Kidney function is better

Two days ago we went for Doug's Zometa infusion in Salida. The pre-infusion blood test showed a creatinine level of 1.5 and GFR is 50. That is better -- at least a slight upswing on the GFR. Normal creatinine is around 1.0, so he's not "normal" but we'll settle for improved. As I have said before, "Whew". The doctor had written orders to withold Zometa if the Creatinine level was above 1.5.

More good news -- Doug has recovered from his cold with no complications. So we are set to take off for Texas! We'll leave Monday in our little truck camper if the weather is okay. We plan to stay only two weeks, as Doug has a Dr. appointment coming up. We'll be visiting an old friend west of San Antonio.

Love to all!

Cardiology visit, Cough

Feb 10 we went to Colorado Springs, to Doug's cardiologist, Dr. Cole. He did an EKG and said it looks "fine". He has doubled the dose of Coreg, the beta blocker; this he said is because the intial dose was started off low and he feels increasing it will help the heart to stay strong. Dr. Cole says Doug doesn't need to see him again for a year, unless problems arise. The pacemaker will be checked twice a year by the tech. Sounds good to us.

Doug wore a mask in the cardiology office since he has a cold. The evening we got home Doug started to really cough. He coughed so hard that he hurt his back. He was sitting at the kitchen table and the pain was so intense that he could not get up. Two Dilaudid tablets and 30 minutes later he moved to the recliner. I was afraid that he had done something to his bones; we know that some of his bones are "spongy" due to the MM.

Next morning we went to our local clinic and Doug was seen by a young woman D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) who is excellent. X-rays did not show any bone damage -- whew! And the chest X-ray didn't show any pneumonia, another Whew! So Doug got a diagnosis of bronchitis and muscle spasm. We filled 3 prescriptions for muscle relaxer, antibiotic, and cough medicine. If he develops a fever we were told to call the clinic right away.

So Doug is temporarily sleeping in the recliner and taking it easy. At least the Winter Olympics are on, so there is something to watch on TV. And I have new library books to read. Life is still good.

We had to cancel the Zometa appointment so I don't have any new kidney numbers. And we are putting off our trip to Texas -- that's a bummer. But it could be worse.

Love to all.

Good checkup but "Mild Kidney Damage"

Yesterday we went to see Doug's oncologist in Salida, Dr Adam Myers. He sees Doug every two months.
Results of the last "multiple myeloma panel" blood test (that is sent to the Mayo Clinic) shows no evidence of any plasma (myeloma) cells in the blood -- good!

However, Doug now has "mild kidney damage". Doug's Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) last October was 59. Now it is 47.

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a test used to check how well the kidneys are working. Specifically, it estimates how much blood passes through the tiny filters in the kidneys, called glomeruli, each minute.

When I asked Dr. Myers if that means that Doug has kidney damage, he said "Yes, mild damage."
He didn't elaborate, so I surfed the web to find out more. I try to be careful of sources so I went to www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

"According to the National Kidney Foundation, normal results range from 90 - 120 mL/min. Older people will have lower normal GFR levels, because GFR decreases with age.
Levels below 60 mL/min for 3 or more months are a sign of chronic kidney disease. Those with GFR results below 15 mL/min are a sign of kidney failure."

I really don't like the drop from 59 to 47 in three months time. Dr. Myers doesn't seem overly concerned at this point.

We know that MM can affect the kidneys. Pieces of monoclonal antibodies, known as light chains, frequently end up in the collecting system of the kidneys, sometimes permanently damaging them by interfering with their filtering function.

Not much to be done except to keep Doug hydrated - so I will keep encouraging him to drink a lot. Encouraging morphs into nagging very easily!  It wouldn't hurt to limit salt intake either.

Meanwhile, life is good -- we are walking more, as weather allows. We look forward to taking the truck camper out and going to Texas next month.

Love to all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wow, this year is almost over. What a year it has been. Eight months since Doug's stem cell transplant. His remission is holding. Of course no one can see into the future, but we expect the best. Myeloma has changed us as a couple; by far most of the changes are positive. We know that life is fragile and unpredictable. We know this in our minds, but now also in our gut. I still have occasional flashbacks -- to that awful day when Doug's heart stopped.

We have learned, and re-learned, to have trust and faith in God. We are enriched and strengthened by having gone through a very rough ordeal; we have come out the other side better people. 

I think we all must adjust our attitude daily. It is only too easy to fall back into old habits! Doug and I have so very much to be thankful for. Faith, Family, Friends -- these are what is important. I like that saying: "The most important things in life are not things."

Thanks for walking with us on this journey. We wish each of you Joy and Peace in the coming year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas 2009

Doug had his eye checkup this week. The glaucoma (brought on by the steroids he used to take with the chemo) has stabilized and his eyesight is good. Just need to keep up the eye drops but that is no big deal. Our eyesight is so important and we don't take it for granted. We know quite a few people who have limited eyesight. Most of them manage beautifully but it must be difficult.

We will go to Christmas Eve services at our church tonight, then help with the food for the fellowship afterward. Tomorrow we will go to Denver for Christmas with Kelly and Jamee and our five grandkids.
We have so much to be thankful for this year. It can be summed up this way: Faith, Family, Friends.

May the Lord bless you

with the gift of His perfect peace

This Christmas and a sense of

His presence in your heart every day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Pacemaker is working

We drove down to Salida a couple of days ago, so Doug could have his pacemaker checked.  A technician comes from Colorado Springs cardiology to Salida. Doug didn't even have to take off his shirt. The tech slung what looked like a large computer mouse over Doug's shoulder so it was resting over the pacemaker, put EKG type leads on Doug's wrists and ankles, and turned on his computer.
Evidently the pacemaker holds up to 18 months of information - it records whenever it is pacing. Turns out that Doug's heart needs the pacemaker 25% of the time. Whenever his heart rate goes below 55, the pacer kicks in. I asked what would be happening if Doug didn't have the pacemaker -- the tech said that Doug would probably be passing out at times. Good thing he has one!

The pacer battery looks like it has 7 to 8 more years of life left; it only uses a tiny bit of charge each time it fires for a fraction of a second. Sure glad we have modern technology -- can you imagine life without batteries?

So far, so good

We got the results of Doug's most recent blood panel -- good news. No signs of myeloma cells in the blood. Another "whew"!  Dr. Myers, our local oncologist, said that he isn't worried about Doug's kidney function although the BUN is rising and was 24. So if he isn't going to worry (yet) then we won't either.

So we continue to be very fortunate. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving -- great to be surrounded by grandchildren, not to mention all the good food. On the way home from Pueblo we took a scenic route and had a spectacular view of the snow capped Sangre de Cristo mountains ahead of us. Then a little while later a coyote crossed the road about 200 feet in front of us. He was a big handsome fellow and was out hunting. We saw him pounce on his intended meal, probably a rabbit.

Doug is fighting a sore throat but it is getting better, so he has some disease resistence, yea! 
We hope all of you are well.