Post Chemo Spa & Shape Up

Mary, thats unreal - 4 women on the same block?  That is scary.  My sister was diagnosed a couple of months after me.  No history in our family either.  I am OD'd on cancer too, decided to skip the Komen walk here.  I did the Relay for Life and it was quite emotional. I have just had too much lately. 

Ate dinner out Saturday and Sunday, bottle of wine with dinner at home on Monday, Tuesday out in NYC with my sisters and out for dinner with kids and hubby tonight. I have to get myself back to to a more normal schedule.  At least I have been going to the gym during the week.  But I swear, inside of me there is a 300 pound woman fighting to get out! I have to work out in the morning, can't do it at night - too much homework etc.  Do you go after the kids are in bed?

Carol- I never had good luck with regular workouts once I went back to work after having my babies until I hit upon this solution:  I work out while my kids do their activities.  Right now they are doing swim team, so they practice 5 nights a week.  While they practice I either swim or do my new love- sports circuit.  Last spring when I was finishing up chemo, they were playing baseball, so I would walk/run while they practiced.  I figure as much as I would love to sit in chair and read while they exercise, it is much better for me and sets a good example for the kids if I exercise, too.  It caused a little conflict with my daughter because she wanted to do horse riding lessons this fall.  We had a family vote and vetoed it, becuase the rest of us didn't want to sit around two days a week while she rode around on horsies!  (She is horse crazy!) So she agreed to continue with swim team with her little brother.

Dottie!  Way to go on the treadmill!  As for chocolate cake, I had something called The Great Wall of Chocolate.  It was big enough for the whole family!  Yum!  PF Chang's!  We talked all weekend about why Washington and Oregon have the highest bc rates in the nation.  One of my friends says it's because down here in the south our heart disease and high blood pressure kills us before we can get cancer!  It is odd, though, because it is so clean and green there in the NW.

How are the rest of you doing with your workouts?  I loved sports circuit again last night.  I had this insanely pumped up woman in my group, so she made me work even harder!  She was very inspiring--older than me and twice as fit!  Happy sweating to you all.

Mary

Mary -

I consulted with my hair dresser about a month ago and decided "no way" for the same reason - so much $$! But I am thinking of going to visit him again about it. I'll let you know what I decide.

Raye

Hey Mary -

Haven't been posting too much, as I have not been doing a darn thing as far as working out. Have had a sore throat for a week and just can't get my lard a$$ into the gym. My belly is beginning to pooch and other gross things are happening due to lack of motion, which I will not get into. Monday Monday - that's the goal of the week.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Mary, Sounds like those two in your circuit last night were great motivators!! Whew is right! Have a good swim tonight - starting to feel like fall here as well.

Take care ladies!!! hope to hear from the others soon!

Raye 

Hi ladies!

Does watching your dog wrestle with the neighborhood beagle count as exercise?  Gus and Beagleboy are currently running around the house like crazy dogs.

Gus is a very small English mastiff.  He was my 43rd birthday present from my husband.  We were chosen as adoptive parents from 83 applicants.  I think that was because we said he could eat popcorn with us whenever he felt like it. (We have since found out that he likes ice cubes better than anything.) He only weighs about 150# but that is more than me and he is impossible control (mostly because he is not well trained) when he decides he wants to go somewhere.

Mary,

Glad to hear the workouts are going well. I think I would enjoy the sports circuit. I think it is great that your kiddiewinks are swimming.  What are their favorite events?  

Carol, 

I think that working out in the morning is so much easier than trying to work out at the end of the day unless it is like 9:00 at night and I have had a chance to unwind. I hope that the decreasing RBCs is nothing serious. Keep us posted.

Raye,

I have that lazy thing going at the moment. Covered up at work, at a conference last weekend, hot flashes keeping me from sleeping well (red wine apparently makes them worse.), heck I am just plane tired!

Raye and Marygla,

I am missing my thick straight hair.  If it weren't for the curls I would have to keep my hair very short.

I'm going to try and get on my mountain bike this weekend, ride our local rails to trails. For now I think I'm going to try and melt a little further into the couch.

Take care.

Casey

Dottie- Here's a cut-and-paste about an easy remedy for restless legs and leg cramps.  I haven't tried it, but many people swear by it.  (It's from the same guy, Dr. Gott, who has the no white flour/no sugar diet):  Take a bar of soap (large or small, new or used, but no Dial or Dove) and place it under the bottom sheet of the bed in the area of the feet and legs. Go to sleep and see what happens.

I hope that works for you.  And I wish I could have seen your singing show!

Didn't swim.  Went to look at furniture instead.  Didn't find any furniture.  But I did suffer through sports circuit last night with the aerobots.  I swear that girl must have been a fitness instructor at some point.  She wore me out on most stations, but I beat her on the suicide sprints! 

Carol--back pain is so miserable.  Hope that gets better.  And good luck at the onc. 

I am going tomorrow for genetic testing.  I am also going to stop by Cancer Services to trade in two wigs and all of the hats I never wore for one new very short wig.  I hope (as I have hoped for the last 5 months) that in another couple of weeks I won't look like I had chemo. So, I am going to switch to a very short wig so when I finally don't have a giant bald spot on the back of my head and can go topless, it won't be such a huge change.  Raye- I chickened out on the extensions again.  I am just too cheap!

Casey- my daughter LOVES butterfly, so her coaches love her, but I think her fastest stroke is breast stroke.  My son is 5, so he has a very cute freestyle and a very cute backstroke both of which would get him disqualified in a real meet.  And you should see his dive!  Ouch! 

Raye and Casey- enjoy your lazy days!  If it gets much cooler here in the evenings, I am going to have to stop swimming.  The pool is heated, but I hate that moment where you have to stand freezing in a swimsuit and then jump into the water.

Hope everybody has a great weekend.

Mary

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HI Everyone, I haven't been here much lately either.  Sorry, Casey, I hadn't seen your post.  I still have the back pain - dull, achey, I even wondered if it was my kidneys.  It seems to get better and worse depending on activity.  Thankfully, I am going for a bone scan today.  I have already had the injection, going back at 11:00 for the scan.  Please think positive thoughts that it is nothing. Will let you knowhow I make out.  I am also going to have a bone density test as well.  Had a clean PeT scan about 2 weeks ago. So I am hoping for the best here.  Carol

Carol - thinking of you. How did it go yesterday? Any news yet? Please keep us informed and let us know what is going on. xoxo

Casey - thanks for bumping us up - I haven't been online in a few days and have nothing to report as far as working out - LAZY.

Have a great weekend all. I have a wedding tomorrow (can't wait to eat some icing from the cake - terrible, terrible...) and then our local Making Strides BC walk on Sunday morning.

Raye

I don't see it yet, Raye.  Can't wait.  I have to update mine too, my hair is growing. I am in a fashion show for the Cancer Wellness Center next week so maybe some pics then when I am all cleaned up! Have a great weekend.  Carol

Carol- how'd the scan go?  You are in my thoughts.

Raye, sorry I missed the giant avatar!

You all were my inspiration for getting back in shape, and now you have got me addicted to sports circuit!  I went on Monday and Wednesday this week, and as I was sweating myself silly I was imagining all those estrogen-storing fat cells  hacking and choking and dying!  I also swam on Tuesday.  They finally turned the heater on in the outdoor pool, but I still hate that moment where you have to take the plunge!  The guy who leads the sports circuit class is trying to get a group of women together to train for a mini triathalon in July.  I don't know what I'll decide.  I know I can manage the swim, but I'm not so sure about the rest.  And I really don't know if I want to spend that much time training.  I do have two kids, two dogs, a husband plus a dvr and couch who love me.

Casey-enjoy your beach weekend.  I don't have any firm plans, but I do see some Mexican food and a margarita in my near future!

Mary

Hello Ladies...

Sorry to neglect you.  Was a little shell shocked last month.  

I've been lurking a little.  Can't say I am up-to-date, but some of the issues that have been coming up with you are of a lot of concern to me.

1.  Drinking.  I know many of us like to--including me--but I am wondering how healthy it is.  Are we drinking more after BC than before?  I think both my husband and I increased our consumption a bit last year...I really don't like wine (my tastes are more expensive than I can afford) and I can't get beer down (acid reflux), so I've developed a taste for Jim Beam, or a nice gin & tonic.  I am wondering if any of you increased your consumption during BC treatment?

On the other, since BC was a "wake up" call....why not live it up NOW?!! Who knows what will happen?!!

2.  Getting back to "normal."  You know, before I started treatment my attitude was, OK, I'm just going to have a very strange six months and then life will be back to normal.  But it didn't turn out that way.  I've been seeing a social worker who's been a big help, and she's been telling me that after BC you don't really get back to being the way you were.  Things are going to be a little differerent.  Treatment is traumatic and it marks you not just psychologically, but mentally and physically.  She says there is such a thing as "chemo brain" and I probably have a little damage.

3.  Stamina...how are all of you doing with regard to general energy and stamina?  I've worked my way back up to doing the same amount or more of aerobic activity before treatment, but I find I have a harder time getting through a whole day and I seem to need more sleep than before.   

4.  Hair...EGADS!!!  My hair is growing straight up!!!  It looks about as long as yours does, Cathy, except that everyday is a bad hair day.  Except when I wet it; then it kinks into little curls that look nice when they dry.  The top is longer than the sides.  I am wondering how long it will be before my hair stops looking so boyish!!!  All those turbans and hats I put away at the beginning of the summer are coming back out now.  I never thought I'd have to wear them again, but dang, my head gets cold now that the weather is turning!!

Well, weight loss isn't as much of an issue anymore...I lost weight during August and September involuntarily because I just lost my appetite.  All my clothes are looser and I think I look better, and the scale registered about an 8 pound loss, but I think it might be creeping back.  I've been afraid to weigh for two weeks.

BTW, art is coming back! I think it was a just a matter of concentration.  It takes a lot of time & focus...probably helped to be spending less time on forum.

Mizzy

Hi ladies!

I have only been walking about three times a week, cuz we've had LOUSY weather so I can't walk at lunchtime, and I'm too busy/lazy (okay, mostly lazy) on weekends to go to the club. Plus we had company and I was traveling too -- I have lots of excuses!!

Hey Mizzy, glad you are back! Hope the time off was beneficial for both body and spirit... (wish I could lose 8 pounds...!!!)

Yes, I still drink about as much as pre-BC... it seems that we've had company or special occasions more often in the last six months than ever before...but they say that WATER can cause recurrence too, so I'm still enjoying my red wine and occasional other libations... We had a "Kona reunion" with six other couples this past weekend... we drank LOTS in Kona, and pretty much duplicated it with Chi Chis and wine at the party Sat... maybe if I give up the booze for a couple weeks I would drop a few pounds... I need to muster up that will power, plus stop having get-togethers!!!!!! My wine-drinking buddy from Anchorage will be back down again next month for a Monday night Seahawk game... oh my! Challenges, challenges...

I think I have pretty good stamina, but lots of body aches from Tamox, expecially at night...  I think taking the Tamox at bedtime cut down on the night sweats, but added to body aches... BTW, Mary, I tried the soap under the sheet trick several nights, but I just cannot lay on my side very long or my hips ache, so I sleep better flat on my back with pillows under my knees and my legs don't touch the soap! I haven't really had the "restless legs" as much as the hip pain, so who knows...

Casey -- Mango Martinis sound wonderful!! Hope you're enjoying your trip!

Raye -- I didn't see the avatar either, so put up another one soon!

Carol -- I can't wait to see some pics from the fashion show -- have a great time and post soon (y'all!!!). Dottie

Welcome back, Mizzy!  Here are my answers to your questions.

1.  Drinking.  I was probably having 5-6 drinks a week pre-diagnosis.  I did not drink at all during chemo except for maybe three or four drinks.  Now I shoot for no more than 3 per week.  Usually it's a glass of red wine with dinner, but I do love a dirty martini or cosmo!  And I'm highly ER+, too.

2. Getting back to normal.  I kind of agree with Cathy.  I have a new normal.  I was having a lot of anxiety about recurrence and dying and leaving behind my husband and children, but I am finding that as time passes I worry less and less.  Still, I feel like cancer is in the room with me everywhere I go.

3.  Stamina.  I'm back on that front.  I have really stepped up my  working out, and I feel very strong and energetic!

4.  Hair.  Ouch.  That one is still sore.  My hair is thin and patchy.  I am still wearing a wig to work and a hat everywhere else.  I look like an old man.  I try not to get too down about it, but it sucks to have this daily visual reminder.  Just in the last few days, my husband has noticed some new baby hairs coming in.  Maybe...finally...

Weight loss.  HA!  I have been eating desserts every night the last couple of weeks after my workouts to compensate for all those calories I've been burning.  And so I've actually gained a couple of pounds!  I am cutting out desserts starting yesterday to try to drop them.

I'm doing well with Tamoxifen--the aches and pains have slacked off, and the hot flashes are still frequent, but mild.  I worry about bone loss when they switch me to the aromatase inhibitor.  I might just stick with Tamoxifen.  (And I have at least another year and a half to decide!)

Casey,  I hope you are having a great time on your boat. 

Dottie, my understanding of the soap is that it just has to be under the sheets.  But I am only reporting what I read in the paper. 

I have been doing sports circuit for about 5 weeks now, so I am going to throw out my stinky old shoes and buy myself some new running shoes this weekend.  And they will NOT be pink!

Mary