Friday- wishing you all a wonderful Easter weekend-

Hello, OFF family!

I haven't been around a lot...I've been so busy with building a strong infrastructure for our huge women's event in August, then had NO internet service for over a week. Added to that, some serious bone pain for five days in a row that really wiped me out.


We had to go to see my Oncologist and we were told (finally) that the medication I am on for the last year, does not increase arthritis but MAGNIFIES the symptoms, namely arthritis PAIN, by TEN! Well, at least it's not just in my head...I was beginning to think that I was such a wimp...apparently not.


They have given me two weeks vacation OFF my medication. We were told that the average compliance in taking the meds is actually 49%! I was shocked,...why go thru surgery and radiation/chemo and then NOT take the medication(despite how much it hurts)! They were very pleased that I have 100% compliance with my medication so they are not at all concerned to give me two weeks off. After that, we are looking at changing my medication to something else since this insomnia and throbbing deep bone is really affecting my energy levels and quality of life. As she said to me "do you want four more years of this ?" to which I quickly responded "NO WAY!". Hopefully, the new meds will be less painful and let me sleep. As it is now, I take one cancer pill, two sleeping pills and two pain pills (all doctor prescribed) every single night to be able to sleep for 4 whole hours. Every medication has it's down side but we have to find the lesser of two evils. *s*


Thursday was my 65th birthday...it was a busy day: banking and paper signing for my BPW group, grocery shopping, picking up my skim milk powder(for protein drinks)nuts and seeds at the bulk barn, and then heading way out to the other end of the city to pick up my new black bra that was on order...they make sure you get the right insurance forms and receipts to send to the gov't for reimbursement since they are for breast cancer survivors and have built-in pockets for the prosthesist. I had bought three bras, two at $80,.00 each and one at $60.00 so we will get some $$ back.


After that, I returned home, had an hour before I went back to the city for our monthly BPW Dinner Meeting. I managed to lie down for 45 minutes to rest, freshened up and off I went again. After dinner, they brought in a HUGE birthday cake! Whata shock..I had forgotten it was my birthday because I was so sore and tired out. Now I have this humungous birthday cake in my fridge, Takes up the whole bottom shelf!...emailed both sons to come and take it away please...it's a dirty job but obviously SOMEOME has to eat it...lol. I allowed myself a small piece than said enough!


But the IMPORTANT part of all this chatter from me is that I CAN stop now and what a sense of empowerment that is! Every day is a struggle, I won't deny that at all, but before surgery, I'd not have even told my family that I had cake stashed away somewhere and I WOULD have managed to eat it all. The forst thing I did when I got homer, was to tell JB that I had a huge cake for the fruige and I emailed my sons too....keeps me honest..whew!


We continue to have frosty and darned cold bitter winds....more flurries to come this weekend, I believe. I "shopped in my closet", found things I'd forgotten I had, including four flared cotton skirts (down to my ankles - love long feminine skirts and they hide my swollen lymphodemic legs) and sat down to watch movies with JB and our fur-babies and took each waistband in by SIX inches!


Then I got my hair cut again (it grows like weeds!) and my nails done in shellac with clear and sparkle so now I'm looking like Shirley Temple again with flashy nails.


Now that I am sixty-five, I get senior's discounts and I finally get my Old Age Pension from the government...yayyy! Turning sixty five isn't hard at all! And 65 is just a number...it's your ATTITUDE that really counts!


I will hopefully be feeling better once I'm off my cancer meds for a while and then can visit more often again. Lately I barely get my emails done and I'm back to bed for another nap.

I wish you all a very HAPPY and Blessed Easter and be safe!

Much love,
Nancy B : }

Good morning Nancy and everyone....

Nancy...how wonderful to see you start the thread today!! I am so glad you are on a break from those meds. I pray they can find something else that will work well for you and cause less pain. You are such an inspiration to so many!! Your attitude and constant getting out and getting things done is amazing!! It sounds like you had a nice birthday surprise. I agree....get rid of the cake..LOL!!

I am still at my daughters and enjoying myself so much!! It has been the break I needed!!  

Wishing you all a great day!! Prayers for all in need.

Love and hugs to all.....connie d

Happy Friday all!

Nancy, God Bless you! I too hope this break from meds give you the much need relief. As Connie said your such an inspiration to all of us.

Connie, happy to hear you're having a great time.

We have friends coming up Easter morning to stay the night. Looking forward to seeing them.

Hope you all have a great day, thoughts and prayers for all,

Debbie

Hi sistas! Just a quick note this morning. Carrie had a pretty rough night. Still in a lot of pain today. But she is sitting up and walking a little. Haven't heard from her doctor yet. I am hanging in there but very tired today. Prayers for strength and healing would be appreciated. Butch says they are making it OK at home. Guess that's all for now. Too hard to post from this phone.

Hi Nancy and my OFF family:

So good to hear from you, but sorry you have been in pain and unable to sleep. As usual, I have days of more pain and less pain, but always days of pain. It's just how often I'm able to tolerate it. This morning, for instance, woke up with a headache and my left knee hurting me. Oh well, I'm off today (no phone calls from work, thankfully). Nothing much on the agenda. Not even getting out of my jammies today. 

As for pain issues, I'm trying something my chiropractor suggested ... tumeric. I bought some capsules from Puritan's Pride (www.puritanspridevitamins.com, which is where I buy a lot of my vitamins). She says it helps with fibro pain and arthritis, so I'm trying it. I did notice it leaves a bit of an aftertaste in my mouth. I'll try it for a month and see if it makes a difference. It didn't cost much ... Puritan's Pride has deals, buy 2 get 3 free, etc. You have to take four a day of these, so I did the buy 2 get 3 free deal. I buy my magnesium citrate from there, too (it's also supposed to be good for fibro, plus by taking prilosec, I might be low on magnesium ... my tests have always been good). 

So anyway, I have nothing much going on. My brother posted on FB yesterday that they sold Mom's car ... she got a little teary-eyed over it, but I think she understood she wasn't going to be driving again. I am very anxious to get up there and see here ... I really feel this will be the last time I see her alive. Don't ask me why, it's just a feeling.

Basketball tonight again ... Indiana lost last night, they played like crap. They really got a lesson in defense from Syracuse. Oh well, one less team to worry about. Which is good, because in April, I'm doing a lot of sports again. 

Anyway, hope everyone has a good day. I'm still drinking my coffee. 

Hi OFF Ladies...

A little late today but I guess better late than never.

Nancy - 65 is a GREAT number and don't you forget that!  Enjoy!

Connie I hope that you enjoy your break and have safe travels home.

Debbie enjoy for Easter company!

Vickie glad Carrie's surgery went well, sounds like they got it just in time.

Eileen - I know exactly what you mean about your gut feelings with your mom.  I have a 95 year old aunt in Dallas I go see frequently but I have stalled on going down since Thanksgiving for the same reason.  I think in the back of my mind I think if I don't go then it won't be the last time I see her.  I know that is nonsense but I know it is going to be very hard on me when something does happen to her. She is the only aunt I have left, the rest of my family are all gone and Im an only child so she is pretty special to me.

Now, I have had a very challenging day. I did lunch with hubby which was a piece of cake, well a salad really but I digress. I have a dear friend who I hadn't seen for a while.  She is a few years older than me and we met years ago in a divorce seminar.  We became the best of friends and have been through thick and thin over the years.  She hasn't been doing very well lately, she has liver disease and a bundle of other things going on medically, very morbidly obese.  She was in the hospital for a few weeks with some issues and became very weak so they sent her to a rehab facility to build her strength back up and do daily PT. She seemed confused at times and honestly looked like she had aged 10 years since I'd last seen her. It bothers me that she seems to be slipping. I stayed a couple hours with her, helping her change clothes where she spilled her drink all over herself at lunch. I hate the term feeble but I think it is going to apply here. I just don't know what I can do besides call and go see her more often.  She has a daughter who is married and has a child, and a brother but it seems to be her ex sister in law who is doing most of the checking on her. It just seems very sad to me. 

I told her about our decision to have surgery and she thought it was fantastic. Said she wish she had done something like that. I don't know how else to explain it but I have just had this heavy sense of sadness this afternoon. I just pray that she can get her strength built back up and be able to go home. 

Sorry for the rambling but sometimes you just need to get things off your chest you know?  Hubby doesn't get home untl late and this has been weighing on me all day.

I will see you tomorrow

Karen

Not rambling, Karen. I know I have those feelings about some of my friends. I felt that way about my friend Margie ... her daughters weren't always very nice to her in the end, but when she died, the one daughter was all weepy (and then when there was the estate sale, actually stole money from the proceeds), even though she couldn't be bothered to call her mother while she was alive. Margie wasn't my mom, but I was probably a better daughter than her own two daughters (I was maybe 10-12 years younger; she was my editor's wife when I was in Montana and we became good friends from there on). I miss her still. She died suddenly and I never had a chance to say goodbye ... she was going to have her yearly check on her kidney transplant and became suddenly ill, her daughter took her to the hospital and they couldn't bring her back. It was very sudden and a shock. I could tell her things I could never tell my mom ... I could cry to her and she would listen. Like I said, she was like a mom to me. 

I think all we can do for those people in our life is be there for them when they are alive as much as we can. My dad never held it against me that I moved so far away when he knew he was sick (I believe he knew he was dying when I moved to Montana in 1984). My mom, on the other hand, was hysterical. She was upset when I moved to Louisiana in 2010 from Michigan ... well, I was unemployed and needed a job, and had an offer ... what was I going to do, turn it down? Newspaper jobs don't grow on trees. She just didn't want me to move farther away again.