Calcium calculator

After writing my blog yesterday, I tackled the question of an on-line calcium calculator. What a waste of time that was!

I tried half a dozen sites. None of them counted the sorts of foods we ate. They all assumed you had the same meals every week. We don’t. They gave figures on weekly amounts. I’ve no idea how many cups of tea I drink a week. I do know how much milk we get through in a day & it is only the milk that provides the calcium but that wasn’t asked. I’m also aware that when I last did this the amount of calcium varied accorded to whether you drank skimmed, semi-skimmed or full fat milk but those variations weren’t shown in the figures on the websites. Sometimes they didn’t give the quantities just “nuts”. Well, today we’re having a stir fry including some cashew nuts (are they even considered as nuts for this purpose?). However the amount of calcium I take in will clearly vary according to whether I have one ounce or four ounces.

When I last had a Dexascan (bone density scan) some 6 years ago, I was given a paper list of a wide range of ingredients which covered most of the food I eat. Unfortunately I threw that list out some years ago when I’d established my average over a few weeks. I could find no list on-line with so comprehensive a list of food ingredients. I will just have to give up the idea of checking my calcium intake & talk to the GP when he phones next month. Hopefully he will have more sense than the practice pharmacist (I wouldn’t guarantee that) or at least suggest a website I haven’t been able to find so far.

Busy week

It’s been a busy week, so much so I haven’t had the time to get onto the computer.

As usual Tuesday saw the arrival of our home help. Wednesday the man came to replace the window. Yesterday was a mixture of ironing & our gardener coming. All go as I say. This morning, however, is all mine to do whatever I fancy.

I had the last of my bisphosphonates on Monday. What a performance! It took them 40 minutes to successfully get the cannula in. However, it is done & I will not have to visit oncology again, at least not for this bout of breast cancer.

I asked about the calcium & was told I would have to see my GP to sort that out. On the way home we stopped at the surgery to make an appointment. I was quite happy to have a telephone appointment as I didn’t really need to be seen. I was told I couldn’t have one. However, the practice pharmacist would ring next day.

So on Tuesday the phone went. What a waste of time that was! He kept saying I could get enough calcium from my diet. I kept telling him I was on a high calcium diet otherwise I was likely to have osteoporosis again.  The only way I could get to the dosage of calcium naturally was by eating a lot of cheese, cream & chocolate, all of which I was happy to do but I was supposed to avoid eating because of blood pressure & high cholesterol problems. He suggested I try the calcium calculator on line. Since I haven’t changed my diet particularly I can’t see why the amount of calcium I eat should have gone up but I will give it a go. I’m to ring if I only manage half the amount of calcium intake for a normal person, then, & only then, he can prescribe some calcium tablets. Grr.

The receptionist at the surgery had said the pharmacist could arrange a GP appointment in order for me to arrange a Dexascan (bone density scan) to check how my bones were doing. I’m overdue one but when I’d seen a GP about it last year he’d thought I ought to wait until I’d finished the chemo. That has now finished. Oh no, the pharmacist couldn't do that! So I had another long wait on the phone to make the GP appointment that I’d tried to arrange on Monday at the surgery. I’ve got an appointment though it’s not until mid-April. It’s just as well is nothing too urgent. In the meanwhile I’ll make a log of my calcium intake from my diet.

On Wednesday I was amazed by how much water had got between the panes of glass in the faulty window. When the man took the old one out you could see there was about an inch of water sloshing about inside. The replacement at least didn’t cost us anything. And we were assured any problems don’t hesitate to ring.

After our gardener’s visit the front garden is once more full of plants. We were given a £25 voucher, valid until the end of the month, by the garden centre we bought the plants from last week. So yesterday we went to spend that. Our gardener instructed us we could do with two more heathers, more ericaceous compost & some fish blood & bone fertiliser. We found those but were still under the £25. We looked around for something else. The Fox’s eyes landed on a fabulous flowering cherry tree. The flowers are a deeper pink than usual with an almost red centre to the flower. It wasn’t until we got to the till we noticed the price, rather higher than we’d anticipated, still it should look fabulous next spring.

One last time

The sun is shining. There’s even some warmth in it. I’ve put the washing out to dry. A few things have even dried already.

It’s my last day of chemo today. I feel relieved & a little jubilant. I’m hoping the warmth of the day & my multiple layers (T-shirt, jumper, thick long-sleeved blouse, thick cardigan) will mean all will go well. I shall be wearing mittens for the journey to warm my hands as much as possible.  They usually have difficulty getting the cannula in as my hand is usually too cold so my fine veins shrink even thinner. My veins also tend to be scaredy cats and move as the needle approaches them. The putting the cannula in is the most traumatic part of the whole business. The rest is just boring as the bisphosphonates drip in & sometimes I feel very tired for a day or two afterwards.

The important thing, though, is this is the last dose. As far as the cancer I will continued to be checked annually for a while longer but that is all. So far all is clear. I can move on with life again. Three cheers.