Day 91
Today, it has been 13 weeks since my transplant, and tomorrow will be the 3 month milestone. At my clinic appointment yesterday, my blood counts were pretty good. Most importantly, my WBC is still up; and while my Plt and Hgb were down slightly, they are in a good range and often a medication to boost one cell line (like Neupogen) will depress the others slightly. We are cutting back the Neupogen to once this week and if the WBC is still acceptable, we will stop it next week. The doctor thinks that maybe the marrow just needed a little kick start to get the white blood cell production back on track.
WBC – 6.1
Plt – 160
Hgb – 11.2
The doctor said that around three months is when they typically start to see GvHD in patients who have had the mini-transplant as I did. I have slightly increasing signs of it in a more pronounced skin rash with a bit of itching, plus intestinal cramps which I’ve had off and on for over a week. He referred to the GvHD level as being “trivial” so far, which I take to mean not up to level 1 yet. He did prescribe Prednisone (a steroid) for both of those conditions, but since they both seemed a bit subsided today, he said I could put off starting the medication. While I basically do what the professionals tell me, I have a prejudice of not taking medication unless needed, and I have the sense that steroids are not only effective, but also can have significant unintended effects.
The doctor also said that for someone my age, the odds of developing GvHD that could be considered Level 1 or higher is in the 80-90% range. Again, they have no idea what it would present like or how severe it would be. I also asked him if getting acute GvHD (in the first 100 days) makes the odds of getting chronic GvHD (after 100 days) more or less likely, and he said no.
Meanwhile, my energy level is pretty good, I’m sleeping OK, and my hair is still growing in. I also still appreciate your thoughts and prayers and look forward to getting back into circulation, although that is still months away.
Love,
Justin
WBC – 6.1
Plt – 160
Hgb – 11.2
The doctor said that around three months is when they typically start to see GvHD in patients who have had the mini-transplant as I did. I have slightly increasing signs of it in a more pronounced skin rash with a bit of itching, plus intestinal cramps which I’ve had off and on for over a week. He referred to the GvHD level as being “trivial” so far, which I take to mean not up to level 1 yet. He did prescribe Prednisone (a steroid) for both of those conditions, but since they both seemed a bit subsided today, he said I could put off starting the medication. While I basically do what the professionals tell me, I have a prejudice of not taking medication unless needed, and I have the sense that steroids are not only effective, but also can have significant unintended effects.
The doctor also said that for someone my age, the odds of developing GvHD that could be considered Level 1 or higher is in the 80-90% range. Again, they have no idea what it would present like or how severe it would be. I also asked him if getting acute GvHD (in the first 100 days) makes the odds of getting chronic GvHD (after 100 days) more or less likely, and he said no.
Meanwhile, my energy level is pretty good, I’m sleeping OK, and my hair is still growing in. I also still appreciate your thoughts and prayers and look forward to getting back into circulation, although that is still months away.
Love,
Justin
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