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Post by healthy11 on Jun 10, 2015 8:48:47 GMT -5
Bros, I hope you're still able to do some of the things you enjoy, and take your mind off of the medical stuff at least some of the time. I know you've always had a "knack" for computers. If a person needed to buy a new laptop, what would you recommend? (My husband was using our son's 6-yr-old Toshiba, and it stopped working two days ago.)
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Post by bros on Jun 10, 2015 14:17:08 GMT -5
Just woke up from a nap, ate some orange jello and a plain donut.
Depends on what he wants to use it for - if he is interested in a tablet, he might want to try out the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 i5 - I got one the other day, it is pretty good. Got it refurbished on Amazon.com through Microsoft for $849 - includes the $130 keyboard and $50 writing pen (not much use for me, but w/e). Normally, that would cost around $1200 new. The refurbished tablet looks brand new - works excellently. Apparently most of them are just ones returned to microsoft for minor things like the original power cables not working and people don't bother troubleshooting them and just return them.
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Post by michellea on Jun 10, 2015 16:41:57 GMT -5
Wow - that sounds like a deal! I've seen the ads on tv for the surface pro - it looks great!
I've bought refurbished iPads and iPods - much less expensive and worked perfectly - they even came with warranty - Refurbished is the way to go!
Bros - are you watching any TV series? My daughter came home and is watching Banshee. Much too violent for me, but she and my husband like it. I'm more of an HGTV girl with a little NCIS sprinkled in!
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Post by bros on Jun 10, 2015 18:29:50 GMT -5
Not watching much at the moment - TV season just ended. Catching up on iZombie, Game of Thrones, and Blacklist, though. Might watch Sense8 on Netflix and I'm waiting for the new season of Orange is the New Black on Friday.
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 11, 2015 8:29:20 GMT -5
Thanks for the info - my husband already has an ipad to satisfy his "tablet needs" and he's not sure if he wants to bother with another touchscreen-type device. He just wants a Windows laptop that he can run Office 365 on...
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Post by bros on Jun 11, 2015 16:39:35 GMT -5
Get a $600 lenovo on amazon or newegg then - lenovos are solid machines.
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 11, 2015 18:30:18 GMT -5
Yes, our son also talked about Lenovo, or Asus or even HP or Toshiba, but he was adamant about not getting a Dell... In the "old days," I remember Dell having a good reputation, but I guess that's no longer the case.
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Post by bros on Jun 11, 2015 21:14:50 GMT -5
Dell has around a 25% failure rate within the first 12 months
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Post by Mayleng on Jun 12, 2015 7:08:37 GMT -5
I have the a Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 11, and I love it. Might be too small for what your husband wants to do, but it works great for me for when I travel, and it is fast. Don't get the Toshiba, it tends to overheat. My son's did not last very long.
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 13, 2015 14:33:59 GMT -5
He got an HP 15-r210dx from Amazon for just over $400, and so far, he says it's looking good... Fortunately, he does backups of his key files every week, and he found out he can get the Office Suite through the community college he teaches at, so now he's just reloading stuff.
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Post by bros on Jun 13, 2015 18:22:53 GMT -5
haven't been hungry yesterday or today
been making myself eat until I think I would be full.
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Post by Mayleng on Jun 13, 2015 19:00:24 GMT -5
I am glad you are making yourself eat. You need your strength. I hope you are eating nutritious food. I hope you get your appetite back.
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Post by bros on Jun 13, 2015 19:55:45 GMT -5
eating mild things like rye bread, toasted bread with cheese, baked donuts, muffins, bagels with cream cheese, rice, pasta, etc
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 13, 2015 21:36:30 GMT -5
Not sure what your regular diet consists of, but it sounds like you're getting plenty of carbs. Would you consider any fruits, like watermelon, for nutritional variety? Even when my stomach is upset, I've usually found watermelon or bananas to be palatable. www.livestrong.com/article/410471-watermelon-nutritional-facts/
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Post by bros on Jun 14, 2015 8:48:46 GMT -5
Can't have a lot of uncooked fruit with my severe neutropenia.
My normal diet has a lot more meat in it.
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 14, 2015 16:32:45 GMT -5
According to sites like www.lls.org/managing-your-cancer/food-and-nutrition/neutropenic-diet even with neutropenia, it's okay to eat fresh fruits that have thick outer peels, like bananas, oranges, and melons. I realize the main thing is to keep eating; presumably you also take vitamins or supplements for additional nutrition? You sure don't need scurvy or other problems.
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Post by bros on Jun 14, 2015 21:26:56 GMT -5
No vitamins or supplements - my levels of Iron and things are perfectly normal, as I have non-iron deficient anemia
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Post by Mayleng on Jun 15, 2015 8:37:44 GMT -5
How about cooked veggies like steam Broccoli, carrots, etc.
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Post by michellea on Jun 15, 2015 12:16:00 GMT -5
Bros - Just wondering if it is easier to eat many small meals rather than the traditional 3 square meals per day? Sometimes little bits can actually help to stabilize any nausea.
Other than the nausea, how do you feel? I hope that you are able to sleep and maintain a bit of energy when during the day when you are awake.
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Post by bros on Jun 15, 2015 14:27:53 GMT -5
Bros - Just wondering if it is easier to eat many small meals rather than the traditional 3 square meals per day? Sometimes little bits can actually help to stabilize any nausea. Other than the nausea, how do you feel? I hope that you are able to sleep and maintain a bit of energy when during the day when you are awake. i've been snacking a bit - trying some food with fiber in it because the meds are causing... regularity issues. Haven't had nausea in a few days, other than little bursts of it here and there, but none long enough to even have time to grab the pills before it subsides and fades without incident. I've been feeling a bit tired lately, been getting 8-9 hours of sleep a night. Occasionally taking 30 minute-2 hour naps during the day.
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Post by Mayleng on Jun 15, 2015 14:42:56 GMT -5
Veggies have a lot of fibre (especially the greens), they are also good for fighting cancer.
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Post by bros on Jun 15, 2015 20:11:06 GMT -5
I'm just going to take a laxative tomorrow as recommended by my oncologist to make sure I am getting everything out.
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 15, 2015 20:17:17 GMT -5
I'd still let the Dr. know you aren't eating much in the way of fruits or vegetables; if you aren't taking any supplements, how are you getting Vitamin C, for example?
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Post by bros on Jun 16, 2015 8:29:34 GMT -5
I don't know, but my Vitamin C levels were perfectly normal at last check. My Vitamin D levels were normal too, which is even odder.
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Post by hsmom on Jun 16, 2015 14:06:49 GMT -5
I haven't been on this site in a while. I am sorry to hear about all that you are going through. I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and went through a course of chemotherapy (4 times 3 weeks apart). I didn't have nausea, but dealt with fatigue, aching bones, and also not wanting to eat much. A nutritionist looked at what and how much I was eating before beginning chemotherapy. She advised that I get more protein and for snacks she suggested peanut butter, hummus, and yogurt (preferably Greek; it has more protein). I snacked on apple with peanut butter, hummus with pita and pepper strips (green, yellow, and red). I also liked hummus with cucumber cut into sticks. I think I didn't have nausea as I had a lot of ginger (hot water with ginger syrup or tea). Unfortunately, ginger tea sold as tea bags don't do much. One has to cook ginger root in water. Here are two recipes I found useful and good. pegkerr.dreamwidth.org/1680406.htmlAs for regularity I relied on prune juice which for me works better than medication. Sunsweet makes one with and without extra pulp. It can be found is most supermarkets. Getting a lot of rest is great for dealing with fatigue, but getting outside (even if it's only sitting in your backyard) is even better. And, I walked whenever I could. Know that I am thinking of you.
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Post by michellea on Jun 16, 2015 15:48:43 GMT -5
hsmom - So glad to hear from you again. I hope you are doing well health wise!
Bros - Hope today is a good day! We've had some rain up in the Boston area - wondering if you sent it north from NJ?! Hope you can get out in the sunshine and enjoy a little Vitamin D therapy! (That's what I call sitting on the deck, soaking up the rays!)
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Post by bros on Jun 16, 2015 22:45:06 GMT -5
I haven't been on this site in a while. I am sorry to hear about all that you are going through. I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and went through a course of chemotherapy (4 times 3 weeks apart). I didn't have nausea, but dealt with fatigue, aching bones, and also not wanting to eat much. A nutritionist looked at what and how much I was eating before beginning chemotherapy. She advised that I get more protein and for snacks she suggested peanut butter, hummus, and yogurt (preferably Greek; it has more protein). I snacked on apple with peanut butter, hummus with pita and pepper strips (green, yellow, and red). I also liked hummus with cucumber cut into sticks. I think I didn't have nausea as I had a lot of ginger (hot water with ginger syrup or tea). Unfortunately, ginger tea sold as tea bags don't do much. One has to cook ginger root in water. Here are two recipes I found useful and good. pegkerr.dreamwidth.org/1680406.htmlAs for regularity I relied on prune juice which for me works better than medication. Sunsweet makes one with and without extra pulp. It can be found is most supermarkets. Getting a lot of rest is great for dealing with fatigue, but getting outside (even if it's only sitting in your backyard) is even better. And, I walked whenever I could. Know that I am thinking of you. My diet is pretty much the same pre-chemo, minus any meat (didn't want to risk eating meat when nauseous) and TV dinners for lunch - only frozen things I eat now are organic breakfast foods from Whole Foods. I've been drinking diet ginger ale all the time. I go outside when I go to the doctor or ER. Pretty much the same as before my ANC was 200, except I don't see my therapist anymore - I do phone sessions with him because he had a kid in December, and none of us want to risk me getting sick from something he got from his son. hsmom - So glad to hear from you again. I hope you are doing well health wise! Bros - Hope today is a good day! We've had some rain up in the Boston area - wondering if you sent it north from NJ?! Hope you can get out in the sunshine and enjoy a little Vitamin D therapy! (That's what I call sitting on the deck, soaking up the rays!) The rain was from NJ - we had rather loud thunder last night. We don't have a deck - my dad's deck money went to my braces when I was younger. Today I experimented with the laxatives - as last time, two pills lasted longer than I really liked, I decided to take only one pill today, which only had a very limited effect. So if nothing happens before I go to sleep, I will be taking two tomorrow morning to make sure I am cleaned out.
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Post by kewpie on Jun 17, 2015 10:17:14 GMT -5
I just read the book, Orange is the new Black. What a fantastic book!! I would recommend it for everyone. I know how we often discuss school (poor quality of reading instruction to our LD kids) to prison pipeline and it was in the back of my mind the whole time. There is such a need for prison reform.
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Post by michellea on Jun 17, 2015 16:19:39 GMT -5
Kewpie - I have that book on my list. My daughter has watched the entire series up until now and enjoys it. I'm not much of a TV watcher and I haven't caught any episodes. I love listening to audio books and will check out Audible to see if there is a voice version. It sounds like it is a book that the entire family would enjoy while we are going back and forth to Maine!
Bros - do you enjoy reading? I'd love to hear your recommendations too! I'm always searching for books that the entire family enjoys.
RE- the deck vs braces! Totally understand! Both my kids had them and it is quite an investment on top of all the other things they need. But, totally worth it. Most parents I speak to would rather spend money and time on their children than anything else. Whenever I look at my kids' smiles, I have no regrets.
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 17, 2015 16:30:04 GMT -5
I have to admit, my mom only had enough $ for one child to get braces, and my sister's teeth were more crooked than mine. She got the braces, but then was in a bad car accident in college, which broke her jaw (as well as an arm and a leg) and she lost 7 teeth in the process... (Physically, my sister healed fine, and now has implants.) In my son's case, we also paid for him to get braces, then in college he was in a bicycle accident that broke off his top 4 front teeth, which are now all capped. It makes me wonder how many times parents waste their $$...too bad we can't wait 'til kids are "all grown up" before investing so much in orthodontics!
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