GvHD to mouth

[vanguardsheet]

My Dad did his SCT about a year ago using his sister’s cells. So far, he is doing ok. However, there are incidences of GvHD. In particular, the GvHD of his mouth is rather strong. He finds that it has affected his taste buds somewhat and it appears to be affecting his lips.
His doctor has tried to control the GvHD with increased dose of cyclosporin and increased the frequency of his budesoide mouth garge. But after several weeks, results are not apparent. So am sharing on the message board to see if any one has encountered a similar issue and have successfully overcome it.

Also, my Dad’s blood pressure is on the high side these days. He gets headaches and is taking blood pressure management pills. Wonder what caused the BP to go up?

[Neil]

Mouth sores are a common form of GVHD. A mild form of GVHD is desirable after a SCT it is a positive indicator the transplant is grafting. Some GVHD is better than no GVHD.
Hypertension is a common side effect of cyclosporin in some patients. Click on the following link for info. Just scroll down to the side effects section.
http://dermnetnz.org/treatments/cyclosporin.html

[shirlsgirl]

Hi,

High blood pressure is a common side effect of cyclosporin. My mom also had high blood pressure while she was taking cyclosporin (she was on it for her platelets). Now that she is no longer taking it, her blood pressure is now back to normal and sometimes on the low side. Hoping your Dad’s GVHD improves.

Take care,

Jody

[Terri]

What is gvhd, I see it mentioned on the forum a lot

[Conrad]

Hi Terri.
GvDH stands for “graft versus host disease”. It can occur after a bone marrow transplant. Put simply, the transplanted cells begin to attack the host (the patient who had the transplant).
After the bone marrow transplant, antibodies and white cells from the donor will begin to be produced. If the match of donor was perfect then this is fine. However, there is usually some difference between host and donor and so to a greater or lesser degree they will attack the tissues of the host. At a low level this may not be a problem and may even be beneficial in destroying any remaining bad bone marrow cells. In severe cases the attack can be fatal.
GvDH is controlled by giving drugs that suppress the immune system.
GvDH differs from “rejection” of a transplant in that with rejection the host’s immune system is attacking the transplant. This happens more with other types of transplant and can happen with bone marrow transplants. However, with a bone marrow transplant you are transplanting the tissues that create our immune system. It is therefore more likely that the graft will attack the host.

Hope this helps.
Conrad

[gemloyear]

Conrad, That’s the best explaination that Iv’e seen for GVDH here on this forum. Thanks.
Ellie

[Terri]

Thank you Conrad, I have seen it so many times and thought is this another thing we have to worry about did not realize it was only transplant patients.

[vanguardsheet]

Thank you for everyone’s replies. Especially Neil’s. Guess my Dad’s condition is similar to Neil’s. Has del 20q- and his platelets have progressively been hit over time.
Through the active sharing in this forum, I am sure it has brought much comfort and answers to many for this often baffling and tough condition which some doctors may not exactly have a handle on.

[Author]

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