TAMOXIFEN THREAD HERE ***

[MaryAnnSingleton]

Am sick of my messages never getting through - I have had 7 attempts to reply to Cakes' last post- am starting a new thread ....
this is what I wrote anyway.....

righto, this i my 7th attempt to reply on this thread - everything keeps disappearing !
My assessment is on 25th,and am told to allow two hours for it,crikey !!
Saw a lady in town yesterday who was having rads and finished at about the same time as me and she's just seen the onc. for her follow up - they are running very behind I know- so I emailed to ask about mine - I tie myself in knots in trying to be assertive yet not too needy or a nuisance - I suppose I just like to feel that everything is done in order. Am not worrying about my health -am sure breast is fine and dandy, it's more my emotional state which troubles me.
Anyway, they have made me an appointment but it's at the same time as my assessment so have emailed back and left a phone message...arghh !
Special thoughts for RWU today and of course KurriKurri - hope all ok..and of course you Cakes and Morph.

wow ! I am v impressed RWU - so pretty !!

That's a beautiful dress RWU, wow!

That is a beautiful dress, I can't believe you made that! I can't even put in a zip!!

SO jealous.

Sorry about the nails though - and also about KurriKurri's dog. They get to be such a worry when they are old, don't they? And it happens so fast, they are with us fir the blink of an eye

DD wants a dog big time, and I can remember being just the same and being resentful that I never got one. But we had a very dearly loved dog when she was born - he died when she was one. Since then we have had an ex racing greyhound (briefly, he kept snarling at her and she was only 3 so terrified) and then a lurcher from hell for nine months - when we admitted defeat she was worse behaved than when we got her - fought every other dog she met so we could not take her anywehre, and wrecked the house if we left her behind! So we were like her prisoners and could not do anything (even in one of those horrible dog cage things she screamed so all the neighbours complained. [sad}

So now she lives with a lady in Oxfordshire who seems to be taming her at last - and DD wants a dog - but i am now totally put off.

Last night some lowlife broke into our garage. Fortunately they broke in through a disused side door which has shelveing built across it, so they gave up and went away empty handed. £20 lighter of pocket as I have had to replace the padlock they cut off - just hoping they don't return. Bastards!!!

we are negotiating the having of a dog with dh...ds is desperate..
what bastards breaking into your garage...grr

How horrible for you Cakes, - why do people do these things? Hope you're not too shaken up.

We had the big 'dog debate' when we moved to the countryside. The kids and I were very keen, DH less so. So we badgered him until he gave in . He tried very hard to be grumpy when we brought the puppy home, but when she curled up in his slipper and fell asleep, his heart melted. Now she has him wound round her little paw.

The thyroid problem is apparently common in little dogs. I'm slightly annoyed that we've been taking her to the vets for several years with the skin problem and this has never been mentioned. Yesterday she was seen by a vet new to the practice, and looking up the illness on google she seems to have quite a few of the symptoms. On the plus side, vet says its very treatable, and also said twelve is not so old for a little dog.

A little dog should definitely have several years in her yet - and thyroid problems are VERY treatable. Is she a Westie? They are prone to skin and thyroid probs.

Our dog was pretty big, and he made it to 14, so you should have a good while with the wee one yet. (Ours was extraordinarily pampered, but am guessing yours is too). Ours have always been rescues, and they come with problems, usually separation anxiety based (they are so glad to have a loving home, they won't let you out of their sight) sometimes you can sort them out sometimes you just can't. Our bog boy was a pain in the arse for several months - then the most fantastic dog on the planet for the next 13 years. The others - well, the greyhound was a fabulous dog, just not suited to a three year old: the lurcher - just untrainable in a normal family setting (but doing well with a woman who never goes out and leaves her, and who never takes her near traffic or other signs of civilisation. Ho hum!

Hope you get your dog MAS. 12 is a good age for a kid to get a dog.

I am still totally in awe of RWU and the dressmaking thing...

As regards the garage - we have put a very big padlock on now, not much else we can do. The garage is behind the house, and vulnerable: every so often some scumbags come around here and sort through various garages - never been ours before though.

Clearly that should have been "big" not "bog"

I rather like bog boy !!
We had dogs as children and loved it - dh never had any pets growing up (he was the youngest of 4 boys and there's a big gap between him and next brother - somehow the pet thing happened with them - guinea pigs I think- but don't think MIL was keen.) I've wanted a dog for so long now and ds has overcome his huge fear of animals so it is the right time. We wanted a rescue greyhound but our neighbours have cats and expressed anxieties about our having one. So probably definitely get a rescue dog of some sort in near future, I hope.
Burglaries,even in garages,must be very unsettling- grr again.

Not a Westie Cakes, a Jack Russell, very similar to the one Rick Stein used to have on his cooking programmes, if you ever watched those. Pampered doesn't begin to cover it .

Hope you manage to get one soon MAS. My son was just over twelve when we got ours, and he adores her, in fact I got an e-mail from him the other day (he's working away) saying 'I am really missing the dog' - no mention of his parents obviously!

How's the RT going Cakes, you will be glad to get the first week out of the way and have a little break over the weekend I expect.

Dogs are just great - and Jack Russells are definite characters.

I love, love, love hounds of all kinds, but can see one would not be great with neighbours cats! Our lovely big (bog!) black dog was a unique blend of hounds but as gentle as could be, despite the fact that he had been ill-treated almost to death by previous owners. He was a joy, still miss him five years after his death.

Hope you get one soon, MAS.

Radio is OK, thanks - bit fed up with going every day. Had to cheer myself up yesterday with a very loud blast of Jools Holland in the car!!Did the trick!

Burglary v.crap - daren't tell dd she will never sleep!

my dog Trixie was a minxy Jack Russell and a very willful girl indeed - lots of character !
Glad the RT is going ok - it'll soon whizz by and be over,you'll see.

Yeah, it is going by fast! And as usual the staff are all so nice.

We had a couple of Jack Russells at home before i got married - Tracer and Penny. Tracer, a tri-colour rough haired version, was very feisty! Penny a lemon and white smooth version was a total lap dog. Both from same breeder, could not have been more different. That's what I like about dogs, - all their own little personalities, just like people, only generally nicer to deal with (apart from the hair and the mud, of course)

i think when our dd finally wears me down on this point, and she will, one day - we might go for something really easy. Sprockers are very big around here, cute and manageable, apparently. I used to fancy myself as a bit of a dog expert, but our last two experiences have persuaded me that what I thought was my amazing ability with dogs was actually just down to the loveliness of those particular dogs. I have certainly been persuaded since that I know NOTHING!!

PS Can you tell from my long posts that I am VERY bored today (updating someone's website, sigh)

Ours is a tricoloured rough coated JR cakes. Although we do keep her hair fairly short because of her skin.

I'm slightly bored too, haven't anything planned so have been forced to do house work. But am having little 'breaks'. One has to pace oneself I find.

DH gave me £20 worth of Amazon vouchers last night, which he got free for filling in some surveys at work. So I have had a little spending spree this morning.

Also got a letter from my Mum to tell me that my Dad, who has Alzheimers, is finally getting some of the things he needs from social services. He has started getting a sitter, so mum can get out to do her shopping, a very nice lad apparently who is training to be a nurse. He's also getting a lift for the bath, extra bannisters and a disabled sticker to use if anyone takes him out in the car, to hospital etc. So glad things are moving, the bath problems have been a bit of a worry for a while now because he gets stuck.

So glad you poor Mum and Dad are getting sorted. Alzheimers is such a cruel thing.

I do a bit of work (paid editorial stuff, not voluntarily) for the Red Cross and they offer a home from hospital service that sounds a lot like what you are describing (only in the immediate aftermath of hospital stay though). I understand it is an absolute godsend, letting carers go out, otherwise they just can't manage it

Hope all the additional stuff arrives in short order too. Life can be tough for the elderly can't it?

Don't overdo the housework. You don't want family expectations to get too high, disappointment will surely follow.

A practical question for you, ladies!

All my skin has become horribly dry. my back is bumpy and itchy, my scalp is so dry I am putting aquous cream on it , and last night I hade to get up and put moisturiser on my face and neck at 3am because it felt tight and dry. Double

Any experiences?

Could it be my body shrugging off the chemo?

cakes- could be, but could be a combo of things- might be worth a call to the GP or MDT if you are under one? the weather turning cold probably hasn't helped- also tamox could be something to do with it?

Basically- if nothing else the gp could maybe prescribe something for you to put in the bath or something a little more glam than aqueous cream

Hope alls well with everyone apart from that! x

Yes I think it is all tied in with the treatment, it takes a while for your system to get back to normal, RT probably adding to it. Also I think tamoxifen may play a part. Mine's still quite bad, esp. hands and arms and like you across my back and shoulders. Its hard to know which treatment is causing which side effect sometimes isn't it?

Can only suggest keep plastering on the moisturiser. You know you can use aqueous cream to wash with in bath or shower? - just wet it in your hands and apply like soup. Also a drop of baby oil in the bath can help.I use simple baby shampoo with moisturiser on my (small amount) of hair. And I use Lush helping Hands, (bit stinky but good) or Lotil cream on my hands and arms. But stick with very mild stuff until you finish RT. HTH.

Just remembered I also have something called Dermol 500 which I got on prescription, its an anti bacterial with moisturiser,which I use when the skin on my face gets very dry and sore.It seems to help quite quickly.

sorry x-posted RWU - shows what a rambling old bat slow typist I am.

Thanks, both, I knew you'd be able to offer sensible advice!

But RWU - what is an MDT? I guess i am not under one as I don't know what they are (but then again, you can never tell with me, I often miss the bleeding' obvious)

Kurrikurri - mine is also especially bad across the back, shoulders and hands. I feel all lumpy like a toad.

Had forgotten you can use the aqueous like that, will definitely give it a try.

And later, after the radio, will def ask doctor for something a bit more glamorous. DD sniffed it the other day and said it smelt like old people. (I think she specifically means her grandad, who washes with Imperial Leather, so it could be worse, but still it is not the image I am after).

Just seen the added comment ref Dermol - will ask. Thanks!

Off to hospital again now. Yuk.

crikey, I go out to do some shopping and there's lots of posts in my absence ( got paper for my Christmas cards - I feel obliged,as an illustrator to do my own although I long for bought ones) also a few Christmas presents as I am beginning to get panicked.
I used to wash ds in aqueous (and use it on myself as a wash when I had very dry skin) - not very glam though. I'm still using aqueous on my neck because the lovely Dr Hauschka makes it itch still. I haven't noticed any changes in skin while taking tamox. Ladies on the BCC forum swear by bio oil btw.

MDT- Multi Discliplinary Team (usually, onc, surgeon, BCC, Mac Nurse, gyne- if needed, radio bod, chemo nurse etc etc etc ,repeat ad nauseum ) basically everyone involved in your treatment theoretically meets periodically to compare notes- may not be needed for you- up here in the wilds we have to visit diff hospitals for diff things so someone has to co-ordinate!

Hope you find something that works!

Off to do the 2nd to last dress fitting now!- fingers crossed it fits like a glove and i can put my feet up for the next two weeks- but i fear that may not be the case

Ah, MDT - of course - thanks. No, don't think we have that - big teaching hospital so less need for this.

But these are all good tips -thanks so much. Doh, I had forgotten about the Bio Oil MAS - and I even have some! I think by washing with aqeous and slathering on the Bio Oil we may have ourselves a potential solution. Hooray!

making cards. Crikey. Can see why you'd feel obliged, but what a lot of work. better get cracking!