Any help gratefully accepted - Letrozole and the blues

@kmakm stumble at times but still can see light in the tunnel so am lucky. Also have made a point , sometimes deliberately , to get out and about as solitude doesn’t help but working on slowing my pace.

@Romla Noted. I'm similar I think. Sometimes it's easier to do it all yourself than argue with children... I'm glad you have a strategy in place.

Hi @kmakm- am doing ok and learnt a couple of things.A daily one hour walk and eating properly is very important.  This will sound odd but eating a small tin of tuna 2/3 times a week on busy days seems to help with thinking - it’s something I realised years ago whilst on WW program. Sugar only gives a fleeting boost then down I go again so trying to cut that out. Also had a lot of hot flushes interrupting my sleep which didn’t help - the walking is helping the sleep part and maybe touch wood not as many hot flushes . The second thing I learnt is I have a tendency to be the energiser bunny and I can’t do that without an impact on my health - I have a family and need to ask for help rather than do it all myself as I have usually done - btw not their fault mine as tended to be super woman by my choice. All that said I still fall off the rails on all fronts occasionally due to circumstance but at least my head knows it but it is a battle .The walking also helps greatly with joint pain - on days I have missed a walk  I really notice the difference as things seize up quickly. 

How are you doing on this front @Romla? Have you made some changes that work? *asking for a friend*

Best thing I did during chemo treatment was see a counsellor for a few sessions. She was terrific and helped me identify what was confusing me (I wan't depressed but very unclear about direction). If not one but two diagnoses of cancer don't take the wind out of your sails a bit, who knows what does. Make sure you are comfortable with the person you choose, otherwise you are doing for your mind and spirit what you would do in a flash for your body. Best wishes.

After much thought and a few down periods i have decided to see a psychologist more for peace of mind and to hopefully find help for some sort of direction since both mine and my husbands cancer diagnosis last year. I don't expect it to be a one visit quick fix but when i have my husband saying to me that he feels so helpless when I'm in those moods made me realise that i should see someone. And no I'm not looking forward to it, rather nervous, as I've never had the need to go down that track. Good luck with the calculus...better you than me as that level math was never my strong point!

Thankyou @primek . I agree my sense of safety has gone as am too easily skittish with any changes in my body . Sleep not so easy with hot flushes but my load is not as heavy as am retired and can sleep during the day - though tutoring twin boys thru year 12 is a challenge and need to bone up my calculus when they are at school.@Sister my onc is Dr Kollias who I see in his rooms in town - I will let him know what’s going on so he can monitor and he may have some suggestions. Had a long talk with MDH explaining same above and the importance of exercise and diet for me to keep the blues away - they must now both be a priority although I did have a rather nice slice of ice cream cake for my birthday today. Am hoping I will be ok as can understand what’s happening but hopefully others will step forward if I lose this perspective.

I was exhausted trying to launch back into normal life, trying to exercise run a home and work full time. Then behind the scenes is still dealing with the whole grieving process of what we have lost to bc. Our body change. Our sense of safety. Our sexuality. Fear is sitting in the background . I found  myself on  coffee and fingerbuns to get me through the day. I crave carbs when tired. I recently changed my diet, reduced carbs, upped protein and veg and just felt less tired and less depressed.

So do speak with your Dr. Do look at your diet,  relaxation and exercise and sleep. And do recognise its been a horrid time for you and it's normal to feel flat and a bit sad. 

You can do mych yourself but if doesn't improve some counselling sessions can really help. 

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/relaxation-techniques-for-stress-relief.htm

X

Sounds like you're on the way to a plan, @Romla.  Where is your onc?  The place I'm going to (at Kimberley House, Calvary) have a dietitian - not sure how you access the service (or if you can do it if you're not using the centre) as I haven't got that far yet.

You are sounding very determined @Romla. Every little change you make for the better, you should really feel good about. I felt like I needed to cheer myself along to keep the momentum up!  ;)

So well done on identifying your problem! I think you are well on your way to improving things just with that. I can feel your energy building to get on top of this.  :)