Hi to Helena xx
Just realised that I posted my reply to Charys here instead of Progesterone thread (copied it over) I’m such a vague twit at the moment you lot will be thinking I’m showing off with my summer boasts while your under your blankets, sorry ?
Dizzy, Lee and everyone else.
Yes, I totally agree about the memory thing. I’m pretty scatty anyway and rely heavily on lists, but I do think my memory is not as good as it was. Radiobrain huh?
Lee, sorry to hear you are getting Tamoxifen symptoms, hope it all goes on ok. I’ve got my flight socks already for tomorrow I’ve never bothered before but my BC Nurse was pretty insistent, and I’m mulling over the generic advice about no alcohol since the pre-dinner G&T is the high light of a long spell when I have to sit still. I hate sitting still.
Lee, I enjoy hearing about your summer life style. You must be fairly amused by our dark winter ways.
Gillx
Hi Dizzy and Helena,
Yup, we are off tomorrow, leaving home about 2.30pm and flying out of Heathrow at 9.40pm. Pretty much packed up now, but still have to move the chickens in the morning (we’ve got one sick one but our friends are being very understanding, it will have to be a good thank-you present for them!) Also have to clear the lounge because it is being repainted while we are away. Phew.
We have 4 nights in Bangkok, 23 days touring NZ and then 3 nights in Melbourne with my sister-in-law. I’m taking the tablet so I will dip in from time to time, I’d miss you guys too much otherwise. I’m really getting into the virtual parties and we have a few more coming up.
Dizzy, have a lovely time in Bath and visiting your daughter. Your comment about the bed made me smile, when we visit my daughter we sleep in a 4ft bed we bought for her when she moved to London, it’s not that comfy and a bit of a sqeeze, we should have been more generous. Last Saturday night we had the baby in there with us too because she was poorly with a virus and Mum and Dad just looked exhausted, that was even more of a squeeze.
So yes expect to hear from two correspondants from down under. Gillx
Dizzy, interesting about the dentist looking for lumps and bumps. I do have a friend who had this problem about 10 years ago (she’s still fine) who said that whatever symptoms she complained off a soon as the Doc had remembered she had had cancer she was referred for further tests. She said it got a bit annoying, but I guess it is all part of the wonderful service we get from the NHS, it’s just all a bit too traumatic for a hypchondiac like me. :womansurprised:
My story of the week in that my brothers and I are just getting the power of attorney papers together for my Mum who is 82. It’s about time but she has always resisted before. Anyway, my brothers and I will all be able to act for her, but she insisted that we include my husband as a sub for me on the form, just in case. I was really upset… thanks Mum.
I was in J Lewis the other day and bought some reduced xmas table mats, it was really hard for me to be positive enough to think that far into the future and uptil that I hadn’t realised that the BC had affected me that way. Does anyone else feel the same? Most of the time I manage not to dwell on it, but …
Gill
Evening Ladies!
I’ve moved on too (still going to go on rads thread though).
Dizzy hope Bath was a blast?
Gillie where are you now? keep us posted with virtual postcards please!
Lee I’m sat here with my fleece zipped up to my chin thinking of you!
On the finance front: I received an email from my union offering breast cancer insurance (after I’d been diagnosed) I could have got up to 25,000! If I hadn’t had the diagnosis I wouldn’t have taken out the insurance anyway because it wasn’t going to happen to me…
X Jak
Jak, I know someone who paid his mortgage off after getting testicular cancer, he was really glad of those critical illness policies. And his cancer was caught early and easily treated.
The OH has various types of insurance that cover him if he’s ill but they’re all part of his employment package, so the only thing that I had was the private medical cover, and that was because it didn’t cost much to add me on, and the children were free when they were younger.
Like you, I thought this wouldn’t happen to me. I wonder why?
We had a brilliant time in Bath and Bristol, a nice combination of being spoilt in a nice hotel, sightseeing, shopping and spending time with my daughter and younger son.
The bed settee turned out to be extremely uncomfortable, I’m not sure I’d be able to persuade the OH to do that again in a hurry! We have a large king size bed, so this standard double felt a bit narrow, and even more so when the OH was determined to hang onto me all night on my side of the bed, I think I had about a foot of bed in the end.
Oh Sue, what a rotten thing to have to deal with, and also what a lot for your son. He’s not really at an age to be able to talk about his fears for you very easily, but at least he is talking about the relationship breakdown. So often I think young men think they must seem at all costs like they’re just fine with whatever’s happening, and they’re so much worse for bottling everything up. But it still makes all this very hard for you to deal with in the middle of your own illness and recovery. So sending you hugs as well, hope this seems more manageable soon.
Jak, sorry you haven’t been having a good day, you must be very tired now after all the rads and travelling, and side effects still increasing. I hope the skin is holding up okay? Sending you hugs as well
xxx
Hi Jak, haha, hot one today. Went out with wet hair after my swim to keep my body temp down haha. Sue, my son is 20 and though home at the moment was at uni when I found out. He was trying to get assignments done and hadn’t been sleeping and rang me late one night in tears. It broke my heart. I stayed on the phone with him for about an hour while he talked about giving up Uni, wanting to come home etc. I talked him through applying for extensions on compassionate grounds and then he came home for a week. Seeing me helped him see I was okay, life was going on … So glad he reached out because unless it’s about music, movies or sport he usually doesn’t talk much. Hugs xx
It’s all very quiet on this thread, I guess with Gill in New Zealand and Lee on a camping trip we’re a bit thin on the ground.
I had a great few days away last week, but I did have a sudden meltdown where I was dizzy and feeling sick and just completely exhausted, had to find a bench to sit on pronto. Mind you, we had been on our feet for a few hours while we were sightseeing, though with refuelling stops along the way, so it wasn’t constant.
But I guess that is what they mean by fatigue, it isn’t something that usually happens to me in that overwhelming way, so it was a bit of a shock for me and my poor husband, who had to deal with a collapsing wife. Though he dealt with it very well, poor man.
And next day I was fine, though we took things a bit slower.
Dizzy I’m here!! Just left post on warmers about not having to change antidepressant.
I bet you gave your H a fright just as he probably thought you were OK. Take it easy - are you the furthest ahead of us all or do you have someone ahead of you?
x Jak
I am back in the fold again, busy but very productive morning at work, followed by a retirement do for one of our ladies, who is retiring aged 72 yep you read right!!
I was walking along the corridor this morning and suddenly felt a bit as if I was spaced out, it only lasted a couple of minutes but my colleague who was with me was a bit worried and got me a chair. I drank some water and it passed off quite quickly so perhaps I was just a bit dehydrated and hadnt realised.
Not doing much this afternoon, other than make some lunch and then chill.
Hope you are all ok today
Helena xxx
Hi, I’ve been working but go camping tomorrow. I’m getting concerned though because nearly two weeks in with the Tamoxifen and nearly four weeks since finishing rads I’ve been getting really bad headaches and dizzy spells. My daughter said if it happens I can lay under a tree and read a book (which I am very good at). What’s normal haha, I don’t want this to be my new normal.
Update; I rang the oncology nurse at the hospital who checked with the specialist and they said to stop taking the Tamoxifen and go back to see the oncologist. Has this happened to anyone else? It will be interesting to see if I feel better without it. Maybe they will lower the dose … Appt is next Thursday so will let you all know. I’m only working two days a week and the third day I’m stuffed so I really feel for the ladies going more. Xx Lee
Hi Lee
I haven’t had any problems with headaches, and I’m a bit prone to dizzy spells anyway, I think the rads made them a bit worse, but nothing serious. I did have horrendous mood swings and depression episodes though, and ended up taking antidepressants. But it was such a bad stage in all of this that it may not have had anything to do with the Tamoxifen, it’s hard to separate things out.
I hope you enjoy your camping trip, it sounds lovely. If you plan to take things easy then it won’t spoil things if you are tired, and maybe you’ll be better than you think. I can’t remember how long it takes for Tamoxifen to get out of your system, the information leaflet in the pack might say.
Thanks Leigh and Dizzy. 4.00am here and couldn’t sleep so checked in here and there you were ? Interesting about the dizzy spells after rads because I was getting them before the tamoxifen but now with the headaches it feels different. Maybe it is a combo, including stress/sadness, that is adding to the symptoms. Breaking or lowering the dosage might be a good idea because I am a light weight as well as sensitive to medication. Thanks so much for the info and thoughts xxxx
Also tears today and sadness. Most of the time I am ok with it all but feeling so unwell seemed to trigger feelings and negative thoughts. What a roller coaster eh? Xx
Lee, bless you, sending hugs, what you’re describing all sounds so familiar. It’s a good job we can talk to each other, collectively we have probably suffered from every side effect going, and every emotion on the roller coaster.
Hope you wake up feeling better.
Xxx
Thanks Jak, Helena and Dizzy xx feeling better not that you guys suffered this but because I don’t feel so alone in it. Am in a tent next to the ocean and it is 26degrees at 10.30pm! Bit warm haha. Got my husband, two adult kids and their partners here too and all are taking care of me in their own ways (daughter much better than hubby). Had a little swim too. Day one without Tam head still very murky but better than yesterday, cross fingers for tomorrow. Nite nite xx