I quote my sister-in-law here. I saw my doctor today and everything is either status quo or better. May it stay that way.
My blood counts are good: 6.5 wbc; 11.3 hct; 117 platelets. My iron level is stuck at about 2000, down from 8000 but it needs to get closer to 300. My cholesterol is still up there, as are my liver numbers, so I'm temporarily stopping the Lipitor. The blood pressure drug is doing its job--I now have normal to low bp.
But it goes up when I have to deal with things like this. One of my very special eye drops prescriptions which are supposed to last 30 days and cost $128 has run out after just 4 days. If you have money to invest, buy these drops instead of gold, because you will make a fortune.
I saved the best news for last. I'm decreasing the prednisone by 5 mg per day.
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Adirondack Mountains, Feb. 2007
Tale of a Cord Blood Transplantee Who Relapses and Goes on to Have a Matched Unrelated-Donor Transplant
The Weight
Adirondack Mountains, Feb. 2007
ABOUT ME
In March 2006, I was diagnosed with a blood cancer called Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). Life as I knew it came to a crashing halt. After enduring a month in the hospital where I received intense chemotherapy, I was declared "in remission." I had three additional treatments and remained cancer-free until May 2007, when I relapsed.
My only shot at survival was to have a stem cell transplant. However, my brothers' immune markers didn't match mine, and an international search of bone marrow registries found no perfect matches. A transplant using the blood from two umbilical cords was recommended. I grasped at this straw in September 2007. It seemed to work.
This blog tells the story of my transplant and recovery, replete with outrageous slings and arrows. The expression "blood is thicker than water" has new meaning for me. I remained alive due to the blood of strangers, two of them, both male. Thanks guys.
The plot thickened when I relapsed 19 months into my new remission and had to go through the same rigamarole once more. This time, I received stem cells from a matched adult donor who was identified last go round but didn't fit into the necessary time frame. Charles Dickens could have fun with this, the stuff of pulp fiction.
I remain in remission 4 years later. My donor keeps leukemic cells in check but finds interesting ways to attack my body. Chronic graft versus host disease keeps me firmly entrenched in the medical world. And so it goes.
My only shot at survival was to have a stem cell transplant. However, my brothers' immune markers didn't match mine, and an international search of bone marrow registries found no perfect matches. A transplant using the blood from two umbilical cords was recommended. I grasped at this straw in September 2007. It seemed to work.
This blog tells the story of my transplant and recovery, replete with outrageous slings and arrows. The expression "blood is thicker than water" has new meaning for me. I remained alive due to the blood of strangers, two of them, both male. Thanks guys.
The plot thickened when I relapsed 19 months into my new remission and had to go through the same rigamarole once more. This time, I received stem cells from a matched adult donor who was identified last go round but didn't fit into the necessary time frame. Charles Dickens could have fun with this, the stuff of pulp fiction.
I remain in remission 4 years later. My donor keeps leukemic cells in check but finds interesting ways to attack my body. Chronic graft versus host disease keeps me firmly entrenched in the medical world. And so it goes.
3 comments:
I hope by now you have gotten an eyedrop refill for free. Seems like something must be wrong for them to have lasted only 4 days. Hurray for decreasing prednisone!
Are the serum drops helping? I agree with Ronni, hurray for less prednisone!
Glad to hear everything goes well. My iron level stays at 1200 but my transplant doctor said no treatment. I am wondering if it will do any harm to my liver.
PS I work full time at midtown NYC--we might bump to each other some day.
NJer from LLS board
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