Post Chemo Spa & Shape Up

Thank you so much.

I am taking Wellbutrin and I haven't had a hot flash in months, but please bear in mind that I am not taking Tamoxifen or any other drug of that type as I am ER/PR negative, but I was having the hot flashes from chemo. The Wellbutrin, in my case, is very tolerable.

Off to NC to do my triathlon this weekend. Wish me luck!

Casey

Casey,

Best of luck with your triathon! You will do wonderfully. You are truly amazing and inspiring.

Mary - nice swimming - that is tough. Lycra do rag sounds cute. You will look very cool and chic.

Mizsissy - Glad to hear you are sleeping better and congrats on the two pounds.

Now me, I have not run for two weeks - working tons of hours at work - not complaining. I miss the stress relief I get from running most of all, not to mention I am losing all of my muscle tone in my legs. I am heading to the Outer Banks in two weeks and wanted to be a bit more buff, but oh well. Tried my bikini on last night - doesn't look too bad, stuck the prosthetic in the boobless side of the top (which is like a sports bra - or boob flattener as I call them) and man - the prosthetic does not flatten down like a natural breast. Looks very nice and makes my other side look flat. But you know, I don't care. I have on order a tankini, awaiting its arrival from VS.

Ladies, have a wonderful weekend.

Raye

Raye:

Thanks for the compliment....as of yesterday I quit wearing my wig (exactly six months to the day that I started wearing a wig). When I go out I'm wearing a baseball hat but hopefully in a couple of weeks I won't bother. One thing I have to admit, though, is that it came in very gray and I bought dye at the health food store. As Bobbi Brown says, hair dye is the best invention that ever happened for women!!!!

Cathy

ps - I'm still exercising - are we suppose to record something on the sheet created by Mizsissy?

Casey,

Great job! You beat your goal time by 6 minutes, wow - that is tremendous!! You rock, girl.

Yes, I cannot wait for vacation. Oh, a month in Avon, that sounds like heaven. You're right about the drive. Geez. The first year we went down, we drove straight through - took us 16 hours (including Hatteras ferry- 45 minutes). Now we stay in Williamsburg one night and drive in the next day - much easier.

Haven't worked out in two weeks. Feeling blubbery and stressed.

Hope everyone is doing well.
Raye

Raye,
Have you ever had the peanut soup in Williamsburg? It is marvelous! Are you staying on Ocracoke? My cousins with assorted kiddiewinks, brother and sister, aunt and uncle will be spending a week at Nags Head in August. After my mom, aunt and uncle passed we decided that our family was too small and too precious to not get together at least every other year. I think I am going to ride my bike from Atlantic Beach to Cedar Island and take the ferry to Ocracoke, then to Hatteras and ride up to Nags Head for the week.I can't wait. Oh, I think you are going to have the best time after all that you have been through.!!!!

Mizsissy,
Nice to hear from you!
I am glad, glad, glad that treatment is done and that you are feeling well on your way to being yourself.

I put my husband on the Adkins diet three weeks ago. He hasn't lost any weight and I can't seem to stop eating cashews! I told him we would have a carb frenzy feast July 4th through July 8th before we go back to the diet.

I've chosen my next event. The four mile women's run in Charlottesville, Va. My sister-in-law promises 8 minute miles, I promise not to puke at the end. It raises money for the UVA breast center so it seems like a good cause and a good way to spend Labor Day.

Have a marvelous weekend ladies!!!!!!!!!!

Casey

Hey Everyone,
Cathy, your hair looks great. I heard that Whole foods sells a vegetable dye that works well. I have used a Clairol dye already but I think I may give the vegetable dye a shot and see. Mine was all gray when it came it.
Casey - Congratulations on your achievement! I can't even imagine a triathalon. I have started walking again, an hour a day and started swimming a little in my pool. After two laps I feel as though i could cough up a lung! I can't imagine how wonderful it must feel to accomplish what you have done.
Mizsissy, I am so sorry to hear abut your friends with the possible mets. That is just horrible news. And losing a pet too...you have had a tough time. But you sound well and it sounds like you are feeling healthy. Is anyone updating the spreadsheet - I am going to check it because I have been losing a few with my increased walking. I don't mind posting when I lose!
Raye, You're not exercising? I hope you are feeling well - if you are working too much make sure you make time for yourself. Have fun on vacation.

Hi Everybody!

Mizsissy, so sorry to hear about your pet and bc friends. And so glad to hear you are feeling stronger and sharper!

Carol-congrats on the weight loss! For those of us who are ER positive, losing those fat cells cuts back on our estrogen production! Yeah!

Casey, you are impressive!

I am going to do the Race for the Cure in Portland in September. I am trying to decide if I should start running (Ha! More like stagger and gasp) to get in shape for it, or if I should resign myself to walking it. If I started running now, could I be ready for a 5k in September? There is a track at the Y where I swim, so I could do a little running and then cool off in the pool. But most of my team will be walking, so maybe I should not make the effort. I don't know!

I spent the weekend at the beach with my do-rag and new boobs. Quite a combo! We rented a kayak Saturday, and that was lots of fun. I'll be diving next Sunday and Thursday. Sunday will be two easier, shallower dives in Panama City Beach, Florida, and Thursday will be a little more technical and intense in Pensacola Beach. This way, if I flame out on the easy dives, I can cancel the second day of diving. But I think I'm ready.

Haven't weighed myself for several days, but I think I'm pretty much at 122-my pre-chemo weight. Now I need to work on getting some muscle back!

Mary

Hi All!

Hope you had a great July 4th. Maybe you all have the post-vacation blues and that's why this thread is so quiet!

I had a great weekend at the beach, and I did, indeed survive my two days of diving. What a huge confidence boost! Now if I could just get my hair to grow a little thicker and faster!

I am interviewing for a new job tomorrow--I really want it. I turned it down just after my BC diagnosis, because it seemed like too much to handle--chemo and a new job! But it is available again, so wish me luck! I currently work at a culinary school, and the daily (free!) lunch is killing me! 5 courses with dessert! I will miss the food, but at the same time, I really want to get away from the sugar and refined flour!

How are you all?

Mary

Mary,
I am glad you had a great weekend and that the dives were a success!
Don't worry, the hair will come back and before you know it you will be in desperate need of a haircut.
Good luck on the interview. Something tells me that the job is as good as yours. Why would it be available once again now that your health is better? It is meant to be.

Mizsissy,
Sorry about the shoes but I still think there is a lovely pair in your future. Don't give up hope!
My best advice is to purchase a heart rate monitor. We all grew up with the notion that in order to become more fit you should exercise in the (220-your age)x 60% or 80%. Not true. Your heart rate is determined in utero/birth/genetics/whatever you want to call it and it remains constant through your life. You can easily determine it through what is called a sub-max test. Once it is determined then you can begin to workout based on heart zones. There are five of them and your best cardiovascular fitness and weightloss occur when you are working in your aerobic and threshold zones. For instance; my maximum heart rate is 190. This means I need to be working with my heart rate between 133 and 156 to be in my aerobic zone and between 156 and 173 to be in my threshold zone. When I started paying attention to my heart rate I found I burnt a lot more calories and my fitness level improved dramatically in a relatively short period of time. I also lost about 10#. By understanding my heart rate I was also able to workout smarter. This meant I no longer felt I had to go full out for long periods but could do high intensity intervals in my threshold zone, recover to my aerobic zone and repeat this. It cut down on fatigue and bordom. I bought the Timex heart rate monitor because once I programed all the information into it it told me with relative acuracy how many calories I burned in a day (My record is 5863 while riding a particularly long stretch of scenic road into a head wind and I swear all up hill one day in Spain. I also quickly replenished those calories with some great wines, cheese, lamb, olives and other assorted vegetables!)There is a website (I think it is Heartzones.com)that is very helpful.
Sorry for the long ramble but I firmly believe in using a heart rate monitor when working out.

I hope everyone is doing well.

I am off to Charlottesville this weekend to see my niece and nephew, follow up with the breast surgeon on Monday and stock up on all the yummy food I can't purchase at home!

Have a great weekend ladies.

Mary, You should definitely try for the run. We have a Komen walk here in October and I have thought about it too. Not sure I could do it but I am starting to run a little on the treadmill, maybe a minute or two, each time I am at the gym. Good luck with the new job, I know you'll get it.
Casey, YOu are right about being fit regardless of weight. That is not so much my concentration now, although it helps me gauge my success.
MizSissy, I am having trouble too, I think, because it is SO difficult to give up my red wine. I am trying but I think that is why I am stalled. I think we just have to keep at it and not get discouraged. You are doing some great things too - the bike ride sounds great.

Raye, First, thank you for the compliment on my hair. It is great for the summer but I definitely will let it grow. We did the Relay for life also and it was so emotional. They do this survivors lap around the track and it is just lined with family and friends applauding us survivors. Then at the halfway point you meet your caregiver. Jeez, I totally lost it and I am not usually a crier. It was very emotional.
Cathy, I am ER pos also but red wine is my only vice at this point! I had an aversion to it during chemo too, but my taste for it came back after I was done.

Hi Everyone!

This is me at the beach over the 4th. You can see that my hair is still NOT growing, but my boobs look hot! Blue-glad yours turned out better than you expected! I'll be doing some tattoos soon, and that should help break up the Barbie Doll effect.

I'm still swimming 4-5 days a week, but I haven't picked up a weight even though my doc cleared me weeks ago. Maybe next week...

Still waiting to hear about the job, but unofficially, it's mine! Yeah! Big raise and great insurance!

Mary

Mary