How Long
How Long Do you think it will take for my wife to start feeling better , she finished her rads in March and had her Ovaries removed in May , She is her 2 + and on Arimadex and paroxitine , she is getting pretty down with the flushes and aches and tiredness . She just feels very unwell she has spoken to the BC nurse and her onc but with no improvement . Its so painful to see her suffering , i just wish there was something i could do , she even said she wishes they had not found it so she could have had a few more good years . I keep telling her things will improve but now i,m begining to wonder .
For those who have been through it how long was it before you felt normal again , and what should i be saying to her , i,m sure shes sick of hearing " Things will get better i promise "
Many Thanks
Tim
It takes longer than you think Unfortunately, after surgeries, chemo and rads, then on hormone treatment, I guess our bodies do suffer more than we would like. It does take time Tim, but things honestly do get better. I am now 3 years down the road and don’t feel 100%, but I also have Crohn’s to contend with, which at times is even worse to handle than bc. The day will dawn when your wife begins to have some more energy, less aches and pains and start to get her life back together. You sound a wonderful husband, to take the time to come onto this site and get help. It is very early days for your wife to feel her old self, but as each day goes by, her body will respond to good food, quiet time and most important, your caring. She has been through a lot of surgery and treatment and only time will help her heal.
My sister sent me some wonderfully funny DVD’s when I was so tired and listless, that made me laugh, and cry. My Wonderful Greek Wedding, Bend it Like Beckham and East is East come to mind - took my mind off my physical problems and were a great tonic.
My husband was great - was always there to feed himself when I was sick on chemo, but just let me be. I slept so much I thought I was sleeping for England, but it is the body’s way of healing. Just be supportive in any way you can - shopping, cooking, cleaning and let her rest. Best of all, tell her how much you love her.
Hope your wife is feeling better soon.
Take care, Liz.
Thanx for the reply Liz , we went to see the onc today to see if there was anything they can do , they have decided to take her off of the arimadex and put her on Femara to see if that suits her better , if that does not work he is talking about taking her off hormone treatments all together , we are a bit confused now …again
Tim
Hi Tim (and Nicky )
Its grim at times isn’t it (had my ovaries out at the end of feb so I could have arimidex and the hot flushes at present are dreadful (I think the general “heat” has something to do with it as they are much worse over the last couple of weeks).
I find aching etc. has been reduced by actually keeping active - walking where I can (usually to the swimming pool!!! ).
I understand her (and your) need for “normality” (its taken me 20 months to get through all my treatment and be on “normal follow up” - on a bad day I don’t feel I have a life - more an existence, but those days are fewer than they were and I can be more rational about everything and I do (most of the time feel “half human” again. Trying to find (although I don’t always suceed) a new normality where cancer doesn’t dominate my life.
Normality (Ok a new/different one from the one you had before) will return, it will /does get easier with time.
Iagree with slp11 keeping active, even though its hard and sometimes the last thing you want to do, really helps with aching joints particularly swimming and I have tried to go 4 times a week. Someone else suggested Pilates to me but haven’t got into that.
Am I right in thinking that Nicki is being treated at the Marsden? I am also and have been having accupuncture primarily for the hot flushes as other medication doesn’t seem to have kicked in. A bit sceptical at first but after having a few sessions its really kicked in and made a huge difference to the number I have been having overnight, so much so that I know have about 7 hrs undisturbed sleep…the loss of sleep initself I think pulls you down and hinder recovery. I refered myself but anyone can refer you
HI Hello, my mum is on arimadex, she has up until now been dreadfull but apparently its a good tab to be on(?) She has been so depressed, couldnt sleep, couldnt eat, was retching for a couple of hours on waking(when she did manage sleep) my dad and her were living a nightmare, never going out due to mums tiredness(she was dx last year in March and underwent chemo 2 ops and rads which finished in Nov) She had tried tamoxifan which made her even worse(believe it or not!!)
Eventually a few weeks ago her doc put her on a tablet(aswell as keeping the arimadex) called ‘mirpazapine’(think thats how you spell it) its an antidepressant which we were all totally against, but as mum pointed out,the way she was feeling was actually worse than being on chemo, so she gave it a go and it was almost an instant change, she is eating, sleeping better, although she is still tired its managable and the best thing of all, she is actually laughing again, we know its not a long term solution, but it has to better than the last seven months, just to get her over this ‘dark’ time.
I know its not every ones idea of helping(antidepressants) but at the moment its working for us so good luck.
Hi Tim I am now almost 4 years past diagnosis and the full range of treatment.and have just come back from a holiday with my brother and his 4 year old daughter. We walked 4-6 miles a day and I felt absolutely fine throughout. At this stage I can honestly say, if it were not for my mastectomy scar and daily Tamoxifen, I could almost forget I had ever had bc. How long depends very much on the individual, but there will be light at the end of the tunnel.