My abdominal ultrasound showed no abnormalities with my liver, etc. but it turns out I have kidney stones. That explains the intense pain I get in my side once or twice a day. My internist diagnosed gastritis a week ago and put me on Prilosec, which naturally had no effect. 1000 mg of Tylenol seems to do the trick, although my liver doc says to limit my intake to 2000 mg/day. If for some reason I go over the limit, I pop an oxycodone and stay out of traffic. I'd rather be a little stoned now and then than in pain. I've had enough pain.
My doctor wants to do a biopsy of the liver to confirm gvh and proceed from there. I may have to increase the dreaded prednisone. Currently at 10 mg, I'm hanging by a thread anyway. My skin has a leprotic look to it, although my face and trunk have been spared.
In the meantime, I'm in the country training for the marathon and wrestling with the gangly shrubbery. I think I'm winning. Today I hope to get out there and weed the perennial beds. I have a foam cushion for my delicate knees. It beats trying to squat or bend over and risk looking unsightly. You never know who's peering out their window at my backside.
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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.
2 comments:
Bummer. Well at least there is Oxycodone to see you through the pain. Good work keepin' on keepin' on.
Good luck with the biopsy.
Good luck with cleaning up the garden beds--possibly my least favorite chore ever. What do the doctors want to do about the kidney stones?
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