Beth Morgan Multiple Myeloma Treatment Blog
My life as a myeloma patient for almost two decades
I hardly slept last night, but I made up for it today. I slept well from 7 am until 1 pm. Every bone and muscle aches, it seems, and I have a sore throat and sinus congestion. Believe it or not, I made through all of 2005 (except the beginning of January) without catching a cold.
I’m just going to take it easy until I feel better. I’m sad that I can’t swim today, but I think that wouldn’t be good for me. Maybe I’m wrong. If there are rules about colds and swimming, I don’t know them.
This is from ePocrates
Common Reactions
thrombocytopenia
neutropenia
diarrhea
pruritus
fatigue
rash
constipation
nausea
nasopharyngitis
arthralgia
pyrexia
back pain
peripheral edema
dizziness
headache
cough
muscle cramps
dyspnea
vomiting
asthenia
epistaxis
dry skin
abdominal pain
anemia
infection
hypokalemia
anorexia
insomnia
peripheral neuropathy
Serious Reactions
severe birth defects
thrombocytopenia
nuetropenia
thromboembolism
leukopenia
anemia
pancytopenia
rash, severe
pneumonia
sepsis
multiple organ failure
syncope
I had a migraine day today. It started last night and was still there when I woke up this morning. I took every kind of pain reliever I have and some ativan, too. I feel better than I did this morning, but not normal yet. I think I’m just going to go to bed & assume it will be gone tomorrow. I’m sure it will be. I’ve never had one of these last much more than 24 hours. I didn’t even swim today. :(
I got the results of my blood tests yesterday. My IgA and M-spike are the same as last month. There are two m-spikes: 0.1 and 0.2 g/dL. My IgA is 488 mg/dL. Last month it was 493. My WBC is lower than it’s ever been before, but still in the normal range, so nothing to worry about. I’m a little anemic, but nothing to worry about yet. This could be from the Revlimid. Most likely is. I have a week off starting today.
My forecast for today is hot and partly swimmy. I have to be careful about being in the sun too much. I use sunscreen, but forget to keep reapplying it. Then I get burned.
Yesterday was fun. Jacob came over and we spent a couple of hours outside playing. It’s fun to toss him into the pool. He likes it, anyway. We went to see Elyssa at her dance recital, which was also fun. There was a beach theme. The music was mostly Beach Boys. After it was over, we all went to dinner.
Friday, I was kind of bored, but then Dar called and we went to dinner. She loves Kenny Chesney. I’ve never liked country music. Tickets went on sale for a concert in Raleigh in August on Saturday morning. She got up at 4 am and went to wait in line. Within 5 minutes they were sold out. Within a few more minutes, they were on eBay, going for 2-3 times face value. In North Carolina, that’s a class 2 misdemeanor. It’s called ticket scapling, whether it’s done online or in a parking lot or street corner. I actually think it should be more than a misdemeanor.
Yesterday I was at Dr. P’s office to have some blood drawn. I’ll go back again next week for Zometa and to get the results from yesterday’s labs. I mentioned that, since I went to standard dose dex, I’ve been having a lot more problems with queasiness and nausea. They said they can call in something for me to take when I need it. They use compazine and ativan in combination. However, since I’m still in a trial, they want me to get permission from the doc at Wake Forest first.
Speaking of Wake forest, they were recently in the news. Google this: White blood cells from a strain of cancer-resistant mice cured advanced cancers in ordinary laboratory mice, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine reported. And this: Wake Forest Physician Reports First Human Recipients of Laboratory-Grown Organs.
I’m lucky I live where I do. I’m within a reasonable driving distance of three really great research hospitals: Wake Forest, UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University. The Wake Forest Clinical Cancer Center is my favorite so far. :) It’s shiny & new!
We’ve been having great weather here. It’s not quite warm enough to swim, but I do it anyway. Once the initial shock of the cold wears off, it’s fun. What’s more fun is when the kids are here. We have a floating basketball thingy to play with, for one thing.
My dog has shown no interest in being in the water. I think it has to be disgusting, smelly and muddy for him to want to jump in. I’m not sure I want to encourage him to be in the pool.
We’re doing a lot of work on the yard. It’s no longer looking so much like a construction site. I planted stuff, and am hoping it doesn’t all die. I’m trying to pay more attention to taking care of the things that live in my yard.