anyone starting chemo in Nov 2005

Anna,

I think I've read every word ever printed about calcium and it keeps changing every 10 mins. anyway... concerning which type to take, that is.

I like the calcium/magnesium citrate form because it has been said that it will also help to reduce cholesterol a few pts. Why not get a two fold result since we have to take it.

About dosage: Oprah had Dr. Oz on her show, a Cardiologist, and he said minimun amount would be to take 1200 calcium/800 magnesium in divided doses. Our bodies can only absorb 500-600 mgs at a time and we should give it 5 hours between doses. And vitamin D3, per another researcher, should be at 800 mgs daily if we don't get out in the sun.

This information is only good for the next 10 minutes.

Take care

Rosemary

Debbie,

Yes, I too feel very proud of all of us. We are "tough cookies" who don't "crumble". I truly belief God chose us to travel through this BC journey because of our strength and courage. He must have some big plans for us, don’t you think?

Love and hugs,
Odalys

Coltsneck,
I've never been the type to eat red meat but during chemo I couldn't get enough. I think it had to do with the body trying to re-build red blood cells. Today (4 months after chemo), I want to vomit every time I see a steak. For some reason, the thought of eating cows blood grosses me out! Sorry, if this is too graphic.

Odalys

Congratulations on the air, Kim!

Thank you Rosemary and Margerie for the information on calcium. It sounds like I am not taking enough. I will go hunting for some different types.

I have heard from numerous women that they are absolutely turned off by whatever it is they craved during chemo. So how come I'm not cured of my incredible desire for English Toffee (almond variety)?

Anna

Hello everyone!! I've had company for the last 12 days and have been having a blast!! I'm still having problems with fatigue (especially with hot flashes in this heat!!) but I've been able to schedule naps every day. Everyone's been very understanding - bless their hearts!! Now that all of my visitors have left, I'm really exhausted. I slept over 16 hours yesterday.

Thanks for the info regarding calcium. Right now I'm taking only 600mg a day but I think I might up that. I am going to ask my gyn. to order a bone density scan when I see him for my "yearly" in a couple of weeks.

Odalys, Your comment on steak was funny!! I have been on an eating frenzy - especially steak!! I can't seem to get enough!!

I am going to return to work, part-time next week. I'm nervous about re-learning & retaining information. I still feel at times that I am in the chemo fog. Hopefully the routine of work will help that. And hopefully I'll be able to stay awake! LOL

Huge hugs to all!!!
Thank you for sharing & caring!!
LAT56

Good to see you LAT56. Hope you get some rest this weekend.
Hmm cravings. Have tons of them. I love chocolate (not ice cream though) and wasn't a chocolate lover before. Hmm I have a Hersey Kiss in the freezer, gotta go have one.

Kim

Hi ladies!
My best friend just left two hours ago, and I am just now sitting down to catch up with you. It was SOOOO good to see her-we met our first day at my college (even though I was a transfer and she was a freshman), and since we are both named Debbie and play clarinet we had no choice but to be best friends. She is a tremendous person, and I don't know if I can ever convey that enough to her. We spent the past 24 hours cracking up about college, embarrassing moments, and each other. Oh yeah, she is a nurse, so she is extremely handy to have around when I have questions like, "I have this ache....."

I wanted to also say how I seem to already have rads fatigue?!?! Gheesh, I only had 2 out of 30 so far. How soon did it take you all to feel so sleepy and darned tired?
Speaking of tired....time for bed.....
(today's craving was peanut M&M's...another thing I didn't like before....)
Love and prayers, Debbie
PS-Kim, I was sifting through my inbox on Friday (in absolute glee, because I haven't been able to since surgery), and I saw the updates on the crap you had to deal with about the fat necrosis. I'm SO glad that it turned out to be good news, and I am SO sorry I didn't know about that sooner!

Whoopsie, that turned out a bit huge, but this was to portray my amazing hair growth. I didn't think that it was a dumb idea to snuggle up to hubby for a picture, but now I realize you can't see half of my head! Also, do you think my dh looks exhausted? He is. I guess I am a hard patient to take care of. We've been fighting about stupid things like coupons, stamps, who said what, etc, etc.

Great picture Deb!! And Daniel is a cutie patootie!

I didn't know you had braces. You look amamzing. I love short hair- we all look great.

Hope you all are doing well. We are recovering from the pirate pool party yesterday. It was 110! I think we are heading to the beach to cool off today.

What a beautiful family!

Gotta get outside today, only 83! (as opposed to 105 most of week).

Hugs,

Anna

PS. I posted a long post just a bit ago. Don't know what happened to it.

To late to rewrite it.

Debbie,
RADS fatigue really kicked in for me around the second week. It was very difficult to stay awake and to concentrate. By the third week, I was sooooooooo tired and sleepy I had to take time off from work because I could not keep my eyes open. Every time I received treatment I was ready for a nap afterwards.

I can understand you feeling tired considering your body is working extra to heal from recent surgery. My advise would be to take as many naps as you can. The energy level does improve after you finish with treatment. Hang in there my friend. Time goes by very fast and RADS will soon be over.

Love and hugs,
Odalys

Debbie - I forgot to mention earlier, I applied Aloe twice a day starting with the first treatment and it really helped preventing skin breakdown/burn. Around the third week skin started to itch and RAD Onc perscribed Biofene (sp?) and skin held up ok. Do you know if you can apply Aloe? Don't hesitate to PM me if any questions.
Love and hugs,
Odalys

Hi ladies,
I posted the message below in another thread but wanted to post it here too in case you haven't seen it. Debbie saw it and enjoyed it so I thought the rest of my sisters will enjoy it as well. Here it goes....


This weekend I had an opportunity to attend commencement ceremonies at our university. The guest speaker was Astronaut Captain Winston Scott, you may remember him a few years back as the Astronaut who performed a space-walk and captured a 3,000 pound, multi-million dollar satellite that had gone astray in space. There were many headlines about the “lost satellite”. Anyway, he delivered such a beautiful message to the graduating class that I thought was also very appropriate for us BC warriors and I just wanted to share it with you.

Captain Scott told the story of how he and his crew were blind sighted by this massive satellite that became dislodged and was floating around in space. He described the challenges they faced in trying to “regain control” and how they wondered what to do, after all this was the first time they had come across a wayward 3,000 pound satellite floating in space. How could they get a “grip” on it? They could not just forget about it and let it become junk in space. It was worth over $10,000,000 (try explaining that to President and country he said). Finally, he decided to step out into orbit with another astronaut, who by the way had never been in space before and spoke little English, to retrieve the satellite. As he floated in space, he realized the satellite’s “complex rotation patterns” and “sharp edges” and he became disoriented and out of focus. Then, as he started to feel “out of control” he remembered a lesson he learned in flight school about what to do when feeling out of control: “just focus on the instruments”. So he did. He focused on the instruments and on the satellite and reached out and grabed it safely.

As I reflect on Captain Scott’s comments, I see the similarity to this BC journey. Remember, when the world around you gets to spinning a bit too fast, you’re becoming disoriented, and feel out of control, just focus on your “instruments” (one treatment at a time) and on the “satellite” (this journey) and “reach out and grab it safely” (recovery and dancing with NED).


Well, what do you think? Hugs to all.
Odalys

Yes, I know what you mean. It feels like a new beginning for me. Hey, maybe this is a good opportunity to re-invent ourselves.