Tamoxifen - feeling down
I have been on Tamoxifen for a little over a month. Initially experienced period like cramps (I am 60 so forgot this feeling), tiredness & discharge which have subsided. For the last week my mood has been from being agitated to feeling low & sad then completely well balanced. Is this normal? How long will this last. Also should I just stop taking it? My cancer ended up being a grade 1 contained and all removed. I know I need to see my oncologist but wanted to know what others have done in a similar situation.
underarm sore and just generally feeling blah
Hi ladies, just after abit of advice - had my 3rd AC last Thursday, last couple of days i have felt really tired and i know this is normal as i have been usually tired for the first 5-6 days after treatment but this feels different and i just feel all abit depressed with it and maybe it has hit home that i am actually going through this, so again feeling all emotions which i know is not helping. Also the last 24 hours i have had pain in my breast like stinging and burning and my underarm is sore - even when lifting it feels painful underneath, is this normal? i know they say when tumour is shrinking it can be painful but i have been told when i had my scans that there were no signs it was in my Lymphnodes so wondering if this is not the case as i have pain - all abit overwhelmed, i have me Onc appt next Wednesday so will bring this up and try not to stress in the meantime. x
Down and depressed
Hello I started on tamoxifen for a few months and then was put on Letrozole after I had my ovaries removed. After 3 months I was taken off Letrozole due to severe side affects of joint and muscle pain I had a 3 month break which by the end of 3 months I was back to being able to go for walks, do stretches losing weight all the things they tell you to do to help reduce the risk of cancer coming back. I was then put on exemestane I took this for four months and even though the aches and pains were not as severe as the Letrozole they were increasing and happening often so have stopped taking the arimidex. I am now back on the tamoxifen and it’s been just over a month I have been able to go on my walks and do stretches, I have had really bad fatigue though and usually when this happens to me I go and sleep and would be ok the next day but this fatigue now lasts for days, I get depressed about this because I can not do anything and I am feeling very stressed out as I really don’t want to keep living like this for the next five years, I am trying to do all the right things to help my chances in surviving but the hormone blocking treatment would no doubt be the hardest part of my cancer journey for me ,,,, please someone tell me there is light at the end of the tunnel....
Finished IV treatment still tired etc, why
Hi all, Just wondering if anyone has any answers. I finished chemo last july, had surgery August, finished herceptin 3 weeks ago. Im on taxomflin tablets since August for 5 years? Still tired easily, slight dizziness/light headed, weak knees and can get shakey if too much activity. Fatigue kicks in regularly. Dont get me wrong im getting better all the time. So the question is does anyone know if this is recovery from treatment, still or the tablets. I thought i would be normal by now. Please dont tell me this is the new normal, i will scream Anyway id really appreciate some advice
Taking Letrozole
Hi ladies I need advice.. I have been taking Letrozole since June 18, I was told my menopause symptoms were going to come back with a vengeance.. But having to take this drug as many of us do I thought I can handle it. 4 weeks after taking it I was ok not really any hot flushes to speak of, no night sweats.. Then BOOM omg, as soon as it gets dark it seems, they start, not to bad in the day time.. but more and more the night sweats are getting worse.. also Not sleeping more than 4 hours a night is not helping, i am getting forgetful, and generally pissed off. what can I do? I have made myself a peppermint spritzer bottle that I keep squirting in my face lol, I have made a roller bottle of Sage, lavender, and peppermint to roll on my pressure points, I am at the stage where I just want to stop taking this stuff. I am seeing my GP on Tuesday so I will talk with him, and I still haven't started my Radiation, that starts on the 14th... I don't want to be like this for the next 5 years, I know I very lucky and there are so many out there that are so much worse.. but yeah...... I guess its really getting me downRadiation therapy and fatigue
Hi all, I am just about finished chemotherapy (TCH) that the surgeon has said has shrunk my tumour significantly so great news! I have surgery at end of February and then in mid to late March will commence radiation on the breast and axilla for about 6 weeks. My question is about the fatigue that occurs with radiotherapy. I have been told different things - that it isn't as bad as chemo or it comes on later and stays longer. My fatigue during chemo has been manageable but I am not working. I have also been fortunate in really having very little chemo brain! I am interested in whether I can go back to work part time during this treatment? I will of course have to wait and see but just wondering about the experience of others. Thanks Jual
Strange happenings lol
Ok so i havent even started treatment so this is not a side effect of same but has inky started post mastectomy and axillary dissection. I dont get it and am hoping there is an explanation. I get so hot tha t the sweat us dripping from my face and nevk. The back of my hair underneath is always saturated and yet its 22 degrees inside ???? What on earth is causing this? I had my mastectomy and axillary dissection 12 days agi. Chest is no drama. Blissfully numb, as is underarm. Yet i hace horrific burning and hypersensitive pain on the underside of upper arm. I end up having to take that side out of clothing gently brushing in bed and make sure nithing is touching as i swear a feather feels like its being rubbed with sand paper omg and no matter how much sleep i have am still tired and unmotivated. Crap i whinge a lot but i love having this place to learn share and vent.
A reflective moment
Having a reflective moment as my daughter naps... So, today as I attempted to wash my hair and again watched in dismay as huge, huge clumps fell out and accumulated around the drain, I was feeling a little down. The itchiness around my eyebrows is suggesting that my eyebrows are about to follow suit. The cold cap is working, yes. After two rounds of FEC I should have no hair by now but I think I have lost around 50%. And I am so tired. So very tired. I needed something to remind me why I was doing this. After my surgery but before chemo started I had some family photos taken. I was looking through them today to remind me that this, THIS is why I am doing all of this. My family. My two beautiful girls. I couldn't help but notice the dark circles and tiredness of my eyes and of my husband's. And this was before chemo had even started. It takes its toll. I might Photoshop them out later. lol And my hair. I had so much hair! I guess that's why if a stranger saw me now they wouldn't know any different but it has thinned considerably. 1 small bald spot appearing. If it gets any bigger, it's time to shave. I hate that cold cap so much. I have such a huge skull (a family thing, my poor mum who gave birth to four of us in the days before drugs!) it doesn't really fit me properly and hurts. I have been researching my family history for the genetics test coming up. It has been so revealing. Much more breast cancer in my family than I ever knew about. Well, I'll be the first in my family to have the genetics test done. We'll soon find out if our family carries the gene. Family. I love them so much. I wish I had more energy for my girls right now.
4th chemo today & struggling
Hi all, I haven't posted for awhile but today I'm not doing so great, I know everybody here understands..I'm usually in good spirits but today's chemo has been bothering me the last couple of days& not sure why. I have not had a meltdown yet since diagnosed in Dec but just feel tears today..feeling unwell & continually fatigued is getting to me but I'm telling myself I'm halfway there with chemo today..thanks for listening, I don't usually complain ha ha, I will get through this afternoon & keep going knowing there is an end site. Thanks Theresa
Herceptin #4 Taxol #10
The pre-med for Taxol, Dexamethasone, seems to have 2 main side effects: insomnia and can make you hungry. So the night after treatment I find myself wide awake and reading, researching. ...and raiding the fridge and pantry! I have been prescribed yet another drug (drugs for drugs) that can help me sleep for 6 hours. So if I'm still wide awake about midnight I consider it on treatment night.... 11.45 now... Not ready for sleep yet! Other side effects.... A red spotty rash has appeared on the back of my hands. This is improved by some cream prescribed by my oncologist but he says it probably won't really go away till chemo is finished. The nose bleeds have subsided a little. The numbness and tingling in my fingertips, bottoms of my feet and toes have increased a little but do not stop me from doing anything. Oncologist asks each time if I can still do up buttons, etc. So obviously it could be a lot worse. Dryness continues to be a key side effect that I can't wait to be without. Sometimes feels like the tightness and surface of a fully inflated balloon... Tastebuds on strike! Everything is fairly bland and tasteless and tongue still feels burnt. Easier to eat things that are not salted or sugared cos I can't tell the difference! But the big plus is there's no nausea and I do get to sleep pretty well. Once the dex subsides I can relax and have nanna naps to catch up nad can sleep quite well at night. Energy levels good but sometimes I do enjoy just lying in my sunny front room reading (novels for pleasure as opposed to researching) and dosing. But the I have enjoyed that for years!!!! :) PS - learning to add more TAGS so I can find my previous blogs that refer to my notes on specific topics. EG 'diet'..... This is part of my reason for keeping these records! For my own reference!
