I Don't Appear to Be Having a Relapse

In my last entry I told you that I was getting tired and short of breath without much cause, and that I was waiting for my monthly lab results to see if I was having a relapse.  This past Tuesday (March 11) I had my monthly lab tests done.  The results were normal for me.  I was relieved to hear this since I had been close to holding my breath for three weeks over my unusual symptoms.  As far as Krissy and I could tell, there was nothing in my blood counts to indicate that there was anything wrong with my marrow, and my blood chemistry showed that my kidneys are chugging along at about 40% of normal function like they have been for months.  *Whew*

 

Whenever I have labs done, I wait a few hours and then call my local oncologist's (cancer doctor's) office.  A nurse there gives me any lab results that I want over the phone.  After all this time they know me well and don't mind doing this for me.  I like getting the results on the same day the tests are done.  Naturally, Krissy and I can't interpret the results as well as a doctor can, but after spending almost a year at Hershey Medical Center, we can draw general conclusions from my labs. 

 

Since the lab results didn't show anything obviously wrong, on Wednesday I called my transplant nurse at Hershey and asked her what they thought down there.  She said she had told my transplant oncologist about my symptoms.  He said that he saw no problems in my lab results, and that my symptoms could be caused by something as simple as a mild viral infection.  My transplant nurse told me to relax, that she would call me if anything important turned up.  She hadn't called as of Friday, and after a sleepy weekend I decided not to wait any longer to write this entry. 

 

I plan to call two other doctors this week about possible causes for my symptoms.  If these two doctors can suggest anything significant, I'll let you know.  But the good news is that I don't appear to be having a relapse. 

Tags: oncologist, bone marrow, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant, Complete Blood Count, kidneys, Complete Metabolic Panel