Hi everyone! Sounds like spring is starting with talk of growing your own food. We had 5 inches of snow on Sunday so no garden report yet, although I did see some daffodils poking up. But this is...
Saw the first robin yesterday and there are little fuzzies on one of my aspen trees (which are their “ blossoms”). One foot of snow called for this week “in the mountains “ which is kind of vague....
Haven’t checked in for a while. I went to my support group on Wednesday. There were 3 of us and the moderator in person and everyone else was on zoom. There wa no one that was just starting their...
It’s been a quiet week or so with no doctor appointments. Next week, however, I have my support group meeting, chemo teaching and an appointment with another oncologist at the MD Anderson Center in...
Worked Thursday and Friday, spent most of today in bed or on the couch. Crying a lot this afternoon. I guess that’s normal. I don’t have any pain. A very easy surgery compared to others I’ve had. A...
Surgery on the 15th, birthday on the 16th. I am up now waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in. The port is what bothers me the most. But everything went well. I get a month to heal before I start chemo....
FP, I'm sorry you have to get a new therapist. I can see where that would trigger depression. I have been seeing my therapist for years and I don't know what I would do If she left or retired. Jamie,...
Thanks, everyone. I have signed up for a support group through my oncology office, although they don’t meet again until April 6. I got a great massage and a short (for me) haircut to match my wig...
Hope you are starting to feel a little better...
Well, I do have to do chemo followed by radiation. This will all start in the middle of April. I had a rough few days but I got my wig this afternoon and feel much better. I like to have things like...
Thanks Paul and Karen, I don't have any medication for anxiety. I use Sleepy Time Tea with chamomile and valerian, which sort of works. I am afraid to ask my provider for any prescription anxiety...
Paul, I hope your family is safe. What a terrible thing to be happening. I had a tough week last week and I stayed in bed most of the weekend. I am disappointed that I am depressed, if that is...
No, I don't know anyone else who has done this. It was a leap of faith on my part. Considering that you can get a booster as frequently as every 3 weeks, I would be surprised if the initial treatment...
Hi Lynwood, If you go back a page or two in this thread you can read my ketamine "journal". I went through the 6 treatment induction series in January. I thought it worked pretty well. Unfortunately...
Thank you so much for your support - it means a lot to me. MRI tomorrow. Doing my best not to catastrophize. I'll feel better when I know more....
So I went in for my regular mammogram on Wednesday and there was a spot they didn’t like and I wound up getting a biopsy. Turns out it’s cancerous. It’s a very small spot and I should do OK but I...
I take Wellbutrin XL 300mg, Cymbalta 90 mg and Abilify 2 mg. Abilify is commonly used at low doses to augment other antidepressants....
Ketamine treatments #5 and 6, same as #3 and 4. No floating or disassociation. They make kind of a big deal about this at the clinic I went to so for a day or so I was feeling very disappointed and...
Ketamine treatment #4 yesterday - 170 mg, still no disassociation or floating. Next time I'm going to ask why this is supposed to be so important because I may not get there. The colors during the...
Ketamine treatment #3 yesterday. I waited until this evening to post to see how my day went. I got 140 mg and got pretty much the same response - lots of bright colors moving around. Their goal is...
Ketamine treatment #2 yesterday morning. This time they gave me 100 mg. I got more of an effect - lots of colors and textures - but no floating and I came out of it early. But my mood has been pretty...
Well I had my first ketamine treatment this morning. They start with a low dose, 60 mg, in two injections 10 minutes apart. After the first one I felt woozy and my vision was jiggly for about 8...
Happy New Year to all! I’m saying this now because I won’t be able to stay up until midnight...
I am in California visiting my mother for Christmas. My brother and oldest son are here. Pretty slow activity wise as my mother is 95 but she gets around pretty good. Maybe I’ll take her for a...
Thanks, HT...
Having a really bad day. I'm not sure why except that I am alone on a weekend day, which is always hard for me. Thursday and yesterday were really nice. Maybe it's the contrast. I did get up and get...
Hi all, I haven’t posted in a while but I have been “ lurking”. Haven’t done much lately. I’ve been to Utah but I am having a hard time getting anything done or doing anything fun. I am all signed up...
Hello from Utah! I have been here since Wednesday. Yesterday I tried to prep my little house for painting by power washing and scraping the paint off the trim. Did OK but the next step is recaulking...
Had a good trip to Oregon to visit my son, although I wish we could have stayed longer. He seems to be doing well. We drove in down the Columbia river gorge and left via the Cascades. Very beautiful....
FP, those are beautiful! I’m still at the crocheting Afghan stage....
Hi, it’s been a while. I am sitting in my patio admiring the new paint job on my house. It hadn’t been painted in many years but now it looks fresh and clean and the green color blends in with the...
I was sitting out in my patio but it got too hot, even in the shade so I came in and logged in. I have been working in the yard in short bursts so as not to over heat, which is easy to do because of...
Very wet here the last week or two, but the last two days have been dry and hot. The lawn is lush, the catmint is huge, even though I cut it in half this spring. I did some weeding in the neglected...
Interesting few days here. Thursday I went to my friend’s on the way home from Utah, put my dog in her back yard, went out to lunch and when we got back the dog was gone. After much searching, signs...
Hi everyone. I am back from my trip to California. It was very relaxing, except for the drive, and it was good to see family. Oregon (where my son is) was amazingly green, especially compared to...
GreenBeans, I'm sorry about your father's diagnosis. But I'm glad the Lyrics is helping you. I restarted the Abilify again this week. I decided that the small risks it had were out weighed by the...
Better day today. I started out slow, like you said, Trina, by taking the dog out. Then I got dressed. then I swept the floor, then I actually made breakfast instead of eating cookies. Granted, it...
Bad day. Having a hard time moving. Meetings today with both my therapist and my med nurse who both suggested simple things for me to do today but I could not. Rained today which didn't help....
Sorry Pitmom. I was actually replying to Green Beans post. I am sorry you are not feeling good. I have heard that there is a place between depression and thriving called "languishing" that a lot of...
Sounds like me. I had a short report done at work and someone deleted it so I had to redo it. This was just part of a difficult day. I have tomorrow off and visit with my therapist and med nurse so...
Hi everybody, it's been a while. Sometimes I don't like to post when I haven't been feeling well and it's been a stressful few weeks. It's still snowing up here, supposed to do it again on Sunday. I...
Thanks, Pitmom. We had a bunch of snow here this week and more to come tomorrow, so I think my bulb planting question is moot. Can't dig yet. I get very impatient this time of year. Now that the days...
Jamie, struggling with depression is exhausting. Be gentle with yourself. Pitmom, I have a gardening question. The rule of thumb up here is not to plant outside until Memorial day, but can I put...
Jamie, I went cold turkey off Effexor about 20 years ago before they knew you shouldn’t do that. I thought I had a brain tumor or MS or something. Hang tough. Garden report: my succulent that looks...
Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I have been celebrating all week long. My son took me out to lunch today and put up with me doodling around in Joann Fabrics. My deer proof go to's are day lilies,...
Well, after all the hoopla of a giant snow storm, I only got 20 inches. Not the 5 footer we were expecting. Getting 5 feet would have been dramatic, giving me a little dopamine hit, but oh well. I...
We are supposed to get a huge snowstorm this weekend. However the forecast up here is anything from 12 to 58 inches. So helpful. But I am ready for a 5 footer. We had a 6 footer in 2003 that we...
Karen, I used to get called back for repeat mammograms, ultrasounds and stuff for years until my doctor asked what in heck were they looking for and I went back to regular yearly exams. Sending out...
Chapter 1,000,000 in the never ending saga: on Thursday when I got home my kitten was missing. He must have slipped out the door when my son was coming or going. I finally found him outside under the...
Thanks, Pitmom, I feel a lot better. Fortunately, it happened out on the lawn. I have taken to standing next to large solid objects at dog parks, like trees or tables, and I always keep my knees bent...