Doug had a blood draw yesterday - his ANC is still 1.7, and his WBC is 2.9, lower than last week. So the oncologist doesn't want to resume the Revlimid yet. If next week's lab report isn't high enough to resume Rev, we will probably seek another opinion. Meanwhile Doug feels good and has had no infections.
Doug had cataract surgery, and a mini-shunt procedure for glaucoma in his right eye today. His cataract was affecting his vision, and the opthalmologist said it would be a good time to also take care of the glaucoma in that eye. (Left eye also has glaucoma and Doug will continue two kinds of drops in that eye.) He came through the surgery fine, and we go back to the Dr. for a follow up tomorrow. Anyone remember the old days when cataract surgery was a big deal, with sandbags on either side of the head, and days of bed rest? We are so fortunate that eye surgery has progressed so much!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Counts still low; still on chemo hold
Doug is still on hold from his Revlimid because of low blood counts. His counts are better but not good enough. The oncologist wants his ANC (absolute neutrophil count) to be 2 before starting back, and it is 1.7. I'm not worried about the low counts; I know they will come up. He's been on hold now for 14 days, the longest time ever since he relapsed. He gets another blood test tomorrow. Since the Revlimid is what is keeping Doug in remission, I'm antsy for him to start back on it.
His left hand is much better now, but still a bit tender. We saw the orthopod's P.A. today. She says arthritis of the CMC (carpal/metacarpal joint) usually waxes and wanes. Sometimes just resting the joint by using the brace and taking ibuprofen is all that's needed. If it keeps recurring, a steroid injection into the joint might be necessary; the ortho doc can do that. Worse case scenario would be hand surgery, and that would require a physician who specializes in that. Since it is much better, we don't plan on doing anything. Arthritis can be really painful but it's not high on our worry list now.
Doug is continuing to walk without pain; we are so grateful to God. We have planned a trip back to Nebraska in early October to visit Doug's mom.
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:22-23
His left hand is much better now, but still a bit tender. We saw the orthopod's P.A. today. She says arthritis of the CMC (carpal/metacarpal joint) usually waxes and wanes. Sometimes just resting the joint by using the brace and taking ibuprofen is all that's needed. If it keeps recurring, a steroid injection into the joint might be necessary; the ortho doc can do that. Worse case scenario would be hand surgery, and that would require a physician who specializes in that. Since it is much better, we don't plan on doing anything. Arthritis can be really painful but it's not high on our worry list now.
Doug is continuing to walk without pain; we are so grateful to God. We have planned a trip back to Nebraska in early October to visit Doug's mom.
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:22-23
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Arthritis of left hand
Yesterday we drove to Denver, to keep an appointment with Dr. Jeff Matous, our 'super-specialist' in Myeloma. Dr. Matous was in charge of Doug's stem cell transplant; we see him about once a year and think very highly of him.
Dr. M thought about Doug's recent history of persistent left hip/low back pain, despite radiation therapy. He said MRI would be helpful to see any new bone lesions. Since Doug can't have an MRI due to his pacemaker, Dr. M. said a CT/PET scan would be the thing to do. A regular CT scan can't tell the difference between old bone lesions and active 'hot' lesions, but CT/PET would. So if/when that pain comes back, we have a plan. Dr. Matous is thinking that perhaps Doug's pain could have nothing to do with the myeloma. He also said Doug should change Revlimid maintenance dose from 10 mg. down to 5 mg. This is because the white blood counts are going too low. But he is still in remission.
A new problem - day before yesterday Doug's left proximal thumb started to hurt. Yesterday morning it was a bit swollen and still hurting. By the time we were waiting for Dr. Matous to come into the exam room, the hand/thumb was very swollen and exquisitely tender. Dr. M checked it out, didn't think it was infected, and called his orthopedic buddy. We ended up going first to a vascular doctor's office for an ultrasound, to rule out a clot or abscess, then over to the orthopedist's office. The ortho doc said this was an unusual presentation - such quick pain without trauma. He took an X-ray which showed arthritis of the proximal thumb joint! That was a surprise. The doc put a splint on Doug's hand and recommended ibuprofen to reduce inflammation. He said steroid injections might be necessary in the future.
There is a medical saying: "If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." With Doug's history, the first thing is to think of myeloma causing bone pain. But other things like arthritis can also be the culprits.
Doug feels better today, after a night's rest. We didn't get home until 9 p.m. last night - 8 hours in Denver, three physicians offices instead of one, and four hours travel time. We are very glad that Dr. Matous arranged all that to happen in one afternoon. Doug is really in good hands. And yes, he managed to drive both ways despite his pain. That's my guy.
Love to all.
Dr. M thought about Doug's recent history of persistent left hip/low back pain, despite radiation therapy. He said MRI would be helpful to see any new bone lesions. Since Doug can't have an MRI due to his pacemaker, Dr. M. said a CT/PET scan would be the thing to do. A regular CT scan can't tell the difference between old bone lesions and active 'hot' lesions, but CT/PET would. So if/when that pain comes back, we have a plan. Dr. Matous is thinking that perhaps Doug's pain could have nothing to do with the myeloma. He also said Doug should change Revlimid maintenance dose from 10 mg. down to 5 mg. This is because the white blood counts are going too low. But he is still in remission.
A new problem - day before yesterday Doug's left proximal thumb started to hurt. Yesterday morning it was a bit swollen and still hurting. By the time we were waiting for Dr. Matous to come into the exam room, the hand/thumb was very swollen and exquisitely tender. Dr. M checked it out, didn't think it was infected, and called his orthopedic buddy. We ended up going first to a vascular doctor's office for an ultrasound, to rule out a clot or abscess, then over to the orthopedist's office. The ortho doc said this was an unusual presentation - such quick pain without trauma. He took an X-ray which showed arthritis of the proximal thumb joint! That was a surprise. The doc put a splint on Doug's hand and recommended ibuprofen to reduce inflammation. He said steroid injections might be necessary in the future.
There is a medical saying: "If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." With Doug's history, the first thing is to think of myeloma causing bone pain. But other things like arthritis can also be the culprits.
Doug feels better today, after a night's rest. We didn't get home until 9 p.m. last night - 8 hours in Denver, three physicians offices instead of one, and four hours travel time. We are very glad that Dr. Matous arranged all that to happen in one afternoon. Doug is really in good hands. And yes, he managed to drive both ways despite his pain. That's my guy.
Love to all.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Hip Pain went away!
Aug 31, Doug started having severe pain in the right hip/lower back. Remember, all the pain so far has been in the left side. It was so bad he actually took a Percoset (he hates to take pain meds), and used a cane all weekend. Monday the pain started to subside, and by Tuesday he was almost pain free, both left and right sides. For the first time in months!
Last Tuesday was also the consult with the orthopedic doc. Since Doug was not hurting, he didn't want to do anything right now. He did say something we had not heard from any other physician: pain in the 'back side' of the hip area is always caused by a problem in the lumbar spine; a true hip problem would cause pain in the front, or groin area. Doug's lumbar spine was never radiated, just the hip and proximal femur, but he did show lesions in that area.
Yesterday Doug walked around the block with me. He hasn't been able to do that in a long time, and it was such a pleasure. Now he is busy doing home repairs. Cancer sure makes us appreciate the small things we used to take for granted.
We are giving thanks to God for this lovely lull in 'the action'. God has seen us through crisis after crisis, and we have learned to lean on him, no matter what happens.
Love to all.
"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
Last Tuesday was also the consult with the orthopedic doc. Since Doug was not hurting, he didn't want to do anything right now. He did say something we had not heard from any other physician: pain in the 'back side' of the hip area is always caused by a problem in the lumbar spine; a true hip problem would cause pain in the front, or groin area. Doug's lumbar spine was never radiated, just the hip and proximal femur, but he did show lesions in that area.
Yesterday Doug walked around the block with me. He hasn't been able to do that in a long time, and it was such a pleasure. Now he is busy doing home repairs. Cancer sure makes us appreciate the small things we used to take for granted.
We are giving thanks to God for this lovely lull in 'the action'. God has seen us through crisis after crisis, and we have learned to lean on him, no matter what happens.
Love to all.
"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
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