TAMOXIFEN -the third thread ***

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we are- will put a link on the old thread.

at burnt mince SR - it's nature's way of telling you to go and put your feet up!

hope everyone is ok, i had chemo today (should have been yesterday but i couldn't face it, then i got shouted at !) i am now 4 cycles into the weekly chemo regime- that means i'm 1/3 of the way through [yey]

WEll done on being 1/3 of the way through RWU. Do you still feel exhausted after each? I really take my hat off to those of you with young children, and just hope you have good support. My DH and I both lost all our parents before my DD was 4 and before birth of DS, and also lost a sister each (careless or what - no, one was a heart attack and one was asthma attack) so have not had much family support along the way. Don't know what we'd have done if I'd got BC earlier in life.

Good w/e to all. Mince was fine
x

SR- i can't really remember what 'normal' feels like! i do get very tired and very ratty and all theother bits that go with chemo i guess, but i owe it to the kids to keep going regardless of how i feel iyswim- it's them that get me through it, when they know i am down they understand and are so loving and gentle.

We don't have family support really (my parents are in the SE of England, dh's mum is not well and the rest of his family mainly live in Liverpool. BUT i have some very good friends who are always there if i need them!

I'm going to bed now i feel awful!

Thanks for the support today ladies. Back home safe and sound and I haven't exploded yet!

I got there at 1pm and had to start by having an echocardiogram and then they gave me the drugs. The AC is bright red and makes my wee all red too!

Feeling Ok. A little tired, surprising woozy but nothing major. I'm going to try and pop to the pub for a very quick drink with the girls later. I'm going to wear my wig to see if they guess!

My heart is beating fast but I put that dow to adrenalin from the days events or the steroids. Will keep an eye on how that pans out.

DH is already excited about donning a nurses uniform and giving me my GCSF jab on Sunday morning! I'm obviously joking about the uniform. At least I hope I am...

BB - good to see you back again. Hope you continue to recover well and get a date for chemo soon.

Waving at everyone else rather pathetically but with a relieved smile nonetheless.

RWU - you are amazing. Weekly chemo is a really major assault on your system, no wonder you feel tired. Be kind to yourself though too, as well as doing a great job with your children.

Hope you're feeling a bit better soon RWU - have a good nights sleep.

Pennies - oh the delights of the red wee!- drink plenty, flush it through etc.etc. glad you are still in one piece, and your DH is looking froward to doing your injection (mine wouldn't do it, so had to do my own, - but its a very small one).
GCSF used to make me look a bit flushed in the face and neck - so don't panic if you go a bit red. - have a good weekend.

My Dad is home and yay! He's got a nurse coming out twice a day from now on to wash him, put his skin cream on etc. He has no memory at all of having been in hospital but also but he knew his own home when he got back.

KK - did you have AC too then? (And red wee...)

Sorry, meant to add a resounding YAY! for your dad being home.

Pennies -i had 4 lots of epirubicin (the red stuff) 2 weeks apart + GCSF, then 8 lots of CMF -two weeks of chemo then 2 weeks off.(no GCSF)

I was(and still am) on a drugs trial for AC +GCSF to see whether it was better for people than usual chemo regime. And that was the group I was randomly assigned to.

So if there's any info. you think I might be able to help with please just ask.

So that's the same as me. I'm also having cycophasphamide as well at the moment with the red stuff, fortnightly for 2 weeks fore they shift me onto 4 lots of fortnightly Taxol.

How did it affect you?

I was OK on the first half tiredness mainly, when I got the GCSF, lost my hair just around the time of the second cycle (just to warn you what to expect,).

I didn't do so well on the second half of the regime -I got neutropenia- but thats not all that common and apparently my white cell count was fairly low to start with, don't want to alarm you though, it was just a bit of bad luck on my part I think, will you have GCSF all the way through?

sorry that doesn't make sense -i was ok on the first half when I had GCSF, main SE was tiredness

RWU is totally amazing I think.
Well done to you Pennies..red wee sounds a bit alarming !
So glad that KK's dad is home again
Pennies dh in nurses uniform makes me think of dh being quite excited about putting on scrubs like in ER when ds was born (had to go into theatre in case of emergency caesarian but fortuntely the boy was dragged out )

RWU - hope you feel a bit better today.

I had red wee this week too, due to the Epirubicin. Latsed a couple of days, even though I had drunk loads.

I have been in such a muddle with the pills. Can't think straight at all. Realised today I still had a day's worth that were supposed to be finished yesterday, so have taken them today. Think this was why I slumped on energy yesterday - no steroids to keep me going.

However I feel relatively ok though a lot less energy than usual - not bad compared to what I anticipated. Just pottering with gentle tidying up of house etc. to keep me doing something. I am not at all houseproud but wanted to feel useful.I hope Pennies you are ok, at least not too bad. I find I don't like my normal drinks, but like lucozade, pineapple, cranberry juice. Tea and water don't appeal much, so my fluid intake has dropped which is prob not good.

sandripples - steroids, as I thought they would be, are turning out to be a mixed blessing. They make me WIRED and my heart pounds for a couple of hours after taking them and my face flushes and feels warm. It makes me feel I'm having a panic attack but without the mental anguish that accompany those and I have to make a concerted effort to keep a calm head.

Nothing else much happening really, have an aversion to sweet things if anything taste-wise. I've put on my running kit so I'm going to go out for a brisk walk once my heart rate has calmed down, and maybe even break into a jog if I feel like it! I'm also going to a school quiz night tonight as well, which should be good fun though I'm mentally a bit wiped so I'm not sure I'll be much use.

I took my wig to the pub last night for a quick drink with some girlfriends. Faithless harpies didn't even try to pretend they didn't notice. Should I sack them as friends forthwith?

Phew, all you first time chemo-takers sound reassuringly well and full of life, good on you! Now you know what to expect the next one won't be so bad. Ah yes, I remember the red wee well.

Yay! for KK's dad getting home, and congrats to RWU for getting another treatment under your belt. Why did they shout? Because you postponed by a day? Seems a bit harsh! MAS is right, you are truly amazing.

my fears over that client last week were right - got binned yesterday, with a month's notice. oh well. You can't win them all. I'll just have to try and replace it - fastish!

bleughhhh, have picked up some form of cough type lurgy which is not ideal given the soreness of my belly and nether regions coughing hurts!

RWU - that's not ideal at all. Are they able to give you something for the cough? What a lot you've got on your plate at the moment.

Cakes - bummer about them pulling the work. They sounded pretty full on anyway, so maybe better off out? What line of work are you in, do you mind saying? I only ask just in case I know of anyone who might put relevant work in your direction, assuming clients don't nec have to be local.

i have dosed myself up with beechams all in one- the pharmacist looked a bit when i reeled off the list of what drugs i was on, so i told him to stuff it and went and bought some in Morrisons naughty i know! But i'm beyond the double checking everything stage !

They shouted because i phoned them and made the decision myself not to come in for chemo, i should have told them i was feeling crap and let them make the decision iyswim! but hey it's done now!

oo RWU that sounds ouchy. I am told whisky and dark chocolate, taken together, can help

Pennies - afraid the full on client is not the one that has gone. The one that has gone WAS a total peach - nice guy, paid on time, fun product. But the chap got sacked and I think they are sweeping clean, they are getting rid of ALL his suppliers. God knows why, he was honest as the day is long, and so am I, have never fiddled them (or any client) out of so much as a penny. But the parent company are a funny lot. You are right, I may be better off out of it, bloody shame though.

The full-on client is still here, but I don't mind really, it is interesting and the rate is good. Just a bit tiring in my debilitated, post-treatment state . I am working now...

I don't mind you asking what I do at all - i am a media relations consultant and copywriter. Very good of you to think of referring work my way. I am pretty keen to please!

Take care Pennies and RWU - you both have much more to moan about than I do currently, so forgive my whingeing. Have a good night!

RWU - do hope your throat/cough improve fast - horrid to cough with sore nether regions.

Cakes - so your instincts were right. At least you got that public sector work though, and that might lead to more with the NHS or local authorities perhaps - I hope so.

I went for a short walk today and didn't need a rest half way - progress, but still feel i've been turned into a dormouse. Could be worse.

sorry to hear about the contract Cakes, something bigger and better will come along!

i am feeling (in the wonderful words of my step-daughter....) well rough!!! so i am retiring to bed with some chick-lit, vapour rub, olbas oil and soothers , hope all the chemo ladies are still ok (and everyone else of course!) x

How are you today RWU? I do hope you're feeling better.

For those that had GCSF jabs - did they make your face flushed? If so how long for? I look like I've been on the booze (feel like it too) but have had nothing stronger than a cuppa.

hope cough is better today RWU and very sorry to hear about contract Cakes what a huge shame if he was nice.
Hope everyone has a good week - and that the lovely weather continues. Dh and my dad have made a path in our garden and the crocuses are coming out -so pretty.
Am going to attempt to design a promotional card online today which fills me with dread as I am rubbish at anything that requires measuring/calculations etc - you'd never believe I studied graphic design,would you ! (I preferred the drawing)