her bowels removed and a bag put on - can't remember what you call that.  So you can see that my life has been very busy and my DH is not very much help, only because he doesn't want to be. So that is another problem that I am trying to deal with. My arms neck and back have been so sore I can hardly do anything, they cramp all the time if I do much my hands cramp and my feet also.  I thought I would try physio and see how that would help and he has helped so much although it was very painful - he did a real deep hard massage on the stiff parts and then heat - I mean you end up bruised but it was all worth it - still have to go one more time because he was having a hard time with the side that I had the mastectomy on.  So that brings everything up to date with me.

Leggy sorry to hear you have to sell your camper and Wyoming I am so sorry to hear about your dog, mine is getting older and the vet said they don't have a long life span, so I can't imagine how hard it has been for you

Hunky that warm thingy around your neck sounds so good makes me want to get one. Hope everything gets a little better for you so you are not in so much pain.

Chocolate I keep tabs on you between facebook and here, I am glad at least that you are at home makes things a little better don't you think to have your own bed and bathroom and all those little things a person does at home.  You take care and hope you start feeling a little better soon.

Ok I can hardly keep my eyes open so I will just say a quick hi to Karen, Kelly, Leggy and anyone else I missed.  So will say goodnight and hope for the best for everyone.

well, we skipped Halloween this year because of my pain in my arm and hand. it just will not end. and i cant use my hand. plus it waas only 4 days after i got out ofhospital, so hubby and i settled it for a night of tv.

I am also on gaba pentin, Leggy, but it makes me so tired! how do you stay awake all day? well, girls thats all from me for now. lov you all, hope you all feel pretty well and rememerred to put your clocks ahead. i'm going for a nap now.    

xoxo Choc     ps: does anyone know what MMN chemo is or what the letters stands for? i cant find any inoformation on it at all and i think i start it on wed. after meeting the onc on tuesday.

So sorry to hear about all the troubles.  Miss you all and will write,more tomorrow when I feel better. 

I wish I had something exciting to report but no, just my regular life.  I have noticed a real change day to day in my ability to get things done.  Some days I can go, go go but other days I can barely make it to the library and back.  I have been getting a weekly massage and I think it is helping with my back.  I had three compression fractures last year (horseback riding) and I feel like it is collapsing more lately and causing more pain although it had seemed stable for a while.  I am going to ask my onc about it later this month when I go in.  I have a big list so I am going to email him ahead of time.

Also I am trying to get along with my husband more.  Remember we have been fighting about how to deal with cancer and we completely disagree so we reached detente a while ago but it evolved into us just avoiding each other and not talking at all.  It is harder than I thought to make myself stay in the room with him and talk to him.  I know logically he is a good kind person but we have such different views that learning to like each other again is very hard work.  

Everyone please post something, even if it is short, so we can keep track of each other.  I think about you all every day.  Love,  Kelly

Ok, just a quick hi from me.  I still am fighting my cold.  I have my gyno appt tomorrow so will let you know later how that goes.  Meanwhile...My PS is going to go in and tighten up the mesh that he used for my incisional hernia in December while I am at catistrophic health benefit status.  I think it will be outpatient surgery.  I did retain a new oncologist.  At least I called my cancer center and asked them to start that ball in motion.  I haven't heard anything back.  My old oncologist sure left a lot of people in a mess as now the nearest one will be 2 hours away.  Always something I guess.  Wyoming, glad your scans are all ok.  I can see how you can worry yourself a good ole' headache.  I about had an anxiety attack with my last CT scan.  Kelly, I don't think one of us can say our relationships with our husbands are the same anymore.  My DH is wonderful, and I won't say he isn't.  But, I have changed...so I guess that makes it a brand new relationship for us too.  Hang in there. I don't expect it ever will be the same again.  OK, I will write more after my Dr. Appt tomorrow.  I just hate these appts.  Hope nobody gets the cold crud I have.  Stay warm and well.  Hunkydory 

Yea Hunky!  I am glad you will have one less surgery although I would have liked to see the new avatar you could make for that one!  Ha ha  Kelly

I am having a few friends over for happy hour tonight.  I am looking forward to visiting.

Hi girls,  I had to be my own advocate, because the doctors were thinking I was a hypocondract, or something.  I had eczema on my back during chemo.  went to the dermatologist and he diagnosed.  No big deal, but since I don't really like looking at my backside, and live with my mother, didn't realize that it went crazy, on my legs were I could see it.  This all after they upped my Gabapentin, for neuropathy. So I went to the GP, again...and she said well it looks like ringworm, and I told he it looks just like the exzema.  She said oh but this is different.  So I called my vet, freaking out that I had freaking ringworm.  He said it was highly unlikely that a 9yr old indoor dog, would have ringworm, when he didn't even have it and neither does my mother.  So I emailed my GP, and said I wanted to see the dermatologist again, and he called and said I was having a severe reaction, to the Gabapentin.  I have every side-effect on the list, including confusion.  I will take up to 2 months to get this out of my system.  I finally got them to get me to a neurologist, and was diagnosed with Peripheral neuropathy, and now can't take the only drug that works on it. Now my balance is worse the neuropathy is worse, and I can feel numbness and tingling pain all on my mostly, some on the bottom right foot.  So now will be seeing the neurologist who is at the hospital an hours drive on a winding, narrow road in the winter. I got SS-disability, but will now be going from a pretty good living, to a pauper.  Thank god, I had long term disability, with my work, it's sort of like Aflack, you know the commercial with the duck.

It's just hard when you live in a Mobile home park with your 80yr old mom, and you become just like the rest of the seniors here.  I hate living here anyway, and will put the place up for sale in the spring, and sell it for what I owe, because there all worthless now, in this economy.  But somehow, I try to look on the bright side, and my mom and I can now move out of this expensive state, and then be able to live a better life.  We can get our own apartments, and I can have some freedom, and maybe get myself boyfriend who treats me nice all the time....not the crabby other one..It's not too late, and I still look pretty good for my age, now that I've lost the Gabapentin weight I gained.  Since last tuesday, I've lost 12 lbs.  Just like chemo. I couldn't eat, and really fatiqued.  The biggest problem, I fould out is that Kaiser Hospital, is Napa and in Santa Rosa, and I was going to both, because one was closer to home when I did chemo. and then the other hospital was closer to work. There computers don't communicate with eachother. so the left hand didn't know what the right, was doing....No pun intended.  What a mess.  All along they though I was just a hypocondric, or something, and since my disability with work, as far as they knew was ending, I wasn't going to be a real paying customer. I'm so mad.  That I had to push so hard to get them to test me. The neurologist said I had a high pain tolerance, and I told her it didn't feel like that when I went through BC, and she said your strong on your right side....This is like having a stroke on you left side with pain...But now I'm going to look for another state to live in and that will give me something to take my mind off it. A friend of mine says that Longbeach Washington is nice on the beach, and still cheap. So there's got to be some little place to rent that takes a little dog.  You girls that travel, have any idea's let me know.  I've never lived in a lot of snow, but I can used to it.

Thanks for listening to my ramble. I've missed you girls, and will catch up with you when I feel better..Thank goodness for spell check, I'm tired now..I've made more than the usual misstakes.

Hello everyone,

This morning started off well as our neighbors had everyone over for an open house from 10:30-12:30.  It was nice to see all the people we normally only see in summer.  What a good idea to have people over in the morning!  I of course had a mimosa and gabbed away.  I also volunteered my husband and son to help move the neighbors piano. 

The night before I had called my husband and said I am too tired to go shopping for the other groceries we need so if there is something special you want to eat, you will have to buy it.  And he did!  I also told my 19 year old that he should help make dinner so he could learn how thinking I would be teaching him.  Today though when I called him to come peel potatoes he kept on going and helped his dad cook everything.  He even came to tell me how long before dinner, spent time playing scrabble after dinner, and was just a good kid.  I was very proud of him.  Maybe he is growing up!

So otherwise things are quiet here.  I had my blood draw on Wednesday and meet with my oncologist Monday.  I really hope I can take at least one more month off before beginning treatment.  I have sent an email to my oncologist listing my concerns, questions, and more recent symptoms.  I think it has been making me extra grumpy just thinking about starting treatment again.  Other than my constant backache I feel okay.  I am sure I would feel even better if I lived someplace warm, maybe on the beach?

Anybody have any good exploding turkey stories?  Kelly