wed 16 mar 2011
got my labs done this morning- platelets are up! to 229,000! that is really great news- the chemo seems to have done its trick.
praying for continued stability, and increased energy/few prednisone side effects.
love love.
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wed 02 mar 2011
last IV was today. so thankful to be done. it seemed like this month would never end. but, it has.
glucose was the lowest i've ever seen it today and yet i felt better than i did for the past 2 weeks..... weird?
platelets are right below 200k- still good.
check labs in 2 weeks to see if platelets are above 150k still [100k maybe?] - if they are, rituxan has done its work. if not... we'll discuss further options. doc and i are fairly optimistic.
cough deal is better today because of the pre-chemo steroids.. but might come back. if so, i will begin antibiotics.
roads weren't too bad.
and they got into my arm on the 2nd poke. that's 50% of last week's pokes. i'll take it!
really really tired, and slept almost the entire time in the chemo chair.
tomorrow's a new day.
thanks for praying!
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tues 01 mar 2011
final IV is tomorrow!
i managed to catch some sort of deadly virus/bubonic plague from a close relative, in the form of a nasty cough and sore throat. please pray that my throat heals quickly, and that the chemo doesn't overly compromise my already weakened immune system.
besides the throat thing, i've been feeling better- no hardcore blood sugar drops today!
oh, last thursday was good- the endocrinologist was very helpful, and every symptom i described was normal for this condition. i have to stay on crazy pills for a couple more months, reducing the dose by 1mg every two weeks. but i can feel that the pred is helping my adrenal system to get up and get moving again; right now, that's its purpose.
thanks for praying! also- roads aren't pretty today; would you pray for a safe trip please?
here's to the last day of getting poked!
xo
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wed 23 feb 2011
i'm 3/4 done with IV treatment!!!!! only one more week to go. hop
today went ok- my veins wouldn't cooperate so i had to get poked 4 times before they found a good vein- the one they'd already taken blood from. i'm hoping people don't think my family beats me up... because it might appear that way!
platelets are still at 257,000! that is good. that is the normal zone. i've been normal for two weeks, platelet-ly. :)
back down the road tomorrow to see endocrinologist. please pray for answers and wisdom. seems like the culprit is prednisone. :(
still feeling wonky, but you know- so was willy wonka, i guess?
please pray for my fam too- the influenza is traveling through my brother's house and ours. chemo weakens the immune system, so it'd be great if i didn't get it. and the rest of them don't need to be sick either [or need to get better soon!].
and you know, i was reminded last night that it really is a blessing i can see all these doctors and get all these treatments. i am thankful.
dankeschön!
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tues 22 feb 2011
off for my wednesday ritual tomorrow at 7:30am. round 3. only one more after this!!
going back thursday to see a blood sugar doc and my normal doc, after seeing my hematologist and getting chemo'd tomorrow.
looks like a lot of hours on the road [8+] and a lot of hours in the chair [5+] and a lot of pokes [hoping for less than 3!]
feeling pretty strange still most of the time, but it's beginning to feel like normal.
seems kind of weird, but it's getting to be kind of weird to not feel kind of weird. you know?
praying for good counts tomorrow! no reaction! maybe stop crazy pills? and a good word from the thursday docs too!
love a.
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fri 18 feb 2011
back onto pred again- but only one a day. i've been having crazy blood sugar lows every couple of hours, so it seems like my body went into shock after the 6 preds a day to none. hoping this'll get me out of the woods- been feeling pretty out of it all day.
oh little platelets, you are such interesting characters...
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thurs 17 feb 2011
yesterday went well.
no reactions to the Rituxan this time, hooray!
felt pretty out of it last night, but i've been awake since about 5:15am and haven't had coffee yet. so far, so good.
my platelets were at 331,000!!!!!! that's my new record. :)
so i'm off prednisone! bye bye crazy pills! i think this will have a really good effect on my over all well-feeling.
halfway done with treatments...
thanks for praying! xx
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tues 15 feb 2011
back to the doc tomorrow for round two.
this week i honestly haven't felt the greatest, but i've survived.
mainly i've been feeling really tired, light-headed, and it's often hard to process thoughts and make conversation.
by saturday night i felt like a normal person again! but since then the old weird-feeling has stuck around most of the time.
hoping that the doc will let me quit prednisone- i think that'll make an improvement! that can be a prayer request :)
i'll update tomorrow.
xo a.
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wed 09 feb 2011
spent all day at the clinic in Sioux Falls today.
-platelets were already up to 60,000 [doubled from Monday!]
-saw doc and went to IV class [which turned out to be chemotherapy class- although i do not have cancer!- just a chemo drug]
-got my first round of IV treatment, which took around 5 hours. had a little reaction but they caught it right away.
-feeling pretty well, albeit tired. going back in a week for Round Two.
-i get to take half the amount of pred/crazy pills starting tomorrow! maybe done with them by next week??
prayer requests
-praise the Lord for a good first day and higher platelets!
-thankful to be on much less prednisone
-pray that i can be totally off prednisone soon [next week would be optimal!]
-pray that this treatment will put my ITP into remission for a good long time! [70% chance of doing so]
-minimal side effects [mainly nausea and not being able to sleep]
thank you for praying!
love a.
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tues 08 feb 2011
for those who have inquired about my current platelet progress, here is a page for updates.
i have ITP, which essentially means "disappearing platelet disease". actually, my body makes platelets still, but it also kills them off. anything lower than 100,000 is worthy of attention and/or treatment. i had one round of treatment [prednisone] nov 2010-jan 2011, which was effective while i was on it, but my platelets have gradually decreased again in the past month.
so it's time to try another treatment in IV form. from what i've been told, this medicine will kill the platelet killers. it's 4-5 hours long, one day a week, for four weeks. wednesdays, it seems, are my days.
mon 07 feb 2011
platelets at 29,000 [100,000+ less than i had two weeks ago]
started prednisone again. 12 a day baby! we call them crazy pills... they give you a false sense of well being.
i'll probably be on pred for another month or two. not real fun, but it's for a good cause.
tomorrow [wed 09 feb 2011]
going to sioux falls to:
-check platelets
-go to IV medicine class
-see doc
-get first IV treatment [4-5 hours]
it'll be an all-day affair, leaving the house at 6am, but they have wireless and i'm allowed to eat!
prayer requests
high enough platelets to get first IV treatment
good response to IV
minimal side effects from pred/IV
thanks friends!
xo a.
