Another Unofficial Chatterbox Thread- Everyone is Welcome!

[funnygarcia]

What no men of ill repute?

of course not .. don't you know? It's always the woman's fault - flaunting her assets.

 

[funnygarcia]

time to channel surf again..

House works, good background noise.

 

[funnygarcia]

Has anyone heard from our "original" Gina?
I haven't chatted with her since umm November??

 

[sameyeyam]

Ice is not a good thing. Before our blast of frozen days this week, we had a fluffy covering of snow-- over ice!
Sliding up and down the highway ramps and on the hills. Not many hills here, thank goodness we don't live in Duluth. Steep hills down into the city/ downtown - URGH!

We've been very cold and sunny. But it has been getting foggy at night, not to mention that our ground is still pretty saturated from all that snow. So it's been getting down into the 20's at night and the fog is freezing on the roadways. Yesterday it was 74 degrees up at one of the mountain passes and 30 degrees down here. Crazy! There was a layer of really warm air over the top of really cold air.

 

[sameyeyam]

Has anyone heard from our "original" Gina?
I haven't chatted with her since umm November??

No I haven't heard from her in quite a while. I know she was going thru quite a bit there for a while.

 

[funnygarcia]

The boys had school, no delays, no closures. Temp was -20 plus a windchill yesterday. Slightly warmer today.

For once they took my advice and bundled up.

 

[funnygarcia]

No I haven't heard from her in quite a while. I know she was going thru quite a bit there for a while.

I just sent her a PM, it says last log in was on 1-14. I know she gets busy with school, family and life in general.

 

[sameyeyam]

Got my blood test results today from my physical. I'm very happy because my iron levels are back to normal, all of my white and red blood counts, etc. are all looking back to normal for the first time since chemo.

My urea nitrogen (bun) was low 3.3. My cholesterol was high, 201, so not too bad, only high by 1 point. I think I told you already my Vitamin D level was really low. Normal is 30-150 and I was 24.

 

[sameyeyam]

The boys had school, no delays, no closures. Temp was -20 plus a windchill yesterday. Slightly warmer today.

For once they took my advice and bundled up.

Only takes a few days of freezing to death for them to wise up.

I just sent her a PM, it says last log in was on 1-14. I know she gets busy with school, family and life in general.

Yeah, but I kind of miss her. Obviously she didn't get the Hyena priority chart.

 

[sameyeyam]

So I wonder if my low BUN levels are due to the chemo causing liver damage? The doctor didn't say anything, so he's obviously not worried.

 

[funnygarcia]

Got my blood test results today from my physical. I'm very happy because my iron levels are back to normal, all of my white and red blood counts, etc. are all looking back to normal for the first time since chemo.

My urea nitrogen (bun) was low 3.3. My cholesterol was high, 201, so not too bad, only high by 1 point. I think I told you already my Vitamin D level was really low. Normal is 30-150 and I was 24.

That's great!
Are they concerned about the Vitamin D level?
Calcium absorption and the risks of osteoporosis...

E needs to get a bone scan done again, he had one as part of a research study recently.. but I don't think the results ae shared with his docs.

He had some good density in the crucial areas, yet he still breaks bones easily.

 

[funnygarcia]

So I wonder if my low BUN levels are due to the chemo causing liver damage? The doctor didn't say anything, so he's obviously not worried.

Low is not as much of a concern as a high BUN (indicates kidney failure).
Maybe because you have no other active signs of liver damage, it's more of a wait and watch position.

 

[sameyeyam]

That's great!
Are they concerned about the Vitamin D level?
Calcium absorption and the risks of osteoporosis...

E needs to get a bone scan done again, he had one as part of a research study recently.. but I don't think the results ae shared with his docs.

He had some good density in the crucial areas, yet he still breaks bones easily.

Oh, thought I had told you. The doctor called me as soon as he got the results and gave me a prescription for Vitamin D. I was taking a multi vitamin with 500iu of D and two extra Vitamin D's that each had 500 iu's, so I was taking a total of 1,500 iu of D per day. He gave me a prescription for a Vitamin D pill that I take once a week, it is 50,000 iu's of Vitamin D. No that was not a typo, it's 50,000 iu's!

There have been lots of studies regarding cancer and vitamins. Several studies have come out this year and they found that most women that were diagnosed with breast cancer had extremely low Vitamin D levels. So my oncologist had me taking Vitamin D as a precaution. But obviously it wasn't working. In addition to helping the bones, it apparently has a role in cell division and something about being able to stop blood flow to tumors.

I have been searching for why I ended up getting breast cancer and I now think that may have been at least partially the reason. My doctor said that with Vitamin D levels that low it could have played a hand in why the tumor grew so large, so quickly.

 

[sameyeyam]

Low is not as much of a concern as a high BUN (indicates kidney failure).
Maybe because you have no other active signs of liver damage, it's more of a wait and watch position.

I need to quit reading these tests results. I get myself all freaked out. I start thinking liver, ok that's where breast cancer metastasises (or however you spell that word) . I just need to chill and not worry about it too much. I know that the liver does get damaged a bit during chemo, so it's probably expected to be low.

 

[funnygarcia]

hmm, interesting.

Research shows us more each year about adequate nutrition and the need for supplements dependent on a person's life stage.

My sis had muliple miscarriages with no known cause, then she had a pregnancy with anencaphalic baby (no brain). Her doc decided that the prior miscarriages were likely due to neuro tube defects and put her on extra folic acid.

Of course, still not sure why she has one child with dyslexia, one with autism and one with development delays (possible autism, mabe something else instead).

 

[sameyeyam]

I'll never forget my bone scan. I could see the display screen from where I was laying on the table and all sorts of twinkling lights on the computer screen in the shape of my skeleton. I was totally convinced that my bones were filled with cancer because of all the lights.

 

[funnygarcia]

I need to quit reading these tests results. I get myself all freaked out. I start thinking liver, ok that's where breast cancer metastasises (or however you spell that word) . I just need to chill and not worry about it too much. I know that the liver does get damaged a bit during chemo, so it's probably expected to be low.

Well lay off the booze and you should be just fine.




If it bugs you .. go bug your doctor. But hey, you know that already.

 

[funnygarcia]

I'll never forget my bone scan. I could see the display screen from where I was laying on the table and all sorts of twinkling lights on the computer screen in the shape of my skeleton. I was totally convinced that my bones were filled with cancer because of all the lights.

oh no!
How scary!

Darn techs not telling you -- no really it's suppose to look like that. Whew!

 

[sameyeyam]

hmm, interesting.

Research shows us more each year about adequate nutrition and the need for supplements dependent on a person's life stage.

My sis had muliple miscarriages with no known cause, then she had a pregnancy with anencaphalic baby (no brain). Her doc decided that the prior miscarriages were likely due to neuro tube defects and put her on extra folic acid.

Of course, still not sure why she has one child with dyslexia, one with autism and one with development delays (possible autism, mabe something else instead).

I've been taking multi vitamins each day every since I was diagnosed, just to be on the safe side. I really do think that nutrition plays a much larger role in our bodies then most people think.

I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get my Vitamin D levels up. Including heading to someplace warm & sunny once a month in the winter time.

 

[funnygarcia]

I worked with an older lady who tended to freak about every little thing.

She was a wreck, freaking out over what is done in a bone scan. I was like.. what the heck is your problem??? You lay there, it scans, you look at your bones. Less work than an x ray.

She came back afterwards and laughed .. you were right, it was so simple.
Silly lady!