Tamoxifen and a Vampire’s House

Tamoxifen

I hate this medication. Why? It has ruined my life. In July 2016, I started it and stopped it a couple of times because it made me severely depressed. Also, my oncologist did not give me any indication of my chances of getting cancer again if I didn’t take Tamoxifen. I re-started on 11/21/2016 because on that day my oncologist told me that I had a 50% chance of getting breast cancer again if I didn’t take it.  I have asked about different options but I was told that because of my age this was the only medication.

Side effects I have from Tamoxifen:

joint pain, general pain, increased insomnia, increased memory problems, confusion, unsteady, vertigo, lack of interest in things (including life), increased hot flashes, more intense hot flashes, red eyes (looks like I’m high all the time), malaise, poor appetite and increased neuropathy pain. I think I have more but my mind is foggy right now.

Medications I’m taking:

• Effexor 37.5mg in the morning and 75mg at night – does not help with my side effects
• Neurontin 600mg twice a day – still have neuropathy pain
• Ambien 10mg at night – still have insomnia
• Tamoxifen 20mg at night (horrible side effects)

So, I stopped taking Tamoxifen. I can’t handle the side effects. I’ve been off this medication for a week now and have actually had interest in playing video games. I built a modern house for my vampire. The inside has more of a Victorian/vampire flare. I have put it on the Sims 4 gallery. It took me several hours but I did it! Even though, my interest in playing Sims has returned, I still feel really bad and fatigued. Thanks for reading and thanks for all the support!

Front view. Her rose bushes have died and her landscaping is overgrown.

View of upper deck. That big board is not a wall. It’s for painting murals.

Top view of her house.

Her kitchen.

Her bedroom.

Her bathroom. Right now, she’s taking a shower.

If you would like to download, my id is: VampCatz.

Happy Simming!

 

 

 

Cancer recap and Sims

Hello Simmers!

I’m back for a bit. Sorry, I haven’t posted in awhile but I’ve been having a tough time. Let me do a quick recap of my cancer journey:

• 6/15/15 found lump in left breast
• 7/15/15 confirmed lump and cancer cells will mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy (why a month later? Well, my husband had fallen off a ladder at work and broke his back about the same time that I found a lump. Then, in July we had to move because the landlord was selling his house.)
• 8/4/15 to 11/12/2015 chemotherapy (left me anemic, with chemo fog, early menopause and with neuropathy in my feet and fingers, plus other problems) My hair did grow back – it’s curly now.
• 2/3/2016 double mastectomy (cancer only in one breast but I didn’t want to have to worry about breast cancer)
• 4/18/2016 – 6/2/2016 Radiation. Along with radiation, I had 2 infections (left breast area) and was hospitalized for one of them.
• 6/21/2016 to present: 3 more infections to the same area (left breast)
• 12/2016 to 1/2o17 Went to a Lymphedema Massage therapist for my left arm..had about 1 Liter of fluid in my arm
• Presently, I take Neurontin (for neuropathy), Effexor (originally just for hot flashes), and Tamoxifen (presumably so I don’t get cancer again).

Stay tuned for Tamoxifen, my horror story. Meanwhile, in Simville, someone is abducted.

“This is my favorite plate. I refuse to put it down for any reason.”

Umm, what’s going on? He has an arm sprouting out of his chest!

I had to make Tamoxifen another post. This would’ve been really long if I hadn’t. So, stay tuned for Tamoxifen, my horror story. Thanks for reading and subscribing!

 

 

 

Bobo & Roo – off to San Myshuno

Selfie Time!

Back to Bobo and Roo….Bobo was eating breakfast when he received a phone call from his friend, Sadie. She wanted Bobo to move to the city, San Myshuno, and help her with cause “No Sims Left Behind”. Bobo had a good career as a scientist but Sadie was very convincing. As soon as Roo returned from school, they would look for a place to live.

I don’t know  why they went apartment hunting in pajamas.

Roo “I’m bored. Can we go now?” Bobo “How about this apartment? It’s near a high school, basketball court and an art museum.” Roo “Yea, ok.”

Even with selling all their furniture, they couldn’t afford the penthouse or a fancier apartment. Oh well, this one isn’t too bad. It’s a two bedroom, one bath and it’s near the art district.

Bobo checking out videos. Bobo, my cat, is addicted to one certain video on YouTube. It’s mouse hunt. He will stare at us until we play it. I had to cut him down to once a day because he was smacking the TV trying to get the mouse.

This isn’t the mouse hunt video; it’s birds. Roo likes the bird videos better. He, also, will smack the TV. So far, they haven’t scratched or knocked it down. Roo is 11 months old and Bobo is 5 or 6 yrs old in this picture.

As for me, I’ve been battling fatigue. I’m still on the road to recovery from breast cancer, Stage 3A, invasive. I thought I would be finished by now but nope. I’m having to go to a lymphedema therapist for my left arm. Apparently, I have about one liter of fluid in my arm. The therapist will do a lymph massage twice a week and order me a “sleeve” for my left arm. She said it would like a tight sock. If you or you know someone who has had a mastectomy, suggest going to a Lymphedema Massage Therapist. Their doctor will have suggested it at some point, mine did, but I had such bad chemo fog that it wasn’t until this month (November) that I remembered. I wish I had remembered sooner. It might have saved me from having several infections from excess lymph fluid. I’m staying as positive as possible. Some days are harder than others but I’m hanging in there.

Thanks for reading! Happy (late) Thanksgiving! #cats #sims4 #cancer #breast cancer

 

 

Guy and Paolo

Hello, I’m back! I’ve been busy since Easter and haven’t had time to play or blog. Friday (25th) was my birthday and to celebrate, I adopted Roo from Cloverhill Rescue. He’s 3mos old.  He’s playful and loves to cuddle.  My two older cats are slowly accepting him.  I had a hard time taking his picture because he’s always running around. He’s sooo tiny! Right now, he weighs 3lbs.

One morning, Guy got up early to make breakfast. For some reason, he couldn’t find his clothes. “Why did I get out bed for this?! Where are my clothes?! I can’t cook like this!” I had to zoom in for a closer like at his face. He is very angry yet inspired. I had forgotten that the update removes all cc from the game when I started playing. Don’t worry, he soon found his clothes.

“I love this new kitchen so much I’m gonna cook breakfast scramble for everyone” Guy and Paolo had contractors rebuild their house. One of the pipes under the house had busted and was spewing smelly gunk everywhere. The plumber told them it couldn’t be fixed without destroying the first floor. So, new house with new pipes.

The breakfast scramble smelled delish but cake is way better.  Guy thought, “It’s a breakfast food. I mean it does have eggs in it.”

Paolo had been encouraging him to workout lately and Guy decided to give it a try.  “I’ll  workout after Kristine goes to school. Working out can wait a few more minutes, he thought. Plus, he wanted to workout with Paolo who was still sleeping. Paolo had gotten home late from work last night. He should get another promotion soon. I think he is level 4 in the Athlete career.

Sometime later that day, Paolo and Guy went to a dance party. It was pretty lame as parties go. The only interesting thing that happened was Marcus tried to feel inside Eva’s stomach. No one knew why he did this. Not even Eva.

Side note: Paolo left the party angry because he thought it was lame. Guy had a good time even though all he did was “fertilize” a bush, eat and talk to Paolo and other people. I had to rebuild the house to get rid of the phantom smell. I never could figure out the source.

Cancer Treatment Update: My doctor finally removed the last drain yesterday (Tuesday). I made the mistake of looking at the bit that was inside me. Ugh. I’m a nurse and can handle a lot of grossness but jeez what I saw was really too much. It was flat looking and 1/2″ wide. Maybe not 1/2″ wide but it looked like it. No wonder it bothered me and no wonder it hurts when it’s removed. Ok, this is the removal process – clean the area, cut the stitch and yank out the tube. Then, clean the area and put a dressing on it. If you ever have a JP drain, now you know how it’ll be removed.  Amazingly, I can remove the dressing one day later and the insertion site will be healed. Today, I’m going to the radiation center and have radiation mapping done. The radiation doctor told me that it’ll take a week to finalize a treatment plan then I start radiation.  I’m getting closer to being finished with cancer treatment.

Happy Simming and thanks for reading!

Another visit with the Doc.

I’m going to the doctor today. Hopefully, she’ll yank these dang drains out. (feel free to replace dang with whatever curse word you use) The stupid things have been in for 6 weeks now. Last time I saw her, she did say that she would have to take them out eventually because she didn’t want to mess up my radiation schedule. She didn’t say mess up but I forgot the exact words she used. I so want to take a shower. Tired of tub baths. In other news, I saw this exciting workout outfit.  He has on a weight belt! I did not know that outfit exsisted in the Sims 4.

I also came across Geoffry Landgraab’s elder double. Seriously, the guy even had the same glasses. Looks like it’s time for a old timey shoot-out! Nah, they just ignored each other.

I think my kids’ sense of humor is rubbing off on me. I found this painting hilarious. Paolo looks like he is laughing at the painting, as well. He was painting a flirty painting at the time. One on my kids asked why Guy was in his underwear. T0 clarify, that’s his swimsuit. They were in the hot tub before painting.

This picture needs macaroni! I shall not look where I’m putting them cause I’m just that good.

Yep, perfect. I think it needs a few sprinkles.

*Sprinkle, Sprinkle*

I immediately regret my decision for sprinkles. Why did I add sprinkles?

I will try to post tomorrow about today’s doctor appointment. If she doesn’t take at least one out, I may be to bummed to post. I really want these drains gone so I can start the last leg of my cancer treatment – radiation. I’m not counting breast reconstruction as treatment because umm I don’t want to. I guess technically it is because I had bilat. mastectomy but I just want to be done with cancer treatment so I’m not counting it. I managed to add audio to my Sims 4 video. I promise I will get better with my videos just bear with me. It’s a learning experience for me.

Here’s the link:   https://youtu.be/FUXZn9KC4Uc

Thanks so much for reading and watching!

 

 

 

 

 

More Cancer Treatment

Before my appointment with my radiation doctor, I tried to take a nap. I say tried because I kept feeling someone staring at me:

She stared at me for 15 minutes. Crazy cat. It’s official I have to have 6 weeks of radiation. Oh well. I did learn that as of right now I have a 30% chance of getting cancer again. After, radiation, it will drop to 7%. I certainly don’t want to go through chemo again so radiation it is. I have to go back on the 21st to get 3-D mapping of the area done. That’s so the radiation doesn’t affect my heart, lungs etc. Then I start radiation…I think a week later. I forgot what the doc said. I was nervous and now I can’t remember when he said I’d start. Oops. Well, they’ll let me know on the 21st.

My Sims 4 has been lagging so I don’t have any new Guy and Paolo pictures. I probably need to get rid of some mods or cc. Until I play them again, here are some random Sims.

I’ve played darts before and never threw one behind me. If that guy behind him had been any closer, the dart would’ve gotten him in the foot.

“Aw crap! I got my hand stuck inside the computer again.” Looks like that hurts.

Death at the workplace. So, sad. Grim left the urn there as a nice reminder. Thanks, Grim. Way to make the workplace awful. Every day, people would stop by the urn and cry. The inmates were always sad. I finally moved the urn to upstairs.

Ensuring a job promotion by napping in front of your boss.

Has anyone ever made it to level 10 in the Detective career? I haven’t. My Sims get to level 5 then constantly want a day off and get tense if they don’t get one. I made it to level 10 Scientist without this issue.

Here’s a new video… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvdIPtnCjnE