**TAMOXIFEN 18**

[MaryAnnSingleton]

oh my,we're starting our 18th !

Phew, pre op assessment all went fine. As you all said, a formality. We are all set for surgery - woo hoo!

That's rubbish, sparkle poor you. Stupid ignorant mums that they are. . . Stare right back. . . Or perhaps throw rotten tomatoes. . . Or water bombs. Or we could all come around and duff them up for you?

Hope everyone is having a good Friday? Have just had twix for fbs

yay for a clear run at the surgery, Ned.

Sparkles, I think parents at schools, as a group, seem to be dab hands at disapproval, most of it wrongly directed. Hold your head high and ignore, ignore, ignore. You could also try blowing a rousing raspberry. It's good and childish, but no more than they deserve. What a load of plonkers.

Wish it was Friday, ned , then I woildn't have to go to work tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it really, but wondering what to wear like a new girl... Glad your preop went well. Grrr now I'm thinking chocolate and I'd been so good this morning.

Wow sparkle a year post surgery is a good thing. Sorry you are caught up in the parking row, smile sweetly and otherwise ignore them. Probably best to hold the tomatoes in reserve for now.

Hope mas and her dad are getting on ok.

Following on from that theme I have today finally and reluctantly decided to ditch the regular PTA meetings. They are such a closed little clique, I have never fitted in, my suggestions and offers of help are usually ignored even though I know they are short of willing hands, so I am going to back out. I can take a hint

Sorry jane, crossposted. Don't worry, they'll be so pleased to see you and, 10 minutes in, it'll be like you were never away. And that's a good thing, considering where you've been

Good you've got the pre op out of the way Ned - only a couple of days to wait now Dr Kurri says eat plenty of FBS to keep your fat and sugar levels up

topsy - good luck at the doc's - hope they come up with something.

Poor DS, 1in8 - glad he's a bit better now, - hopefully you'll manage to avoid whatever it was.

Sparkle - school mums can be vile, try to ignore and not let them upset you. Bizarrely we had a run in today with a school mum I like to call Mrs Upper-Class-Braying-Voice, she persistantly parks opposite our driveway on a very narrow road so we can't get out. DH asked her politely to move, and was told 'you shouldn't have bought a house near a school' then to 'get a life' and as she drove off she opened her window and shouted 'weirdo' at him. Nice!

Ditching the PTA sounds like the right way to go Sometimes, - can't stand cliquey things - no wonder people don't want to join these things. How is DD doing at the moment?

Hope everything is going OK for MAS and her family today.

Waving to everyone

Good luck with work tomorrow jane - you will be fine once you get there

KK. What a cow!!!

Parking is a constant issue outside our school too. The number of 4x4s that cram into a little tiny road, all at breakneck speed and running late every single day, and each with one small child and a frazzled looking parent in it. Insanity. What a waste of life and petrol.

Dd is a bit better, thanks. Oddly, getting brisk and jolly hockey sticks with her (and threatening not to let her go to science club unless she got more sleep) seems to have done the trick a bit

I think a bit of briskness can work very well, - makes them think you aren't concerned so they don't need to be IYSWIM.

Oh yes this awful woman has a 4x4 - there is no way an emergency vehicle could get down the road if needed. There is parking at the village hall which they are supposed to use, but they are too lazy to walk from there to the school. It wouldn't be so bad if they just dropped their kids and then left. But they stand on the pavement yacking - still there at 9.30 some mornings!

• it's the arrogance of some people. She said 'I can park anywhere I like as long as there's no double yellow lines' - DH pointed out that there aren't double yellows on roundabouts or blind bends but people tend not to park on them.

People are horrible sometimes. Always amazes me. Sparkles, just smile at them - big beaming ones. Sounds counter intuitive, but it gives you the moral high ground and makes them feel shoddy.

Kurri at Mrs Braying Voice, could you maybe call the school and have a moan about Emergency access. You could make it sound like the whole of your road's concerned and ask them to advise parents not to park there.

Sometimes, am glad DD's getting back to her old self. Malory Towers approach is a winner then.

On PTA, I have the opposite problem, as am stuck as Treasurer atm, and working from inside to try and avoid a clique. We have elections for Chair on Friday, and am trying desperately to persuade a lovely pair of very young single mothers to do it jointly to stop the middle class candidate who is enthusiastic to the point of trampling on everyone. Wish me luck!

Oops, Jane don't know where Friday came from?! it's wishful thinking, clearly!

Thanks dr Kurri will attempt to maintain regime of fbs to sustain me until Wednesday. . .

Evening All

Practice nurse took one look at me and said "Oh goodness , think I had better get the doctor in for this one" .
Doctor came rushing in and said "Oh my , that looks awfull"
I promptly burst into tears !

15 minutes later I was cleaned , flamazined , redressed , and given a big tissue
They have arranged for the District Nurses to come out to me and redress every day , and I have to go back on Friday to get it reviewed .

Oh and I also got a big box of some rather lovely painkillers that make me very happy indeed ...

Sparkle ignore the school bitches mums . I honestly believe some of them have never grown emotionally past their own time in the playground .

Parking is a complete mare round here at school drop off/pick ups . Our school did the usual sending out of letters asking parents to be a bit more considerate of residents and childrens safetly etc . But it never really did much good . So they contacted our Community Police Officers , and now every few weeks they come to the school and give people parking tickets !
Seems to do the trick ...

Oh topsy - you poor thing, it must be so painful for you - I'm so glad you went to the doc's and they are going to be looking at it and dressing it every day. Get those painkillers into you, and get your feet up. We will KNOW if you try to get up, ,

Community police is our next stop for complaining I think - we've complained to the head, - a mobile police station comes to the village once a month so you can report things.

all round and for those on horse pills

Ned - I had the blue dye / poke around at the sentenial lymph nodes etc. without having any drains, but I 'only' had a lump removed, so maybe all the drains ladies had masectomies? Dunno, just saying you won't need it for the lymph nodes per se.
Hope all went alright today MAS.
Glad you've got sorted out Topsy
Waves to everyone else.

oh my, so many lovely messages of support - bless you all.
We set off promptly at 8.15 (dh had de-iced my car for me !) -beautiful cold and frosty morning, but the traffic was terrible - we were about 10-15 minutes late (both dad and I loathe being late for anything)drove like a mad woman on the clearest stretch of M3 (Charles clocked 91 mph -eek) -snuck in as the head monk was doing his sermon -place was packed so had to go upstairs to the gallery,which is tricky for mum. Everyone who spoke did brilliantly and my dad was amazing- he was funny and tender and wonderful- I'm so proud of him -everyone loved it,especially the family. Drove afterwards to Pisarro's in Chiswick,by the river for the reception thing.
Am shattered and coldy, but phew !!

topsy poor l;amb - no wonder you wept.
sparkle those mums are just bullies- so unkind and nasty.
jane good luck tomorrow- first days back are scary,but you'll be fine once you start.
oneineight hope dcs are feeling better soon
Hope I haven't missed anyone- oh ned yay for trouble free pre op.
xxxxx

Oh dear Topsy - glad they are looking after you though and hurrah for lovely painkillers.

Our parking is awkward at the moment, we think there is an extra car in the street. We have to collect dd from guides soon and hope noone nicks the place outside our house, it is a little walk to the nearest empty ones when that happens.

Phew mas - at least it went well apart from the traffic. It always seems like limbo until after a funeral - very helpful to the family to have a good send off. Feet up now and an early night too.

Well done to mas dad , your friend would be proud of you !
And well done to mas for getting him there and supporting him through it all .

Good luck for tomorrow jane , hope work goes smoothly for you .

I'm off to bed with my new friends (horse tabs !) See you all in the morning .

Bless your Dad MAS - it must have been very hard for him, and it sounds as if he gave a wonderful tribute to his friend

Sorry to have abandoned you all yesterday. Ds had an emergency at school just after I posted. He is all right now, still in pain, but saying he is going today and there is no arguing with him . Not going to be the right thing, but he is desperate, and I have been working with him on building his independence, so now hoisted by my own petard , I will let him go and wait anxiously for the next call.

I am glad you and your dad got through yesterday MAS

Topsy , which I had been around earlier to give out tissues, and fbs. Hope you are managing the horse tablets....remember those I do.

Love to everyone, must run now to get them to school, but will pop back on later, save me biting my nails as I sit by the phone

Morning All

Feeling a little more human today . Still a bit spaced out on painkillers , but that's actually quite pleasant

Sparkle you must be so proud of DS as he pushes himself towards independance like this . Hope he gets through the day ok .

How is everyone else today ?
Any hospital visits coming up

We have booked our summer holiday this week . We rent a house in the west of Ireland every year . It is right on the beach , and is in the middle of no where . It wouldn't suit a lot of people , but we absolutely love it .
If we get sunshine , there is no better place . I take loads of books and we spend the entire time lazing about on the beach .
Anybody else got hols planned yet ?

Right , what shall I have for breakfast this morning ? Had boiled eggs yesterday . Maybe some cereal with hot milk ?

Morning all. Just making a if anyone wants one.

topsy glad you're finally being looked after! Hope the horse pills are working (and you don't start craving hay and the occasional carrot as a side effect... ).

mas sounds like yesterday went really well. Am so pleased for your dad and the family.

sparkle and kk grrrr at school mums - partic those in 4x4s for some reason. Smee is right: smile sweetly and claim the moral high ground.

ned glad your pre-op was okay.

Well I am still here recuperating but starting to get a bit fed up of my remaining drain, which goes a long way under the skin and is uncomfortable (tricky sleeping only on my back!). I have my first check-up tomorrow and was hopeful they might take it out but today's volume reading is around 60ml - far too high, so now I know they won't .

Any tips out there from other drain victims? I'm trying to do as little as possible as I assume activity might increase flow??

Topsy that sounds like a blissful holiday to me. I would love it. We have a cottage holiday booked for the week after Easter at the place we go to in Cornwall a lot, and we may be going to Cyprus to a wedding, unfortunately just at the time when Cyprus is likely to be hugely expensive and unbearably hot, but DH is determined to go. And it is a place I have always fancied (just preferably in the off season ).

Sparkles - well done to ds, he is a little trouper and that is good (I think).

Topsy Rest, relaxation, fbs galore and horse pills all the way to Friday. You poor love. and

Marmite - they may remove the drain, they don't keep it in longer than is strictly necessary. A week is about the limit. Mine went when the flow was more than that just because it had been in so long.

I only had a lumpectomy and only one drain so it may all be different for you. But I think from my very hazy memory that it probably is as well to do as little as possible with your arm while the drain is in, but largely to avoid making yourself sore on it, rather than to reduce the flow. I guess some normal activity is probably a good idea to keep the shoulder working and stop scar tissue getting too tight. But def ask them to clarify.

Marmite - I didn't have a drain, but the one thing I have picked up from here in the last year is that every consultants version or what they do and when seems to be different. Here's hoping that they remove the drain!

In the meantime, a nice some fbs and feet up!

Sound advice

I've still got a few chocolate biscuits left from my very large tin if anyone is interested. I have a pretty horrible bug and am coughing so much I have been sick twice (TMI sorry). Can't be bothered to eat meals really but, strangely, chocolate biscuits still seem to go down rather well And in this particular scenario, they are actually healthfood, keeping body and soul together