JUST FOR TODAY -- Daily Commitment Thread for 2021

1) Weight 150#
2) Plan meals most days & prelog meals/snacks whenever possible on MFP
3) Post weekly weigh-in on JFT for accountability. Saturday a.m. is my "official" weigh-in day, and I peek occasionally other days. My digital scale only shows half pound increments & I'm too cheap to buy a fancier scale.
4) Take measurements & log on MFP every month end ~ remember this year! ~ 1.31.21 ~ 2.28.21 ~ 4.3.21 ~ 4.30.21 not pretty ~ skipped 5.31.21 & 6.30.21 ~ 7.31.21 accountable ~ 9.1.21 horrible after vacation but recorded ~ 9.30.21 small improvements yay ~ 10.31.21
5) Exercise 5-6x per week (minimum 4x) ~ mostly walking but include weights/circuit & other x-training
6) Participate in race or challenge events even if virtual ~ started MapMyWalk You Vs. Year 1021K on Jan. 1 / virtual 50 Mile Frenzy 11.27.20 - 1.15.21 (replaced Frenzy on the Fox for Jan. 2021) 50.37 miles 12.17.20 and completed 97.44 miles total / Tour de Northeast WI virtual challenge: cover distance from Oshkosh to Gills Rock (139 miles) 1.1.21 - 3.31.21 ~ completed distance on 3.21.21 / 30/45 Build to Bellin virtual challenge 30 min. activity for total of 1,350 min. in 45 days 3.1.21 - 4.15.21 = 146 out of 339 in 34:00:42 / Hope 2021 Face Mask virtual 5K (benefits No Kid Hungry) anytime 5.11.21 in 58:04 / 100 Miles in May virtual challenge ~ 134.68 miles would've been more if I hadn't sluffed off on dog walks one week / Bellin (virtual) 10K on 6.19.21 after thunderstorm in 1:45:49 ave. pace 17:02 per mile / Titletown Wellness Shoreline Challenge: virtual distance from Gills Rock to Pleasant Prairie (228 miles) as many times as possible 6.12.21 - 11.26.21 / Packers 5K IN PERSON 7.24.21 48:36 ave. pace 15:39 / Bellin Women's Pink Pumpkin 5K IN PERSON 10.2.21 47:34 ave. pace 15:19 second half pace 14:48 / Run for the Hill of It (trail) 5K 10.9.21 in person 52:10 ave. pace 16:48 hill climb 1:44
7) Be considerate and loving to hubby and have fun together ~ excellent goal last year that should be repeated
8) Make efforts to keep in touch with parents, siblings and friends (most live in other towns or states) ~ had this goal in 2020 and how ironic
9) Declutter bedroom, home office and basement ~ made good progress in 2020 & want to keep it up

I did a thing this week... I decided that after 9 years and 7 months of taking an Estrogen-Blocker (Aromasin) was long enough. I was put on this medication right after mastectomies, chemo and radiation were done. It is used prophylactically and used to be recommended for 5 years after treatment of estrogen-fed breast cancer. When I hit the 5 year mark, my Oncologist told me that new studies show that 10 years is now the recommendation, especially for someone with my stage and aggressiveness of the cancer. He said if I were his mom or wife, he'd want me to stay on it another 5 years. So of course I did....almost....I stayed on 9 years and 7 months out of 10 years.

I've been struggling internally with what the right thing for me to do is. This medication has a $h!t ton of side effects...and I have almost all of them which have just gotten worse through the years. Everything from extreme fatigue, weight gain, increased hunger, swollen hands and feet, joint and bone pain, calcium depletion, depression, anxiety, generalized feeling of being unwell, hot flashes, excessive sweating, and on and on.... These are the most common and I have every single one of these.

So, when I woke up Tuesday morning and my right ankle, the only joint in my legs that DOESN'T have evidence of arthritis, hurt so freakin' bad that I could hardly stand up and weight bear on it, I just had enough. Done. I called my Oncologist and asked if I was close enough to go off it or would I be putting myself in significant danger of recurrence. He agreed I had taken it for a long time and I could go off now. I really wanted to make sure before I go back to an Orthopedic surgeon that I know for a fact the pain is not caused from the medication. I needed to know. So I didn't take it Tuesday night. The last dose was Monday night.

Do you know what the coolest part is? I woke up Wednesday morning and since that morning (3 days now) I have NOT had one single hot flash, no sweats, no fatigue, I don't need a fan blowing on me at night anymore, my fingers are getting thinner, my knees and ankles feel probably 50% better already, and I lost 3.6 lbs since Tuesday morning and I have felt a shift in my mood! Like I'm literally waking up in a good mood and feeling happy! OH. MY. GOD! This is life-changing!

My husband and I decided that I'm 10 years out from treatment now and it was time to close that chapter and move on. They told me after treatment that I'd never be the same...but that I'd find my "new normal". I started this medication right away so I assumed that WAS my new normal and although I'm grateful to be alive, it was a pretty *kitten* new normal. So after 3 days of feeling like a different person, I am so excited to continue to see how things improve and what else improves as I finally, after 10 years, find my REAL new normal!

I know it sounds silly, but I'm on meds for so many things that I might not even need anymore, including antidepressants, anxiety meds, hot flash stuff, etc. To say I'm happy and excited for the future for the first time in a very long time is an understatement! I just wanted to share....it's a huge deal for my husband (who has had to put up with my crankiness) and me!!