A Disappointing Appointment
Today’s visit was a little more disappointing than usual. First of all, my doctor wasn’t back from her sabbatical yet, so I didn’t get to see her for the second time in a row. She will be back next time I’m scheduled to go in though so I’m happy about that.
The first issue today was that my red count dropped even more in the last two weeks (even though I’ve been continuing with my Procrit shots). My count is too low to not have a transfusion at this point. In fact, I’m going to be getting two units of blood (I talked my NP down to two from three). I’m not looking forward to it at all, since it usually makes me feel puffy and gross for a couple of days. At least I will get a boost of energy though and my blood pressure should go up a little bit (it’s been very low lately). I’m scheduled to go in for the four-hour procedure on Friday.
The second thing is that I’ve been having an ongoing pain on the right side of my back (right below my rib) for a week now. I notice it mostly when I cough, but it seems to be irritating and bothersome if I’m not on Aleve, Tylenol, or Advil. My NP wasn’t sure what it could be, but she thought it would be a good idea to do a urine test to rule out a kidney infection. I’m hoping it’s just a muscle strain and it will go away on it’s own.
I also had another chest x-ray done today. My NP thought it was best for me to have them done every time so they could monitor the mass in my lung closely. I couldn’t agree more. The not so good news is that today’s x-ray showed that there might be some growth on the new lung mass. The picture isn’t very clear so I will have a CT done in the next week to get a closer look. If indeed it has grown and it's not responding to my current chemo, my treatment will once again have to be changed.
I received a very surprising email from my donor over the weekend. She didn’t go into any details about herself, but hopefully in the coming days I’ll hear from her again and learn more. Apparently she’s been reading my blog all this time! I’m so happy to be in communication with her, what a treat!
The first issue today was that my red count dropped even more in the last two weeks (even though I’ve been continuing with my Procrit shots). My count is too low to not have a transfusion at this point. In fact, I’m going to be getting two units of blood (I talked my NP down to two from three). I’m not looking forward to it at all, since it usually makes me feel puffy and gross for a couple of days. At least I will get a boost of energy though and my blood pressure should go up a little bit (it’s been very low lately). I’m scheduled to go in for the four-hour procedure on Friday.
The second thing is that I’ve been having an ongoing pain on the right side of my back (right below my rib) for a week now. I notice it mostly when I cough, but it seems to be irritating and bothersome if I’m not on Aleve, Tylenol, or Advil. My NP wasn’t sure what it could be, but she thought it would be a good idea to do a urine test to rule out a kidney infection. I’m hoping it’s just a muscle strain and it will go away on it’s own.
I also had another chest x-ray done today. My NP thought it was best for me to have them done every time so they could monitor the mass in my lung closely. I couldn’t agree more. The not so good news is that today’s x-ray showed that there might be some growth on the new lung mass. The picture isn’t very clear so I will have a CT done in the next week to get a closer look. If indeed it has grown and it's not responding to my current chemo, my treatment will once again have to be changed.
I received a very surprising email from my donor over the weekend. She didn’t go into any details about herself, but hopefully in the coming days I’ll hear from her again and learn more. Apparently she’s been reading my blog all this time! I’m so happy to be in communication with her, what a treat!
posted by Erika @ 8:34 PM
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