SUFFERING STOPPING HORMONE TREATMENT FOR MENOPAUSE
Hi. Diagnosed two weeks ago yesterday, can’t believe it’s only been two weeks seems so much longer. Daughter is currently in the middle of HSC, so I haven’t told family yet, which sort of makes it seem like it’s not real. I’ve been reading a lot of posts and like a lot of women, I was blind sided getting a call back from Breast Screen Australia, even then thought, nah, not me. One out of twenty, my odds are good. I’ve been to the surgeon and McGrath nurse and now need to make a decision. It would be so much easier if I could get a good nights sleep. As the tumour is hormone positive, I’ve had to go off my happy gel (Estrogel). For the past week the night sweets are back. Anyone with the same dilemma? Any suggestions? TIA
T-Shirts!
We've got all excited and are having some t-shirts made. They are just for fun, to raise awareness and we're adding $5 to donate to the BCNA. The t-shirts are black and have a silvery grey picture on the front of a dingo howling. It's on the diagonal length of the looped awareness ribbon (though not pink). There is also the word 'Howlers' (as in the name of the thread where you can chat online here if you're up at night. On the back is written: DON'T JOIN THE PACK - CHECK YOUR RACK bcnaonlinenetwork.org.au One of our members has kindly donated her time to create the art and has requested we don't put the image in the public forum as she's had problems with theft in the past. PM me if you want to see it! Once we know how many we're ordering we're going to add a bit more to cover the cost of one t-shirt for our fab designer. You can have a unisex t, a ladies t or a ladies tank top. Samples,costs & sizing in the next post. Kate xox
Sleep
"We know that as many as 6 in 10 cancer survivors have problems of insomnia, which is up to three times the rate found in the general population." @SoldierCrab pointed out the Survivorship Center and I found this leaflet in their resources: Can-Sleep making night time sleep problems go away from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center. It's got a lot of very straight forward information as a starting point, but I want to hear what you've found that has helped you, and how you have handled 'the vicious cycle of sleep deprivation' if you've experienced it. I have felt fatigued, lethargic, and overall exhausted since it all started, and when it all finished (in that it-never-finishes way) I was left feeling not much better. I spent an entire year spending days and sometimes weeks as hit by fog, poor memory, physical weakness, and even nausea as hard as if treatment was starting again. For me this is a BIG issue. I'm sure I've posted and asked questions about it before, but all the conventional 'tricks' don't seem to cut it. No caffeine even eight hours before bed, exercise, cut out screen time and cut back on sugar? Done. [Tosess around for three hours and stares at the ceiling in the darkness for another hour doing the most mundane mind-calming exercises] Okay, cool, when does the sleep happen. Oh hey it's 6AM, guess I'll get up. [Fast asleep on the couch by 2, awake by 5, goes to bed at 10PM, wakes up at 3AM] This is better I guess, I'll stay awake all day and get a really good sleep tonight! [Falls asleep at 9AM] ...Damn it! What actually works?
Another long night
Come to the conclusion I’m going to have to get used to broken sleep and averaging 4 to 5 hours. That great night i had feels like soooo so long ago. I really don’t want to live up to my nickname with grandkids tomorrow 💤💤💤💤 where are you. I have to get up and do the before and after school plus run the 16year old around to her appointments and get to one of my own at 2 ho hum twiddle dee dum. Settle down body shut up brain i need to go to sleep
Good price on Melatonin
Just went to pick up my script for 5mg melatonin. Had to find a compounding pharmacy but pleasantly surprised that they were only $18 for 30 capsules. This was from HealthSmart at Peter Mac in Melbourne. Also they were dispensed by a robot (the pharmacist wasn't a robot, he grabbed the drugs after they were sucked up and spat out the end of the tube, and acted like it was all totally normal).
Can’t Sleep
Hi, I was diagnosed Thursday after a routine mammogram screening call back. So hard to understand and everything has moved so fast. Booked in for surgery on Wednesday next week. Had to make the decision yesterday about mastectomy or breast conservation. Still have to tell the children and other family members. Booked in my work sick leave and trying to get housework done before I go in. Trying to remain positive for everyone but now I’m lying here awake at 2.30am and I’m scared. I know you have all been at this starting point. I’m guessing the overwhelming thoughts in the middle of the night are common. Any advice on how to get through these early days and waking nights would be appreciated. Thank you.
