blood counts

All posts tagged blood counts

Busy Weekend

Posted by tokenhippygirl on October 31, 2010
Posted in: Eats, Leukemia. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 comments

It’s been a busy busy weekend.  Friday night dinner at Stan and Connie’s, with Stacia, Kev, my honey and I.  It was a great time.  Excellent food, as always, fantastic company ( I love you guys), and just really relaxing and comfortable.  Then yesterday Karen and I headed over to Maggie’s for a pumpkin carving party (plus chocolate treat making and some great ribs… thanks again Kate!).  We carved pumpkins, made chocolate pretzel treats, ate some great ribs, chatted it up with the pod (the name we all use for this particular group of women we hang out with), and watched some football and the World Series game.  Also a fantastic time with a fantastic group of women.  We love you guys.  It’s always so good to spend time with you.  This time pretty special since it was the first time we’ve been able to get together since the whole leukemia thing happened.

Today, Halloween, we are hanging at home.  Karen and Kev are out doing yard work… picking up and blowing leaves.  Quite the chore around here.  Earlier they went to winterize one of our rentals (they also picked up a chicken sandwich and potato wedges for me… my first craving realized.  :-)  I have started craving stuff again.  It’s a thing I really never thought about before, but craving stuff is something I haven’t done in the last few months, my appetite and such is coming back… it’s a good thing.  It’s actually pretty nice out there.  Perfect fall day for doing the leaf thing.

This week coming up I have a blood draw, a bone marrow biopsy, and possibly my weekly shot on Wednesday.  Last week my neutrophil and white counts were down a bit after getting the shot the week before and taking the low dose chemo for a week (the red counts were up a bit, which is great for the energy level).  We asked my doc some questions about it, he looked into it a bit, and ended up taking me off the pills (since Friday) and we may hold off on the shot.  I will be back on both when my counts are up again.  He may adjust the pill or shot amount to keep my counts from dropping too low.  We don’t know how low they will go if I stay on the current doses, etc.  It’s a process of finding the right thing for me.  I’m still on the ATRA (I have a few days left on my 15 day cycle this round), but the other stuff, both low dose chemo, is on the back burner until after the blood test this coming Wednesday, which will happen before the bone marrow biopsy.  Then, on the 10th, after another blood test, and probably a shot, we have an appointment with my doc to chat about maintenance and everything.  We are trying to get the plan, and me, stabilized so that Karen and I can go to England in December and January, as planned.   Everyone cross your fingers, send those vibes and prayers, wishes, and hopes, that all goes well this week and that we get everything else worked out.  It would be great to meet my grandson and spend Christmas with him and his parents.

For now, today… I’m keeping track of my fantasy football teams and hoping for a couple of wins (I’m in two leagues… LOL).  I am also hoping for a win for my honey.  Goooooooo honey!

On the Verge

Posted by tokenhippygirl on October 28, 2010
Posted in: LiFe. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 comment

Karen just got off the phone with Nancy.  My blood count is a mixed bag.  The reds are up over a point each (yay!)… they couldn’t get a good platelet count because they were clotted (I guess this happens all the time and is common, but has never happened to me), but they could tell they were OK.  They may ask me to test again tomorrow just to make sure.  Nancy is checking with Dr. Bigler, who is off today and back tomorrow.  The other thing is that my white count is down to 1.9 and my neutrophils are 950.  We were told my white counts could go down with the start of maintenance. They have.  This is another reason they may want to test me again, to make sure they don’t go lower.  We (my doc, Nancy, and Karen and I) weren’t sure how I would respond to this, to maintenance.  The thing is, not many people have this kind of leukemia so they aren’t sure either, there isn’t a big database of info, besides the fact that everyone is an individual and responds differently, hence another reason they may want to test again.  But, for now anyway, I have to be careful again.  I’m not in the danger zone of neutropenia… I can still fight things off.  It’s just that Nancy said I need to not be around anyone who is sick and we need to make sure we wash the vegetables really well before I have them.  We don’t know if my numbers will come back up, if my body will adjust, or if they will stay down in this zone.  We don’t know any of that yet, especially since I just started.  It’s possible Dr. Bigler will want me tested a couple of times a week again just to see what happens.  It’s possible I will have to take neupogen again (for how long or how often I do not know).  At this point we don’t know.  Only time will tell how this is going to work.  The good news is that because my red blood counts are up my energy is getting better by bits all the time.  That is a good thing.  I don’t feel the difference in the white counts, but I definitely do in the reds.  I knew they were probably up a little.  I can feel it energy wise.

So that is that….  I may not get another blood test until Wednesday next week.  Though that seems like a long time away since I want to know if my neutrophils are still falling.  If they get below 500 I’m in that neutropenic zone where I need to stay away from people, not have fresh fruits and vegetables again, etc.  The other thing is that next Wednesday I have another bone marrow biopsy.  Not looking forward to it, and yet I am.  The procedure isn’t fun at all, but it will be good to know where I’m at.  Knowing where I’m at, with all of this, helps.  Knowledge IS power.

Good news is that I didn’t react to my methotrexate this time.  No hives afterward, like last week.  I took the recommended Zyrtec beforehand.  So my maintenance regimen is good to go.  Mercaptopurine pills every day, methotrexate shot once a week, 15 days of ATRA every three months.  That’s a good thing, no real reaction to any of it.  Getting a reaction always worries me since I’ve had med reactions to things throughout this process.  It gives me anxiety so now I can relax a little about that.  Now we just have to get through the bone marrow next week and figure out how my numbers are going to be, etc.  One thing, still one day, at a time.

Hope everyone has a great halloween this year.  We have some plans to go to a friend’s place to do pumpkin carving on Saturday.  Should be fun.  Living life…  I want my numbers to stay up enough so I can do a little living of life.  Let’s all hope that the numbers don’t go down any more.  Let’s hope they settle in or even go up a tad.  That would be great.

 

Sunday… After Blood

Posted by tokenhippygirl on October 3, 2010
Posted in: Family & Friends, Leukemia. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 comment

Here we are, my sweetie and I (and the pups), hanging at the house today.  Karen woke up at 5:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep (still on England time I think), so she got up.  Luckily we went to bed so early and she went to sleep pretty early so she actually got enough sleep.  It’s seemed like a long day, especially for her, so it’s been really nice.

Yesterday we spent several hours at the infusion center while I got a transfusion.  At least there was a TV in the room, plus we got to talk to each other, in person.  So nice. The only faux pas of the day happened just as we were leaving.  She was pushing me out in the wheel chair when I asked her to look at my neck, which felt hot and itchy.  She did and then we got the nurse and he said… looks like hives, back to your room for you.  They put in another IV and gave me some IV Benadryl and then had us stay for another hour or so to watch me to make sure I didn’t have any other issues and that the hives went away.  They did.  We all didn’t know if it was a reaction to one of the bags of blood, or if it was unrelated, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

We got home last night and at one point a bat started flying around in the family room.  Kev opened up the door and eventually it flew outside.  We have no clue how it got in.  Must have come in through a door at some point, though we don’t make it a habit of leaving the doors open at night very much.  I personally think it just sensed that there was another blood sucker in the house and it wanted to commune with it’s peeps.

So, back to today… mellow.  Nice.

I have a blood draw tomorrow.  Hopefully the numbers start coming up.  It will be day 19 of my cycle, so there you have it.  We’ll see what’s up.  I do feel a little stronger today after getting the blood yesterday.  That part is nice.  I left the infusion center saying I hopefully wouldn’t be back.  They said… well, the last chemo treatment is usually the hardest on the numbers and the body, so you may be back.  I say… one day at a time.

For now my honey is making dinner, Weston is sitting next to me on the sofa chewing on a bully, the little girlie is in the kitchen with Karen, and I’m watching the Next Iron Chef.  I’m so addicted to these competition cooking shows.  Who knew…

Day 15

Posted by tokenhippygirl on September 30, 2010
Posted in: Leukemia, The U.K., Travel. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 comment

It’s been a few days since I posted anything.  Not much happening around here, for me anyway.  Just laying on the couch being sort of tired as my numbers are down.  Blood draw tomorrow.  Here’s hoping the neupogen has done it’s job (had to get three more shots, for a total of 11… the last of which I gave myself today) and the white blood count and neutrophil count are up.  Tomorrow is technically my nadir (the low point) so even if the neupogen hasn’t given me raised numbers they should start coming up on their own.  I’m hoping for a more rapid increase because of the neupogen, but we shall see.  As to my tiredness… my red counts were down on Monday…. and according to reports  from Mom and Kev I’m looking pretty pale, which I always do when my counts are low.  The neupogen doesn’t do anything for the red counts, so we just have to wait for those to come up on their own.  They usually take a bit longer normally  Again… interesting to see what they will be tomorrow.

The good news is that I haven’t gotten a fever so far… knocking on wood now… and so haven’t had to go to the hospital this time around.  I’m hoping that holds and I don’t get one, and don’t have to go.  I guess if I do I do, but it would be nice not to.

The best news is that Karen comes home from England tomorrow.  I know she is having a hard time leaving Mary, Martin, and Sebastian, and I totally sympathize with all of them.  This long long distance thing is so hard.  I am glad though that she’s coming home to me.  I have been so well taken care of by Mom and have loved having her here, but I’m sure she’s ready to go home as well.  Mom says she’s loved spending this time with her kids… after all, when does a Mom get a chance to spend a month with her grown kids like this.  Pretty nice, even if the circumstances haven’t been ideal, it’s been wonderful.  I have missed Karen terribly though and am so glad she is going to be on her way to me in just under two hours.  It’s a long journey for her… she will be traveling for 18 hours… and she will be exhausted.  But, she will be home…  It’s been our longest time of separation and I can’t wait to see her face.

Tired, But Plugging Along

Posted by tokenhippygirl on September 4, 2010
Posted in: Eats, Family & Friends, Leukemia. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Saturday and another day watching the US Open. Currently my most recent round of antibiotics (every six hours like clock work) is pumping into my vein. I’m blogging one handed on my iPhone with the WordPress App.

Mom is down getting some lunch for herself. I just ordered mine…. Chicken noodle soup, crackers, and some orange sherbet. My mouth is very sore. Makes it hard to eat. I’ve managed to get something down every meal, but I can guarantee there will be more weight loss after this visit.

Took a shower today. Took a lot out of me and I felt exhausted and nauseas for a while after. It’s what happens when the red blood counts get low. They aren’t quite low enough to transfuse me, but the are low. I have that pale look again too. Ah well… We know this will pass. Time for everyone to do the chant for rising counts. I’m in the nadir. The low point. The only thing that went up was my platelet number…. From 47 to 53. A good sign of things possibly wanting to trend up? We don’t know. The hematocrit number went down again from 27 to 25 point something.

Talked to my honey… I love that woman!

For now I’m going to eat my soup. :-)

Back In

Posted by tokenhippygirl on September 2, 2010
Posted in: Family & Friends, Leukemia, The U.K.. Tagged: , , , , . 2 comments

Well folks…. I’m back in. Spiked a fever and had to come in for antibiotics. My counts are very low… So the plan… I have to be here until my counts reach a certain level. Until then I’m here, on antibiotics every six hours…. And constant saline. We are hoping not too long, but it’s all number dependent… So we’re rolling with it. Mom’s been fantastic!

My sweetie made it safe and sound to Lancaster…. No real travel hiccups. I’m so glad. I love that woman!

Disappointed And Venting

Posted by tokenhippygirl on August 16, 2010
Posted in: Family & Friends, Leukemia. Tagged: , , , . 4 comments

So Karen just got off the phone with Nancy, my chemotherapy case manager.  Seems all my counts went up except my neutrophils, which went down from 810 to 770.  Everything else… up.  What does this mean?  I’m still neutropenic.  Yep.  Still neutropenic.  No going out for me without a mask.  No trips to Costco or to the Juvenile Department to clean out my office.  No trip to Sleep Country  to try out mattresses (unless, of course, I wear a mask).  I am disappointed.  I wanted to be able to get some out of the house time before going back into the hospital on Saturday.  We think I can still go, though we aren’t totally sure.  I hope I can.  I mean, I don’t really want to go back in, but I do want to go back in.  Karen is leaving September 1 for England.  That means if I go in on Saturday we have exactly six days together back home after I get out before she leaves.  I’m just kinda bummed right now.  Nancy was going to call the oncologist on call to talk to her about my counts. I may go in for another draw before Thursday.  Maybe not.  We shall see.

I’m venting….

A Tale of Two Counts

Posted by tokenhippygirl on August 9, 2010
Posted in: Eats, Family & Friends, Leukemia. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 comments

Went in for the blood draw today.  Counts are in and it’s a mixed bag.  My hematocrit and hemoglobin (red blood counts… RBC) are up a bit.  My platelets are down a little, but still in the normal range.  My white blood count however, along with the neutrophils, are down again.  I’m still in the moderate range of infection, though my neutrophils are only a smidge above high danger of infection range.  I’ve been here before.  Hopefully we are bottoming out here and by Thursday they are coming up, but one never knows.  That’s the hope.  I feel pretty good (because of the still decent red blood counts) and it would be great to be able to get out of the house safely, without a mask (Had to wear one today when going to get the draw and have to every time I leave… which I don’t really unless I’m going to get a draw or go to the clinic). I am, once again, the boy (or in this case girl) in the plastic bubble.  LOL  Kev offered to get me the suit, the one that’s self contained with the helmet.  I said no, for now… :-)  I look at it all this way… the counts are down means the chemo is doing it’s job, which is what we want.  We want it to do it’s job so that’s a good thing.

My spirits are pretty good for the most part.  They go up and down as one would imagine, sometimes all in the same day.   I still have moments where the anxiety kicks in and then Ativan is my friend.  The anxiety doesn’t happen often anymore, but it does still happen.  It’s natural and very normal even though, for me, it’s a bit strange since I’m usually so mellow as a person.  But again, it’s pretty normal to have these anxiety attacks when going through something like this.  I get through them.  I always know what they are, so even during one I’m saying to myself… it will pass, it will pass.  And it always does.  I got on the treadmill today and then took a long hot bath.  Both good for the soul, and the nerves.

Karen just left for the store… more milk for cereal, batteries for the garage door opener, bread, ham for those panini sandwiches I love, and some cookies for me.   I didn’t crave sweets for a couple of months, but now every once in awhile I am craving them.

I’m watching the show Challenge on the Food Network (the Food Network and HGTV are my staples… along with the Travel Channel and whatever channel is showing a movie I might like to watch.  Earlier today I watched the Inside Man… not stellar, but watchable.  I’m not that picky.  I’ve even watched some Lifetime movies… yeah, I know… shudder at the thought.).  The challenge today is sandwich making.  Sandwiches are one of my favorite things to eat.  Yum yum!  It’s making me crave my favorite sandwich… the hot pastrami on challah bread from Kornblatt’s Deli on 23rd.  Now THAT is a sandwich.  SO good.  I will just add it to the list of restaurant foods I want when I can have them (can’t have food cooked in restaurants while I’m neutropenic… good thing my honey makes some tasty vittles!).

On that happy note… time to sign off of today’s entry and get down to figuring out what to watch (sandwich challenge is over)… and the winner is HGTV’s show Property Virgins.  You should check it out if you haven’t.

11

Posted by tokenhippygirl on August 3, 2010
Posted in: Family & Friends, Leukemia. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 comment

Tuesday… Blood results were as expected, I guess.  White blood cells and neutrophils are low, though I wasn’t in the neutropenic range yet.  We don’t know if they are still falling or going up, so we are acting as if I am neutropenic as they weren’t that low, but they were close enough.  My red blood cells are still in the normal range so I’m not needing a transfusion.  Hopefully I won’t need one.  I really don’t want to have to get the IV if I don’t have to.  I’m feeling a tad tired, but not really that bad, which is good.   The truth of the numbers will be told by the blood draw on Thursday.  We will at least know if the numbers are still doing down or coming up.  It will be good to know.

Karen has been and is still swamped with work.  So busy.  Loads going on, problems she’s needing to solve, etc.  At least she got some sleep last night.  Makes it easier for her to deal with all that’s going on.  She’s loving the weather right now… working outside on the back deck under the umbrella at our little table.  Her laptop fits and she’s got the phone with headset.  The dogs are both out there with her, laying on a blanket in the shade.  Rough life for the little dude and dudettie (one of Karen’s nicknames for Riley… there are a million of them, all cute).

Thanks everyone for following along, for sending those great vibes, thoughts, prayers, etc.  I know I keep saying this, but I feel them and they matter to me.  This journey has been a bit isolating (out of necessity) and getting notes and comments and such from all of you lets me know, and keep knowing, that I have such a big group of people out there who love and care for both Karen and I.  It matters to me and to us more than we can say.

Tuesday… Day 10

Posted by tokenhippygirl on August 2, 2010
Posted in: Eats, Family & Friends, Leukemia, Riley, Weston. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Went in for the blood draw today.  After that we sat in the waiting room of the oncology department for an hour waiting for an advice nurse.  She finally came out to tell me that the sore spot on my hand, the one with the lump in it that is where I had an IV during my last hospital stay, has phlebitis.  Apparently either the push was too fast for that vein or something.  Either way the vein got inflamed, which is why it’s sore.  The advice nurse told me if we got to it earlier it would’ve been easier to treat.  I asked her if it would go away and she said possibly/probably after a long time.  Yeah?!!  I’m hoping it does.  I’m going to try the treatment she said it needed initially and see if, a week later, it still helps.  Basically we’re talking ice and heat and tylenol.  I’ve already done the tylenol.  LOL  We’ll see what the ice and heat do for it.

As for the blood numbers…  They are down… the white blood cells and neutrophils down quite a bit.  I’m not neutropenic yet (and maybe won’t be), but we won’t really be able to tell which way my numbers are going until I get the draw on Thursday.  For now we are going to act as if I am neutropenic just in case they are going down.  They are close enough that precautions won’t hurt.  We know what to do.  No fresh fruits or veggies, no people with colds or people who have been around people with colds, no dirt, and no people who have cleaned the cat box (strange I know, and we don’t really know why, but this is a biggie).  Apparently being around the dogs is OK.  At least that’s what they told us before.  We are going with that.  And really… I’m not neutropenic yet, and again, may not even get there.

It was a long Monday.  Karen was/is exhausted.  My honey had to get up at 5:45 this morning for a meeting and then worked non-stop, meeting after meeting, until we left for the clinic at 2:15.  That all on top of not really sleeping that good.  She then drove me to the clinic, waited with me for over an hour in the waiting room like the trooper she is, drove home (with a stop at the store), made dinner, and then cleaned out the fridge of fresh fruit (she is sitting in front of a bowl of watermelon trying to eat it, with Kev’s help, so we can get the fruit out of here) and then cleaned the fridge where the fruit was.  I know I keep saying this… but, I love her.

The dogs just got a rare treat… a taste of watermelon.  They don’t normally get people food…. other than an occasional veggie mixed in with their food, but they are always happy when they get a little treat.  Like now….