TAMOXIFEN 9 *********

[MaryAnnSingleton]

Starts here !

Hi, the sailors have arrived back looking all tanned and wind-swept from their trip... yes I think we have our guest till he finds a job....not sure really .... tricky......

Came home from work to find my fab DS had made chocolate pastry, so I showed him how to bake it blind then we filled it with bananas and custard and toffee sauce !!!! Bang goes the diet. It was Fantastic.

xx

that sounds totally amazing SR
glad sailing folk are safely back,but hope Polish guest finds a job soon
Good thinking to pm LJ
Hope all went well today pink x
Am tinkering with my website,hoping I don't mess it up

thanks btw for saying it looks ok KK and happy puppeting tomorrow

chemo didnt go to bad yesterday starting my sickness tablets early really helped,i came home last night feeling ok and didnt feel to bad this morning but within minutes of taking the steroids i was sick about 5 times.does anyone know if the steriods are just suppose to help you stop being sick and increase your appetite or do they do else?if i ring up oncology they most likely say come in and i just cant my plans for today are to go back to bed.

Pink, I can't remember about the steroids, I think they are about sickness primarily but I hope soemone more sensible wil be able to advise in a minute. Or (and I wouldn't usually recommend this) maybe Google to tablets you are taking. But resist the urge to Google more widely . Sooner or later I always end up scaring myself.

MAS, I am going to look at your website later but I am sure it is fab so don't over-tinker

Hi pink, - the steroids are for helping with sickness and allergic reactions, but also part of the chemo (killing cancer cells) - but don't panic missing one won't be a disaster. But do tell your oncology unit, - if you are sick again very soon after taking one they might tell you to take another, or they might give you an extra days worth.
Also I think (not certain) that they can give them intravenously so they might be able to do that for you next time so you don't have to take the tablets until the sickness settles a bit.

Don't panic about it - I'm sure being sick just after you've had tablets happens a lot, and I don't think they'd want you to come in, but would advise over the phone.

Oh - just seen it was this morning you brought up your tabs. - if it was within minutes they will just tell you to take another one, (but do ring and check) and you can pick up an extra one for the last day from GP or something another day.

MAS, am baffled as I missed the link to your website somehow and can't see it. can you post it again? Am sure it's great though.

Pink, sorry you're still throwing up. Last one of that lot though, so woo-hoo!! Brilliant you're through this far.

SR, can your son teach my son?! Pastry sounds fantastic. What does your visitor do then? Is it easy-ish for him to find work?

Got lots of work on, so had better do some. Waving to all - hope it's sunny there. it's lovely here.

hi thanks for answering so quickly im not sure if its because i took anti sickness and steriods together straight after my breakfast.will see how i go with the next lot but im going to take sickness tablet an hour or so first.

they are being a bit fussy with me at the moment what with the dvt and being slightly neutrophenic,then would you believe yesterday as soon as i arrived for chemo my eyes went funny all red rimmed blurred, streaming and twitchy i have been using drops but it was so hot in there and it looks like im starting to lose my bottom lashes but clearly im looking a bit rough at the moment and they have already threatened twice in the last week to admitt me for observation,i really dont want to do that cant see the point.

sickness now seems to been replaced by belches so in line with that im going to slob in the recliner and fall sleep watching jeremy kyle.

Ginger beer, sipped slowly, and some rennies work for me for the indigestion/nausea. Worth having a go.
Morning all. Bit wobbly from time to time still whilst waiting for the last of the steroids to get out of my system but it's sunny and I'm at work.

oh pink,how horrid

website www.kinddogillustration.co.uk

oh MAS I am glad celeste gets a mention on the website.

Pink I am so sorry you are having such a rough time.

I am only stopping in briefly, ds has just been discharged from hiospital following another spinal dislocation, so not going to be around much until I get him back up on feet. Still no spinal surgeon, still no school, still ARGHHHH.....no change here then.

I send everyone my love, ginger beer, and to all, please select from menu as appropriate. Hope LJ and LGF and Figgy doing ok.

xx

Sparkle - really sorry about DS - poor little chap Hope he's back on his feet soon.

poor little boy sparkle- lots of love for a quick recovery xxx

Hi everyone, sorry to have worried you all and thank you for your concern and for your pm Kurri

Have been ok on the whole, but a bit down the last few days, especially today - am absolutely dreading 4th/last FEC on Thursday. Feeling very anxious today, not sure if some of this may be pms as have completely lost track of periods (which I was hoping I might be allowed to do without grr). Despite sucking the huge ice cubes last time the mouth thing was just as bad as before - couldn't taste anything except yuck taste. DH bought me 2 Lindt bunnies for Easter (had chemo on the day before Good Friday) which there was no point in me trying to eat (they are now gone of course). At least I didn't feel sick every day after lunch like last time.

I kept reading every day and meaning to post, but then the thread would move on so fast I would feel too daunted and tired to catch up!

Then we went away to a cottage in Wales for the Royal Wedding weekend which was lovely, but a bit tiring in retrospect. By this time I had lots of ulcers on my tongue (stopped counting at 7/8) which spoilt the eating out a bit - pub meals every night, anything not soft hurt, and can't eat chips without salt (ouch!) and ketchup (ouch!). Unlike others, I always continue to eat despite any difficulties, so probably made things worse for myself! . Lovely waterfall walks though

Have spent the last week catching up with the 'holiday washing' and trying to get other stuff done around the house and garden before I'm hit by the next lot.

So, nothing dramatic, not as bad as poor Figgy, pink or amber (hugs to you all) so a bit at making you all worry. Just pretty yuck, tired, busy and/or absent.

Sorry and love to you all xx

Poor little sparkle. Take care sparkles s
LJ - don't worry about worrying us. I am glad KK apurred you on to tell us you are OK though. I can see why you are dreading the 4th FEC, I didn't seem to have all the SEs you did, but 4 was still one I was dreading, The effect is so cumulative Towards the end it gets better, as you start to grapple your way to the end. Honest!

Don't be sorry LJ you daft woman - just pleased you are OK, -

Sorry that you are feeling anxious though - it might be lots of things coming together -I think by the fourth you start to feel fed up with the whole business which is very natural, plus hormones being messed about and all over the place. Try not to feel you have to get everything done - just stick to the absolute essentials so you don't get worn out.

Ulcers are miserable and sore. My GP gave me some paste to put on mine, and also recommended using soluble disprin as a mouth wash - 2 in about two thirds of a glass of water, give it a good woosh round but don't swallow. And you can do it 4 times a day. It does relieve them a bit. Also straws for drinking with. And if you can get hold of any of those little silicone baby spoons they are softer on the mouth.But fingers crossed you may won't get them again with this next lot, I didn't have them every time.

Take care of yourself - don't be daunted, no one expects you to comment or answer others posts, just let us know how you are when you feel up to it. xxxx

I am sewing centipede feet (a centipede who wears snazzy coloured boots) it is taking a looong time.

We'll need pictures, KK!

How are you feeling, MAS?

Hooray to see LJ's okay - even though you're obviously not okay iyswim. It's totally fine not to post. We should have a special Tamoxifen emoticon of some sort for people just to flag on when they're okay, but too exhausted to post. Not sure what - maybe a woman throwing up.. On ulcers, Kurri's advice is good. I gargled with disprin and it did help. I remember how miserable they made me feel, so poor you. I totally get the dread feeling approaching the next one. Not sure why, but I only had 3xFEC, so 4 seems cruel to me. Only one to go though - I know it's hard, but think how brilliant it'll feel once you're through with the wretched stuff.

Nice to see you too Sparkle, but your poor boy. How long was he in hospital for this time?

Pink, that recliner sounds like a sane way to spend the afternoon. Sorry you're feeling so grim. I'd say definitely take the anti-sickness before you eat/ take steroids. Try half an hour before next time. I (mostly!) managed to keep mine down that way.

MAS, your website's great. Lovely pic of you - and Celeste too of course! Am sure you'll get more work from it. Trivial aside, but I didn't know you liked Christopher Eccleston. I saw him at Westminster Abbey recently. Was run by the Bush Theatre, who took over the Abbey for a night and various actors gave readings from the King James Bible. You went round in groups of 6, so it was all very intimate. His reading was great - very intense, though I was completely distracted, as he's a lot smaller than I'd imagined.

Kurri, hope the centipede doesn't have a hundred feet - did you know they can have as few as twenty? I'd say stop there and have a

Oh no - I don't want to know Christopher Eccleston is small, I like him - are we talking child sized or just a bit shorter than average?

The Bible thing sound great (I'm not religious but the King James is beautiful) was it a big anniversary of the Bible? - because we had a group of people reading the whole thing out in the big city library, -continuously on a sort of rota system, - it went on for days, it was nice.

Is anyone else watching The Shadow Line on BBC2 with him in it?

Centipede will not be having 100 hundred feet, he will be having about 30 if he's lucky. I have started with the feet (odd I know but am waiting for some eyes to arrive in the post before I can do his head) but thank you - I need very little encouragement to have a

100 hundred???? - where's my marbles?

LJ - so lovely to see you,but not lovely for yopu having ulcers- must be miserable- I winced at the idea of salty,ketchuppy chips
smee - I have adored C Eccleston since he was in Cracker - when he was filming Our Friends in the North my friend Thom was working in the Holiday Inn or some such in Newcastle and CE was staying there- he got me his autograph on a breakfast order slip.
cakes- am ok,I keep trying to interpret the letter and work out what it means (the wording etc) generally ruminating really,but calm ish.
Ds is at his last RS revision class after school today- the GCSE exam is next week. He is also doing his grade 3 ABRSM exam in July -if he remembers to hand in the cheque and form today !

KK -am longing to see your puppets !
CE is about 6 feet tall isn't he ? but quite lean... I did watch the Shadow Line but it seemed pretty incomprehensible

Glad you're keeping calm, MAS. Must be hard waiting. Keep away from Google, whatever you do.

• it's okay, CE's definitely not teeny. It's just that he's so striking on screen, so I thought he'd be heads above me. You're right MAS, he's very lean, so slighter than I'd thought too and I'd be surprised if he really is 6' - but maybe he's not far short. Still very lovely though. We obviously all have great taste. I'm watching Shadow Line Kurri, or rather I'm trying to. I fell asleep half way through, so will have to go back to it on watch again..

• King James Bible is 400 year anniversary. The night in the Abbey was extraordinary. They guided us round to various areas you don't usually get to see, and at each one there was a fantastic reading by a top notch actor.

Eyes through the post.

yes,he has a great presence I loved him being the Doctor -my favourite !
There were readings from the King James Bible on R4 some months ago- every day-it was lovely.
Oh dear- I have googled but will leave it alone now.