Day 155
This last week was really pretty good for me. I had no further evidence of any GvHD and have not gotten at all sick. I saw my regular doctor (Dr. T) on Thursday after not having seen him for 3 weeks. He said I’m doing extremely well and my blood counts were good. My WBC held up at 3.7 which is down a little from last week’s 3.9 and still a little below normal, but I had also been without Neupogen for 2 weeks. Also, my hemoglobin was up a bit.
WBC – 3.7, down from 3.9 last week and still a bit below normal of about 4
Hgb – 10.0, up from 9.4 last week and still below the normal of about 14
Plt – 195, down from 216 last week and while below normal, still it is at a good level
Dr. T did have an explanation for my anemia (low hemoglobin), which the doctor I saw last week did not have. The explanation was that the kidneys produce something like the drug Procrit which encourages the production of hemoglobin. My kidneys have been struggling a bit all along, and when the kidneys are stressed like that, they don’t do as well at producing the Procrit-like chemical. I was glad to get an explanation that made sense. When I am off the drugs that cause my kidneys distress, my hemoglobin should be fine.
Dr. T also decided to cut back my anti-rejection drug (Prograf) again from 2 pills a day to 1. So after being cut by 1/3 a few weeks ago, it has now been cut again by 1/2. It seems like a significant cutback, but the earlier cutback having few negative consequences can give one cause for hope that this cutback will not be bad either. And maybe the next cutback to no Prograf will also be OK and I will be that much closer to a more normal life. In the last 2 days since the last cutback, I have again only noticed slight symptoms (like tingling hands) which may not even be related.
My next clinic appointment is scheduled for 2 weeks (Feb. 3). I intend to ask the doctor whether cutting back on the Prograf makes me less immune compromised and whether cutting it out altogether will mean I will no longer be immune compromised. I may also ask him about his guess on the percentage chance of cure now. He said before the transplant that he figured I had a 50 – 60 percent chance of being cured. It must be higher than that now, but I wonder how much higher.
Today, we’ve gotten ten inches of snow (so far) and I did some shoveling but I don’t last very long before I get winded and cold. It is still good exercise and I’m not in a huge rush to get it moved. We’re supposed to get high winds tonight and tomorrow, so it may not pay to shovel until the snow has stopped blowing around anyway.
Love,
Justin
WBC – 3.7, down from 3.9 last week and still a bit below normal of about 4
Hgb – 10.0, up from 9.4 last week and still below the normal of about 14
Plt – 195, down from 216 last week and while below normal, still it is at a good level
Dr. T did have an explanation for my anemia (low hemoglobin), which the doctor I saw last week did not have. The explanation was that the kidneys produce something like the drug Procrit which encourages the production of hemoglobin. My kidneys have been struggling a bit all along, and when the kidneys are stressed like that, they don’t do as well at producing the Procrit-like chemical. I was glad to get an explanation that made sense. When I am off the drugs that cause my kidneys distress, my hemoglobin should be fine.
Dr. T also decided to cut back my anti-rejection drug (Prograf) again from 2 pills a day to 1. So after being cut by 1/3 a few weeks ago, it has now been cut again by 1/2. It seems like a significant cutback, but the earlier cutback having few negative consequences can give one cause for hope that this cutback will not be bad either. And maybe the next cutback to no Prograf will also be OK and I will be that much closer to a more normal life. In the last 2 days since the last cutback, I have again only noticed slight symptoms (like tingling hands) which may not even be related.
My next clinic appointment is scheduled for 2 weeks (Feb. 3). I intend to ask the doctor whether cutting back on the Prograf makes me less immune compromised and whether cutting it out altogether will mean I will no longer be immune compromised. I may also ask him about his guess on the percentage chance of cure now. He said before the transplant that he figured I had a 50 – 60 percent chance of being cured. It must be higher than that now, but I wonder how much higher.
Today, we’ve gotten ten inches of snow (so far) and I did some shoveling but I don’t last very long before I get winded and cold. It is still good exercise and I’m not in a huge rush to get it moved. We’re supposed to get high winds tonight and tomorrow, so it may not pay to shovel until the snow has stopped blowing around anyway.
Love,
Justin
1 Comments:
Justin,
I'm so glad to hear you're doing well. I was confident you would because you're stong and disciplined. I love you.
Bruce
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