MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

Options
1…10041005100710091010…1064

Comments

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

    moesje, so sorry you have to be here looking for an answer to your question. Someone will most likely be on tomorrow who can answer your question. I was surgical menopausal at 48 so I haven't a clue about an answer for you. That would be a bummer for sure, but it could be a lashout to some of the terror your body has already been through. I had taxotere for part of my regimine. not something I want to ever have to do again. Hang in there!


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • HomeMom
    HomeMom Member Posts: 1,198
    edited September 2015

    Glennie I thought about Vinnie too. New Orleans would be the best place to go. We used to live in Baton Rouge and it would be nice to go visit since it's been almost 30 years since we've been there. Do those stick on stay on a long time and can you re use them, or are there a bunch in a pack?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited September 2015

    Homemom: yes, they are reusable. You get two of them. I ended up not using them, cuz I developed lymphedema and I have to use compression across my chest area. So it was kinda pointless to wear them. I don't remember how much they cost, but I don't recall it being terribly expensive. And the woman at the Pink Door was really good at matching my real nipple. I took a friend with me,, showed her, and her jaw dropped,,, looked that close. So if you ever plan a trip to St Augustine,, just swing over to Palatka and check it out. Although, you may have a place closer to you in the big O!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited September 2015

    moesje, I know that the anti-hormonal drugs can cause discharge, but I am not sure about the HER2+ ones. It seems unlikely that your menopause would reverse after 4 years. I am sure this will be something you will asks the docs at your next visit, especially if you continue to have ovarian pain. In the meantime, maybe search around in the Stage IV forum for a chemo thread with those drugs and re-ask the question there; OR find a Herceptin and/or Perjeta thread to ask there. It is not like no one here had the same drugs as you (I, myself, had different drugs) but you will probably get the most responses on threads about the same drugs as yours. I hope you find the answer and all the best for your upcoming surgery. You are always welcome here, so keep us posted.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • scrunchthecat
    scrunchthecat Member Posts: 269
    edited September 2015

    Hi Moesje - I am on THP (not THCP), diagnosed maybe a month after you. I was pre-menopausal when I started treatment, but THP seems to have pushed me into Chemopause. I have not had a period since June. Tuesday is my last round of THP (I will probably go on HP indefinitely), and I am curious to see if I will still be menopausal when the T part ends. That does not answer your question, but just so you know someone else is dealing with similar issues.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lbrewer
    lbrewer Member Posts: 766
    edited September 2015

    home on who is your surgeon in Orlando


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lbrewer
    lbrewer Member Posts: 766
    edited September 2015

    these look amazing

    http://www.naturallyimpressive.com/ni_price_bil-ba...


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • moesje
    moesje Member Posts: 3
    edited September 2015

    Thanks elimar. I see my onco this coming Friday, so I'll ask then.

    lbrewer, thank you!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited September 2015

    MY ONLY KID IS 21 TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN????????????????

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited September 2015

    Does that mean you have to be 22 now?


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • HomeMom
    HomeMom Member Posts: 1,198
    edited September 2015

    lbrewer - my surgeon was Dr. Kemp. She was great but I'm still numb on most of the left area. Not much of my feeling came back. I'm going to go ahead and have the surgery. It isn't going to cost me a dime, and I AM a little self concious when I look in the mirror which makes me feel the same way during sex. So, yeah, on to the "cherry on top" so to speak! LOL

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited September 2015

    NM, hahahahaha!


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Loral
    Loral Member Posts: 932
    edited September 2015

    image

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • 6doggies
    6doggies Member Posts: 96
    edited September 2015

    Loral, Happy Fall to you as well! Where did the summer go? That means we are one day closer to snow coming to us living in the snow belt here in Ohio!! Loopy

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • treelilac
    treelilac Member Posts: 245
    edited September 2015

    It's that season again. Time flies!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited September 2015

    YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA. LOVE FALL!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Loral
    Loral Member Posts: 932
    edited September 2015

    imageimageWe get plenty too.....

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • treelilac
    treelilac Member Posts: 245
    edited September 2015

    The last couple of winters almost killed our back fence shrubs (orange jasmine). We thought they were a goner and needed replanting. Luckily an arborist was able to revive them. I hope there are no more "polar vortex" stuffs this year.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited September 2015

    Please re-read the final paragraph in the opening post. Your restraint will be forever appreciated.

    Allow me to direct you to places where those weather posts can be appreciated:

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/84/topic/709601?page=10

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/109/topic/745894?page=117#post_4047153




    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited September 2015

    Oh, I just took another look at those threads linked above. They have kind of fizzled out (but feel free to reactivate them) and I am going to guess that is because (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...sorry, I dozed off there for a minute.) As dramatic as actual weather events can be, the talk of them puts me asleep.

    Just a couple months ago, this thread celebrated a 6-year milestone. That could not have happened if the comments were not interesting, fresh and lively. Please let's keep it that way. I hope all can understand that what might be perceived as a lack of tact on my part, as far as the weather talk is concerned, is me being straightforward in my desire not to have this thread put anyone to sleep or fizzle out. Or to have it go out with a BANG, at least, and not the whimper that is the talk of weather.

    image

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Loral
    Loral Member Posts: 932
    edited September 2015

    image

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited September 2015

    Loral, I'll just chalk it up to the change of seasons.

    I finally did have to call my MO's office to get further blood test results. There were a few wrinkles:

    High glucose (138) but they never ask me to fast first, so I don't think that is too worrisome.

    A high calcium...now this worries me, because the two scenarios I think of are osteolytic bone mets (probably don't have that) and osteoporosis (probably am heading toward that.) I have not been taking calcium supplements very much lately because they neutralize my stomach too much. If I do get back to taking them regularly, will that help my bones or put even more calcium into my blood? Does anyone KNOW about this? I am feeling too lazy to Google, so I might call MO's to inquire.

    A completely normal CEA (1.0), yet the highest of any of my CEA tests including when it slightly elevated during chemo. I WAS a little freaked that it was an increased number for me, but then I double-checked and saw that this test was done at a different lab using different equipment, so I promptly went back to not worrying at all about this. Really felt I should post about this because we all worry about our numbers and it is a reminder that the results could show a change if the testing is not done at the same lab every time.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • HomeMom
    HomeMom Member Posts: 1,198
    edited September 2015

    I am taking Fosomax because I was borderline osteoporosis when they did my BD test. I take 1200 of calcium a day in addition and should be getting another test to see how the Fosomax worked.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited September 2015

    Eli, I have the calcium thing too. Therevis no sign of bone mets, so my doc is sending me to an endo for a thorough thyroid and parathyroid check. With me the supplements mostly end up in my blood rather than in my bones

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited September 2015

    Left my question on the MO "nurseline" so hope to hear whether supplementing is recommended or not. Momine, I may have to wait and see what my calcium is six mos. from now, to see if this is anything to require further investigation. I guess I will have to read up to see how the thyroid and/or parathyroid could play a part.

    The last thing I need is some new thing cropping up. Or any residual crap from the crap I have already been thru'. I am so looking forward to next year when I will have my final heavy surveillance (CT, and later colonoscopy) after which I am hoping I do not require a close watching of any kind for anything!!!!!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited September 2015

    The nurse called and she said it would be o.k. to take a calcium supplement and reminded me to take it with Vit. D (Duh, right?) for better absorption. She also asked if I drank a lot of fluids, whereupon I admitted to tea consumption...so then we got to talking about caffeine and yes, I do know that caffeine is not the friend of a menopausal woman's bones (heart, maybe, but bones, no) so the plan is for me to scale the caffeine way down. I had only a very slightly elevated calcium number, so we all felt comfortable just waiting to see how I do at my next six month interval blood draw.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited September 2015

    My header pic this week is in regard to the upcoming month of October, co-opted as Pinktober.

    My interpretation of the "Let them eat cake" quote, commonly mis-attributed to Marie Antoinette, is this:

    "Marie Antoinette" is the self-centered greed of capitalism. The "cake" is the pink-washed awareness campaign, really shoved down everyone's throat during October, with the most hungry of the "peasants" (them) being the Stage IV metastatic women (and men.)

    image Hey, I can't draw a political cartoon. The header was the best I could do.

    [For the record, it's not strictly the AWARENESS that I don't like. But so many $$ spent on it, when research for a CURE, comparatively, has to go begging. Each year another 40,000 die of BC. That figure has remained constant for 30 years now. Where the progress there? Hmmmnnnf!]

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heartnsoul76
    heartnsoul76 Member Posts: 1,648
    edited September 2015

    Hey ladies! Just checking in with the middies! I know I'm going to forget something I read but you Can't. Go. Back!

    Elimar - maybe try some of those Viactiv chewable calcium supplements. The caramel flavor is pretty darn delicious! I'm so tired of residual crap too! About the high glucose, why can't they call you beforehand and tell you to fast? It's like throwing money away to test that after you've eaten. Ugh!

    glennie - I couldn't believe my doctor just flat out denied 4 or 5 pain killers per month, either! These harsh anti-cancer treatments left me with a lot of pain. I've been off all of them for almost a year and still in pain almost all the time. I would say that maybe all of this pain can be attributed to a fibromyalgia/chemo conflict but my bones hurt, too. I just hope it's not forever.

    I can endure it most of the time but some days I can't function and is that why we went through all of this? I'm sure he wouldn't deny himself pain pills if he felt like this. How presumptuous and insulting to assume I would get addicted or what, sell them? Telling me I "don't want to go down that road" is not doing me any favors, but gee thanks for caring doc.

    I have so much heavy physical work to do around here to load up my store. The pain is robbing me of my opportunities to get it done. And y'all know how rarely we get chances to work on something extra around the house. GRRRRR!

    My brother had a good idea about the store. Instead of committing myself to a mental ward (OOPS! Freudian slip!)... instead of committing myself to 6 days per week, 5 or 6 hours per day for months, I will just have 3 long weekends of an "estate sale". Fri, Sat, Sun for 8-10 hours each day. Then BAM! I'm outta there!

    glennie - I finally won the war on my Vitamin D levels. For the first time since I was diagnosed 5 years ago, not only did I get it out of the thirties... it is now 71! I tried expensive liquid drops, I did sublingual, I got the most highly rated brands, I took them 3x day with 1000 mg Vitamin C per my endocrinoligist... I live in a very heavily wooded forest so not much chance of sun unless I go somewhere else. I was about to go to a tanning salon but after much research on the internet (you know how much we ladies love to do that now....), I saw trials where they were giving patients up to 15,000 IU per day. I said, why not? So I took 5000 IU 3x day with 1000 mg Vitamin C and VOILA! That was what I needed to break through the barrier! I've reduced my dosage now to 10,000 IU per day and if it maintains I'll go down to 5000 IU and see how that does. I don't know if some of us are bad metabolizers or what, but I was beginning to think I was stuck in the 30's. And doomed!

    Of course, after 5 years of trying to get my Vitamin D levels up out comes a conflicting study! I saw that post on here about Vitamin D levels above 40 causing all sorts of problems, including bladder cancer I think. So as usual, we're damned if we do and damned if we don't.

    NativeMainer - LOL'd that Eph has to be 22 now! Guess I have to be 27 now.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited September 2015

    HnS: Is it your MO or your PCP who says no? Ask a different doctor? Is it possible to find another doctor? Since you have suspected fibro,, what about consulting a rheumatologist? Perhaps that person would be more sympathetic about ordering a few narcotics a month? That is who prescribes mine. Course he wants to be sure I'm not taking "too many". But I have a proven track record with him, so he will do it. I dread the day he retires, though. He's 70 now,,,, Glad you were able to get your Vitamin D levels up. And that's just one study. I'll see what my PCP says when I see her again in Nov.

    I think the estate sale is a great idea!!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited September 2015

    HnS, we sure look good for being so young, don't we?


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories