Quick Update

Knock on wood, but my blood seems to be heading on the right track! My transfusions have spaced out so I'm needing platelets about every 4 to 6 days and blood every 10-12. I got a Neulasta shot 10 days ago to raise my white count, and the results of that were very encouraging. The first dose I got post treatment raised my white count from .1 to .2, the second dose two weeks later raised it from .6 to 1.1, but this latest dose raised it from .8 to 7.6! That meant a very uncomfortable day of achey bones, but it also means that there must be marrow growing for the white cells to build on. It has tapered back down to 2.5 since last week which is normal. Hopefully it will start building on its own (along with my red cells and platelets) without too many more shots.

I'm still having some set backs like an iron build up in my blood, so I'll need to start new meds for that, but my doctors are hopeful that I'm on track to be transfusion independent by October-ish. We'll see!

...and then Dr. T hugged me!

Another good appointment!

After getting a bag of blood and a bag of platelets last Sunday (8/1) I went in for an appointment on Tuesday (8/3) and was pleased to find out that I didn't need any blood products. My numbers had dropped but not to the level where I would need to be transfused.

My next appointment was Friday (8/6) and since it had been 5 days since my last transfusions, I was sure I would need more red blood and platelets. When my numbers came back, I was very happy to learn that my white blood level had risen from .9 to 1.1, my red blood level had held almost to what it was on Tuesday (23.2), and my platelets had dropped to 16. That platelet level meant I needed to be transufsed, but a drop from 50 to 16 in 5 days is MUCH better than immediately post treatment where they had been dropping from 50 to 6 in 2 days.

I was happy with these numbers, but even more excited when Dr. Tzachanis came to meet with me. He had been on vacation in Greece for the last two weeks and was very encouraged to return to these results only one month post treatment. So encouraged that he hugged me! I didn't mind.

My white blood numbers are high enough now that I can drink tap water and eat fruit and salads. I never thought I'd be so excited for healthy eating! I celebrated with one salad, some berries, and two ice creams over the weekend. I'm also allowed to stretch out my appointments a little more and don't have to go back to the doctor until Wednesday.

I don't think I'll be able to fully believe that I'm on the upswing for real until I've had a few more positive appointments, but good news is good news so I'm happy!