21st March 2019 – More flowers!
My lovely school friend has sent me some lovely spring flowers…. some of my others are still going but they are on their last legs so these are a very welcome arrival. She’s also coming round tomorrow and bringing lunch.
I’ve also started reading up on Tamoxifen. I am conscious of 2 main side effects 1) putting on weight and 2) hair thinning. I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.
Prior to all of this, I did exercise every day (weights, cardio, yoga)…. I am already feeling the effects of not having done anything since my lymph node op 6 weeks ago. My tone, especially around my tummy is reducing and it’s bothering me. As I have been so restricted over the last few weeks and obviously haven’t been able to do any exercise, I have been already watching what I am eating. Thankfully I haven’t put in any weight.
In terms of my hair, I have thin hair anyway and also not much of it.
23rd March 2019 – Baby Steps
I think I’ve mentioned before that my other blog is all about my life and in particular, the fact that we love walking and hiking. We’ve done several long distance walks including walking the breadth of England (Wainwright’s Coast to Coast) so getting out for a little walk was very important to me.
We didn’t go very far – just around what we call the ‘small’ block. It’s only around the estate where where we live so not overly exciting in terms of views but it’s still 1.5 miles – it’s 1.5 miles more than I have done in a long while. It felt OK although we weren’t going very fast.
24th March 2019 – Double Up
After yesterday’s 1.5 mile walk, we did almost 3 today – I feel great.
I am doing my exercises to get my arm working properly again but and although I am making progress, it seems to be slow. I am impatient although having done yoga for over 20 years has made slightly more ‘relaxed’ about things….. I will get there….. eventually!
25th March 2019 – A Busy Day
We had an early start at the doctors for the removal of my coil…… not the most pleasant experience but hey, needs must!
I also picked up my prescription for my tablets….. here’s to the start of the long journey!
It’s been so gorgeous outside today – a proper spring day so we donned our walking gear and went for a 4.5 mile walk. We’re so lucky to live on the edge of the Peak District and we can be away on the hills from our doorstep in around 15-20 minutes. I never tire of the views – the clouds and light always give a different view. I’ve also been looking forward to getting our and about to see the spring lambs jumping and playing in the fields. this walk didn’t disappoint as there were loads of them. The lambing season always reminds me of ‘new starts’ and of ‘carefree times’ – I am so looking forward to recovering and enjoying the spring and summer.
26th March 2019 – Start of my Tamoxifen Journey
I’ve started on my Tamoxifen today…. fingers crossed for a smooth ride! I’ve decided to take it when I get up in a morning. I’ve been told to take it at the same time each day – I’m a ‘literal’ thinking person so always focus on the exact meaning of words so when someone tells me that I need to take a tablet at the same time each day, this does of course mean at 7.03am each day! Whilst I am aware of this, it’s not actually going to happen and I rationalise the process by thinking it’s not going to make any difference if I take it 1 or even 2 hours either side!
Despite being an accountant, I’m also a ‘wordy person’ – I have an eye for spelling and grammatical errors (yikes – should I have really mentioned this on my blog….. what if I have made a mistake?? Typing error – obviously!). I took my english language O’Level 2 years early and got a good grade and this is despite not reading. I failed my english literature O’Level because I never read the books – I’ve always preferred to be doing something ‘active’ as opposed to sitting in a chair and reading. I guess this is also down to being a literal thinker – I hate fiction!
I definitely interpret things literally so for example, if someone said to me ‘I’m thirsty’, I would just think it was a simple statement about thirst. On the other side of the spectrum, the inferential person will infer meaning into the statement and make an assumption about the meaning behind what is said sou would probably offer the person something to drink. I am very black and white which is probably why this journey has been very matter of fact! I can’t change it. I can’t do anything about it. I just need to get on with it and deal with it.
28th March 2019
I popped into Tesco to get my mum some flowers and just thought I’d have a nosey around the clothes section.
I wasn’t particularly after anything and definitely not new underwear (bras) but I did notice that they did have some that were padded and non-wired and they did have my size. We don’t have a huge selection of stores in town (Tesco and Next) and as I’m still not mobile in terms of driving, I cannot venture out to more appropriate stores. I therefore decided to try them on – surprisingly they fitted quite nicely. They don’t feel as nice as my usual underwired bras but at least they were comfortable and more importantly, I’d be able to wear all my normal clothes again without the chunky sports bra showing through.
To top it all, they were an absolute bargain – a pack of two (one white and one black) for £10! They would certainly do for an interim measure.
Back to Top
1 - The Journey Begins click here
2 - Diagnosis click here
3 - MRI Scan click here
4 - Results Confirmation click here
5 - Biopsy click here
6 - Reconstruction Options click here
7 - Time to Decide click here
8 - Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy click here
9 - Lymph Node Biopsy results click here
10 - The Big Op click here
11 - Day 1 Post Op click here
12 - Day 2 Discharge Day click here
13 - Week 1 Post Op click here
14 - Week 2 Post Op click here
15 - Week 3 Post Op click here
16 - Week 4 Post Op click here
17 - Week 5 Post Op (you're on this page)
18 - Week 6 Post Op click here
19 - Week 7 Post Op click here
20 - Weeks 8-13 Post Op click here
21 - 5 Months Post Op click here
OhBoob! 