At the end of last year we were trying to decide if we should start finishing the basement now that I was finished with treatment or redecorate the house that was bothering me so much. We had planned on finishing the basement in January 2015 but I was going through chemo and money was tight paying for all of my medical bills. Finishing the basement would take a lot of money and I am nervous to spend that kind of money right now because you never know what can happen. I also knew how bad the interior of my house reminded me of cancer and also the memories of my beloved dogs who had just passed away. I seriously wanted to move if I couldn't make a change. In talking to other people who have gone through what I have,
some of them did decide to move. I
thought it would be cheaper to redecorate and I just don't have it in me
for all the work it takes to move, let alone Kaci is in a school she
loves with friends that live nearby. I didn't feel it was fair to her
to move right now.
As I have mentioned before, last February I redecorated our bedroom because I just couldn't stand it anymore. I had spent countless days/hours/months in there and the sight of it made me sick to my stomach. With the mounting medical bills that is the only room I could afford to do at that moment and I felt that was the most important since I knew I would be spending another couple of months in bed. It made me feel better at the time and I just learned to look past the rest of the house.
So right after Christmas I started hitting the stores to get ideas. My main goal was to get rid of all the red in my house since that color was spread throughout every room except my bedroom and bathroom. I started with changing out a few decorations but the house still looked the same to me. Then we started looking at carpet and decided to re-carpet the house. When we built the house the cheapest carpet was put in and it didn't wear well at all. The carpet was in terrible shape and since Jake (my dog) had just passed away and with all of his "accidents" over the years and towards the end of his life the drooling blood, it was time. In fact we always said when Jakey Boy goes we are going to get new carpet (sorry buddy but its true). We spent hours cleaning out each room as we moved the furniture in preparation. Re-carpeting is the next best thing to moving! We had collected so much in the last 4-1/2 years since we moved in and it was a great time to get rid of some things. After the house was re-carpeted with lovely thick padding and plush carpet it is like walking on clouds. I have never had this nice of carpet before and this didn't disappoint. It was worth spending a little more money and getting exactly what we wanted. It looked beautiful and then we put our old furniture back in the family room and I hated it. It looked like we had such a nice house now but with old, semi-outdated furniture. Last fall we had been eying some furniture for our family room but decided to wait until we got the basement done. Well, since we didn't do the basement and was working on the main level of the house we decided to get the furniture as well. Thank goodness for our excellent credit and 18/24 months no interest. After the carpet and furniture was in I took down the rest of the "red decor". I have bought a few things like new rugs, towels for the kitchen and a few decorations for the cabinets. I haven't finished it yet but have decided to take a break. I got so overwhelmed and ended up buying and returning numerous items that I felt just didn't fit. I am going to take it easy for a while and if/when I see something I will know. In the meantime my house looks great and the "old memories" of the year that I went through surgery, chemo and radiation and the loss of my dogs are long gone. I haven't forgotten them completely as they will always be a part of me, but the change in my house is exactly what I needed and for the most part what my family needed.
It is nice to have our main living area just how I want it. It is so fresh and new and makes me happy looking at it. My house is my new fresh start and I love it. Here is to making a lot of good memories with my family in our home that we have put so much work and love in to.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
A new friend for both me and Kaci
Something great happened this past weekend. My daughter has met a
new friend at school and played over at her house for the first time on
Saturday. When I picked her up she said that this friends mom went
through breast cancer too. Well these two cute girls thought it would
be a good idea to get us together for a girls day out. So on Monday
they had us meet at the mall so that we could take them to Quilted Bear
to get Beanie Boo's and then to Pretzel Maker for snacks and smoothies
and then to the movie. They thought it would be nice for us to
have time to talk about our experiences. I can't even describe how
powerful it is to have someone physically standing by my side and knowing
exactly what I go through on a daily basis. While I don't wish this experience on anybody it is nice to have a friend who has gone through the same thing so that I don't feel so alone in this world.
You cannot ever truly understand the physical limitations as well as the emotional effect that breast cancer has on a person until you have gone through it yourself. For instance we went bowling on Sunday for Valentine's Day. I didn't think anything of it but it was so hard for me to move that arm and it was actually a little painful, my skin is still so tight on the right side where I had radiation. I decided to just let Kaci take over my turn which she was excited about. I still enjoyed myself but I had no idea that something as simple as bowling would be so hard. Then of course I worry about lymphedema, I was told not to carry grocery bags, my purse or anything heavy on that side and here I was throwing a 10lb bowling ball.
I have a lot of new friends since my diagnosis who have gone through the same things I have but unfortunately I have not met them in person. We are friends in the blogging world as well as Facebook and some I have talked to on the phone. I am grateful for each and every one of them as they have all helped me in some way. I can't imagine my life without them and at any time I know I can message them, call them, write on their blogs etc. and they will be there for me. There are so many amazing people out there. I will also be there for anybody and everybody at any time. I feel it is my duty to pay it forward. I hope that all of you reading this blog all over the world knows that if I can be of help in any way please just ask me.
I know my new friend Shauna and I will continue to be good friends. I also think it is so good for Kaci to have a friend who she can relate to as well. I believe there is a reason that this family moved into our area. It is amazing how much other people can give and provide strength to someone else. We all need to remember that everybody has trials, some might seem big and others quite small but we cannot judge how that person is reacting to them. To them it might be big. We need to continue to be there for our neighbors, friends, family and strangers. We need to listen to them and be there for them no matter what. Nothing is more important than serving. Even if you just smile and say hi to a stranger you might make their entire day.
You cannot ever truly understand the physical limitations as well as the emotional effect that breast cancer has on a person until you have gone through it yourself. For instance we went bowling on Sunday for Valentine's Day. I didn't think anything of it but it was so hard for me to move that arm and it was actually a little painful, my skin is still so tight on the right side where I had radiation. I decided to just let Kaci take over my turn which she was excited about. I still enjoyed myself but I had no idea that something as simple as bowling would be so hard. Then of course I worry about lymphedema, I was told not to carry grocery bags, my purse or anything heavy on that side and here I was throwing a 10lb bowling ball.
I have a lot of new friends since my diagnosis who have gone through the same things I have but unfortunately I have not met them in person. We are friends in the blogging world as well as Facebook and some I have talked to on the phone. I am grateful for each and every one of them as they have all helped me in some way. I can't imagine my life without them and at any time I know I can message them, call them, write on their blogs etc. and they will be there for me. There are so many amazing people out there. I will also be there for anybody and everybody at any time. I feel it is my duty to pay it forward. I hope that all of you reading this blog all over the world knows that if I can be of help in any way please just ask me.
I know my new friend Shauna and I will continue to be good friends. I also think it is so good for Kaci to have a friend who she can relate to as well. I believe there is a reason that this family moved into our area. It is amazing how much other people can give and provide strength to someone else. We all need to remember that everybody has trials, some might seem big and others quite small but we cannot judge how that person is reacting to them. To them it might be big. We need to continue to be there for our neighbors, friends, family and strangers. We need to listen to them and be there for them no matter what. Nothing is more important than serving. Even if you just smile and say hi to a stranger you might make their entire day.
MTHFR GENE mutation(not a cuss word), lab results and hot flashes
So I have been seeing an amazing OB/GYN. I went in for a 2 month followup on February 2nd to discuss my lab results in detail from last December. My cholesterol was extremely high at 283. My vitamin D levels were on the low end of normal and everything else was in check. I immediately started on a higher dose of Vitamin D and two different supplements per this doctor's recommendation. I started on Red Yeast Rice (Yeah, I have never heard of it before either). Anyway it is a natural statin that can help reduce cholesterol. I also started on another supplement called COQ10 (just Google it for more information). At this followup appointment we decided to retest everything as well as did the genetic test MTHFR. Dr. Knowles said that she has a 90% accuracy rate of guessing that a person probably has one of these mutations. She guessed me to possibly have this mutation due to breast cancer at an early age as well as high cholesterol for most of my life. This test is not covered by insurance and I will have to pay out of pocket for it but it should be less than $1000. It was important to me to find out if I had this mutation because there are supplements you can take to help with it.
Yesterday, I got the results in the mail and my total cholesterol is down 66 points in two months. I am beyond excited! My cholesterol has been high since I first had it tested in my early 20's. I will continue taking the Red Yeast Rice since it is natural and it appears to be helping my cholesterol come down. She said that statin's can cause brain fog and I already have enough of that since chemo, I really didn't want to add to that. Plus if I can lower my cholesterol the natural way then there is no need for a statin. My vitamin D levels came up a bit too but are still within the normal range and not even close to the verge of over dosing. We didn't know if taking 10,000ui a day might be too much but it appears to be what I need to take right now. It is important for me to keep my bones healthy and strong now that I am in menopause.
On top of that I have both of the two critical gene mutations. What this means is this can cause pulmonary embolisms, addictions, fibromyalgia, miscarriages, schizophrenia, severe depression, heart disease and cancer to name a few. There are a lot of health problems associated with these mutations. My doctor may be on to something, this could be the very reason I had breast cancer at an early age as well as high cholesterol. So now I am taking this information and I will supplement with a methyl form of B6, B12 and folate which will help my liver to flush out the toxins. I am hoping that when I go back in May my cholesterol has dropped even more and that I am within the normal range on all levels. I also hope that with the vitamin B supplements that I will have more energy as this can be part of the problem with this mutation also. These mutations rarely have any physical symptoms but just knowing that I am giving my body what it needs so that my liver can perform its function properly is worth the peace of mind. I still know however, that God is in control of my life and my destiny but knowing that I am striving to be healthy and doing this the holistic way makes me feel like I am doing all that I can.
I also started on Gabapentin back on December 2nd to see if it could help control my hot flashes. The major side effect of this drug is tiredness so you have to take it at night before bed. It is primarily used to treat seizures, but some women have success in treating their hot flashes as well. I feel like since I started on this medicine that my hot flashes were not as severe or intense. I also can go longer without having one. At night I am able to go about 2 to 2-1/2 hours in between hot flashes rather than at least one every hour so I am getting better quality of sleep. During the day is different because of my stress levels, excitement, etc. when I am awake. The littlest of things can trigger a hot flash. Usually if I am relaxed and don't have any distractions or physical activity I can go longer without having one. Anyway since I had also started on this drug at the same time as the Red Yeast Rice and COQ10. I didn't know if it was really helping or not. I did have some relief so I knew it was either this or the COQ10 or the combination of both. I ran out of the COQ10 in early January for about a week and I felt like my hot flashes were getting worse. I started back up on it and then I thought maybe it is the COQ10 that is helping my hot flashes and not the Gabapentin. Since the COQ10 is a natural supplement I didn't mind taking it. I hate taking any unnecessary medications so I decided to go off of the Gabapentin and see what happens. I went off it gradually for the first week of February and then went off completely the 2nd week. Towards the end of last week my hot flashes were back full force. Every hot flash I had produced sweat and they were very intense. A couple of days of that was all it took for me to start back up on the Gabapentin. While I don't like taking this drug because it makes it so hard for me to get out of bed in the morning it is worth it to me to not be such a sweaty mess during the day. I have very curly hair that I flat iron the heck out of each morning and if my hot flashes produce a lot of sweat then by the end of the day I have my curly hair old lady look. I hate that the hot flashes make my head, face and neck just drip with sweat. Since I have been on Gabapentin I might only have one of two hot flashes a day that produce sweat so most days I can go home with the same hair style that I created that morning. It isn't all about the hair as much as it is about being uncomfortable during each hot flash. I never new how debilitating they can be. I guess now I can say that the combination of COQ10 and Gabapentin are helping me quite a bit with my hot flashes. It is so nice to have a hot flash and while it is still uncomfortable it doesn't last as long and most of them do not produce sweat. I don't know how long they will stick around and I keep hoping that they will start to fade out but I don't think that will happen anytime soon since the Tamoxifen that I am on creates them as well as just plain being in menopause.
Yesterday, I got the results in the mail and my total cholesterol is down 66 points in two months. I am beyond excited! My cholesterol has been high since I first had it tested in my early 20's. I will continue taking the Red Yeast Rice since it is natural and it appears to be helping my cholesterol come down. She said that statin's can cause brain fog and I already have enough of that since chemo, I really didn't want to add to that. Plus if I can lower my cholesterol the natural way then there is no need for a statin. My vitamin D levels came up a bit too but are still within the normal range and not even close to the verge of over dosing. We didn't know if taking 10,000ui a day might be too much but it appears to be what I need to take right now. It is important for me to keep my bones healthy and strong now that I am in menopause.
On top of that I have both of the two critical gene mutations. What this means is this can cause pulmonary embolisms, addictions, fibromyalgia, miscarriages, schizophrenia, severe depression, heart disease and cancer to name a few. There are a lot of health problems associated with these mutations. My doctor may be on to something, this could be the very reason I had breast cancer at an early age as well as high cholesterol. So now I am taking this information and I will supplement with a methyl form of B6, B12 and folate which will help my liver to flush out the toxins. I am hoping that when I go back in May my cholesterol has dropped even more and that I am within the normal range on all levels. I also hope that with the vitamin B supplements that I will have more energy as this can be part of the problem with this mutation also. These mutations rarely have any physical symptoms but just knowing that I am giving my body what it needs so that my liver can perform its function properly is worth the peace of mind. I still know however, that God is in control of my life and my destiny but knowing that I am striving to be healthy and doing this the holistic way makes me feel like I am doing all that I can.
I also started on Gabapentin back on December 2nd to see if it could help control my hot flashes. The major side effect of this drug is tiredness so you have to take it at night before bed. It is primarily used to treat seizures, but some women have success in treating their hot flashes as well. I feel like since I started on this medicine that my hot flashes were not as severe or intense. I also can go longer without having one. At night I am able to go about 2 to 2-1/2 hours in between hot flashes rather than at least one every hour so I am getting better quality of sleep. During the day is different because of my stress levels, excitement, etc. when I am awake. The littlest of things can trigger a hot flash. Usually if I am relaxed and don't have any distractions or physical activity I can go longer without having one. Anyway since I had also started on this drug at the same time as the Red Yeast Rice and COQ10. I didn't know if it was really helping or not. I did have some relief so I knew it was either this or the COQ10 or the combination of both. I ran out of the COQ10 in early January for about a week and I felt like my hot flashes were getting worse. I started back up on it and then I thought maybe it is the COQ10 that is helping my hot flashes and not the Gabapentin. Since the COQ10 is a natural supplement I didn't mind taking it. I hate taking any unnecessary medications so I decided to go off of the Gabapentin and see what happens. I went off it gradually for the first week of February and then went off completely the 2nd week. Towards the end of last week my hot flashes were back full force. Every hot flash I had produced sweat and they were very intense. A couple of days of that was all it took for me to start back up on the Gabapentin. While I don't like taking this drug because it makes it so hard for me to get out of bed in the morning it is worth it to me to not be such a sweaty mess during the day. I have very curly hair that I flat iron the heck out of each morning and if my hot flashes produce a lot of sweat then by the end of the day I have my curly hair old lady look. I hate that the hot flashes make my head, face and neck just drip with sweat. Since I have been on Gabapentin I might only have one of two hot flashes a day that produce sweat so most days I can go home with the same hair style that I created that morning. It isn't all about the hair as much as it is about being uncomfortable during each hot flash. I never new how debilitating they can be. I guess now I can say that the combination of COQ10 and Gabapentin are helping me quite a bit with my hot flashes. It is so nice to have a hot flash and while it is still uncomfortable it doesn't last as long and most of them do not produce sweat. I don't know how long they will stick around and I keep hoping that they will start to fade out but I don't think that will happen anytime soon since the Tamoxifen that I am on creates them as well as just plain being in menopause.
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