I made it to the 5 year mark. Please help me avoid my period!
Hello all you amazing ladies, (Long one, will summarise quickly - Need help with shutting off my period safely somehow.) I was here ages ago when I was still very much in the deep end of treatment and recovery. I've been through a billion different stages of psychological/physical/emotional/traumatic evolution since then, and long story short, my oncology team have discharged me after being in remission for 5 years. YEEEAAAHHH I DID THAT! <3 B) Where I'm at currently is this: my Zoladex is over. My Anastrazole will be tapered off over the next two weeks and then that will be over too. I got my goddamn period for the first time in about 4.5 YEARS yesterday! And my reaction is utter fear and anger. I associate menstruation with the bane of my existence: Migraines. When I went into treatment and subsequent early menopause, my periods totally stopped, and so did my migraines. I thought I was DONE with that bullshit :'( It was the only vague benefit of enduring the hell of treatment. I am now desperate to find a way to stop having my periods and hopefully stop the migraines that go along with them. IF ANYBODY out there has had experience with starting any birth control pill that stopped their periods after surviving an ER+ breast cancer, or have any experience with managing to safely stop their periods for any reason after ER+ BC, please share with me! I've tried to ask my GP for what I can do to keep myself in menopause and she said basically "You're stuck with the periods because you can't mess with your oestrogen on the Pill". Nobody understands my panic about getting periods again! I am hoping some women out there have also had the same fear and aversion to getting them back after treatment-induced menopause reversed itself. What do you do when having periods every month also equals being dysfunctional with migraines and severe depression? What do you do when you thought you could cope with menopause and your body has adapted and then you're back in a state of total anxiety about your body sabotaging you again? Love to hear any thoughts you have. H xo
What to expect when coming off tamoxifen - your experience?
In a few months time I come off the hormone blocking drug, tamoxifen, which I'll have been on for ten years. What withdrawal symptoms can I expect to feel and how long may they last before returning to 'normal'? I ask because a few years ago, I forgot my drugs while on holiday, and didn't have it for a couple of weeks and instead of hot flushes reducing (which is what I expected), they seemed to get worse and I felt yuk and a bit 'all at sea'. I'm 58 now - not sure if that's relevant . What's been your experience?
Hormone therapy trial in Adelaide
Breast Cancer Research Study In Adelaide Women who have frequent hot flushes/night sweats, also known as Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), caused by cancer medications are invited to participate in a study exploring a potential treatment to better treat these symptoms. Participants may experience a relief in hot flushes or night sweats.Participants must be currently taking tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors to participate and be experiencing at least 50 hot flushes per week. Those enrolled may be reimbursed for any reasonable travel, parking, meals, and other expenses associated with research study visits. Learn more: https://studies.trialfacts.com/tf91-adelaide-breast-cancer-new-potential-VMS-treatment-research-study
Anyone ever get sick of being their own science experiment?????
I really get the shits with overthinking every so often. Things that "before" you would never have thought twice about doing, eating or cleaning your house with now make you second guess a lot of things. Obviously I am not the only one considering the amount of conversations that go on here regarding the do's, don'ts and what can we change that might help to stop it coming back. Looking for answers on what we did to bring it on. Self blame and guilt is still rampant no matter how much it shouldn't be. BC is not your fault. That fucker broke in you didn't invite it in by living a normal life like millions of other people do. I don't think anything I did brought it on, nor do I seriously think that anything I eat, drink or do will have much of a bearing on whether or not it reappears. I am a believer of dodgy genes, mutant cells,bad luck and not everything was nuked if it comes back. Will the tablets work? Maybe they will, maybe they wont. "May the odds be forever in your favour" Mostly I ignore the over analysing thoughts, but every so often they creep in uninvited. I conduct clinical trials on myself to see if things help with side effects. Should I be doing that, I really have no knowledge of what interferes with what apart from what I can google which can have 10 different answers to the same question. I had a cold...do I take vitamin C or not? Should I take any kind of vitamins or supplements. How the heck would I know. My levels are good so what is the point. Don't eat this, don't drink this, don't rub that on. Will that interfere with the drugs? OMG I drank a bottle of wine, that shits definitely coming back now. Eat soy, don't eat soy, not that I really care about soy, quite frankly I think it tastes like crap but you know. Sweet potato is good for you, sweet potato is high in oestrogen, best not. Nuts are good for you, nope not today. Kale (gross) celery alfalfa, tofu, olives, olive oil, red wine. Great for your heart, nope, high in oestrogen. Eat meat, don't eat meat, don't dare grill it if you do. Flax seed and tumeric is awesome, uh oh, no not for you it isn't, too many phytoestrogens. Oh but hang on, in normal people they might help prevent cancer. Freaking strawberries and peaches are on the no no list. The list is endless, confusing and mostly without any kind of definitive answers. Might, maybe, could do, possibly, we don't know. Pick any subject or food and you will find people raving about how fantastic it is and on another page how it gave you cancer. Don't you drink that chamomile tea and don't you even think about smelling that fucking lavender :) Blah. Ok I'm done. Hugs to all. xoxoxo
Half a boob, half a brain!!!
Well, after having an MRI to explore why I am having frequent headaches, GP told me yesterday that I have several ischemic lesions (non cancerous, for which i am grateful) in white matter of brain! He said please dont panic,it can be an ageing thing (I'm 58) and may mean nothing but does put me at increased risk of stroke and dementia!!! Farout, that is something else to look forward to!! Over the past four years of taking Tamoxifen, just switched to arimidex, Ive had issues with losing words, forgetting what i was in the middle of saying etc...and put it down to tamoxifen...not ideal when I work full time as a primary school teacher!!! Feeling a bit stressed at the moment...I have read where otners have memory problems, but often after chemo which I escaped. Thanks for your thoughts!!
Joint pain after treatment has ended
Hi lovely ladies, I'm just wondering if any of you have experienced joint/bone pain once your treatment has ended? I finished Chemo 6 months ago and at night experience pain particularly in my hips and down one leg. Its not there all the time. I am taking Exemestane tablets which I am unsure if they are the cause. Thank you in advance xx