On Sep 21, 2012 5:35 AM aiosub wrote:
On Sep 20, 2012 10:13 PM Cydsong wrote:
On Sep 20, 2012 1:38 PM aiosub wrote:
On Sep 20, 2012 3:16 AM Cydsong wrote:
On Sep 09, 2012 5:59 AM aiosub wrote:
On Sep 09, 2012 2:28 AM DejaBoo wrote:
Hi Rossy,
I was on Arimidex for about a year & was experiencing those symptoms. I'm so sorry. It's miserable feeling. Do you not tolerate theTamoxifen? I'm on Falsodex now. They are monthly shots. Seems to be working ok. Will find out more in a month. My breast cancer metastatisized to my brain & lymph nodes. Currently, I'm stage 4....chronic & terminal. Orginally diagnosed in May 2007. Metastatic was found in my brain in November last year. Had one brain surgery then and the second one this past April. It has left me with severe neuropathy and I'm having a hard time finding anywhere for support. What have you found to get support besides healthcare professionals and family?
Stay strong in your fight!
Yours truly,
DB
I take only imunostimulators. Cancer is never predictable. I think that a key might be to strenghen our immune system, as cancer cells exist in everybody, but a few get the disease.
Believe in you! Good luck!
Adriana
Aiosub, what is/are imunostimulators? Where do you get them? I have been so depressed lately (and I've been taking /two/ antidepressants at the same time!), and am trying to get off as many meds as I can. I am trying to determine how much of my current depression is related to the aromatase inhibitor. If I can somehow narrow it down to decide that, yes, it is the cause, I'm going to go off of it. I don't like how there doesn't seem to be any genuine consensus among anyone other than the pharmaceutical companies that these things make a difference in the long run. I'd rather be happy here for a shorter time than live long and miserable. I'd like to know if the imunostimulators you speak of are prescribed or something else you've found. I agree that it can never hurt to strengthen the immune syster.
Immunostimulators could be pills or injections. They are prescribed by a doctor, NOT the oncologist. I take BioBran, 4 tablets a day. You can order it from the Net.
Depression is a known side effect of Arimidex. And it goes worse if your spirit is pessimistic.
Adriana
What type of doctor prescribes them? I am inherently a very happy, upbeat and, if I say so myself, bright person; but all of that feels stuffed under some dreadful dark cloud right now. I cry during stupid t.v. commercials! A lot of it is physical, such as lethargy, fatigue, etc. My muscles feel weak, heavy; as if it's an effort just to lift my arms. I have had fibromyalgia for years & have had symptoms like this before because of the FMS. Because I am not a pessimistic person by nature, this is a really hard place for me to be right now. Thank you for your reply & info. BTW: You have a beautiful name, Adriana.
The doctor is an endocrinologist, who reads a lot about new discoveries.
Lethargy, fatigue and muscular pains are the results of the disease itself and Arimidex.
What do you do for yourself when you are in good moments?
Adriana
I used to be a singer, so I listen to the music I either used to sing or would love to be able to sing again. My vocal cords got thrashed over the last 20 years because of a chronic cough that seemed to come on hand-in-hand with the FMS. I've always been a very social person, and that seems to be a part of my past, too. Hubby & I moved 50 miles away from my cohorts'n'galpals 2 years ago so I could be closer to my 90 year old mom. He has to commute daily between here and there, and it takes him hours a day. So, I'm alone alot. We did get a darling little dog after I finished up my chemo; but, now I feel like a "bad mom" since I feel too low and lethargic to take her out for walks ... poor little dog. I know I have to take care of my own emotional needs as far as socialization, connecting with my new community, etc., but that's the problem with depression ... doing so takes a type of energy that has been sapped from me.
I was doing so unbelievably well, too. I can't help but wonder if some of this depression is a delayed reaction to all I went through with the move out here, subsequent diagnosis, surgery, treatment, etc. I really held up well and buckled down and soldiered through it, rarely giving much thought to how I "felt" about it; I didn't have time to feel much once I got over the initial fear of the diagnosis; I had to do what needed to be done to "get well."
Well, I have been declared a "breast cancer survivor" ... but I'm not sure what that means. Even when I heard them tell me this, I knew I should have felt some sort of joy in my heart, a spirit lifted. I just smiled and rather weakly said, "Yea." I did likewise when I told my family and friends; I think they felt more actual joy in the cancer-free declaration than I did. Fortunately, part of my cancer team includes a good psychologist who I'll see Sept. 27th. And a psychiatrist I'll see Oct. 2nd. Maybe they can give me some pointers on how to weather this particular storm. I'm also going to talk w/them about an endocrinologist. I don't know if Kaiser will let me go see one, but perhaps if I threaten to go off the A.I. altogether, they will. Thanks again Adriana for you support and information! CYD