Zero Coke and Minimum Pepsi

Last week I had what was undoubtedly the best renal consultation in a year. I had scheduled a day of appointments with a visit to my new renal consultant at 9am followed later in the day by a scheduled appointment with my Haematology consultant at 1:15. It made for a long, but ultimately productive day, …

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Get the Balance Right

The body is a complex organism. There are many chemical reactions going on inside of us all of the time and we never give it a second thought most of the time. As processes happen others are triggered which compensate and result in a consistent environment which keeps us healthy most of the time. Biologists …

Day 0/1

Today has been busy, after a quieter morning. I managed to get reasonable sleep in spite of regular trips to the loo, due to the diuretics. They were worried I was retaining too much water, but the body is a complex organism and getting the balance is difficult. In recent days they have increased my …

Ice Pops and Poison

It's a strange thing to sit here as I've just been poisoned for my own good. The chemotherapy has started. Melphalan has been injected and I'm sitting here sucking on an ice pop. I've not had one in years but it's a necessary medical treatment. The purpose is to keep my mouth and gut cool …

Progression

A progress update at the end of the second cycle.

Sunday Summary – 28th May (Symptoms)

Three weeks on from my previous Sunday Summary and a chance to take stock of where things are. This is a summary which is a good stopping off point if you are interested but don't want to wade through all my posts. I am now very much out of hospital and undergoing chemotherapy as an outpatient. I …

Water

Water is the stuff of life - they say. For me water is very much centre stage at the moment. Water coming in and water coming out! I am required to drink 3L a day of water to keep my kidney flushed and to bring it back to good health, to mitigate against the paraprotein …

Overcoming K+

Potassium ions  (K+) have dominated my health over the past week - the battle to bring the values down have been protracted and in the end it has been suppressed to sensible values. But I must remain vigilant Drinking lots of water is one thing I need to do - 3L per day is my …

Sunday Summary – 7th May

Just a summary of where things are at. Myeloma The chemotherapy treatment has started and I have now had three courses of Velcade and two of Cyclophosphamide. This has been administered alongside the steroid Dexamethasone, following the VCD pathway. As yet there are no noticeable side effects which is good, other than a slight red rash at …

Biometrics

One thing that had been a constant since I have been in hospital is measurement of my body - whether as at the start the extent of the movement in my shoulders, to various MRI, Ultrasound, CT and X Rays tests I have had both in Nairobi and in Lincoln. More recently here in Lincoln …

Food Fight

Yesterday I had a visit from the dietician. The 15 minute conversation was very much geared on ways to combat the potassium excess through my diet. Whilst the drip has been working and drinking plenty of water is flushing my kidneys through it will be important to deal with the short to meduim term concentration …

Frustrating Days

The potassium won't drop consistently and hovers around 6 - critical for most of the day teaching a high of 6.4. Haematology have suggested that it might be a false positive but Renal are more cautious and up the meds. I spent most of the night last night and all of the afternoon.and evening booked …

False Positives

So one possible explanation of my raised Potassium appears to be due to the large number of dead Myeloma cells in my blood stream, which have been destroyed by the chemotherapy- these cells - full of potassium are giving false positive readings  due to the method of testing. More blood extraction has not reveal acidima …

Potassium

Potassium is an essential electrolyte. It is one of those chemical substances which is vital for the body to function properly. It is used by your nerves and muscles, especially your heart. The body is an amazing and fine balanced machine and just one thing out of kilter can really cause major problems. Too much …

Yoyo Blood

I've never liked looking at blood - I can cope with needles but blood extraction is a nightmare - yet I have had to endure daily blood tests and continuous stabbing. My arms look like a heroine addict there are so many puncture holes. All this has been the result of my blood contents and …