Hi Jan, Carolyn and Dianne - thanks for joining along with this thread and giving us the benefit of your experiences.
Vodka, Kinden, Deb how are you all feeling now that “Spring” is upon us. Did you know Spring is the new Winter LOL.
I’ve made a determined effort to stop drinking wine this week - I usually like a glass or two in the evenings - in the hope that this might help shift a bit of weight. It hasn’t been easy though, so we’ll see.
Tomorrow I am having my first blood test since starting on thyroxine, this is to see if I am having the correct dosage. I am also having a blood test to check creatinine, prior to having the CT scan next Tues. Can’t say I’m looking forward to the poking and prodding, they always have a job getting any of my red stuff these days.
Apart from this, I am just my usual tired self, still aching in places I didn’t know I had - roll on summer !
Love P x
I am always tired, and have constant dizziness and neck pain, due my mammagram next week, 1st 1 since diagnosis, really worried.
Don’t know what this next pain is at the moment.
Libby x
Hiya Peacock
Hope everything went well today and they managed to get hold of your red stuff without too much discomfort.
Dont you just love this lovely ‘spring’ weather we’ve had this week, it just makes losing that hour in bed so worthwhile!! I cant believe how tired i have felt after losing just one hour in bed.
P,I hope your managing without your wine in your bid to try and lose a bit of weight, the things we have to give up are the things we miss most, typical! Well I have lost 6 pounds so far on my diet which I am pleased with but Im out the weekend with friends so I hope not to lapse too much but I am definitley going to be having a few drinks I will just have to replace lemonade with lime and soda in my vodkas.
Libby please try and not worry too much and I do hope everything goes well for you in your mammogram next week.
Hope everyone has a loveley weekend and hopes our aches, pains and tiredness also gives us all a little break for at least a couple of days.
Take care girls
Deb xxx
Hi ladies
I really have been too tired to post of late. I just feel totally zonked by the end of the day!
We had snow on Weds, rain a bit since but yesterday and today glorious sunshine - I even took the kids to the park yesterday!
peacock - what news of your blood test after thyroxine?
My latest worry is pain in my kidneys, when I lay down, so it’s not all the time by any means, so I try not to link everything to the big C. I’ve also been having bad period pains, although no blood (no period since June08). I know people can have periods even years later, especially younger women, but it does make me wonder if the tamoxifen isn’t/has stopped working. Also having periods of dizziness, although they are momentary and not every day. When I mention my worries to OH he reacts as if I am attention seeking and wanting something to be wrong.
Hope everyone’s enjoying the sun.
Kinden
xx
Hi Ladies, sorry I have been missing this last couple of days, but I have felt really crap, and I have been in and out of bed. I hate it when I dont feel well, I am like a lot of you I suppose I think the cancer has come back. I should have been out today watching my step daughter take a parachute jump that her boyfriend bought her for her birthday, then to the inlaws for dinner, but I just didn’t feel well enough to go. This illness has a lot to answer for, I have missed loads of things this last 12months. Dont know about you ladies but when I was diagnosed in January last year I thought by the time my birthday came along, which was at the end of May, my treatment would bve finished and I would get on with my life. My treatment wont be finished by the time I get to my birthday this year, and I feel like it is a life sentence. Wow I am having a good moan today, sorry 
I really hope your all having a nice Easter and you got lots of chocolate eggs, I am off my diet this weekend, I feel like crap so I am go to cheer myself up and eat chocolate lol
Paecock I hope they managed to get your blood ok, they have a job to get blood from me at thg minute, I have a lovely blue arm where they were digging for blood the other day when I had my mugga scan.
Libby I have got my first mammogram on 22nd of April, hope yours goes ok.
Dianne, hope your shoulder is better.
Carolyn, I understand what you mean about walking, I use to love walking, it helped keep my weight down. Now I just sit here taking the pills and getting fatter. I asked the doc about my weight last week, because I have been on a strict diet I cut loads of stuff out but my weight stayed the same. So he said the problem is that most of the medication I am on has the side effect of weight gain. I told him I end like them poeople they have to move out of there houses with a crane. Keep an out in the press in a few years time, if the headlines say "Lady from Derbyshire lifted out of house in a crane " it will be me lol
Purdie I am on a few drugs for Fibro, but they dont seem to do anything, it is really hard because when I am feeling ill I dont know if it is the cancer or the fibro or both.
Vodka hope your feeling ok, I read your post about having to finish work. I had to finish work about 3 years ago and it was awfull, I cryed for weeks, in fact hubby sent for my daughter he thought I was going to do something to myself. I thought I would be working well past retirement,I loved going to work it took me ages to get use to the idea that I wouldn’t be able to go back to work.
Kinden, hope your Kidney pain is getting better, and that the period pain has stopped. I finished my period a few years ago but I still get the symptoms. I know when it should be because me and my daughter were always around the same time.I get tearfull and miserable and a headache, then the tummy pains come, so I ring my daughter and she will say it is the time of the month mum.
Anyway all you other lovely ladies hope your ok and enjoying the bank holiday, oh and I hope the lady who started back to work this week is ok (sorry I cant remember your name, my short term memory has gone lol)
Hope I haven’t moaned to much, oh I forgot to say, the doc gave me sleeping pills to try and get me to sleep at night but I haven’t tried them yet!!!
Anyway all of you take care
Heather
xxx
Thought I’d just post a comment re aches as I’ve been feeling it’s me! It’s obviously not as I read your post earlier, Carolyn! My left hip aches especially when I go to bed but I don’t feel like giving up exercise - it’s my life. Do you reckon I have to take painkillers all the time? I’d rather bear the aching but not at night. Also don’t worry Libby about your 1st mammogram. It’s OK but you have to try and deal with the memories which will be there from the time before when you were diagnosed. It’s not the same. Hope this helps. x
The nurse had a job to find blood, as usual, in the end she used a baby needle and then managed to draw some of the red stuff out. I’ve already had the results, and it looks like the thyroxine is at the right level as the TSH test was ok. It doesn’t seem to be springing me into life though, I am still tired and wake up every day feeling that the morning has come too soon, how sad is that?
As for the diet, well I have cut down on drinking red wine and I never eat huge meals anyway, but I don’t think the weight is shifting yet, I am probably not active enough. My back ache gets me down, I feel like I want to do so much but after only a little while of standing about I have to sit down. My doctor seems to think I could have anti-inflammatory injections to help with the pain but I don’t know how effective this would be, anyone had them before?
Heather, sorry you missed your step daughter’s birthday treat but there will be other years when you can make it. Did the sleeping pills help? Hope that you are feeling a bit better now.
Carolyn I sympathise about the knee pain, I too have a problem especially with my left knee but I haven’t been anywhere with it, as I’ve been trying to get my back sorted first.
Libby, having the first mammogram does bring back worrying memories, but I’m sure you will be fine.
Dianne how is your shoulder? We shouldn’t be complaining should we, you have more to deal with than us and it must have been a shock to find secondary’s 18 years later, it doesn’t bear thinking about. How are you getting on with the cider vinegar? Is it easing your aches?
Vodka you’ve been a bit quiet, hope you’ve been busy enjoying yourself.
Deb hope the jet lag has caught up with you ok by now? It is nice to have the spring evenings being lighter
Kinden you can come on here and tell us about your aches and worries and we WONT think you are attention seeking, we’re all the same aren’t we, we try to keep quiet because we feel by this time we shouldn’t be getting this ache or that. Are you going to the doctor? Yes a bit of sunshine really helps, it has been a long, cold winter so we’re all probably in need of sunshine. I just feel so cold all the time.
Susie, welcome and sorry to hear that you have a problem with your hip, hope it gets better soon.
Well, that’s all from me for now enjoy the rest of Easter ladies and don’t eat too many eggs!
P xx
Hello everyone,
Just been thinking how many of us are getting aches and pains,even the younger ones,at the risk of sounding like Ive got A-levels in the b **** ing obvious,could it simply be that the cold weather is exacerbating whatever is causing our problems. My mum would complain bitterly during cold snaps like this because of rheumatism & arthritis(which is a known long term side-effect of chemo)and my mum never had cancer. Ive had some relief for the pains in my arms by sitting with a warm wheat bag draped round my shoulders,2 mins in the microwave does the trick.
Love to all, Mags x
P.S. know what kinden means about hubby thinking you want to find something,mine`s like that,think they want simply to move on & forget,we should be so lucky as Kylie would say.
Heather, how did you get on with your toenails ?
Hi Everyone, Lovely to see all the messages being posted. My shoulder seems to have eased off over the last few days. I still haven’t tried the cider vinegar route, but if it comes back I intend to give it a go. Had my sixth weekly taxotere yesterday and am fine today. Hair still hanging in there (I’m frightened to wash it in case it comes out in my hands!) I hope that you all had a lovely Easter and are taking good care of yourselves. I find that the thing is with this is that you never know from one day to the next how you are going to feel. I did manage to go out a couple of times over Easter and I even had a couple of glasses of wine with no side effects. I have my week off now, but have to see the onc on the Friday. Take care of yourselves everyone, lotsa love, Dianne x x x
Not many posts ladies, hope you are all ok. Went to see the onc on Friday and liver function has improved dramatically. Down from 112 to 50 and he was very pleased. Also says I’m negative for Herceptin. I won’t lose my hair if I stay on the weekly treatment. He offered me the option of going on monthly but then I will definitely lose it and as I’m going on a cruise in September, I opted for the weekly. Hope you all had a good weekend, take care. Lotsa love, Dianne
Hello Dianne
Well, brilliant news that your liver is working better, how are you feeling? I think quite a few ladies have the weekly chemo so I’m sure someone else will be along. I don’t blame you for not wanting to lose your hair, it is one of the worse things to deal with apart from the disease itself.
I had my follow up lung CT on 6 April which was clear thank goodness, but does show some cervical spine damage caused by the radiotherapy. I’m not sure if this is causing the pain I have in my shoulders, but, as I’m seeing the Oncologist this Thursday I will hopefully talk to him about it. I am going to mention about the discomfort I get in my knee, only one knee, although I’ve had it for many many months, I don’t think it means anything serious and is probably to do with all the excess weight I am carrying.
Heather, Vodka, Kinden, Deb, Susie how are you all and are you aching any less these days? Hope none of you have been caught up in the volcanic mess, if you’re meant to be flying off on hols/flying back. Let’s hope it ends soon.
Take care all
P XX
Hi Peacock, Many thanks for your kind message. I’m feeling fine thanks, did wake up this morning with a crippling feeling of indigestion, but as soon as I got up it went away, so I guess it’s just the effects of the chemo. I also get a lot of pain in my shoulders the same as you which is probably from the spine mets. Another lady posted some info today. She says that amtripilene is very good for this type of pain, so I’m going to mention it and if you’re not already on it, maybe it’s worth considering. She also mentioned Diclofenac which I’ve got but am too frightened to take in case I have a bad reaction to it. Good luck with the onc when you see him, let us know how you get on. Take care and hope everyone has a really good day. Enjoy the sunshine. Talk soon. Lots of love to all. Dianne x x x
Hello everyone
I just wondered how everyone is feeling and whether the brief spring weather made us feel any better?
I am having a breast reduction prior to having reconstruction (Oct) in 2 weeks time so feeling a bit apprehensive about that, but I’m sure it will be fine. Because of this I’ve had to stop taking the anti inflammatory I was taking and I find paracetamol isn’t very good at dulling the aches and pains.
My physio is continuing but I’m finding my BC side shoulder and arm is getting worse instead of better.
Dianne, how is your chemo going? Hope it is being kind to you and you are not suffering too many SE.
Mags, Heather, Kinden, Vodka and Susie how are you all doing? Feeling better I hope hence your absence from the posts. Take care ladies
P xx
Hiya Peacock,
How brave are you having TWO more ops,Id think twice about having an ingrowing toenail removed.It doesnt surprise me youre still in pain with your shoulder,its the 1st anniversary of my MX today,Ive got more aches & pains now than the day I came home from hospital despite taking all the medication and still doing my rads exercises every day. My scar is still so very tight,it feels like they sowed my skin to my ribs,my upper arm feels like its being gripped tighly, my shoulder blade at the back feels like splintered wood and my underarm area burns most of the time. On the other hand Tamoxifen is definitely suiting me more than Femara,less flushes and no nausea, so despite all the pain in that quarter of my body,I feel very well! We are just settling down after our move to the Costa Blanca,the move was planned for the time of my DX but had to go on a back-burner.My G.P.gave me 3mnths supply of my tablets which will suffice till I go back to U.K.in July to see the surgeon,and again in September for the Onc. When I asked what worrying symptoms should I keep an eye open for,he said "youll just know",hope it doesnt come to that,but I can always go to a doctor here rather than get the 1st plane home. Also on the plus side,my other as & p`s are much improved,hips & knees not as stiff,now is that thanks to Tamoxifen or a month in a kinder climate? Has any one anything to say about getting (or avoiding)sunburnt on skin thats been radio-therapied?
Best wishes to all,love Mags xxxx
Hi Mags
Nice to hear from you and congratulations on the move to Spain.
My advice would be to wear really high factor sun cream at all times when going outside. I wasn’t really given any advice other than to stay out of the sun.
It’s good that you are getting less SE now from the hormonals, so long may that continue. Is the weather good in Spain? Here today in the Dordogne we’ve actually had some snow. Last week it was so hot I couldn’t keep up with all the plant watering. Strange weather.
Take care and enjoy the warmer climate
P xx
Hi Peacock, many thanks for your kind wishes. The chemo is going reasonably well, I’m always shattered as I don’t sleep too well and am usually wandering around about 4.30a.m. I had crippling indigestion again yesterday, but fortunately it seems to have gone away today. I’m half way through my 18 weeks now and next week I’ve got my week off, but have to have a CT on Wednesday and see the ONC next Friday. The tumour markers are showing a great improvement in my liver function, so we’ll see what the CT shows. Hope your breast reduction goes well for you. I had one a few years ago when I had the other breast reconstruction. It wasn’t particularly painful, the reconstruction was a lot worse and I wish I’d never had it. I often wonder if that’s caused the secondaries and if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t bother. I only did it because we were in Spain and I couldn’t wear strappy tops like everone else because the prosthesis kept popping up! (I’d waited thirteen years a well - how stupid am I?) That’s just my experience tho and I know that there are thousands of women who are delighted with their recons.
Mags, enjoy your move to Spain, we lived there for five years and I really enjoyed it, but my husband wanted to come back to the UK, so here we are living in lovely Louth in Lincolnshire. If I’d known this was going to happen though, I might have moved a bit closer to Lincoln as it’s a sixty mile round trip to the Hospital every week!!
Whereabouts on the Costa Blanca are you? We lived in Quesada, slightly inland from Torrie.
Well, the weather is miserable here at the moment, but I have to stay in anyway as my oh has ordered a new lawn mower which is being delivered ‘sometime today’!!!
Take care of yourselves everyone and keep in touch. Hope you all have a good day. Lotsa love and hugs to you all. Dianne x x x
Hiya Dianne, what a small world we live in,were quit near where you lived,we come under Orihuela Costa,quite close to Villamartin,were between the 3 golf courses. Was it missing family that brought you back,Im hpoing that wont affect me,all I have is one elderly aunt and 2 cousins who I hope will visit me. Your comment about your falsie rang very true,Ive given away half my clothes because of showing my scar,I find Im constantly rearranging myself and pulling my bra down,I so much want to live here but Im dreading the hot months,Ill have to be careful with the skin where I had rads,I was really badly burnt front & back. Did you have your initial cancer treatment in Spain,if so where and at the risk of being rude,what did it cost? Im thinking Ill be toing & froing now till I either get the all clear in 4yrs or I get ill again and we have to come home. I exchanged posts with a girl in Spain who had ALL her treatment on her E111,we thought E111s were for if you cut your leg on the beach. One last cheeky question,were you legit residents or did you keep a UK address as were going to do? So Ill bid you hasta luego, Love Mags xx
Hi Mags, I know Villamartin quite well as we used to go there on a Sunday quite often to the different restaurants and bars. We did miss our family while we were there (we have four children and a boat load of grandchildren between us). But really it was my husband who didn’t want to stay there for the rest of his life, so we decided to come back. My initial cancer treatment was in the UK. It’s 18 years ago but we lived in the Middle East at the time as my husband was working there. I came back to the UK and had the treatment done privately as the Company paid. I think you can get the treatment on the E111 in Spain, but did you know that this number has now changed? It’s called EHIC and you can apply for it on line. You receive a card through the post for yourself and one for your husband and it only takes a few days, so it maybe a good idea to get them. We did have private medical insurance when we lived in Spain but it wouldn’t have covered me for any previous illnesses, so I wouldn’t have been able to get it free. We have a friend there whose wife has just had throat cancer and they had no insurance and had to pay and it was about 60.000 - Sorry - I know that’s a huge amount. The reason the state medical didn’t cover her is that she’s Indonesian. I was a legit resident because I worked while I was there, but my husband never bothered. We used one of our daughters addresses for things like SKY TV etc. I had the breast recon there in Alicante and that cost about 6.000. I wouldn’t repeat the exercise though, wish I’d never bothered. Anyway, hope this helps and if I can help any further, please get in touch. Hope you are feeling well today, take care of yourself. Love, Dianne x x x
hello Dianne,what a fast reply,thanks for so much info,you can be sure that I will be contacting you many times in the future,hope I dont get on your nerves. The friends wife with throat cancer,would she have got her treatment free if shed been European or had they not lived there long enough? When I turn 60,will I get free treatment,wed already discounted medical insurance as the cost was too high BEFORE Id had cancer,Im thinking well carry on renting out our UK house then we can always say we have an address. I read that this is your second round with the enemy,where were you when you were given your 1st all clear and how many years later? That EHIC you mentioned,would I only get that if I declared myself legit in Spain? Sorry for bombarding you like this,whoops one more question,do they have the equivalent of BCNs here,I live in fear of insect bites,Ive always had a bad reaction,so Im scared of lymphodema. Adios, love Mags xx