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My Progress Report: Steven Schmidt
2000

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January 03 - I saw my gastroenterologist to talk about my Crohn's disease. He seems optimistic that it will be cured, but doesn't want to do any invasive tests because of my weakened immune system. He also would like to have my ostomy reversed but that would be six months or more down the road. I also saw my ophthalmologist about my eyes. I have been having trouble focusing on objects up close. I usually have to take my glasses off to read. I have always had a "lazy eye" which used to point out, but since the transplant, the eye points in causing double vision. This could be from the chemo and radiation or from the prednisone. The doctor thinks that over time, it will correct itself.
January 04 - I spoke with the Long Term Follow-up department today and scheduled my one year evaluation for the week of June 5th. They also gave me their aspiration results which were good. All the cells that were looked at were negative for the Philadelphia chromosome and all were normal female (my donor) cells. They also performed a test for the BCR/ABL protein (which is unique to CML) and that test came back negative.
January 05 - Another pretty good visit with my doctor. My weight and blood pressure are steady and most of my blood counts again went up. My hydration has been cut down to one liter a day which means I should only be hooked up to my IV line for about 5-6 hours a day. We've also cut my blood draws to once a week. Also, the level of the FK 506 medication in my blood was 14.5 which is in the upper end of the normal range (5-15). My creatinine went up, though, to 2.1 which is a bit high. I also saw my urologist and there is no sign of any urinary tract infection. Counts: 330WBC - 3,800 HCT - 24.1 Platelets - 106,000 ANC - 2,400125
January 14 - Another good visit. The snow kept me away from the doctor yesterday and missing car keys almost kept me away today. All counts went up again. I was concerned that my HCT was too low and that I might need another transfusion but it came up from last week. For the first time since my transplant, my white counts have reached the normal range on their own! However, my immune system is still suppressed thanks to the GVHD drugs. My creatinine level is staying pretty much the same (2.0) and my FK 506 levels is still normal at 8.6. Counts: WBC - 4,800 HCT - 25.1 Platelets - 125,000 ANC - 3,300
January 20 - A so-so visit today. Counts were about the same but the HCT was low again. If it doesn't come up next week, I'll probably need a transfusion. Also my kidney function was up to 2.5 so my hydration has been increased again and the dose of FK 506 has been lowered a bit. Counts: WBC - 5,000 HCT - 23.6 Platelets - 124,000 ANC - 3,300
January 21 - Just thought I'd put an entry in that today I got my first haircut since the transplant. My hair is a little darker but otherwise about the same a before.
January 27 - Another uneventful visit with the doctor. Counts were about the same as last week as was my kidney function and FK 506 level. One of the effects from chemo and radiation is that fingernails and toenails can die and new ones grow in their place. One of my toenails was prematurely pulled off by accident and has caused me a bit of pain. I need to be careful about not getting it infected. Otherwise, not a lot of changes. Counts: WBC - 4,700 HCT - 23.6 Platelets - 122,000 ANC - 3,500
February 3 - Nothing exciting this week. My kidney function was much better (1.8) but my FK 506 was a little high. As a result, my hydration and FK 506 dose were reduced. My weight is holding steady at 159. Counts: WBC - 3,900 HCT - 23.6 Platelets - 146,000 ANC - 2,700
February 10 - Most everything stayed the same. My kidney function rose a little to 2.2 and the FK 506 was still a little high. The FK 506 dose was again lowered a bit. The bad news for the week is that I've lost 5 pounds since last week. I've been eating pretty well so it could be from excess fluid retention being lost. We'll have to keep an eye on that. Counts: WBC - 4,000 HCT - 26.1 Platelets - 122,000 ANC - 3,000
February 17 - Well, not every visit can be full of good news. My WBC count dropped a little. My FK 506 was lowered earlier in the week because it was showing up in toxic levels in my blood. Since it was lowered, I started to develop a slight rash on my skin and had two night of severe pain in the stomach and liver area, although these pains could be related to an intestinal blockage which is not all that uncommon for me. My weight did come back up. Counts: WBC - 2,200 HCT - 25.9 Platelets - 125,000 ANC - 1,300
February 24 - I had a much better week. All the counts look good, especially my HCT. My creatinine was much improved at 1.7 but my FK 506 level was a bit low at 5.2. The FK 506 dose was modified again. The pains in my mid section subsided a couple of days ago and the rash seems to be disappearing. Counts: WBC - 3,700 HCT - 29.8 Platelets - 137,000 ANC - 2,800
March 9 - My counts were a little low but OK today. I've been experiencing a lot of muscle and joint pains since I started tapering my prednisone a couple of weeks ago. I am now seeing my doctor every other week. Counts: WBC - 3,100 HCT - 30.4 Platelets - 113,000 ANC - 2,000
March 18 - I have a bug of some sort. I've had a sore throat, cough, headache and worst of all a fever of around 38.1 Celsius (about 101 Fahrenheit). My doctor gave me a prescription for an anti-infective drug, Ceftin, to take for ten days.
March 19 - I still have a cough and feel kind of lousy but the good news is that my temperature is back to normal. I've had some bad tasting drugs in my time but Ceftin is right up there with the worst of them. I can't wait for the ten days to be up.
March 23 - It seems to have been forever since I last saw my doctor but it's only been two weeks. I'm definitely getting over this bug, slowly. The cough, congestion and headache are still there but not as persistent. I will be seeing the doctor again next week and doing blood cultures to see if the infection is gone. If the cough persists or the fever comes back he will order a chest x-ray. I did lose some weight from being ill and am now at 153, but my appetite is coming back. My counts are still below the normal range but are stable. Counts: WBC - 3,100 HCT - 28.0 Platelets - 122,000 ANC - 2,100
March 29 - A pretty good visit with the doctor today. Counts were all good but they also tend to increase during an infection which I've had for two weeks. I don't appear to have any symptoms of the virus I've had. They did draw blood cultures to check for any lingering infections and those results should be in next week. My FK 506 level was good and my creatinine was the best it's been is a long time, 1.6. My weight went up one pound. Counts: WBC - 5,000 HCT - 30.6 Platelets - 149,000 ANC - 3,900
April 11 - My counts were fine today but my energy has been getting terribly worse over the past couple of weeks. As a result, I haven't been eating and I lost about 10 pounds from my last visit, down to 144. My doctor talked to the staff in Seattle and decided to increase my prednisone and hydration and lower my FK 506. The cultures they took last time were all negative. My creatinine was up a bit to 1.8. Counts: WBC - 3,600 HCT - 32.6 Platelets - 128,000 ANC - 2,800
April 13 - My creatinine was way up to 3.0 and my liver function was also elevated. We are still waiting for my FK 506 level to come back but my doctors think that will be up, too and have lowered it a little more.
April 20 - My counts are still fine. My weight has gone back up again and my energy has improved. I am going to try to taper my prednisone again. Tomorrow I will find out my creatinine level. We expect it to be back closer to normal. I also saw my urologist and everything is fine there. WBC - 4,300 HCT - 28.3 Platelets - 121,000 ANC - 2,900
April 21 - My creatinine and BUN (liver function) were down again. We are going to try one more time to cut my hydration in half and if my creatinine stays fairly normal, we will try to discontinue it in a week or so.
April 28 - My creatinine was again at an acceptable level, 1.7. All my other counts were good, too. If my creatinine stays near the normal range, I may be off of hydration before we head back out to Seattle. That would be fine with me! I lost a few pounds again so we are going to keep my prednisone where it is for another week. Counts: WBC - 4,300 HCT - 31.8 Platelets - 138,000 ANC - 3,300
May 1 - Well, May is not off to such a great start. I've had a fever of about 102 since yesterday afternoon and haven't been out of bed much. I haven't been eating either. I called my doctors office and went to see them. They were prepared to send me to the hospital but of course my temp was back to normal by the time I got there. Since there was no active fever, no blood cultures were drawn. I'll just have to watch my temp closely for a few day. The did take some blood for basic counts which were up a bit due to the fever. Counts: WBC - 8,800 HCT - 30.8 Platelets - 144,000 ANC - 7,600
May 4 - My fever is still gone and I feel better. My appetite is coming back as is my energy level. My doctor increased my prednisone again and we'll try an even slower taper next time. The good news is that he stopped my hydration. Of course if my creatinine level starts to rise again, he'll put me back on it. Counts: WBC - 7,200 HCT - 30.4 Platelets - 173,000 ANC - 5,400
May 5 - BOOO! My creatinine went way up again (3.2), possibly from the fever/infection. So the doctor wants my hydration started again. Plus he lowered my FK 506 to 4mg a day.
May 11 - Tomorrow I will get my latest creatinine results. My appetite and energy have improved over the last week. There are no signs of fever or infection although my lab tech who drew my blood and the doctor both said I felt a little clammy. The nurse tried to draw blood from my hickman line but the line was not cooperating so I got stuck, which I don't really mind. Hopefully when I go back to Seattle for my one year follow up, they will remove the line. My white count is up quite a bit and my red count is down but my doctor wasn't too concerned. Counts: WBC - 11,300 HCT - 28.5 Platelets - 180,000 ANC - 9,900
May 12 - My creatinine is down to 1.6. The doctors think it may have risen last week due to the fever. We've decided to stay on hydration for another week just to be safe and we're tapering my prednisone again.
May 18 - My appetite continues to improve as I have gained 2 pounds up to 146. My hickman line worked flawlessly today. My FK 506 level from last week was a little low so we increased the dose. My prednisone dose will remain the same for now and if my creatinine level results are OK tomorrow, we will once again discontinue the hydration. Counts: WBC - 6,000 HCT - 26.9 Platelets - 142,000 ANC - 4,500
May 19 - My creatinine was down to 1.4 which is the best it's been since the transplant. So we are stopping the hydration again but I need to keep up on drinking 1-2 liters of water a day.
May 25 - Today's visit was both good and not so good. All my counts were good even though my HCT is still below normal. The not so good news is that my weight dropped to 141. I've been eating OK and haven't had a fever so we're not sure what the cause is. The FK 506 level was again a little low so we bumped the dose up a tiny bit. We also lowered my prednisone hoping that it doesn't weaken my appetite any more. My energy lever is real low in the morning and it's hard to get going, but once I do get going, I feel pretty good. My hydration hasn't been to good lately so I'm concerned about my creatinine level which I will get tomorrow. Counts: WBC - 6,100 HCT - 33.8 Platelets - 201,000 ANC - 5,100
May 26 - My creatinine was up to 1.9 but my doctor isn't too concerned right now. I'll just have to drink more fluids.
May 31 - I received our initial schedule from the Hutch for Monday next week. The first day will be a busy one but at least three of the four procedures I'm not looking forward to are scheduled the first day and will be over before lunch. I see my local doctor once more tomorrow before we leave. I've been eating much better this past week and hope the scales reflect that.
June 1 - Doctor visit went fine. Counts are pretty normal and I didn't lose any weight. Counts: WBC - 4,500 HCT - 30.8 Platelets - 157,000 ANC - 3,000
June 2 - My creatinine level was down to 1.8. We are continuing to taper my prednisone. My hickman line started acting up yesterday. About an inch above the site where the line goes into my chest has become very irritated and sore. It is possibly an infection but most likely just got aggravated from all the tugging. Just to be safe, the doctor gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. Seattle will most likely remove the line on Monday. Well, we leave tomorrow morning and the laptop is staying home with the cats so this will be the last update until we return next weekend.
June 11 - Well, we're back from our week long stay in Seattle. There were actually only two full days of test. On another day we got to tour the Hutch research facilities. And another day was our conference with the attending physician. We had two days to ourselves and we spent them at Elliott Bay (Pike's Market), the Pacific Science Center and some wonderful restaurants. We also had the chance to meet Craig and Margo Davis. Craig is currently recovering from his BMT and is doing well. They are both very strong people. He was around day 70 and was much more social than I was at that time. He and I had a lot of similar complications and in a way it was nice to be able to talk about them with someone who's been there. We also ran into Andy and Kerri Fosnacht. Andy was released around the time we arrived for my transplant last year and he was back for treatment of a CMV virus. They did get to go home while we were out there and we pray everything clears up just fine. We also had time to spend with our friend and last years volunteer, Melissa. We visited the hospital floors and got to see three of four of our favorite doctors from last year. The fourth, we think, had returned to his home in Poland. Such a wonderful group of people! Now for the results: Pulmonary and liver functions were fine. Skin biopsy was negative for GVHD. My eyes were fine except for being a little dry which could be a symptom of very mild GVHD. I have some bone loss and quite a bit of weight loss. My mouth is fine as were the results from my physical. The initial results from the bone marrow aspiration showed 100% donor cells. Last time it was about 96%. The cytogenetics from the marrow wont be available for another two weeks. So what does this all mean? Overall it is good news. I will be taking artificial tears for the dry eyes. My immune system is strong but not perfect. Over the next four weeks I will be tapering the FK506 drug. One month after that is complete, I will begin tapering my prednisone again. For now, the steroids will stay at the current dosage. I will be taking a daily antibiotic during the tapers to handle any infections I might get. I also need to take folic acid supplements during this time. To address the bone loss, I am to take testosterone shots (or patches). Testosterone can stimulate prostate cells so I also need to get a prostate exam. During the time I am taking testosterone, I need to have my liver and cholesterol monitored. My hickman line is still in place. If my appetite stays OK for the next week or two, we will have it removed then. I did get the OK to return to work but they are strongly recommending that I ease into it. I have low energy now and the tapers of FK506 and prednisone can lower it even more. I still must follow an immune suppressed diet. And I will have to wait at least 3-6 months before I can have my ostomy reversed. I was told that most patients require up to 2 years to get off of their drugs meaning that I am ahead of schedule. So, overall, results are looking good. The weight is the biggest concern right now. We spent a bit of time with the nutritionist and have some good guidelines. I am also starting to drink a new calorie shake called Scandishake. One glass is about 600 calories. They taste OK, too.
June 15 - My counts were fine today but my weight continues to drop which is now a big concern. I will most likely be seeing my gastroenterologist to have an endoscopy done to look at my stomach. My strength and energy have been absolutely terrible. It could be from the FK506 taper. I got the OK to start physical training again and will start in a couple of weeks. Counts: WBC - 8,000 HCT - 36.5 Platelets - 213,000 ANC - 5,500
June 16 - My doctor called today and some of my blood tests were elevated most likely due to not eating enough. He has put me back on hydration (good think I kept my hickman line) and increased my prednisone. I also heard from my primary who is looking into if I need testosterone or something else. He also want to check out all my blood work to see if there are any other causes of my lack of energy and muscle aches. I also informed him of my recent stomach troubles and he will try to contact my gastroenterologist on this weekend.
June 20 - Since the increase in my prednisone, I've felt wonderful. I saw my gastroenterologist and will have a barium diagnostic test done on my GI tract next week. I don't think this will show any signs of GVHD but might pick up any obstructions or abnormalities. I've actually gained 12 pounds since the 15th. Some of that might be fluids, though. But my appetite has certainly come back, at least for now.
June 22 - I still feel really good and have been taking in over 3,000 calories everyday. Today I weighed 147. My counts were a little low, but Seattle warned me that taper of FK 506 and the increase of my antibiotic could cause some anemia. I am still scheduled to return to work on July 5th. Counts: WBC - 3,400 HCT - 26.5 Platelets - 123,000 ANC - 2,700
June 28 - Today I had a barium x-ray of my digestive tract. Everything looked very good. I'll be talking to my gastroenterologist soon to find out if he wants to perform an endoscopy. Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good.
June 29 - Happy Birthday to me. Today is one year since my transplant day. Yesterday, I started physical therapy and it feels good but tiring. Today, I saw the doctor and counts were still a little low. I'm still eating well and keeping my weight. I am stopping the hydration (again). The FK 506 taper is going well. I need to get my seconhd of three Hepatitis B immune shots in the next week or so. Counts: WBC - 2,800 HCT - 27.5 Platelets - 128,000 ANC - 1,600
July 3 - Just in time for my return to work, my hickman line came out. Yesterday, it slid out about three inches and the surgeon I spoke with said I should go to the emergency room and have it removed. So we did. It's a little sore but if it heals without infection, I'll be happy it's out.
July 6 - Today was my second day back at work. I feel pretty good although so far work has been rather boring. The hickman site is healing just fine. My gastroenterologist wants to do a colonoscopy since the barium x-ray was fine. I need to speak with him first. My count were good today and my weight was stable. For some reason, my creatinine and BUN were elevated but my doctor wasn't too worried. I had another session of physical therapy and feel pretty good. Counts: WBC - 4,700 HCT - 33.4 Platelets - 204,000 ANC - 3,800
July 13 - Things haven't been so good this week. A lot more fatigue, weakness, nausea, weight loss, muscle aches and cramps, diarrhea, and a rash started to develop on my arms. I saw the doctor today and he talked to the Long Term Follow Up staff in Seattle. We are increasing my prednisone to 70mg every other day (from 60mg). He also tried to give me a liter of fluid but the needle punctured the vein half way through so I only got 1/2 liter. I am also scheduled for a skin biopsy on Monday. Seattle wants it. I do feel better today but still not great. Counts: WBC - 7,400 HCT - 38.0 Platelets - 232,000 ANC - 5,600
July 17 - I scheduled a colonoscopy with my gastroenterologist for the first week of August. It's just to check on the status of the Crohn's disease. Maybe it's gone completely. My rash has not been back and the dermatologist didn't want to do the biopsy when the rash is not visible. So next time it shows up, we'll try again. My appetite is back again and I've been feeling pretty good.
July 21 - My doctor visit was mostly uneventful today. I gained about 7 pounds which is good. The rash has stayed away. I got my second (and hopefully last) Hep B immune shot. My counts were low probably from the increased prednisone. Counts: WBC - 3,300 HCT - 30.1 Platelets - 163,000 ANC - 2,300
July 28 - Counts were fine today. Weight is up to 146. Other than some real serious fatigue and weakness the past two days, things have been going well. My kidney function has been good and the rash is still staying away. We're switching my valcyclovir to acyclovir mainly because of the cost of the copays. Acyclovir will control the chicken pox virus from activating (like valcyclovir did) but for a lot less money. The prednisone dose will stay where it is for at least another week, maybe longer. Counts: WBC - 4,200 HCT - 30.4 Platelets - 158,000 ANC - 3,400
August 03 - Today I had my colonoscopy and everything looks good. There was a part of my colon that was called bypass colitis, a condition that can occur when the colon is not used for a long period of time. This is a reversible condition once the colon is reattached and becomes active again. I also had my surgeon remove the C-ton. I will be seeing her in about three weeks. The next step will be to have the illeostomy reversed but I need to be on a much lower dose of prednisone before that can happen. My doctor can't say for sure that I am cured but there are no signs of Crohn's disease. Over the next couple of weeks we will see if an abscess develops where the fistula and C-ton were.
August 04 - My rash came back for a while. After talking to my hematologist, we decided to get the biopsy done on Monday even if the rash disappears. Otherwise, my visit was good. I gained another two pounds to148. My counts are right where they have been. Counts: WBC - 4,100 HCT - 31.1 Platelets - 151,000 ANC - 3,000
August 11 - The biopsy was done on Monday. I hope to hear the results maybe by the end of next week. I lost a few pounds to 144. We started my taper again, cutting it by 2.5 mg per week. My creatinine was up a bit to 1.8 but my counts were about the same. Counts: WBC - 4,200 HCT - 33.5 Platelets - 114,000 ANC - 3,300
August 18 - I saw my gastroenterologist and he seems pretty confident that my Crohn's disease may be cured. I guess time will tell. My creatinine was up again last week (2.0) even though I've been off of the FK506 for a while. My doctor thinks my kidneys may have some permanent damage but nothing threatening as long as I keep up on the fluids. The biopsy results have not come back yet. My weight did go up though even though my prednisone is being tapered again so that is good news. Counts: WBC - 4,500 HCT - 31.6 Platelets - 120,000 ANC - 2,900
August 24 - My skin biopsy results were negative for GVHD. My creatinine was down a bit since I increased my fluid intake again. Weight was down a couple of pounds but there is no concern. I also saw my surgeon and we will probably wait until near the end of this prednisone taper to reverse my illeostomy which if everything goes smoothly would be in early 2001. Counts: WBC - 4,800 HCT - 33.1 Platelets - 141,000 ANC - 2,800
August 31 - My weight was 146, same as last week. My creatinine last week was 1.9, not great but OK. I forgot to get my counts so I will call tomorrow for them and my latest creatinine. I don't see my doctor now for two weeks.
September 1 - My creatinine continues to rise which is quite discouraging. Yesterday is was 2.0. But my counts look good. Counts: WBC - 5,600 HCT - 37.3 Platelets - 189,000 ANC - 4,400
September 16 - The past week has been pretty bad for me. On Sunday, we went on a 5k walk which was not too bad but from Monday through Friday, my muscles have appeared to be deteriorating. I have so much soreness that I went three days with only being able to sleep for a total of about four hours. And the weakness is really bad. I have to rest after just brushing my hair. My doctor thinks it is a result from the steroid taper. As a result, we have increased the dosage again to 65mg. I called the Hutch and their Long Term Follow-up doctor will review the symptoms and get back to me next week. Today is the first day back on 65mg and I feel a little stronger. My weight dropped seven pounds in the last two weeks, probably from the weakness. The good news is that all of the blood counts we monitor are in the normal range. Counts: WBC - 8,300 HCT - 44.3 Platelets - 271,000 ANC - 6,600
September 19 - The increase of prednisone has worked as I feel much better since Saturday. We will stay at 65mg for now. My weight stayed the same. Blood counts are good, but lower than last week. Unfortunately, my creatinine continues to climb now at 2.2. Counts: WBC - 7,400 HCT - 37.1 Platelets - 197,000 ANC - 5,700
September 22 - I've been in touch with my local doctor and the Hutch over the past two days. My latest creatinine was at 2.1. I also went to the lab yesterday and gave a urine sample just to check for a track infection. I'm still on 65mg prednisone and Seattle wants be to get checked for lyme disease just to rule it out. If my next attempt to taper has the same results, I may need to see an infectious disease consultant. The Hutch also mentioned myositis which is an autoimmune disease of the muscles that can be masked by prednisone. It is not common but can result following a bone marrow transplant.
September 28 - On my days off for the prednisone, I feel terribly weak. On the prednisone days, I feel better. We're keeping my dose at 65mg for another week. Today they took blood to test for some extra possible causes. They will be checking (in addition to my regular tests) testosterone and thyroid levels, looking for Lyme disease and myositis (class of diseases that affect the muscles). Results should be back next week. Counts: WBC - 6,600 HCT - 36.8 Platelets - 221,000 ANC - 4,700
October 5 - The results from all the tests last week were good except my testosterone level was low. I'll talk to my primary tomorrow or next week about it. Thyroid was fine, Lyme disease was neg., as was myositis. I'm still tired and weak but my appetite improved. My weight is up to 142. My creatinine was also improved at 1.8. We're going down to 62.5 mg on the prednisone. Counts: WBC - 3,600 HCT - 31.2 Platelets - 153,000 ANC - 2,200
October 11 - We repeated the testosterone level today along with checking out my pituitary function and litonizing hormones. If they all come back negative except for the testosterone level, I'll probably start taking the testosterone patch next week. My creatinine stayed the same and I gained one pound. We're cutting my prednisone to 60 mg. Counts: WBC - 3,700 HCT - 33.4 Platelets - 163,000 ANC - 2,500
October 19 - My testosterone was still low so I am waiting to hear from my primary. All other tests were normal. My throat culture was negative. I gained two more pounds to 145. My creatinine stayed the same. I've felt good all week so we are continuing with the prednisone taper and I'll be seeing my hematologist in two weeks. Counts: WBC - 3,300 HCT - 33.5 Platelets - 163,000 ANC - 2,000
October 26 - I saw my primary today. He finally gave me a prescription for the testosterone patch but I am getting one more blood test on Saturday morning. If that still shows the low testosterone, I get the prescription filled. I am also going to have an MRI done to check out my pituitary gland. His scale had me at 150 lbs. I'm eating well but have been a little more tired this week than recent weeks. I also got my flu shot.
November 2 - We're still waiting on my last blood test of my testosterone level. My weight was 147 and my creatinine stayed at 1.9. I got a nice lump on my forehead but I don't recall ever bumping it. Counts: WBC - 3,500 HCT - 36.9 Platelets - 169,000 ANC - 1,900
November 16 - My last testosterone test was normal so my primary is talking to some specialists to figure out what to do next. I had an MRI earlier this week to check out my pituitary gland. No results yet. My appetite hasn't been so good but I still gained one pound to 148. My creatinine improved to 1.7. I kept my prednisone dose the same and will taper again this weekend. Counts: WBC - 3,700 HCT - 37.8 Platelets - 197,000 ANC - 2,000
November 30 - My counts were great today. I lost two pounds. No word on the testosterone issue but the MRI came back fine. My creatinine from two weeks ago was 1.8. I'll try to get today's results tomorrow. Prednisone taper continues. I don't see my hematologist for three weeks now. Counts: WBC - 5,600 HCT - 42.6 Platelets - 192,000 ANC - 3,100
December 21 - Well it's been a while. Here's the latest. weight 148, creatinine 1.9 prednisone 40 mg. I have a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy on Jan 16. I will also have some prep surgery (outpatient) in January to get ready to reverse my ostomy. My appetite has been good but my energy has been low. Counts: WBC - 4,000 HCT - 40.2 Platelets - 172,000 ANC - 3,000 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

This page last updated on December 21, 2000.