**TAMOXIFEN 35**the all dancing,fat boy snacking and drugs thread

[MaryAnnSingleton]

yoo hoo - over here- bring the trolley...

Oh Ash sweetheart - I hope they can get this sorted out for you really quickly, it must be absolutely miserable and painful. Lots of love xx

ash I am sorry. Is this the effect of the chemo? I hope Dr W has some help as opposed to wankyness to offer you.

Amber your DS sounds amazing. Does the diagnosis access him more support at uni? They are so good at supporting you these days at most unis. I hope he is at one of the good ones. Most are so much better at understanding the issues than a lot of schools and appreciate that students with SpLDs and ASD have strengths that enable them to make very valuable contributions to courses given the right support.

gigs Hope the little gigs takes a break from late night clubbing tonight.

Topsy you sure you haven't been up to no good in the long grass, what with it being all over, I should have warned you of the perils of nude gardening.......

malt that all sounds very manageable. Do get them to go through the stats on chemo with you. I know that for me 11 years ago it was nowhere near as effective as you might think, and even for a grade 3 tumour with one lymph node involved it only increased my chances by 10% ie for 10 women with my tumour 5 would live with surgery and Tamoxifen . Only 1 more would live as a result of chemo. Dr Geek presented it as a decision that weighed limited benefits with the short term and long term consequences. However with children I was going to take every possible means of making those stats better. Obviously those stats will have changed now.

Apprentice YEAH very promising collection of fuckwittery and eyebrows.... The only gay Dracula in the village I think each year they get more demented. Its turning into Lord of the Flies. Looking forward to them actually failing to organise a piss up in a brewery tomorrow night

A gentle hug for ash
V much enjoyed The Apprentice - ESP. Eyebrow man - I think we're in for an entertaining series.
Portacath sounds v sensible indeed- lady in our group has one and thinks it excellent.
Hooray for ds amber - you are right to be proud of him- he'll go far.

Ash, you must be so very tired. Tell Dr W we'll send the girls round if he's not nice and helpful tomorrow. Will be thinking of you. xx

Sparkle, go for the port thingy - my veins are completely shot as I didn't have one. Worth a go to avoid that. I think Gracie had some problems with hers, so she might disagree, but mostly people seem to get on okay with them. Gracie are you out there??

for your rather wonderful son, Amber. Hope it brings the support and help he needs.

Also think we should all try that line on the Dr Ws and Dr Grumpys and Wonky oncys "no offence but you are a doctor". A new high /low? for Apprentice illusions of superiority!

Sorry smee x posted. Lips are now sealed ....

Thanks for the hugs guys, I knew you would understand. Sniff.

Wishing all a good night's sleep and a better day tomorrow.

All ? Am so happy as slept ok and only minimal mini gig partying. Which is good as if there was much wailing I was going to send her round to share goon dogs kennel.

Ash- poor you. Please ring your unit as no sleep and upset tummy going to drain you in every way.

Isn't there more apprentice tonight?

Not much excitement here - off to Gp as thought easier to go over my op etc face to face rather than rely on letters. Might treat myself to some Reuben's bread after.

Holds out Yes please. Hurrah for sleep and minimal minigig partying!

Yippee !
It's chucking it down with rain here ...

Can you pick me up some yummy , still warm from the oven , fresh bread please Gigs ?
And some real butter , and some yummy cheeses ?

Today's plans might include staying in my pjs all day , catching up on tv , eating junk food .

Right , where's my coffee ?

Tipsy it's raining here too I'd rather have the sun !
Gigs glad you slept ok, I tried without sleeping tablet last night but just couldn't switch off so gave in
Ash how are you today, hugs
Amber ds sounds lovely bless him :)
Waves to everyone else x

I think I'm ok, feel like I've been in a bubble for a week and tentatively coming out of it for a while. Dh back at work today and I've got a friend coming for coffee. Going to pop into work and say hi, am signed off for this week but hoping to do the next 3 before my op, im only part time anyway. It's all a bit crap as I'm meant to be sorting out all the arrangements for our new children feel bad that I'm letting a load of lovely 4 year olds down. Oh well someone else will have to sort it all out
Hope everyone has a peaceful day x

Auto correct changes topsy to tipsy sorry !!

Good morning from the middle of the night :) It's 3:30am here. Sleep's not been friendly this week, hopefully soon.

Good to hear people liked the port. I've got a PICC now and couldn't do without it, they poked and prodded to find my veins even before chemo started. I'm just finding it hard not being able to soak in the tub, I'd like to be able to swim again especially now the weather is getting warm, it's getting to be a pain to go change the dressings, and it bothers me that I have this thing hanging out of my arm. It rubs on my daughter's head when we're cuddling and she kisses my 'nursings' better, which kind of breaks my heart. The only thing giving me pause is the process to get a port in. How long did it take to heal?

Hi sparkle
Sorry you can't sleep the middle of the night is the pits. I don't know about ports etc as I'm new to this but I hope you can get it sorted
How old is your daughter ?

Morning all,

I've got to get ready to go to hospital appt soon so I will check back in properly later but... I slept from half four until almost 9 o'clock!! I was having an awful night and felt really hopeless and angry so ended up getting out of bed and going to read my cookery books, very soothing, also managed some googling and think I've found what's wrong (pouchitis) so hoping Dr W will be able to help with that. Feeling much more positive now :)

I hope you manage to get back to sleep soon sparkle and love to everyone this morning, I will be back later to read properly. Good luck with GP gigs

Have any of you had experience of a macmillan nurse? My friend just came round for a coffee and suggested I got in touch with them. She is a gp and says the one attached to her surgery is great. I tried to ring but I couldn't think what to say. So I chickened out.

Am off on another work trip, so AM ON THE TRAIN!! Have always wanted to do that, but virtual shouting probably not the same.just scoffed a passion fruit and yoghurt thing from 'Eat' and downing a huge latte.

ash hope DrW isn't his usual charming self and actually manages to be helpful.

Sparkle did you manage some sleep in the end?

Mighty glad to hear mini Gig avoided the kennel. How's the movement today, Gig? Good luck with GP.

Topsy, pyjamas sound good. Find some trash and watch it for me.

Malt, I had grade 3, 1.7cm plus it was in a few lymph nodes but chemo gave me only 15% better chance. Took it like Copt but was surprised to hear Rads and Tamoxifen were my main pluses. Have they mentioned hormone status to you yet?

Ned is it your appt today?? Am thinking of you just in case!

Hope Old Lady Dog's woofing around today. Waving to Kurri, MAS, Amber and Copt and all. had better get on with work before my meeting.have a good day all.

Goondog is very disappointed as he waited all night for little gigs to join him for a good howl and party but she didn't turn up and she didn't call . He was going to introduce her to his favourite night out, dig up the garden to get at the fox next door, or if they were really lucky playing football with a hedgehog.

Glad you had a good night , each day you sound a bit better

smee tumour twinies

malt it takes time to accept and adjust and there are no rules for how you do that, keeping things normal once I had got over the initial shock and uncertainty definitely worked for me.

Must go ipad at 1% and don,t want to lose typing waves

tipsy is apt actually
Lots of love to those having appointments,seeing gps and check ups etc...am just dashing in between bits of work to say hello.

I love EAT stuff smee - have a good day x

Back on grown up computer

Amber I just wanted to say when I said "good" uni I meant good for support. Bad wording. I did NOT mean the many weird, lazy and ignorant Mumsnet perceptions of what are "good" unis. Says everything that some people need to attach perceptions of quality to what is basically just a bunch of friends who ganged up together ie Russell / 1994 Groups.

KK How was your night?

Waves to everyone else.

Hello everyone.

Got a general question about tamoxifen. Finished my chemo yesterday, hurrah! And what I was told at beginning was I would have chemo, month off, then a month of radiotherapy and then start tamoxifen.

So I thought I would have lots of time to read up, discuss with oncologist etc. but health care at one nurse arrives yesterday with tamoxifen saying I am to start on 1st June. I read patient info leaflet and the side effects sound awful - depression, blurred vision, cognitive impairment ?? Weight gain - and there is no attempt to say whether or not these side effects are common or rare or how long they last.

So now feeling very dubious. Is it really that bad?.?

Sperro Yeah for end of chemo

Re Tamoxifen. Almost certainly not that awful They have to put every possible side effect down just to cover their backsides. Note they say "reported side effects". I have known a lot of people on Tamoxifen and the only side effect we have experienced has been the weight gain but then quite happy to admit to a certain culpability and it certainly hasn't fallen off now I have stopped. I have heard of people who just don't get on with it but I think generally it is the easiest bit of the treatment.

I actually felt worse when I came off it and some of the less tolerable effects of menopause started to manifest themselves, I think the Tamoxifen evens those out a bit.

I definitely knew it was working because within a couple of weeks my breast, which had been a bag of marbles since puberty, became soft and marble free. It has also certainly helped me with the long term effects of chemo and menopause in that I now have the early signs of osteoporosis and that would have been a lot worse without five years of Tamoxifen.

Oh yes, I knew you meant "good" as in "right for him". I think now they have the right piece of paper, they'll do wonders with him.

Portacath: Very quick healing from mine. One small incision between collar bone and neck, and a larger one about 3 ins wide above breast on chest. It was healed within a few days. Has to be taken out via same scar eventually. It does leave a scar, of course. Plus you need it serviced every 3-4 weeks if it's not in use. It's a bit ow when they put the needles into it through the skin, but it works and it's fab and invisible. Can just feel it through the skin.

cop - that's interesting, the only thing my dr said was that Tamoixfen might give me hot flushes which I thought was menopausal symptom??