Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Support Group
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), also known as acute myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells. Patients with AML usually present with symptoms such as fatigue, bleeding, infection, prompting medical attention. An abnormal blood test reading will then result in further testing in a hospital with a hematologist to determine AML.
Well.. went to the transplant center again today and had all my pre-testing done :). While i was there the coordinator asked me if i would be interested in a clinical trial there doing using lower dose chemo for transplant instead of the normal high dose.
Has anyone done this or know anything about it ? She gave me a book about the entire transplant procedure and it covers the low and high dose advantages and disadvantages, i just wanted to see if anyone has any experience and whats there opinion on doing it or not ?
Has anyone done this or know anything about it ? She gave me a book about the entire transplant procedure and it covers the low and high dose advantages and disadvantages, i just wanted to see if anyone has any experience and whats there opinion on doing it or not ?
They say i have VERY tough skin which makes being stuck that much more pleasureable. Id much rather be doing some under water b.b. stacking right now than this, oh well..atleast im keeping things exciting today :)
I got my first Hickman on the first hospitalization, and then when there was going to be a decent amount of time out of the hospital, they took it out. I got a new one before the transplant. The only thing that made me a pin cushion (and you sound like one already), was when I became septic during my first induction and ended up in the ICU. They were sticking my artery to get blood gases and not doing a great job of it. I still have some scars.
Tell them you want some kind of port put in tomorrow. This is crazy. Why be stuck 1000 times, especially when you have thick skin.
Cliff
Hang in there. I'll second Cliff on saying that it's best to be in hospital. Easy and convenient for transfusions (yeah, I had nosebleeds when my platelets were low).
You'll get everything you need in there and then get to go back home again. If your counts are low, it's not surprising that you don't feel so well. I feel bad for you. I know it's hard to be "sickly" from treatment instead of your healthy self.
We're rooting for you.Enjoy your dairy queen!
Therese
Bitch all you like. I think that it is a requirement for anyone getting treatment who comes on this site. There also might be a quota of minimum times to bitch. You are WAY down, so try to get some extra in.
Are you having your transplant at the same hospital you are at now? I know that U of Michigan liked to have their favorite brand of catheter (NeoStar) and I had Groshong when I was in a local hospital for treament. Both worked great. I'm just wondering why the wait for the catheter unless you're going to a different hospital fro the transplant. Yeah, I had my share of PICC's and they were a pain cause they ended up not lasting for long and had to be pulled.
Again, you're where you need to be for now (hospital). You'll feel so much better once your counts go up a bit.
Therese
Maybe they are thinking that since you won't be getting more chemo before you are admitted to U of K, they would wait on a definitive port. There is no question that you will get one when you are admitted for transplant. I bet you are counting down the days. You will do great.
As per the comments of my dear Therese, she is right about the bitching quota, but I have surpassed my quota. It's like a leased car....if you go over the mileage, you have to pay. I guess I am paying now.
Take something good for sleep and try to really zone out. By now, I hope your platelets are in and your nose has stopped bleeding.
Cliff
I find it hard to believe that the BP of 120/102 was correctly taken. There is such a thing called PULSE PRESSURE, which is the difference between the high number (systolic) and lower number (diastolic) pressures. You would have a pulse pressure of 18 with that reading, which would not make sense. It it were anxiety, your systolic would go up too. The second reading makes sense.
Ne t'inquiete pas (don't worry)
Cliff
I am in the slammer as well with low counts. Just catching up! So sorry about the troubles you have been having lately. My platelets were 8 and I just had a transfusion too. I was admitted with an ANC of 0, fever, feeling crappy, and OF COURSE a rectal fissure/ abscess which burns like a "ring of fire". I understand the bitching part! IV access issues are awful. I do have a porta-cath ( a port inserted under the skin) which has worked very well for me. Hopefully they will come up with a good solution for you. I am glad your nose bleed has stopped. I am sorry you are back in the hospital but it is where you need to be right now. The Sheriff will be back in town, he may be taking a little longer, but he will come back and put everything back in order.
Take Care,
Suzanne
I am in the slammer as well with low counts. Just catching up! So sorry about the troubles you have been having lately. My platelets were 8 and I just had a transfusion too. I was admitted with an ANC of 0, fever, feeling crappy, and OF COURSE a rectal fissure/ abscess which burns like a "ring of fire". I understand the bitching part! IV access issues are awful. I do have a porta-cath ( a port inserted under the skin) which has worked very well for me. Hopefully they will come up with a good solution for you. I am glad your nose bleed has stopped. I am sorry you are back in the hospital but it is where you need to be right now. The Sheriff will be back in town, he may be taking a little longer, but he will come back and put everything back in order.
Take Care,
Suzanne
I still can't get over the fact that you and Phil have done so much of your treatment as outpatients, only coming in when your counts are zilch and you feel sick. Except for my consolidation, I was in the hospital for everything.
I hope your fissure is responding to treatment and that there is good pain control (with local anesthetic) to keep those muscles from spasming.
Keep your chin up, because your counts will return soon and you will feel so much more like yourself.
Cliff
Don't know about the port situation for sure, but that was my experience before transplant. I had an induction and one consolidation before transplant and did it with PICC lines (totally stunk).
My initial induction and consolidation treatments were all with a port (beautiful!). And of course, once I got to transplant I had the beautiful NeoStar port. Lovin' those ports.
Cliff,
You never bitch. You need to step it up a bit. You are under quota, too.
Suzanne, you have even registered on the "bitchometer." Get moving on that. I'm sure you have some more venting to do about those fissures. Yeesh, I feel so bad for you. I know with my tissue breakdown from the diarrhea, I was in misery and saying to myself that I couldn't believe I was being reduced to tears over this (when there was a whole lot I could have been crying about). The pain was constant and unbelievable. I can't even imagine what you are going through.
When the counts are bottoming out, there are no feelings of good health raging. The good news is that the counts will start to rise and you'll feel so much better when they do. I don't need to be telling either of you that, cause you are old hands at this by now.
Keep up your good spirits and know that we are thinking of you both (and bitch as much as you can--it's good for you, too!).
Therese
After 4 tries they finally stuck me and got some blood. They coukdnt use my right arm due to my picc clot so my left arm is nice and sore and im sure will be bruised up tomorrow. Oh well, they got what they needed. My darn blood press is back up, it was 124/92 not too bad i guess. I asked the nurse to get my "happy pill" as i call it so i can snooze and forget this day...