hi everyone,
it’s been a long time since i’ve been on this site. My father was diagnosed with MDS back in Jan 2007 and he was classified to have RCMD and borderline between MDS and myeloproliferative desease (MPD). Sine Jan 2007, he has been receiving bi weekly blood transfusions, which initially was 1 unit, but for the past 1 1/2 years, its been 2 units. so basically, he receives 1 unit per week.
we tried Revlimid for 1 week, but he had a bad reaction to it – itching, so it was discontinued. then we tried Vidaza (i believe 6 rounds) but it brought his plts down, and since then his plts have been declining. at one point, he also received about 4 plt trasnfusions .
my father has now been having trouble with his spleen which occured last month. he was rushed to the ER and we found out that he has an enlarged spleen. since then our hema has recommended a splenectomy but i have read the prior posts and it is not a light decision. the reason for the surgery is that my hema believes that the spleen is soaking in all the blood , which is why the spleen is enalrged. he beliesvse that if the spleen is removed, my dad won’t need trasnfusions as frequently.
my first question is, how many ppl on this forum has had their spleen removed, and if so, what was your expeirence. also, would you recommend the procedure , based on your experience?
my second question is, for those who have had spleen trouble, are there any home remedies you have tried that has helped? or specific type of pain killers ?
and lastly, if spleen removal isn’t an option because it is such a risky procedure, has anyone had radiation? and if so, what was your experience?
thank you so much for all your help.
best wishes,
june
.
