23rd **TAMOXIFEN** thread

[MaryAnnSingleton]

oh my !

Yes loose women is most educational.

Slept a lot better - done with rads and saw specialist nurse who was lovely and reassuring. Need food and rest now as can feel my battery draining but I am starting to feel a bit better . Have psych referral but also MRI scan on Monday (ok what more can it tell me but still hate them).

topsy I would think combo of hormones and worry. Can dh talk to him if you dont feel like it?

That said in my experience of teens with step kids , feelings about real issues can quickly become an episode of flouncing and tantrums which can be very draining. Dss is far worse at this than dsd.

Good luck for all the appt today .

Hi sorry I have been awol, Ds has taken a bit of getting back on even keel. I am not up to speed, and have to spend afternoon preparing for Consult with ds' rheumatologist (oo wrote rheumatologit as a very Freudian typo)...got to get some more help out of this appt, told by Ward Paed that he needs a pain clinic! I will try and get on again soon.

Hope everyone is ok, I am missing you all and thinking of you all the time.

Other lighthearted sparkle news is that mug that I am I rescued 6 orphaned ducklings at the weekend, and have persuaded my best mother hen to take care of them, got to teacher them to swim this afternoon.....going to be some identity issues there....only in sparkleworld.

hooray for sparkle the duckling rescuer ! good luck with swimming lesson
And also of course with rheumatologit - i like that.
Glad you are feeling a wee bit better gig
Am sure topsy's ds moodiness is a combination of pre-teen hormone surges and of course anxiety about you.
Must crack on with some work now- wet and rainy here.

What are Gfr tests and echo cardio grams? I am assuming these are chemo prep?

Jane, was hoping for something more exotic, but cornflakes in the sun sounds pretty good.

Gig, I haven't a clue what those are, though echo cardio's obviously heart related. Bet Amber will know. Amber, are you out there?

Yep thought amber would know - and it's chemo prep rather than disease check .
One of them may be kidney function check

I can't remember what pre-chemo checks I had. Amber's the woman who'll know though am sure.

As you say, both are pre chemo checks, so they/staff looking after you have baseline of how kidneys and heart are functioning. Both can be affected by chemo, as you know. GFR is glomerular fitration rate, the kidney one. It can be checked by blood tests but also, I think, by a 24 hr urine collection. This involves you putting all pee produced over 24 hr period ina big canister - which they will provide you with and you can do at home. Not sure that's def what you'll be having, gig, but may be the case. Echocardiogram is a kind of ultrasound of heart. Most on here who have had chemo have had that as part of pre chemo checks. Urine/kidney one may be cos you, gigs, on different chemo regime.

Usually a lurker here, but butting in cos I know the answer, or part of it

It's all pre chemo checks gig .
They do all these (bloods , ECG , ct/MRI and poss bone scan) to get a base line , so they will know if chemo is damaging you .

Am hoping the boy is just normal teenaged boy moodiness . If its not then sparkles birds may have to adopt something else as I will be posting DS over ....

Sorry ladies, not had chance to catch up.
Mil has invasive ductal carcinoma ( about 4.5cm) and will be having a mastectomy as soon as we can arrange her transferral to our local breast care unit. She was well prepared and has got an amazing attitude. No crying allowed.

Back soon.

Hello baskets !
Stop lurking and come on out into the sunshine

Hi 14k at least you know what you are dealing with now .
Good that mil is going to be treated near you .

Ooh yes baskets, Topsy's right as we do like a chat - as I'm sure you've spotted!

l4k oh dear. Not surprising, but still Tell her not to be too brave. Be weird if she wasn't upset and it really helps to let it out a bit. We can answer any mastectomy questions she might have between us, so when she's ready ask away.

Gig - lad you managed to get some sleep and feel a little better today. specialist nurses are always great IME to talk things through with.

Baskets has explained the tests, and as topsy says - they will just be recording a baseline to check your chemo doesn't effect any of these functions.

Baskets - hello don't lurk, jump in, you are very welcome

topsy - pre teen boys are strange creatures, definitely a stroppy time. Also they are caught between that awkward stage of wanting to be independent and assert themselves, and appear cool to their mates, but also being in some ways just a little boy still.

Sparkle - poor DS, I hope something gets sorted for him regarding pai management soon, and that you have a good appointment with the rheumatoloGit. Ducklings sound great, is mother hen very pleased with herself - thinking she's suddenly produced a troop of large babies?

l4k - so sorry about MIL's DX, although I know it was expected, it's always a shock, but it sounds as if she is handling things well. Good thoughts to her for her treatment and recovery.

Waving and love to everyone. Am having a day of learning for my theory test, - I thought it was just the multiple choice questions, but apparently I also have to do hazard perception (watch videos and click the mouse when I see a hazard) - I will be hopeless at that - I am very slow on anything where you have to click on things.

glad not lad {fat fingers on keys emoticon}

Thanks for welcome, Topsy. Don't know how to do 'blocked' wotsit for people's names. Sorry, mostly a lurker everywhere!! But quite hooked on your chatty and friendly group. For various reasons - I'll do an intro shortly, maybe. Just thinking of dashing out to high street as the wool shop has a sale and I need more knitting wool. Ha, ha, no I don't. Our little secret, don't tell my DH .... But worried I might trip and end up in shop selling TABLET. It is on same block as wool shop. Only found a few weeks ago they sold this .... If I do, I'll chuck some on FBS trolley. Yes, the stuff KK mentioned her DH was making at weekend. I am in Scotland, so tablet one of our national dishes. Though I've tried to think of it as one of my 5 a day, there isnt much in ti except huge amounts of sugar and condensed milk (so lots of calcium, of course). Being in Scotland we have our last day of sort of sunshine before lots of rain, so i ought to go somewhere. Why not the wool shop ..... Love to all, esp those having aparticularly difficult time at mo. You are often in my thoughts when not online. Baskets xxx and hugs to those who wish to receive.

Ohh hello baskets and stop lurking ESP if you have tablet. Thought it was that type of check but I didn't ask yesterday as just said check away (little did I know how blinking many there are).

Am going to try to get some more rest so back later

Aw that's nice of you Baskets. Nip in anytime, we like a good natter.

Sparkle missed your post. Your poor DS. Wish there was a way through for him without all this pain and idiot doctoring.

Kurri, blimey driving tests sound complicated these days. I just had to drive for half an hour and even that was truncated, as the instructor wanted his lunch so it was about 15 mins.

Ooh tablet and knitting wool ?
I feel that I might like you baskets

Hello from me too, Baskets. I always like it when we flush out a lurker - so nice to find new friends

I am glad i don't have to take a driving test these days, KK. Like Smee, mine was blessedly short. When is it going to be, do you know?

Sparkles, i hope you can sort something out for ds: and that the ducklings take to water like - you know what

Annual check up with surgeon tomorrow. I am sure I should have had a mammo before this. Will have to ask 8.30 in the flipping morning. Yikes

Bit tonight i am going to see Jules Holland. Woop di doo! I shall do embarrassing dancing for you all!

Oooeer kk glad i missed out on the new fangled driving test.

Well done to Sparkle the duckling rescuer, how do you teach them to swim? Hope ds gets his pain mgt sorted soon.

14k eek about mils dx, but good to hear that she can be transferred for treatment.

smee, I managed to upload mint tea and pain au choc (from yesterday pm) to the other place (fb) for you.

Too hot to go out yet this afternoon, but I don't expect sympathy! Cool indoors so I'm quite happy to write postcards and mn/fb. I know I'm really lucky to have an understanding dh who let me go awol from family responsibilities again :)

3rd cous has posted on fb that she is to have another round of weekly chemo for bone mets, so +ve vibes/prayers welcome for her.

But not 'bit'

and Jools not Jules (she's my accounts lady)

Ooh Sometimes, Jools is a top distraction from appt. Definitely dance for us. I'm sure you'll be extraordinary.

Sparkle - hope you get somewhere with the consultant appt, must be awful seeing your ds in pain. Good luck with the ducklings!

14k - sorry about your MIL's diagnosis, at least she has you for support which must be a comfort to her.

Baskets - welcome, it's lovely to hear from you. Don't be a stranger!

Topsy - I don't think boys are very good at sharing how they feel at the best of times. Probably a good idea for someone else to try and speak to him, in case he is worrying about you and trying to keep it from you. Hope he soon feels brighter whatever the cause may be.

It's been a while since we've heard from Ned, hope she is doing OK and isn't still in hospital?

I'm having another lazy day, really need to try and motivate myself, but it's really strange without my daily work routine and I'm not allowed to do any 'proper' cleaning yet. Daytime tv is getting on my nerves, i know the schedule off by heart! Just had a visit from a friend though which has made a nice change.

Cross posted with sometimes - good luck for your check up tomorrow. Enjoy your evening, sounds like fun.

Jchoc - sending positive vibes your cousin's way. Can't remember what nice weather feels like, it's pouring down here again and doesn't look like it's going to get better any time soon.