Discussions

 I had invasive ductal carcinoma and had a lumpectomy. Strangely, I had pain in my right breast before I had my mammogram and biopsy. After my biopsy, they told me my cancer was linked to the uterine cancer I had 10 years earlier. I kept telling everyone about the pain in my right breast but noone paid any real attention to it. I was advised to take radiation (30) treatments. I made it through 6 treatments and had to stop because the pain was so intense. I had been cutting back on my pain meds before the radiation and doing well. The oncologist gave me oxycontin (1 20mg) twice a day and 1 lyrica twice a day. I am now on 360 mg of oxycontin per day and 300 mg of lyrica per day with about 10 percosets a day for breakthrough pain. You would think I'd be higher than a kite but they just barely numb the pain. The oncologist has been very pro-active in ordering various tests to try to pinpoint the reason for this excruciating pain.  Now he thinks I may have IBC.  I used to enjoy 4km daily walks. Now I can barely walk 100 yards without becoming totally exhausted. I am so weak, even my voice has become weak. I used to sing quite well, but no more.  I am scared and my hubby is scared too. We don't know what lays ahead. He was trying to get our cottage ready for the summer but the future seems so uncertain now. I am just a little down in the dumps. Can someone please talk to me??

Hello Italian-Girl, I am sorry you are having such a bad time. This cancer is so devasting in so many ways. It sounds like your weakness may be caused by the pain piss and especially the Lyrica. You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. When you hurt that bad you have to take something. When do they think they will find out what is cousing your pain? Is your breast red, swollen, and hot to the touch? Usually that are the symptoms of IBC, it seems he should be able to test for that. I know how hard it is, especially when you hurt, and you really don't know why. Are you scheduled for further testing soon? These down days during cancer are the pits, all we can do is hope for a better day tomorrow. Take care sweetie, I am here if you need to talk, I will keep you in my prayers.

Cajun Lady 

I am so sorry that is pain pills, I should have read over it before posting, still half asleep. 

 Mama really, pain piss?

 Hi Roberta,

Oh sweetie I wish I could take away your pain!!!!  You know I am always here to listen and to talk too!  I wish so much that someone could find the answers to why you are having so much pain!

You are such an amazing lady and I have told you this many many times but I mean it each and every time!!!  I know how hard it is for you to write and reaching out here is the greatest thing because someone hopefully will be able to share with you and come up with some way of helping you!  These ladies are awesome as you know!

I will write you in a little bit so please continue to rest!!! Take the same advice as you share with me and rest and build up your strength!!!

Love you my friend!!!! 

Dear Italian Girl,  I hope they find the source of your pain soon.  You sound so depressed, and who can blame you with all that chronic pain, but depression can cause both fatigue and weakness and can be really scary too. Don't give up! I take meds for depression and they have really helped me through this ordeal. I can only imagine what it must be like to suspect that you have cancer again when you have already survived it once. My thoughts are with you! 

 Italian Girl

How's your appetitie?  I too became weak and dehydrated and winded up in the hospital for four days.  i had stopped eating and became very depressed from the expanders.  I felt like someone was pushing down on my chest with a crow bar and I had no way out.  I finally had my final surgery Apr. 14 to remove them.  I have had 3 surgeries, numerous emergency room visit and now this final hospital stay.  Please take care of yourself and don't let yourself become too weak or dehydrated especially if you are not eating.  I woke up last Friday knowing that I needed to check myself in and let them figure things out for me.  Prior to this I had all my levels wrong ie. calcium too high, low in Vit D., hi sugar, thyroid also acting up again.  My primary care dr. was concerned because I had had all my levels off.  Please listen to your body.  She also told me sometimes after chemo your body can go off.  I'm sure radiation has it's own lists.If you are still in a bad place, take yourself to the emergency room that's their job.  They'll run all necessary tests and get you on the right track.  While there they found out I was low on magnesium and potassium.  please take care of yourself and don't wait until you get worst.  You are in my thoughts and I will be saying a prayer for you today.

Trust me I still have my moments, but those cymbalta did more harm than good.  I will be seeking a support group in my home town.  I am just grateful that I'm driving and feeling stronger so that I can slowly get around.  I wish this for you too.

Much blessing

Faith aka Betsy

 My appetite does not seem to have been affected but these stupid pills seem to be causing me to gain weight. I find that depressing too as I already have a weight problem. Why can't they makes some of these pills that have weight loss properties??  LOL  The doctor has asked me if I am depressesd but I have always resisted the idea of anti-depressants. I don't know why, maybe I just don't want to see myself as a weak person. Well, I will likely be hearing tomorrow about my biopsy. The thing that worries me about this cancer is that they think it is a much more aggressive cancer.  Hubby is worried too. He does not usually cry much but he was in tears last night.

Boy, do I know the depression of the weight gain. I think I've gained 30 pounds since I started this journey. But honey, taking anti-depressants does not mean you are a weak person. It makes you a strong person, because you are taking action to help yourself. Another thing to realize is that depression is not caused by a weak mind. Usually it is chemical imbalances in your body. As we are taking on so many new medications on this journey, of course it is going to throw our system out of wack. The anti-depressants will just help to get it back on course. So do what you need to do, and rest, rest, rest.

 Hi Itallian-Girl- I loved Cajun Lady's comment on pain piss. That was good for a LOL. Wow! my heart goes out to you with all those pain pills and you still have pain. HOLY MOLY! Since I have had the lumpectomy and radiation I get pain in my breast, but it is tolerable. I take over the counter stuff for it. Yet when I had the cancer lump I had no pain. Go figure.

I will pray that the doctors will find out what is going on with this nasty pain.  Question: could it be the scar tissue? Have you done any physical therapy for stretching the scar tissue?  I learned how to do that and it helped.  I would do the stretching after a pain pill, because I knew I would be sore afterwards.

Please keep in touch so we know the outcome of your tests.

Blessings,

Crismatic

Oh crismatic, I could not believe I made that error. It was early in the morning and I was not up to par. I usually check that before I post, but no, not that day. 

Cajun Lady

 Well, I had breast pain and tenderness months before my diagnosis. It's just that it stayed and nobody ever found the cause and treated it. Then the radiation seemed to make it much worse. So the radiation oncologist was pursuing actively the cause by various tests. Now the MRI showed a suspicious area. The oncologist thinks I could have IBC. But now my surgeon got his ego hurt because I dared to question him. I thought he was ordering an urgent wide biopsy but he has done nothing. Now he says he wants me to get another surgeon. I am worried because if this cancer is as aggressive as I have been told, then time is of the essence in getting it biopsied and my breast removed. Now my legs are swelling up and my back and hips hurt so much when I lay down.

Get your radiation oncologist to refer you to a surgeon ASAP. You certainly don't want to go with a surgeon who gets his feellings hurt like that. My prayers are with you. 

 Holy Moly! The surgeon got his feelings hurt. Please do as Trojangirl suggested and call your radiologist and get a referral ASAP.

My prayers are for you to get competint medical care.

Blessings,

Crismatic

 I talked to the radiation oncology nurse and they are going to refer me to a surgeon in Sudbury. This surgeon here has done nothing that I know of to arrange for an urgent wide biopsy. And I get very nervous and worried because I know that IBC is very aggressive. This is what they think I have. I finished my antibiotics and they did nothing, but they were a good try in case there was a deep systemic infection of some sort.  I wish that I were stronger and could help my niece whose father just passed away. But I have no energy whatever and no strength.