AWAKE.........

Just one more! This is an example of how I would like sleep every night......

PERFECT xxxxxxx

Heavy day today. Counselling, then podiatry, then breast onco, then choir. All went well, continue Letrozole till Feb 2020, and await dexa scan. Phewwwww! Xxxx

, hope it Wnet well today and that LP,behaved himself. He is very good at nipping if you are' looked after properly! Xx

Good night everyone sweet dreams 

So Sal as you lie here wide awake, thinking about 'stuff'! Is there a way you can explain how you feel about your appointment in 6.5hrs! 

Hmmmmmmm let me think, how do I feel. Well after the disastrous appointment last time. I can honestly say I feel, complete and utter.......

I'm really concerned that it's going to hurt as much as last time and that they won't be able to do it, AGAIN!!

I'm trying so hard to remind myself it's not my fault and that my body has changed a lot since my last smear 3years ago! But can't help feeling it's me doing something wrong., I do try as hard as I can to relax. But it's not easy! As you all know.,

Anyway I should TRY to get some sleep! Love and Hugs to all. Good Luck to anyone else with an appointment or treatment today!

, well done on getting through another Chemo session. However really sorry to hear it was such a nightmare! Sending you a (((((((((((BIG HUG)))))))))) xxxxx

Oh LondonLass the first thing that happens when being told to relax is we actually tense up. So maybe think about that and you may relax! Its far from the most comfortable of things. I am not sure what pain relief you actually have but some find it beneficial to take some pain relief around an hour before, which can sometimes help. Other then that try some slow and steady breathing exercises, and continue to do breath during the smear test. I used to hate having it and its one of the things with having had womb cancer and having a total hysterectomy i have no cervix, so no more smear tests - great!.

Then I realised i have to still continue to have internals to make sure everything is ok up there, and more often at the moment, currently every four months. I am unsure how they will do it but try to have something to the side of your leg and push hard out against the side as much as you can, as i recently discovered that if your pelvic muscles are pushing out to the side it opens up the area and helps relax the actual cervix area and does reduce the discomfort considerably, so try that if you can too. Of course if they actually stood to the side of you as they insert the spatum (not sure how to spell it) then you could of course have the pleasure of trying to knock them over, but since they tend to stay in front of us, then a wall and pillow to push against will have to do. 

Good luck today and make sure LP stays to your side of your head i think he was alittle embarrassed last time, a view he doesn’t want to see again, no wonder when he grows up he wants to be a Doctor but not a gynaecologist! Some men can’t handle it, well some cant handle hearing about girly bits anyway like the bloke at the bar last Saturday , as i saw him slowly edge away with horror on his face not sure how I kept my face straight, but i think we all definitely scared him off ! 

Actually the guys face was very simlar to this dogs expression 

Mind you he shouldn’t of been listening to our conversation. Plus if the dogs expression gives you a giggle focus on that and maybe it will make the whole thing  less uncomfortable.

Hi GBear your post made me smile  

Sal LondonLass the last time I tried to have a smear test, 3 nurses were unsuccessful!  I was referred to the hospital Gynaecology Dept  and finally saw someone who knew what they were doing and was sympathetic. When the next test comes up ( I need to check the year!) I will insist on the Gynae Dept again. 

I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up an hour ago and now wide awake

I went to the monthly Secondary Breast Cancer Meeting in my area Wednesday ( organised by Breast Cancer Care), there was a speaker whose specialist area was sleep!!

It appears that he is not in favour of Melatonin so I will probably stop it as it doesn’t appear to help me anyway. He made the usual recommendations about cool room and how to wind down. etc. 

I questioned him about insomnia and Sleep Apnea, he recommended looking again into CPAP machines. I now realise the sleep nurse I saw was not on the ball! 

He thought that a Mandibular Assisted Device would help me based on looking at my jaw.  Also, he recommended St Thomas’s Hospital in London  for having the best sleep clinic in the South. So all in all a very useful talk.

Love Judith xx. 

Having second opinions is always a good thing to have but i would definitely speak to your medical team before stopping a medication, they advise if you need to stop for any reason like for example a reaction to it they say to see them straight away. Medical advances change all the time and from area to area it seems too, as some are advised one way and another the other, this leads to alot of confusing situations and i am in the firm belief that all treatments are rolled out tge same way and that the best possible treatments are always available. Its interesting about tge cpap machine i have heard they are suppose to be good. What does your team and GP think of all this perhaps theycan refer you to the sleep clinic in London, as I assume this is how its done, i hope it helps you. Sleep deprivation is not good and effects our general well being so it’s important to find a suitable solution. Talking about sleep i better go and try abit more sleep I have a few things i need to do before a meeting i have on Friday.

Hi GBear ,

I requested Melatonin from my GP it wasn’t prescribed to me as such.

My GP and dentist have each referred me, at my request to Guy’s and St Thomas’s in London regarding a MAD.

I’ve got an appointment 7 th Jan. Hopefully the mouth device will realign my jaw and this will decrease the sleep apnea. ( Live in hope). 

Judith xxx

Hi Helen Snowys Mum Bertie is gorgeous