@caz591 cheers!
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@caz591 brilliant news enjoy your cocktail x
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A question lovely ladies.. I have developed a cold, blocked nose at night and runny during the day and a tickle cough.. any advise what to take or look out for.. just conscious that I am day 8 of chemo so still a bit weak still.. anything suggested to take.. I will watch my temp.. cross finger it just keeps at this an doesnât go to my chest.
@jayb73 hope youâre feeling a bit better. If its a cold then hope it doesnât have too big an impact. Cold remedies wth paracetamol in would bring any temperature down so remember to check your temp before taking it. Runny nose etc can also be chemo side effects. A lot of us have had runny / dry crusty noses, sore throat itchy runny eyes. For that I found dry eye drops and Clarityn ( hay fever remedy which I may have spelt wrong )helped. Best wishes. Hope you ladies on your chemo phase are getting through.
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@caz591 wooo hooooo! Great news. x
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My nose yeh has been sore and crusty this time, a bit of blood but Itâs in my sinus.. I normally do get sinusitis if I get a cold and itâs defo this, this morning, been drinking lemon and honey hot water now and through the night and took a Sudafed as thatâs the only thing that has ever worked .. will phone the unit for some advice but defo no temp.. just pain in cheeks from sinus.. and an annoying cough
god knows where this has come from I just hope thatâs it as in it gets better.. cough is in my throat tickly.
chemo is hard both mentally and physically on me.. especially the first week.. my taste buds are back at least. I am on the list to see a phycologist as itâs hard being unrecognisable in the mirror on top of all of it. My hair has virtually gone.. but I will get through it and hopefully learn to love me through this.. any tips welcome for down days? I walk as much as I can which i will keep up.
Hope everyone is okay.. love the chats and love the fact I can come here and talk to you all..
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Sounds like you are approaching this difficult time really well @jayb73 , that positive caring person is who you are - not the temporary changes you see in the mirror. Be really kind to yourself, keep walking when you can, and enjoy the spring.
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@jayb73 hiy love. As someone who has had similar reactions to chemo as you on the nasal front, and a fellow sinusitis sufferer I found Sterimar was great for clearing mucus and avoiding it drying out, which felt kinder on my tubes. I avoided the Sudafed in case it dried me out.
Forgive me if you know this already. xx
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@salbert you know me 
I am SO glad the reconstruction is over and done with and I keep poking my foob because itâs all squishy now. Much better than that rock hard expander!
@arty1 thanks 
I am feeling pretty good all things considered. I think the worst parts about DIEP have to be nothing to do with the surgery itself. The binder/control top pants that they want you to wear post-surgery are horrid. Also the whole sleeping on your back and not moving is pretty much guaranteed to give you a back ache.
@carrie5 eye drops and allergy tablets should be a mandatory part of any chemo care package because they can help with so many things. I still have eye drops in pretty much every handbag, on my nightstand, coffee table, car console because even post-treatment my eyes are so freakinâ dry all the time! Itâs also the start of allergy season, so tablets and drops might help some of the cold symptoms that @jayb73 is experiencing. There were a few times I thought I was getting a cold but it turned out it was just a combination of allergies and acid reflux (cough).
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No I havenât heard of that one. thanks I will get some x
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Brilliant thanks for the advice.. never thought about reflux or allergyâs .. but I suppose will little or no hair. Then it could be a problem x
YESSSSS @caz591 !!! Great news!! 
Get stuck into another cocktail! 
@jayb73 I developed the crusty nose syndrome when having treatment and got given some antibiotic cream by my team which worked. I also lost my hair but didnât mind as much as I thought I would. My tip for making me upbeat was to go walking blasting out my Musical Theatre and Spiritually Uplifting playlists in my headphones. Also meeting friends for tea and cakes at Flower Farm helped massively. Keep talking to us. My hair has grown back with a vengeance now. Itâs a good point re allergies as itâs hayfever time of year now. You are steadily getting there. Keep going our Jaybe73. XX
@kartoffel Your âfoobâ!! 
I bet it does feel very different to those rock solid implants. My implant feels really hard. I was told it was a âsoftâ implant so I wasnât expecting that thing made of stone sitting in my right bra cup. I still havenât been able to get my nipple tassel tattoo booked. Iâm going to give them another nudge as apparently I can get it done a year after reconstruction which will be May. I think youâre really brave to do the DIEP reconstruction. Are you happy with the results?
Sending all our kickass good wishes to @catlover2 who is starting chemo today. You can do it! Weâre here for the crap bits.
Iâm off to Iceland on Monday morning. Just a reminder for all that the good times do return.
XX
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@jayb73 I think people donât realise how much our nose hairs do for us until they have chemo 
more allergens and pollen get in, cause more snot that either drips out like a tap or down the back of your throat, causing irritation. Allergy meds and nice soft tissues will be your friends.
@salbert so far pretty pleased with the results and I think given my experience with the expander, I wouldnât have been happy with the implant for very long. Depending on how everything looks when healed up, I might go back for one more cosmetic procedure to even everything up and make it all look nice but I donât NEED to do anything so I can say Iâm done done for now.
I still love the idea of your nipple tassel tattoo.. itâs so perfect for you. Iâm debating what to do about mine and if I want to go traditional or more creative. Iâm leaning more and more towards getting a tattoo from this guy next time heâs in London: https://www.instagram.com/okanuckun because he does gorgeous meaningful line work tattoos and getting a bigger piece across the chest and ribs but Iâve got some time to think.
Lots of good chemo luck and wishes to you @catlover2 
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Itâs just a saline nasal flush so totally harmless. Deffo take an antihistamine as well as mentioned. Sudafed is great for a full on sinus infection but possibly less helpful in this situation. x
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Sounds fab.. all this talk of future, makes me think of the future and whatâs possible .. so thank you ladies for all your sound advice as ever.. enjoy the sun as itâs lovely in Northumberland today.. like a summers day x
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For anyone struggling to eat during chemo, Iâve just picked up a notification for a workshop this coming Wednesday run by Penny Brohn uk on âwhen eating becomes difficultâ. They do quite a few free coping with cancer events on zoom which you can book onto, so have a look if youâre interested.
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Sinuses are such a pain! Steam or saline spray can help with clearing them, especially just before bed. The other one Iâve always found helps is a brisk walk outside - seems to open everything up. Hope youâre on the mend soon! x
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Hi @naughty_boob I have followed your recommemdation, waited for a bit and I have a Moving On Survivorship workshop on Monday with Breast Cancer Now, I am very excited, thanks for recommemding it!
I have also reffered myself to therapy through my breast nurse, it took them only 2 weeks to give me the initial call and now I am waiting to start a therapy. I had a lovely Occupational Health therapy throughout my diagnosis and surgeries and honestly it helps so much.
@salbert I made further steps and returned to work in March. Due to my DBS check I landed a cheeky first month of working from home throughout my phased return. I will return to the office in mid April and work until they give me my exchange to implant date, maybe mid June/mid July.
I hope the implant is at least a tad better than the expander. I am not as brave as @kartoffel with DIEP congratsâ
my surgeon wants to proceed with nipple sharing then tattoo, I soooo want it over with but trying to live in a moment and booked my flight back home to Poland in 1 weekâ
u all give me hope each day I will be able to trust a bit more my body and health, itâs still such an effort. Not going through additional treatment, just the mastectomy - I donât fond many women like me with Her2 plus diagnosis but I need to trust the science x