**tamoxifen the 13th**

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we are- anticipating halloween

Im not even aware of what you take to improve your phosphates but know mine were almost at zero when I was in hospital recently. Was given a phosphate infusion

Just spent another joyful few hours in hospital getting drained again!!!! I'm so fed up Poor DD who came with me had to put up with a sobbing mum, she was so gentle with me

Apparently according to my surgeons registrar, this often goes on for weeks I may have killed someone by then

This time, instead of dressing the wound again, the nurse put a bag on the wound. They want me to return tomorrow to have it looked at again.

Oh EarthMother - have a hug/large (delete as appropriate).

oh Earth - horrid for you - there's some birthday cake left which might be a comfort.

ILCG, glad your DD's first chemo is out of the way. I hope she's feeling well today. Her youthfullness will stand her in good stead.

Hi to Choufleur from me too. I'm not on that drug - they gave me letrazole.

Iamseeingstars, I don't know why but I have a vision of a phosphate infusion involving all sorts of fizzing. It's a 'fizzy' sort of word I think.

Eek, Earth, not again. Is the bag like a permanent drain with the bag attached? It must be horrendous for you. Thank goodness you had your lovely DD with you to offer support and comfort. Fingers crossed is doesn't go on for weeks.

We didn't win the quiz last night, in fact we were nearer the bottom than we've ever been before. DH was in a mind to query the scores because we were all sure we'd done better but no-one was keeping a tally - even the markers weren't writing the scores down on a big sheet. It was all in aid of the church hall so I persuaded him to stay schtum. I even managed to answer a couple of very very odd questions that no-one seemed to know the answer to. It was a good night though and I was the only sober one, being on the antibees.

Had an ironing marathon this afternoon but it's all done now and we're having a late dinner while my boys are all in the village pub watching the Man U match. Back to work for me tomorrow - I wonder if I'll last the week?

hope work goes well figgy...shame about quiz- I usually know obscure things -but am horribly competitive,not a nice characteristic.
Ate the last bits of bday cake and having some pink pinot noir with supper...yum.
Am a bit depressed that my SIL (not lalaa) keeps saying that I'm probably menopausal,disregarding the tamoxifen effects- I daresay I am approaching it,but the whole idea upsets me (silly as several of my pals had the menopause in their early 40s)

Evening All .

Hi to choufleur , not much help with your query I'm afraid . But stick around , there's bound to be summat we can help with . Even just a chat helps sometimes doesn't it ?

ILGC - glad DDs first chemo has gone smoothly so far . Hope it continues as smoothly for her .

stars - I have no idea about phosphates (sounds like a gardening thing to me ) FIll me in on what its all about please .

earth - you are really grasping firmly on the shitty end of the stick aren't you ? Healing (and less leaky) vibes coming your way .

kk - think maybe there was some jiggery pokery going on with the scoring system at the quiz . We should have our own quiz team . Between us all we must have experts on a huge range of subjects . My specialists subjects would be Pringles , cake and X-Factor

Have been feeling very crappy this weekend . After my lunch out yesterday I had a sleep for nearly 4 hours ! Woke up for a couple of hours , but then was asleep again by 9.30pm . DH had to poke me awake at 10am this morning when the nurse arrived . I just feel so darn tired all the time . Having the syringe driver taken down tomorrow , so hopefully that will help a bit .

DD is also not well . High temp , sore head and throat . Looks like tonight is gonna be long !

Moaning over . I asked DH to pick me up something nice and munchy from the shops today , so the star has come back with 3 (yes 3 !) Massive bars of Galaxy !
What a man

Definitely out of sorts , I just accused kk of being at a quiz .
Sorry figgy , brain fart moment !

mas - some people like to put everything down to the menopause . Just smile and nod , and then feel free to completely ignore them !

Agree that once you are over 40 then all symptons are put down to menapause, even when clearly it isnt.

Earth, Can I ask what cancer you have and why you have to be drained? Sorry about my ignorance. I cant imagine what you are going through but I am sending my hugs.

Figgy and Topsy. I didnt even know we had phospate in our bodies, but it seems I had none. It was added to the sodium chloride fluid infusion. I dont even know what blood test they ran to identify this. Just done an internet search and it seems it is to help your bones. - oops - new one on me! On one site it said, "too little phosphate can have an effect on your health".

When your hair grows back, if you were starting to go grey beforehand, is it more grey afterwards or do you get your original colour back. Some cheeky sod told me to dye my hair but as Im going to lose it soon doesnt seem worth it.

Anyone watch Downton Abbey? I missed the last series (coincided with rads I think, slept a lot) but really enjoyed it tonite. Could have done with some of Topsy's galaxy for my tea, any left topsy?

Phosphates are part of the salts in your blood, rarely are very low in health, so we don't hear much about them. The drugs for strengthening bones are called bisphosphonates, completely different! But confusingly, you do need phosphate to build bone. Lots of it in our diet tho.

Figgy did you have any grey pre chemo? I think my hair is a bit darker now actually. When did you finish chemo? I had my last FEC on August 24 last year, and it was November before there was any fur at all. Seems a long time ago now. Stars I agree it seems bit pointless to dye your hair now. Spend the money on Galaxy.

Good luck at work Figgy, I have been back part time for 4 months now and still finding it very hard. Tired and a bit demotivated, and fed up talking about why I changed my hairstyle :/

Topsy hope you and dd both feeling better tomorrow. Nite, all

good morning- and good luck today figgy.
cupcaked- watched the beginning of Downton- I'd dipped into it before but am pretty hopeless at following any series.
Am off to take car for it's MOT- then must go to town, and do some work. Also think I will have to cancel appointment with practice nurse for smear,which part of me is pleased about,the other part knows that I've still got to go !

Morning

Downton Abbey has been recorded , and just waiting for the last DC to toddle off to school then I shall watch it with one of my 3 ENORMOUS bars of Galaxy

Interesting re the phosphates , something I had never heard of .

Good luck to you today figgy , hope the day goes well .

mas - fingers crossed for the MOT . And don't forget to rebook that appointment

Very wet morning here on the Emerald Isle . Just sent DS off to school in his pac-a-mac . DD will be similarly wrapped and despatched shortly .
Think it's going to be a day spent in my pjs today !

Morning everyone. thanks for all the comments. Must get the house sorted out today. Memory is going. Will have to make a list of everything I need to do. Will have to get some Aqueous cream. Everyone is being so nice, but it's so hard to tell people. Why do people you haven't seen for ages say "You're looking well"? Pretty crap really" doesn't seem the right answer when people ask me how I am...

That part is really hard jane .
I got over the telling people part quite early on . But now I am on the second phase - telling people that I haven't seen over the summer hols etc . And I am finding it so much harder .
People just automatically ask "How are you ?" , and I find myself having to say "Well , actually ........"

That's exactly it Topsy. I have on occasion started to automatically reply, but then correct myself and tell them the doc has just signed me off 'till the end of October and then it's up to them whether they want the details or not... Some people have been great - especially the women who have been through it themselves because they appreciate the emotional roller coaster element. I hate roller coasters ;)

mas..happy belated birthday.i hope you had a fantastic day.

earth...i know all about flipping seromas grrr,i hope it settles soon.

figgy...good luck with work this week.

ILGC..well done to your dd getting through her first chemo and managing to carry on.

topsy...i got more tired as chemo went on,i lost 4/5 hours a few times during the day and would wake confused thinking its morning.

first time i have woke not in pain sure sign my seroma is settling down and my ribs so far today dont hurt,but terribly constipated this morning why is it you get rid of one thing and get something else to replace it.

went shopping at the weekend as having a terrible time finding comfy supportive bras( got no chance finding mastectomy bras with having bigger jugs) managed to find one in marks and spencers in a nice lilac shade. also bought some vests from there to try and save some of my old clothes.,going to go back and get some more as they have lots of colours they fit nice and snug and are reasonble 2 for £10.00.

waves to everyone else.

joining in topsys and janemacers convo people always say to me you look really well but obviously i feel like crap.i look in the mirror i think they need to go to specsavers or something because they cant be seeing what i see i look like ive aged 20 years and i dont wear makeup anymore dont see no point with having no eyelashes.not only that now my hair is growing back im starting to get sideburns.

Good morning all. Had a peaceful dry (non-leaking) night I am supposed to ring my BCN and arrange to go and see her this morning. Tomorrow is the consultation with the surgeon, first since my op, so I guess she wants to check me out first.

Anyway, these AB's I'm on for possible infection have me feeling incredibly nauseous so I'd rather have a duvet day. Do you think she'll ok this

I would think so Earth- better to be rested and feeling better than trailing out if you're feeling sick.
Pink- thanks for birthday greetings -it was a lovely day- am glad to hear you've woken up not in pain- hope it all settles.
Am off to surgery to let them know I can't do tomorrow and will make a new appointment topsy !
Car is at the garage and I have a shiny Citroen DS3 courtesy car -it has a teeny amount of fuel in it,which I hope will get me back there later-am not driving anywhere else in it !

re-booked for 12th Oct - the nurse must be very busy...

MAS- a belated happy birthday from me. Clearly I don't deserve cake but if there is any going......

I am glad you have booked the smear even if now delayed. Well done.

Hi to choufleur, though I can't help with your question - sorry.

Earth I am glad your leakage has slowed: it can go on for weeks, from memory, but the flow does lessen and it does stop completely eventually.

Seeingstars, your treatment does sound like it is going to be a challenge, but I hope it will be worth it in the end. I knew a (much older) lady with liver cancer who had some very extensive treatment and was pretty poorly for quite a lot of months while she recovered. But in the end it gave her a lot of extra years when she felt very well and lived happily with her family: I believe she felt it had all been very much worth it. Huge sympathies and hugs.

Hi to everyone else - sorry not to have been around, i have eyestrain and am avoiding the screen. Am just off in a mo to collect the new specs and lenses I paid squillions for last week, and hopefully that will help. In which case I'll be chattier. x

I have saved you some Cakes
I'm sort of relieved about not having to go for smear today - what a wimp.Perhaps I subconsciously willed it ?
Car has passed it's MOT but needs a leaky seal replaced as diesel is coming out, so that's £190 or so and have to order ds a geography text book which is £17 ! The school has provided the history GCSE book which is a relief !
Hope lenses and specs help Cakes - are the glasses cool and trendy ?

Ouch mas , painful day for you cashwise !

cakes - I need new specs too , am putting it off as it always costs me a fortune . As I am Blind As A Bat (medical terminology-fact !) I always have my glasses lenses made thin and light to avoid the ever attractive "eyes that look like a mole" look . And it is those that can cost me a couple of hundred squids !

Had a fried egg sandwich for lunch today . Followed by a bag of crisps and a couple of bars few measly squares of chocolate .
Egg sandwich had ketchup on it , so that counts as one of my 5 a day doesn't it ?

Yes, topsy, it does . Sounds lovely, I had a salad with canned mackerel which I found in the ethnic food aisle. REVOLTING. I am not sure why I thought it would be a good idea in the first place, but it has gone in the bin and put me right off having anything else to boot, so that's a silver lining at least.

Thanks for the cake, MAS I hate car expenditure there is no fun in it at all. Could have been worse, though. Dud you have anything nice for your birthday?

New glasses are here and I now have 3 pairs - two nice ones for distance and a pretty dull pair for the pooter. The two main ones are nice, one pair is mainly purple with green on the inside, the other is mainly black with an orange bit on the arms. Did I mention I like colour in a big way ? Optician says these may sort out my ongoing runny eye thing, which he reckons is bad eyestrain . Like you, topsy, I begrudge the cash and I think I swerved forgot to get a new pair last time I had my eyes tested.