Doctors Visit and Update

[Terri]

Dr advised he will probably keep Bob on the Vidaza for a year. His whites are finally at the normal level. Reds are normal, Hgb still hanging in the 10’s and 11’s. Doctor said his MCV is low indicating that he is not absorbing the oral iron supplements. (He does get weekly procrit shots) They are now going to give him a weekly IV of Feratous to see if this will help boost his HGB. In May his BMB showed he was completely depleted, he has been taking the iron supplements since but he is still not absorbing enough. Bob has not had to have TX since Dec 03 so I don’t think the dr is fearing an overload.

Bob’s biggest concern is if he goes another 9 rounds where will they find places for the injections his bruises don’t seem to go away.

Dr feels if we only do six again we may run into the same thing as last where the blast come back and that at some point with the starting and stopping the Vidaza will not work on him, and so far apparently it is. Not sure when he will do the Next BMB I guess depends what he sees in the Periphial blood as well, he looks at smears on the slide every visit.

[mommachkate]

Hi Terri, Good to hear that Bob’s counts are back to normal. Did you asked the doctor about the injection sites? I remember , we thought when George had them, that they never going to desolve. There was less bruise on his arm.Our best wishes for the rest of his treatment Kate

[Suzanne]

Terri, So glad that things are under control again. Hope they stay that way.

[eve]

hi terri

so glad bob is doing well – as you see my dad has been on vidaza for over 1 year – it is holding his condition in check -unlike bob though he still needs txs, but since he is on vidaza they have been spaced further apart

as far as the bruising from the shots goes – my dad has very low platelets so his bruises heal very very slowly – he has found that the ones on his belly (where he tries to take most of the shots)heal a lot better than the ones on his arms (he almost never takes them on the leg – he says those hurt the most) – the bruises are sometimes still there from month to month of treatment, but they are not sensitive by the time the next treatment cycle comes around

wishing bob continued good health

eve

[Terri]

Eve, Hope your dad Continues to respond with the Vidaza too. Bob tried the stomach once last March or April and he still has two round bruises so large he never wants to use his stomach. The arms have lost so much of his weight and muscle that it is hard finding room on them but they bruise the least. We have noticed one of the nurses injects it very very slowly and he rarely bruises when she does it. Try to get the other nurses to do it as well but there slow is never as slow as it should be.

Kate glad to hear from you.

Suzanne, I have to get to your post on your update.

[sarah]

Terri, good to hear Bob is doing so well. Hope he continues to improve.
Take care,
Sarah

[Naomi]

Terri:
Glad that Bob is doing well. It always makes one feel there is hope with this disease.
WIll keep you both in prayers to continue to do well.
Naomi

[shirlsgirl]

yeeeaaa for normal counts!!

Take care, Jody

[LisainOk]

Terri,
Encouraging news about the counts being normal! Just a thought about the bruises….My daughter has ITP and I use pure arnica gel on them. I know her bruises aren’t caused from shots but it could be worth a try to get them to heal faster. If I’m faithful to use it twice a day on her she heals pretty quickly. Someone with more experience on the board may be wiser than I to this though…..

Again, glad that Bob is doing good!!!
Blessings~Lisa

[Terri]

Lisa, Where do you get the Arnica gel I will try anything.

Thank you all for the kind words

[paml]

Hi Terri,

What a good suggestion from Lisa; I had forgotten all about Arnica. Could have used in in Sept. – Oct. when plt were in the 40’s.

Arnica Gel is a homeopathic – plant derivative that is absorbed by the skin. Athletes and trainers use it for relief of muscle aches. It is supposed to reduce pain, swelling and the discoloration caused from bruising.

I haven’t looked for it in a long time but bet you can easily find it at health food stores or on-line.

Pam L.

[B. Greene]

Know you are so relieved and so happy for you. Isn’t it great we have a place to go where people can suggest things that help. Barbra

[Author]

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