MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    Loral...THAT is never off topic! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    So, when did they let you go to yearly, was it at two years? That's when I got off the 6 mo. program.

  • Loral
    Loral Member Posts: 932
    edited August 2015

    Right from the get go, I never was scheduled for 6 month mammograms. I still see my MO every 3 months for blood, and have a chest x-ray every 6 months. I guess all Doc's do things differently. I think he worries about metastasis and was real concerned when I needed my hip replacement. Praying for an all clear daily...

  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited August 2015


    Loral:  YAY!!!!   Extra good reason to party!!

    SuzyBlue:  Lyrica is not available as generic yet,, but the other meds are.  Hopefully your GP will be willing to let you try them.

    OT:  a grip about littering.  I hate litterbugs. I especially hate litterbugs who throw food out of their cars, cuz my dog finds it and wants to eat it. Today there were PANCAKES  in the road. Who throws pancakes out of the car???  I managed to pick up 2 of them but the 3rd was really squashed. And my dog just wants to stand in the middle of the road and try to eat the remaining one.  Had to drag her off the road. Ugh.

     

  • 6doggies
    6doggies Member Posts: 96
    edited August 2015

    Thank you ladies for the sound advice, I'm going to stand my ground and do as you suggest, by telling her that I can't help her out right now.

    Loral, that is awesome regarding your mammogram!! When I had a mammogram the day before I started radiation, it came back stating that there is an area of concern, etc, my RO received the results right after they were done and told me that everything was fine but from here forward, my mammogram results would always say that there is an area of concern because of my lumpectomy, do you have that too?

  • KJSUN
    KJSUN Member Posts: 44
    edited August 2015

    MinusTwo, I have been doing the Claritin, I'm sure it helps with the bone pain. It's funny, I can deal with the pain, the Fibro and Autoimmune helped teach me that. The other side effects are worse. I had intestinal issuses and they want a sample, well as soon as they want one I haven't gone! I have taken Miralax daily and also a stool softener. It's been 8 days!

    glenni, I can eat fine now, that is if I feel like eating. My taste buds definitely have been affected by this chemo. It seems so different from the first one. I even have to give my husband my ice cream because it's too sweet and I can't eat it. So unfair!

    elimar, I don't know what to tell you about sweetners. I don't drink soda, but if I need the carbonation I drink regular soda. I think the artificial sweetners are bad for at least one of my conditions. At home I use brown sugar or honey. You can try Xylital, I've used that before and it does not have a funny after taste. I hope this helps.

  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited August 2015

    KJSUN:  has it been 8 days since you've gone poo?  Yikes, that is a really long time. I would be concerned about that, and suggest you contact your doctor to see if you should take stronger laxatives, or be checked out for an intestinal obstruction.  Once you get your system back on track, I would suggest eating prunes every day or having a small glass of prune juice to keep things moving along.

    Sucks about changing taste buds,,,, Booo on not enjoying the ice cream.

  • Tomboy
    Tomboy Member Posts: 3,945
    edited August 2015

    I am taking magnesium to help with constipation, but I was just also reading in a book of medical mysteries, this woman was chewing sugar free gum with sorbitol, too much gum, like more than 8 sticks a day, who's bowels had become much too loose, until she stopped chewing the gum. I am going to try that, if I need to next time!

  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited August 2015

    KJSUN - glennie is right - 8 days is too long. In addition to Colace as a softener, I used Senecot-D, but you should check w/your doc first. Now I have 3 prunes if it's more than 3 days. The link for the constipation thread below has lots of good information.

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/6/topic/7...


  • KJSUN
    KJSUN Member Posts: 44
    edited August 2015

    Wow. I don't know how I got through my first BC without all of you. I didn't know anything and just went through all of it blindly. I guess I was lucky it did go smoothly. This one sure is different. I just have to get through this one too.

    6doggies and vanessa99 - Thanks for the feedback! I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one that has had those muscle spasms. I even took Tramadol but it didn't help. I'm going to talk with the MO on Monday to find out what we can do about it.

    6doggies - I have a sister that has major issues also, she is what people call an energy vampire. They just suck all the life out of you. I'm sorry your nieces have to be around a difficult situation. I hope things work out okay.

    SuzyBlue - I'm sorry you are dealing with so much pain. Did you ask your insurance company if they covered Lyrica? Mine always has. If not you can try contacting the manufacturer, they often have a program to help people that can't afford their meds.

    Well, it's getting late. Time for bed. Sleep well everyone!

  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited August 2015

    YEAH for Loral!


  • Loral
    Loral Member Posts: 932
    edited August 2015

    Interesting, click on the graphs for more detail....

    http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jce/2014/469251/


  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    Loral, Somewhat interesting...mainly substantiating the survival rates already in effect, but it did show a benefit for HER2+ women having hormonal positive as well, even just a bit, even if it was just PR+. Still on the grim side for those Triple Negs. ALL of the subtypes still have the very best chance of survival when it is caught in Stage I. This fact leads me to believe that early detection, through education and through early detection methods, is where the focus should be, to save lives...until we discover prevention.

  • macatacmv
    macatacmv Member Posts: 1,386
    edited August 2015

    Yay for clear mammo, Loral. Happy happy dance!

    6doggies, yes stand your ground. I find by just repeating the phrase (you have picked out) over and over, not engaging in back and forth verbal assaults works to get their attention. Good luck!

    Suzy, that sucks about the pain. I use tramadol and then I only take a half so I can still function, like drive a car and do the little bit of work I do in a day.

    So I had my MO appt. this morning, she understood about my not wanting to continue with the tamoxifen. But then dismissed the idea of a natural aromatase inhibitor. She said I could discontinue the med as long as I was willing to live with the chance of a recurrence. She wouldn't need to see me so often, just once a year. Then she did a physical exam and said she didn't like a couple of places in my good boob. So make sure I keep my mammo appt. in Dec. She then made some comment about me taking my QOL now. I kinda left there feeling unsettled. I got the feeling she's miffed at me. She said I gotta exercise everyday strenuously rain or shine. She used the phrase "at your age" about the Tami causing my cramping in the uterus area. Said it was unlikely the meds fault. I feel like I need a hug and someone to say everything's gonna be alright. Oh yeah, there's a song about that. It's gonna be my theme song thru dec.

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited August 2015

    Mac, wait a minute here. You are stage 1? No nodes? Your onc is right that there is no natural AI.She is also right about the exercise being a good idea. But how big is your risk of recurrence over the next 10 years? Did she tell you? Tamoxifen cuts that risk in half, which is great and everything, but it is kind of taking a crumb, cutting it in two and saying "yay! TWO crumbs."

    Don't get me wrong. I still think you are probably better off with the tamox, but if you really can't deal with it, I am not sure it is all that dire either. As long as you exercise ;)

  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    Mac, Please take a look at the link that Loral posted, the charts in that abstract. What Momine just wrote echoes the findings therein, although I do think the chart assumes that patient will follow standard of care which at that time would have been five years of Tamox.

    I, myself, did three years of Tamox. (with a Dx like yours) and I am happy to live with the slight risk that presents. But no matter what rules any of us follows there is always A CHANCE OF RECURRENCE. No one is exempt from that.

    So, keep your Dec. appt., and think how much happier you will be when a clean mammo proves that doctor wrong about the spots she didn't like. Maybe she was just showing concern, but with that odd QOL comment and the vibe she was giving off, maybe her ego was getting in the way. I don't like when the pomped up doctors try to make the little wayward patients squirm. Face it, doctors are human; they can be passive aggressive too. (I don't know if you remember, but a couple years ago, I went to an accupuncturist for some pain and gave him three tries to make even the tiniest bit of improvement. At the end of the third visit, after I told him I would not be returning because I had no improvement whatsoever, he casually mentioned I should get checked for ALS because he saw some early signs. What a pile of horse poo. I made sure not to step in it.)

    Now jump into the shower and wash all that negative stank off of you and give yourself a BIG HUG from all of us here.

  • macatacmv
    macatacmv Member Posts: 1,386
    edited August 2015

    Thanks Eli and Momine.

    My MO has always said I have a low risk of recurrence, but has never given me numbers. I think she was doing a passive/aggressive thing. And I am going to enjoy my quality of life, so there. Now I have a whole year to check out for a new MO. I like my BS and her NP a lot better and that is who I see right after my mammogram. I am feeling better now, I know this decision is the best one for me at this time.

    So now, lets see if I can figure out how to post party food from this new tablet.

  • macatacmv
    macatacmv Member Posts: 1,386
    edited August 2015

    This is a test.

    image couple of minutes early.

  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited August 2015

    Those green olives with the pimentos are BLEECH!


    Here's a sandwich! image


    And here's the "chips": image

  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited August 2015
  • Loral
    Loral Member Posts: 932
    edited August 2015

    Good Morning!!!

    image

  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited August 2015
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    Morning ladies, I brought our Vitamin C. (I think cmbear would be proud of me.)

    image

    I'd eat that "devilish" sandwich in a minute, but I'd pick off the eyebrows and give them to Eph.

  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    It's still early...hold on, I've got to take a delivery...

    image

  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited August 2015


    (((Mac)))    Agree with the others,, your MO was doing a passive aggressive dance, cuz she thinks you should not come off the tamox.  They get so pissy when we complain of SE's, don't they?

     

    Love that pic of the girl in the bathtub full of Cheetos!  LOL!! And those beverages look very refreshing.

  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    So, I invited a few casual acquaintances to stop in to celebrate the Thread-versary, not sure which ones will show up. Already got one email:

    "Hey, eli! Probably won't get a chance to stop in later. It's a busy day of Back to School shopping for me and the kids today, and it's all six of them now! You know that Brad isn't going to help out. On his Saturdays at home, he likes to sit around in his underwear and watch Kung-Fu, the old t.v. show. When I b*itch about it, all he says is, "Hey, if I develop this for the big screen, just watch the moola roll in."

    Wanted to take this chance to thank you so much for your support when I got my prophy-BMx. You were so right to just put it out there in the open. And, btw, I still owe you one for that day a few years back when we were out shopping with the kids, when Shiloh was having her millionth tantrum and I was ready to lose it, then you handed her that bag of Cheetos and we didn't hear another wimper out of her.

    image

    You were a life-saver, my friend. Have a great thread-versary. Talk soon, Angie."


  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited August 2015


    LMAO!!   Love it!!!   So glad you are such good friends with Angie!

  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    Yeah, we've had our ups and downs. Like I told her, don't get that Billy Bob tattoo, and she got a bit icy over that; but look how that turned out. She's kind of got a wild reputation but, believe me, she's as normal as I am. She has to call me sometimes when her chest gets these weird twinges. I just talk her down and say, "We all get those. Don't panic."

  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited August 2015

    If you haven't had breakfast yet, grab a plate....

    image

  • luvmygoats
    luvmygoats Member Posts: 2,942
    edited August 2015

    Morning gals. I've got your Cheetos breakfast food right here. I lurk but haven't been posting on here in a while. Congratulations on this page Eli.

    Image result for cheetos images big

  • staynsane
    staynsane Member Posts: 213
    edited August 2015

    KJSUN- Admittedly my timing sucks, after all the mouth-watering food pics, but I want to mention my go-to (pun intended) whenever I got backed up, usually from coast-to-coast travel. I would have a cup of Smooth Moves tea in the afternoon or evening, and without fail by the next morning it did the trick! Bonus: it tastes good, is inexpensive and stocked at Safeway. It's a caffeine free, "senna stimulant laxative," is non- GMO and organic and doesn't cause me to have cramps. So much better than other options I've tried in the past!

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