Whoever said life wasn’t fair ………..

 Life, My MCL  No Responses »
May 152010
 

It turns out, what I thought was the easiest BMB ever, has been anything but. I don’t know what the doctor did, but these last few days have been down right miserable. At least there is no swelling in the area of the procedure, nor is there any pain to the touch, or even evidence of infection, but that doesn’t change the fact something isn’t right.

It’s been 3 full days since my BMB, and it’s only now that I’m [barely] able to walk, without the aid of drugs. It’s not been my policy to take drugs, but on Thursday morning around 1 AM, the pain was so unbearable, I relented, and took a Vicodin.

Relief was almost instant, enabling me to get 3 hours of sleep, and even make it to work that morning. I probably shouldn’t have gone to work, as I was still hurting a little, but the pain was tolerable, and there was some paper work I needed to finish. Plus it was pay day, so I decided to make the drive.

I made it through the entire the day and evening (on that one Vicodin), even managing a few good hours of sleep that night, but at 4 AM Friday morning (27 hours after my first Vicodin), the pain was too much to bare again, and I was forced to take another Vicodin.

It’s now Saturday morning, just over 27 hours since I took my last Vicodin, and while the pain is no where near what it has been, I am still contemplating whether I should take another Vicodin. I’d love to go for a bike ride this morning, but I know the only way I would be able to do that is to take another Vicodin, which I would prefer not to do. I also know that might not be such a good idea, as it could exacerbate the problem, and I wouldn’t know it until the Vicodin wore off, and I’d end up spending additional time off the bike.

I know no one ever said life was fair, and it is always throwing curve balls at you. It just seems lately, I’ve been thrown a few more than my share, and to come at a time when I’ve been riding so good is just all the more disheartening.

My 3rd BMB

 My MCL  No Responses »
May 122010
 

That’s a bone marrow biopsy (BMB) for the layman out there, and it wasn’t nearly as horrific as I had expected. In fact, except for a little soreness right now (and getting worse with every passing moment), I would have to say it was uneventful. It helps to have a good strong doctor, and this was the first time I laid on my side, which may have helped.

Now it’s just a waiting game for the results expected by my next appointment at the beginning of June, but in the mean time results of my latest blood work were [somewhat] favorable. In addition to my hemoglobin increasing from 11.2 to 11.7 g/dL and my lymphocytes still showing a favorable trend (dropping to 76.6 thou/cumm), my iron has increased since starting to take an iron supplement.

Test Result Ref Range
IRON 31 35-140 mcg/dL
TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY 270.2 245-400 mcg/dL
IRON SAT 12 15-50 %

Although my iron and % saturation were still below normal, they were slightly improved (note the different reference ranges from my last test), but my total iron binding capacity is now in the normal range (which I’ve since discovered isn’t as significant as I would have hoped). In addition, my ferritin, Vitamin B12, and folate were all normal. The folate was even above normal [I was taking an 800 mcg tablet about every 3 days on my oncologists recommendation], so I think I’ll eliminate that.

They are also going to stain my bone marrow for iron to confirm the extent of my iron deficiency, and if I am truly iron deficient.

Now all I have to do is wait to schedule my colonoscopy, which based on how I’m feeling right now after the BMB, I’m even more hesitant to do.  I think I’ll hold off on for awhile, and wait for the results of the BMB to come in, and I have another chance to talk to my oncologist again.