Who else can't sleep?

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  • Kiwi Angel
    Kiwi Angel Member Posts: 1,952
    @kmakm. When I ate meat
  • Kiwi Angel
    Kiwi Angel Member Posts: 1,952
    @kmakm - I give up - just won’t let me post what I want
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    @Kiwi Angel Easter glitch!
  • SoldierCrab
    SoldierCrab Member Posts: 3,429
    @kmakm
    yes the freezer was just after a hot flush and would then be freezing cold mind you this was a winter in Bathurst that I had my hot flushes.... we lived in an old house fully double brick to all walls inside and out and I used to sit bare against the cold wall to help me through the flush 

  • Finch
    Finch Member Posts: 302
    I so far haven't been very teary through my diagnosis , but when my surgeon told me I would be on hormone inhibitor drugs for at least 5 years and it may cause menopausal symptoms I broke down. Yes I've got bc, yes was about to have an operation on a beloved breast. Yes to radiation. But another menopause ! All that again! All who've posted here, I feel your flushes, I feel your night sweats . I feel your hours awake, your lack of sleep.  What I hadn't realised was a symptom of menopause was the anxiety. Something I suffered from terribly.  The thought of going through all that again terrifies me, my way of dealing with it is to park it and think about it when the time comes in August.  I do know that next time I will get help AND not keep it to myself (my husband only a year back said he hadn't seen me with menopause symptoms so I must have sailed through!!!!!!!! ) Those nights I lay there. Those nights he would be rugged up under the bedcovers on a cold night and I (the cold one) would be lying there stark naked in a star position with covers thrown aside. Wide awake.  Mostly though it was the awful anxiety that took over my life. It was terrifying.  I gave up coffee and alcohol and it helped a lot.  I've just recently got back to drinking coffee and enjoying alcohol and enjoying being anxiety free and through menopause and it was wonderful .  Bloody bc!!!!!! 

    @Kiwi Angel I've had a giggle , knowing you're a vegan and the website would only let you type 'when I ate meat' . Funny! Hope you're ok. My mornings are the worst but all in all not too bad so far. I have come down with shocking thrush which is awful.

    Good news: Lindt bunnies taste yum! Haven't lost my sweet taste buds. Coles mini eggs have a weird taste . Doesn't stop me from eating them though . 
    Happy Easter all! 
  • Finch
    Finch Member Posts: 302
    @kmakm, enjoy your family feast. Slow roast is just the thing xx
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    edited April 2018
    @Finch My oncologist wants me on Anastrozole for 7 years. I know some people have very little trouble with it, but others have a lot, so I am full of dread. But trying not to cross the bridges until I come to them. This BC shiz is hard.

    Roast is coming up on four hours and the house smells amazing! K xox
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092
    Hi @Finch. I too shared your fears about Hormone Therapy having already had menopause twice. I had diabolical menopause the first time at 40 and could barely function very similar to what you describe.

    This has not been the case this time . I have been on an Aromatase Inhibitor called Letrozole since last August. Yes I have had an occasional hot flush , noticed a bit more facial hair and a tendency to the blues  but all been manageable thus far. I do get joint stiffness if I sit around too much and also when I wake up in the morning..

    As you are post menopausal Hormone Therapy will probably mean an Aromatase Inhibitor like  Letrozole. Walking an hour a day has been a major help for me- it helps me walk thru joint pain/ stiffness , releases endorphins to lift my mood and gives “ me” time - I notice a big difference if something prevents me from that daily walk.

    One non menopausal side effect of Letrozole  I am concerned about is the spiking of my formerly good cholesterol so diet is critical.I did take statins but after 6 months felt like I had dementia which reversed rapidly when I stopped taking them - rolled oats for breakfast and low dose aspirin plus I try to avoid foods which boost bad cholesterol.On recommendation of my medical oncologist I take Krill Oil tablet daily for joint pain  - it may also help with cholesterol being Omega 3. 

    I think one thing that helps is having had menopause before somehow it’s less frightening.I also think ladies who have had chemotherapy seem to have more troublesome side effects.I think also many of the hot flushes and insomnia you are reading about are from people going thru chemo who have yet to start hormone therapy .Iam not saying hormone therapy will be easy but it may not be as difficult as you think.My strongest advice is however to keep physically active - I also do a gentle twice weekly Stretch and Balance class which helps.

    From my point of view Hormone Therapy gives me a better chance of not having a recurrence and has not been as bad as I had feared.

    PS Nearly forgot . I am also on 6 monthly Prolia injections .I am osteoporotic and had had a cracked rib. Aromatase Inhibitor thin bones and Prolia counters this effect. kTo help bone density I also take 2 Caltrate Bone and Muscle Health as per recommendations from Osteoporosis Australia for my age and situation.

  • Kiwi Angel
    Kiwi Angel Member Posts: 1,952
    edited April 2018
    @Finch. No talking about meat eating for me
  • Kiwi Angel
    Kiwi Angel Member Posts: 1,952
    @finch and again it won’t let me post what I want - I’m giving up on this feed. I’ll send u an inbox instead @kmakm - can smell the roast from here!!  I’m making barramundi curry for dinner. 
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    @Kiwi Angel OMG delicious!
  • Finch
    Finch Member Posts: 302
    Thank you  @Romla that's interesting , I'm writing it all down and come August I'm going to tackle all the info. 
    Not sure where to gate crash for dinner tonight . Both the slow roast lamb and the barramundi sound delicious. im imagining the aromas drifting through. Curried cauliflower here .... Just the two of us today as kept this week quiet. 
  • Kiwi Angel
    Kiwi Angel Member Posts: 1,952
    @Finch I’m sure u can have some lamb and fish
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    @Finch I was still menstruating in November. Chemo shoved me into hard menopause so this is all a rude shock.
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    @Finch Have you been spying on me?! You have described every night in my bedroom, right down to the starfishing!

    And @SoldierCrab, I'm eyeing off the concrete tiles in my bathroom every night when I sit on the loo mid-flush - hot flush that is!! I think I'll be starfishing there very soon...
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