I found hope in a hopeless place......

A slight change to the words in Rihanna's song to  "I've found hope in a hopeless place" finally someone has experienced the same side effects on Tamoxifen that I have, finally they acknowledge what I've been going, finally I've found some hope....

My ankles hurt and when I say hurt I mean a lot to the extent that when really bad I can't walk apart from the fact that I've put on nearly 5 stone in weight for the first time in my life and I find just getting around hard work, being a size 8 all my life and now an 18+ I was not prepared for this side effect and it seems neither were some of my friends and family. Since the weight gain I've hid out in our flat down in Devon (most of my friends and family live in Somerset), my best friend walked straight past me in the street and I haven't seen that much of her all year. Obviously this has been hugely upsetting but I pushed through it all and finally accepted the new fatter me then the ankle pain started only slight at first now its a real problem making it impossible for me too walk on the bad days and on the good days I hobble around, of course this doesn't help with exercise and trying to loose weight. Here's a copy of a  a response from Belinda a fellow breast cancer patient who has given me hope....

Hi Sarah, yes to everything you mentioned. Something that helps if you have the painful backs of ankle pain I had. Before getting out of bed, lay flat on your back, legs outstretched so you can feel the mattress on the backs of your knees.

Keeping legs still pull toes up towards you, gently, 4 or 5 times. You're gently stretching the ligaments. Sounds a silly little exercise but it helped me with the painful hobble to the bathroom on waking.

I put on 4 stone while on Tamoxifen. I did lose it all when Tamoxifen stopped working for me and I'm now 4-5 dress sizes smaller than when I was at my heaviest. My advice is don't beat yourself up about the weight gain it's not your fault. I became a little bit clever with pretty scarves that could be drapped, tied to distract and disguise. How about an appointment with the pain clinic at your hospital to see if they have something effective and fast acting for the migraines? Take Care..x

I cannot express how much this post means to me it confirms that I'm not going mad, that others are suffering with these severe side effects and that at the end of it all I could loose all the weight I've put on, like the the title of this post I've found some hope......