You are more than welcome, Elizabeth! I hate seeing others going through this and so anything I can share from my experiences that might help even a little is the least I can do. Enjoy those lifts home from work, I say! I got one to get my CBC done this morning and it was a lovely luxury.
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Hi @Liz59 the kindness of your daughter jumps out to me, personally her gesture would really me as my fatigue is brought on by emotional, physical and practical things.
Yes, getting to know myself and how I tick really helped me manage my fatigue.
Cause and effect.
I find the festive season is very stressful and actually I have absolutely no reason too??
Yes, give yourself time and ask for and receive help
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Duncan and Erica sorry for the delay in replying . Duncan I hope your CBC went well. My daughter is on holidays from college which meant she could drive and collect me. Yes the luxury of the lifts made it easier, my body needs time to adjust to the medications, and also had a bad cold which triggers my asthma. Cold is much improved. I went to the panto Cinderella with my eldest daughter, her husband and my two grandchildren. It was very enjoyable and lots of laughter, just what I needed to lift my spirits. I do find it hard to ask for help as I am very independent but I am trying. Hope you all have an enjoyable day tomorrow. I am so grateful for all the kindness shown to me.
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Sorry to hear about your cold @Liz59, sometimes it takes us longer to shake these things off.
Oh, a pantomime just what is needed, lots of laughter (the best medicine)
I find it is so hard to ask for and receive help, I have always been the independent and capable one.
Enjoy your day and family is priceless xx
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Aww thank you so much, @Liz59. The CBC did go wellâmy numbers are all within the normal range. Still went in for phlebotomy though as my haematocrit was just over 45 %, but I was nice and hydrated this time!
Glad youâve been out enjoying yourself, I can well imagine the panto. Been to many in my life. Take care of yourself Elizabeth and have a lovely new year too!
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I hope everybody had an enjoyable Christmas. Duncan I am glad your CBC went well as did your phlebotomy. I am finding that I am getting more breathless than is usual with my asthma. Has anyone with asthma noticed an increase in breathlessness with hydroxycarbamide?
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Hi @Liz59 perhaps your increased breathlessness might be worth checking out with your medical team and if they think it is not connected with your treatment then your GP.
Please let us know how you get on.
Be kind to yourself with your asthma.
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Thanks Erica good advice as always. Another question my kids feel i should get one of those medical alert bracelets. I donât think it is neccessary. I was wondering what others opinion was.`
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Hi @ a very good question about medical alert bracelets/necklaces etc.
I hope you donât mind but I will start a new thread on this.
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You know, I was just checking through my notes and I didnât feel breathless after starting hydroxyurea. Could it be due to anxiety? Breathing can be affected by anxiety, and feeling anxious now is to be expected! I think itâs worth passing it by your doctors anyway as, like you say, you have asthma and know how that typically feels.
This is entirely my own personal theory but I noticed old injuries felt sensitive and even tender after I started hydroxyurea, like my elbow tendinitis and sprained finger that had already healed, so I wonder if the chemotherapy and subsequent better blood flow affected those historical injuries? Maybe itâs exacerbating your asthma? Again, not a medical opinion, just personal observations 
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@Liz59 I find if I am bending over or my blood is thickening, I get more breathless.
The first is no doubt due to an enlarged spleen pressing down into the diaphragm, the second is more exercise required 
or I am ready for a visit to see the leech nurses
Good luck with your waltz with Polycythaemia vera (PV)
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Erica that was a good idea making a new post about medical bracelets. It is really interesting to see everyoneâs different ideas. Duncan thanks for your concern, I was overthinking , I did what i would normally do for a flare up in my asthma and all is good again. Clickinhistory I do like the idea of a waltz, I love to dance. Wishing everyone happiness and joy in2024.
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@Liz59 the idea of dancing with cancer came from this thread I wrote not long after being diagnosed earlier this summer
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clickinhistory I read your post and have always hated the term fighting cancer or losing the battle. Itâs very negative, suggestive that a person has given up. Can I ask do you feel different now that you have your diagnosis several months than when you first got it? If thatâs too personal apologies.Your post inspired me to play music in my kitchen this morning and dance like no one is watching. It lifted my spirit so thank you.
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oh @Liz59 music really lifts my spirits too!!
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@Liz59 did @Erica lend you one of her seasonal outfits to wear for your dancing session?
The only real difference is I have a label for all the current aches, pains, mental fog and anxiety plus yuk and an explanation for my health going down hill over the past years, a side effect being I am currently separated from my wife. Long story.
I am waiting on more leeching next week before seeing the Aldi checkout guy in February (Docs a bit of a speed merchant so never seem to get an idea until I get a copy of the notes he sends to the docs (reality check, they never match what you get told)
I feel better for knowing, it was not one of the many things I thought it could have been, knowing what the symptoms mean and how to mentally deal with it.
Spent the evening trying to catch up on a years worth of photo editing, chair dancing to GrooveSalad on the itunes (internet radio) H2O with added red grapes and now Scottish Spring water infused with malt and peat 0:)
Glad that your none fluid spirits were lifted
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clickinhistory It is good that you feel better for knowing. Chair dancing sounds good to me. I hope you achieved what you wanted with your photo editing. Best of luck next week with your appointment and that its not too rushed,
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@Liz59 Thanks, leeches on Thursday, so strange drink called tea and random selection of biscuits and sitting there. Aldi doc in February when they see if these two pints have altered the speed of the reproduction of the pesky blighters in the blood stream.
It is good to know I was not going mad, losing my mind and not suddenly growing old at a stupid rate.
As for the editing getting there 
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clickinhistory photos are amazing and I fully understand wondering if symptoms are real or imaginary. Not as interesting as your photos my project at the moment is trying to organise and declutter my house. After that I hope to finish crocheting a blanket for my son and sew some summer dresses for my grandchildren,plus do some alterations on clothes that are too big.
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@Liz59 sounds like a plan, just learn to not be hard on yourself when you find yourself stopping mid project or can not focus on them, it is just the Polycythaemia vera (PV) telling you the little grey cells are having an issue with raw materials due to new trading arrangements
As for decluttering, well Nature abhors a vacuum so be warned
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