Amazingly, everything is still heading in the right direction.
Last week, my hemoglobin was 10.5, a smidge down from the week before (10.6). So no Aranesp once again. The last time I had to get a shot was 7/28/2021. Pretty good! Hopefully I’ll get to skip next week too.
My creatinine continues to hold steady at 1.3, even with the changes in my BP meds so that’s good. The lab results said my eGFR is 40. Interesting that it dropped from the prior week’s 44 even though the creatinine was the same; obviously there’s more to it than just the creatinine. I’ve looked at the formula; it’s very complicated with lots of variables. Anyway, 1.3 is still pretty okay by me.
The GREAT news is that the result of my 24-hour urine collection improved significantly. The protein in the urine had dropped from around 2000 mg at the last collection to 909 mg this time. That’s really surprising, to me anyway. (I think this is what Dr. T the oncologist anticipated.) It’s still considered high, since normal is zero, but still—HUGE improvement, since about a year ago, it was over 10,000 mg!
I had a video visit with Dr. A from Pennsylvania on Friday. She was very encouraged by all the test results and didn’t have much to add. In addition to the big stuff (urine protein, creatinine), she was also very pleased that my potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium have been normal for quite some time now. Other than that, she wanted to GO! I know she’s always slammed, and in the past she’s spent over an hour with me when things were looking more dire. So… I didn’t mind being a wee bit rushed and kept things brief. She will see me back in four months, with repeat 24-hour urine and labs at that time. She asked what Dr. T’s plans were for discontinuing the Kyprolis, but I told her I had no idea and that I have an appointment with him at the end of this month, so I’m sure I’ll know more then. She did say that this disease can recur, so I will continue to have lab work and urinalysis done “probably forever.”
Speaking of Dr. T, he messaged me with the urine protein results, saying “Continued improvement!” I told him I had seen them and had forwarded them to Dr. A. He responded with, “Chemo is good food!” That cracked me up. My appointment with him is on 9/29.
I messaged my primary care doctor and asked if he would put in lab orders for an A1C (per Dr. A) as well as a lipid panel (per me—I haven’t had one done in some time) prior to my appointment with him in early October. His assistant messaged back, “Doctor will decide which labs are appropriate when he sees you.” Oh brother. Yes, let’s make this next appointment a wasted one as he won’t have the results of the A1C, which will make it more difficult for him to determine which diabetes medication I should take and what the dose should be. Nice.
(I was looking through some old test results from last year before I went on the high dose prednisone… glucose levels were 82, 86, 92, etc. Ahhh, those were the days.)
In my message to the PCP, I also said I wanted to get the first of the two shingles shots. Hopefully that will happen. I tried to get them last November but there was a nation-wide shortage, apparently.
Got my COVID booster shot, got my flu shot.
So what am I complaining about? My damn feet, of course! I’m still dealing with the neuropathy, still hoping it will go away. It is a bitch on those hard hospital floors. And for some reason my damn dogs apparently see my big feet as targets to step on every single chance they get. No joke. It’s like they aim for them. And then two weeks ago as I was leaving the house, I kicked the recliner and broke my little toe on my left foot. Man, that pissed me off! Then, eight days later, I kicked the couch with the SAME DAMN TOE. Oh my god. I thought I was going to throw up, it hurt so bad. I was sooooo mad at myself! And my old lady orthotic-brand shoes I’ve worn forever that have always been SO comfortable are now hurting my feet (aside from the broken toe, I mean). I think it’s just from the neuropathy. My feet are super sensitive. I tried another brand of old lady orthotic shoes but they didn’t work out either. I suppose I could go to a podiatrist or one of those specialty shoe stores but for now I’m just going to suffer and complain.
The last two days my back has been really sore, and it finally dawned on me—DUH—it’s from the limping. Geez. It just seems like I’ve been dealing with a lot of pain for the last few months, and I’m definitely ready for it to stop. It’s so tiring.
And lastly, I cancelled my trip to California to see Susie and Rose. I’m really bummed out about that but it just doesn’t seem like a safe time to travel. It feels irresponsible for me to hang out in an airport, get on a plane, the come back to the compromised patients I work with as well as the cancer patients I encounter every Wednesday. If I didn’t have to fly, it would be different. While the very small town we would have been visiting has seen an uptick in cases, it’s nothing like what we’re seeing here. And we mostly just hang out and keep to ourselves. But… the plane. And it’s just too far to drive there. So…another several months of not a whole lot to look forward to. Same as it ever was.
Low, Low, Low 