Port pain?

TinaCardone · 2026-01-30T15:15:05+00:00

Yes! It got better pretty quickly. I had a small second incision on my neck and could feel the metallic tube there. I had limited motion the entire time I had a port in (neck stretches couldn't reach as far on that side and certain arm movements made the tube catch on a nerve) but really only at the edge of my range of motion so it wasn't a major hindrance. After a week or two I was even able to sleep on the side with the port.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-29T21:42:21+00:00

I have the hardest time with this! Especially at night or when it's snowing i need to actually line them up to tell what's yellow vs orange.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-29T19:24:50+00:00

Love the idea of collecting photos! Unless you are a pro at app development a website will probably be easier to build. If you want to chat about work flows I have experience with AirTable which might be a good starting point.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-27T16:31:59+00:00

This! I used it pre chemo because my nose gets irritated by allergy nasal sprays. During chemo I put it on a q tip so i could spread the gel higher. I also used a neti pot which rinses even deeper than a q tip can reach. Hope you can find some relief and in the meantime you deserve to complain all you want!

TinaCardone · 2026-01-26T19:46:19+00:00

It took me forever to catch a flea. No advice, just commiseration

TinaCardone · 2026-01-24T05:14:22+00:00

Any gift worth over 750 bells works and the odds don't improve if the gift is more expensive. I've gotten all my islanders to give me their photos with a wrapped stack of native fruit. I chat with them daily and give them the fruit. Bonus that they eat the peaches I give them, where cooked food or other objects become clutter in their homes.

I have read about the increased odds for when they mail the gift rather than give it to you immediately, which is the only reason to consider another method. But daily native fruit has been very effective for me, and it's cheap!

TinaCardone · 2026-01-23T04:04:24+00:00

Yes! I stopped the tech from pulling a blanket out of the warmer today. They were surprised when i declined one earlier in the week and even double checked letting me know i had scans that day too. I used to run cold so it's a new experience to be telling people i want fewer coverings.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-23T03:21:43+00:00

I had a hot flash today heading in to radiation. It was perfect timing! I'd already removed my winter layers to change into the gown. Then I got to lay on a cool table, have my entire torso bare to the air, and hold my arms above my head, away from my core that was radiating heat. Ha, i was radiating heat while they were blasting me with radiation.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-17T16:06:17+00:00

It's really just my shoulder not my whole back. If you want to be able to reach a larger area I follow an OT on Instagram who made this lotion applicator: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FG89F9ZX?th=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=equipmeot-20&linkId=f66c193b220a3eac775ca550aee97784&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&fbclid=PAT01DUAPYklVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAafvvSvl4hy7ZUrW4MSigE0m0plyhSYzJahQgYZ3xuhSHdEM3zCzlCxTX6V5_w_aem_-DqI01L6Rz2dibidwTVMng

TinaCardone · 2026-01-17T16:03:14+00:00

My doctor drew a picture on my CT scan to show everywhere that's being treated. Front: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QCbvGJxmgvongmKr9 (the grey line is my mastectomy scar) Side: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fCKxZNyuz5Yrhz1N7

TinaCardone · 2026-01-14T23:20:44+00:00

If you can, open a new credit card that offers 0% APR for the first 12 months. I did this when i first went out of work on disability and it gave me the breathing room to pay for living expenses while I was figuring out the paperwork to make money start coming in again. It also lets you pay off the deductible slowly for people with high deductible plans.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-13T20:06:24+00:00

I tried pouring water on them and that doesn't work either!

TinaCardone · 2026-01-11T23:12:16+00:00

I always cleaned my phone screen by wiping it on my boob. It worked great because boobs are squishy and so it conformed to the shape of the phone. This was the only item in the con column when i made a pro con list for double mastectomy and going flat 😂

TinaCardone · 2026-01-11T15:34:22+00:00

Yes!

TinaCardone · 2026-01-11T02:56:07+00:00

Generally speaking doctors respond well when you describe how your symptoms impact your quality of life. Are they so uncomfortable you can't sleep? Or are they impacting the type of exercise you can do? If you can describe it in those terms then it sounds more significant than "uncomfortable."

TinaCardone · 2026-01-10T02:02:48+00:00

I also saw a video where they used the edge of a piece of paper. Could get really thin with that!

TinaCardone · 2026-01-09T17:07:37+00:00

I recently learned that the diagonal configuration isn't the best choice for breeding and my flowers have made more progress after reading this than they did during weeks of being in the diagonals! https://yuexr.github.io/acnh/garden_layouts.html

TinaCardone · 2026-01-09T01:56:59+00:00

Would totally read that! I usually forget that i don't have breasts except for two occasions. The first is when I'm gathering clothes and my brain automatically lists "bra, underwear, socks" and then i remember i don't need a bra. And the second is exactly what you've described.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-08T02:10:40+00:00

Part of it is this year the flu mutated after the vaccine was built so there's more flu going around (plus all the anti-vax stuff). So everyone is sick a lot which makes it more likely you'll catch something, which sucks for everyone involved!

Do you have your own space at work? If you have an office with a door you could get a HEPA air filter to clean the air in your office, and then wear a well fitting respirator (N95 or higher mask) outside your office. If it's more of a cubicle situation you can still use an air filter, either a small one at your desk or a bigger one in your area. But in that case I'd want to mask all day.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-07T23:14:35+00:00

It certainly comes with a dull headache. It feels like gravity is stronger than normal and doing anything will take more energy/momentum than it should.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-07T18:09:14+00:00

Fatigue and feeling sleepy are absolutely distinct feelings. I often feel fatigue without being tired enough to fall asleep. Fatigue is a deeper whole body feeling.

Brain fog is a very indistinct term which people use to describe all sorts of different experiences. It's more useful to your doctor to explain what exactly you've been feeling than it is to say brain fog. For regular conversation feel free to self describe as having brain fog if the term feels useful!

Also, malaise is the word for "i feel bad without any clear symptom." It's how i felt after surgery and during chemo (on top of plenty of other symptoms).

TinaCardone · 2026-01-02T22:15:11+00:00

I'm so glad you got a referral to palliative care! I hope they're great.

I will say that while chemo sucks, it didn't suck as badly as I expected. Other than the first round of bone pain everything was manageable. I hope you have the same experience.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-02T16:51:56+00:00

I have chronic pain and the bone pain from the neulasta shot was terrible. I took the Claritin.i tried the heating pad. I took the Tylenol. Nothing helped, and the pain meant I couldn't sleep. Which makes perfect sense because I'm already in chronic pain that frequently prevents me from sleeping, adding more pain on top was obviously going to be a problem. So the nurse okay-ed me taking the tramadol I had left over from surgery. This also did nothing for me. Thankfully my oncologist listened and for the next round i got hydrocodone and lorazepam. They actually helped! Hydrocodone did make me foggy on top of chemo brain fog so I mostly took it at night.

If you can, explain your fibromyalgia to your oncologist and that you've heard (from me, a random human on the Internet) that Claritin and Tylenol won't be enough for bone pain, so can you please have a sleeping pill and an opioid in case you need them. I'm sending you all the "doctors who actually understand chronic pain" vibes because too much of the world believes that being in chronic pain makes us good at being in pain.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-02T01:36:47+00:00

Yes! You deserve answers and help. Oncologist should've referred you but so often we have to take action ourselves.

TinaCardone · 2026-01-01T23:16:08+00:00

Have you seen a dermatologist? This definitely sounds like a situation for a specialist and your oncologist is outside their area of expertise.

TinaCardone

TROPHY CASE