Good news – bloodwork from today has my creatinine back in normal range. Dr. Allen is switching me to Aredia anyway though. I’m glad for that. I was really upset about having a kidney problem. I’m glad it was transient. Who knows? It could have been a lab error too. Ok, I was so relieved when the nurse called that I didn’t get the exact result from her. I’m sure I’ll see it when I get the full report. They don’t have the proteins back yet (IgA). That was done on Thursday. They’ll call me when they do. Keep your fingers crossed for a normal IgA level!

The kidney scare made me realize that there are some things I want to do. It’s a possibility I could end up on dialysis some day, although I am doing my best to see that not happen. I drink 2-3 liters of water a day. I aim for 3, but sometimes I run out of time. I have to get better about that and pace myself.

I decided that I want to buy a mini-van so I can go on little trips with my dog! I will start looking this week. I also decided that I am going to close my IRA. There’s no tax penalty if the money is used to pay medical expenses. The truth is, I may not live to retirement age. I want to, but someone living with MM for over 20 years is a rare thing. I have decided to live for today as much as possible. If a cure is found, or some safe drugs are developed to manage the disease for decades, that will be great! I hope that happens soon. When that time comes, I can start saving for retirement again. As it is now, most people are losing money on their investments anyway, right?

My local oncologist’s nurse just called and asked me to come in to have some more blood drawn today. My labs last Thursday showed an increase in serum creatinine. When you have a normal baseline, and the level increases by 1.0 mg/dL, the manufacturer of Zometa (Novartis) says that treatment should be withheld. My previous serum creatinine was at 1.1 mg/dL and is now 2. I don’t think I want to risk an infusion tomorrow. There’s an alternative called Aredia, which is infused for MM patients over a period of 4 hours. Some feel it is safer for the kidneys. I have emailed Dr. Richardson in Boston to ask him what I should do. A level over 1.6 mg/dL is considered mild renal failure. A lot of MM patients are also on dialysis, and renal failure is up there on cause of death, along with pneumonia.

I went in and had the blood drawn for a creatinine re-test, as well as BUN, sodium and some other stuff (I already forgot what else it said on the paper). My results from today are bound to be affected by my being sick over the weekend. I am probably still dehydrated and could have depleted some electrolytes. I left a note for the doctor, explaining what happened so there wouldn’t be any alarm over any unusual results. I would guess that I’ll probably have to have a retest in a few days or a week.

I called the chemo nurse at outpatient oncology and told her I won’t be in for my appointment tomorrow. I forewarned her that I will be switching to Aredia at a 4 hr infusion time. She said, “Oh my goodness. That will require some careful scheduling.” They are used to doing it at 90 minutes.

Some people use the 4 hours to catch up on reading. I might do that too. I have books I would like to get through.