Calling all ladies in their 20's

girls,

i was having an easy time with the chemo but now i'm having emotional issues.  i keep on thinking i'm getting my period but i have not had it since oct. 2.  i feel super sensitive and weirdly impatient (esp at work).  is anyone else experiencing this?  is it my hormones confused by the lack of menstrual cycle?

Oh i am glad to hear i am not the ONLY one going through this- i get extremely impatient with my kids which is so not like me! Everything bothers me LOL i also havent had a period either and am having crazy mood swings. I actually cried because my 3 yr ol fell and got up without crying! I felt like i was unneeded! Crazy thoughts i guess

I just did treatment 5 of 8 so i am getting closer to the end!

Shira, Nanna, & Texas - I have heard that this is very very common. Also, we have to remember that this diagnosis is so traumatizing in itself. We will be emotional and moody. It is definitely not easy. I am already on an emotional roller coaster and I haven't even started chemo yet, so I can only imagine what you are all going through. 

I do not know if anyone has suggested this, but maybe talking to a therapist might help process these feelings or even a very good friend. If any of you need to chat or vent, you can PM me all you want. It helps to get these emotions out.

If you are one for medications, there are a few things you can do. 

For the hot flashes (if you are ER-), Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft seems to help significantly. It also helps curbs the moodiness and reduces the anxiety levels significantly.  If you are ER+ you can't take those medications as they do interfere with the Tamoxifen and are broken down along the same pathways in our system. If you might be taking Tamoxifen in the future, there are other options, but not that many. The next best bet is Effexor XR for the moodiness and some sort of Benzodiazapine (Ativan or Klonopin) to help with our sleep and restlessness. There are some more things for the sleep - Melatonin, Tylenol PM, and also prescriptions like Ambien CR or Lunesta should help with sleep if neither of the two over the counters work for you. 

 The antidepressants should also help with the hot flashes, but if not there are always some hollistic things to try to cool ourselves off. I get hot flashes before my period. I know that an ice pack on my pulse points, drinking cold water, and making myself a smoothie helps significantly. Also exercise can help reduce the sweats a little. If I don't go for a run or do yoga before my TMO, I feel like I am burning up all over. Also exercise and yoga or even cleaning the house ( just get moving!!!) should help reduce the moodiness a little. 

 I hope this helps. If any of you need to talk, I am here.  

I'm not going to say that i'm glad that other people are feeling this way, but i'm definately relieved! This was my third round of TCH and I feel like an emotional wreck! I keep crying at my husband telling him that i'm tired of him sacrificing for me (he has to miss Thanksgiving with his family this year because i'll be too sick to travel (chemo the day before)), I feel like I look like an alien (bald head, big scars on my rock-solid TE's, gaining weight daily), and I come home from work and go to sleep right after dinner. All of this has gotten me so depressed over the past week. I feel like i've been so strong and positive and now all of that is falling apart. I'm at work today and can't concentrate on work at all. I'm so behind because of all the time that i've missed, but all I want to do is scan these boards for hope. I'm so glad you ladies are here - hope everyone is feeling better soon!

this is about as young as a group i can find! im 17... three more years! but it is nice knowing other people kind of around the same age go thru it to. i read most of the posts and i am a wreck to.. somedays i stay home from school because i cant stop crying and i fight alot with my parents because i am so moody.

Hi Ladies,

I'm not in my 20's but I came across this thread when I did a search for Effexor.   I started taking this on Monday because of extreme anxiety.  For the first 3 days I took 37.5 mg and yesterday I started taking 75 mg.  Yesterday afternoon I started having a funny taste in my mouth and felt a little queasy.  Has anyone experienced this and is this something that goes away?  Also, how long typically before the medicine really starts to work?.  I find myself still having to take ativan for anxiety at least once or maybe twice a day.  Thanks!

You are definitely not alone in feeling the way you are feeling. After chemo was the worst emotionally for me, and it confused the poop out of my poor husband. Also the chemopause hit HARD during radiation so the mood swings and hot flahes were INSANE. The counsellor at the cancer center where I was treated said that because Chemo and treatment keep you on such a regular schedule you don't really have time to think about all the bad things but now I am at home taking care of my daughter, which definitely keeps me busy, but I have so much time to just think now. Its hard, I find I am not myself and my husband feels the same way. I am trying to find a good counsellor or therapist to talk to because I think I need it. My dr prescribed me anti-depressants but they act as sleeping pills and that for some reason really bothers me. I don't like taking sleeping pills when I know I need to be able to hear my daughter. I also don't like feeling out of it. I don't know I have good days and bad but I can't seem to get out of this funk.

Nanababy- I know you will stay strong! It is easy to slip into a depressive state with all thats going on in our lives, but remember we're all here for ya!

I read somewhere "my favorite side effect is living" or something of the sort, so its like we have to go through all the bad crap to get to the good

Good luck and I will be praying for you!

SKD that makes me feel better.  as much as i don't want to have surgery again, i never want to get BC again, and i also had a weird mri.  you'll have an easier time since you're just getting one side.

Imarobot- Yeah it is hard to be so young and not be able to relate to your friends like before... Sorta like if you're the first one of your group of friends to have children or get married its hard to relate.

WHen were you DX?

I read someones signature that said "Yes these are fake! My real ones tried to kill me!" I thought that was the funniest thing ever, if i had a mx i would have totally made that into a tank top and wore it A LOT!

Hey Ladies!  I've never posted here before (I'm in a great May Chemo group though) but wanted to pop in and say "hi."  I was diagnosed last May when I was 28.  I started chemo a week later, had 4 AC and 4 Taxotere - finished in October, and had my surgery Nov. 10th.  Dang tumor just didn't want to shrink!  It measured smaller in the onc. office, but the MRI showed that it was still 7x 8 cm before surgery.  Either way, it is out now!

Diane - we kinda lost touch since Sept.  Either way, surgery was a breeze compared to chemo.  I was home within 24 hours, and was on the treadmill walking the next day.  Make sure to do the exercises they tell you though.  My surgeon (who is awesome) told me that young women seem to be the worst for not doing the exercises!  The day before my surgery he saw a women that didn't do the exercises and now has 6 months of physiotherapy to fix the damage she did.  I took an Ativan the night before though - I was starting to have a panic attack at my pre-op the day before - I highly recommend it!  I had a great sleep, and i don't think I would have slept otherwise.

As much as I like my May chemo group on here, I'm really glad to have found this thread!  Problems like fertility and weight gain just don't seem to be as high up on other people's radar.  I noticed that I few others on here have small kids too.  I have one son - he's almost 2 1/2 years old.  Keeps me VERY busy.  We're working on potty training right now

P.S.  All I want for Christmas is for my eyelashes to grow back!!! 

Diane - Your trip sounds wonderful!  I'm not so sure about the coffee and rum - I'd take tequila though  Did you decide what type of surgery you are getting??  I had to do the mastectomy, and I haven't heard the pathology report yet.  I heard it takes 4-6 weeks.  They do about 4000 slides for a dime size specimen - and my boob was at least an F after the 20 lbs I gained from chemo, now that's a lot of slides!

So...about what you will need - I bought both the expensive camisole, and the $10 Walmart sports bra.  I liked the sports bra better.  The camisole was nice while I was in the hospital as I didn't have to worry about wearing the stupid hospital gowns, and it was easy to access for the nurses to check, but I hardly wore it when I got home except when the sports bra was in the wash.  Any cheap one will do, but I'd recommend getting the ones the do up in the front.  You'll find that you might have trouble pulling anything over your head (I still do a bit 2 weeks out.)  My friends also made me a holder for the drain that was awesome.  It was like a beauty pageant sash that had a little pouch for the drain to go into.  It meant that I didn't have to safety pin to any of my clothes - which was nice. 

I'm back in my regular bra now though - I just pop the foamy (it came with the camisole) in the other side.  If you have a good bra/prosthesis place, they might be able to alter your regular bras to work well with the permanent prosthesis.  I'm going to give it a try. 

I don't know anything about the eyes tearing thing, although my eyelids were super super puffy from the steroids and the taxotere.  My whole face was puffy - I'm so glad it's going away.  One more reason why I didn't mind surgery compared to chemo - no visible side effects!  My nurse was awesome too.  She was Filipino and finished her treatments in the summer.  It was nice to talk to someone else who was young (she was in her 30's) and knew EXACTLY how I felt - you know losing a boob and all.  The only time I was really disappointed was when I found out I couldn't get a prosthesis for at least 6 weeks

 Good luck with surgery and have fun on your trip!