Yesterday was a long day of medical tests and appointments. I started out at the BMT lab at 8am with blood tests and an antibiotic IV of Ceftriaxone, prior to my scheduled endoscopy (EGD) at 9am. My wife had dropped me off at 7:30 am, since I could not drive my self after the EGD. There was a lot of delay and the EGD did not start until about 11:30. Even before they would start they needed to confirm with a family member who would pick me up afterwards. Since I was supposed to see the liver specialist at 11am that was delayed as well.
Anyway the actual endoscopy went ok. The Dr strapped a mouth guard around my head while the nurse administered a sedative through my IV. Before I knew it, I was recovering with a minor throat irritation. The report of the exam highlighted some recent bleeding at the pylorus, between the stomach and duodenum and a hiatus hernia, though neither appeared serious. Some biopsy samples were taken, but need to be tested.
After the EGD, they pushed me in a wheelchair over to the liver Dr at about 12:30. I then saw my BMT Dr at about 3pm. Everyone seemed to be running late, but I got through it all. By the time my son got me home at 4pm, I was hungry and needed to catch up on all my pills.
Because of the bleeding and hernia, I have stopped taking blood thinners (Coumadin and Lovenox) and will double my dose of Protonix for acid reflux. Recent blood tests had indicated that my original blood clotting problems had been "cured" by the BMT anyway.
The most concerting prognosis from the liver biopsy last week was that there is scarring or cirrhosis of the liver most likely due to the iron buildup discovered before or a complication of the GvHD. The analysis of the Ascites fluid showed no infections or evidence of any tumors. Changes in treatment include a new medicine, Spironolactone, to help reduce the fluid retention and stopping of potassium which is not needed with this mew med. We will see if the Ascites returns and if I need additional drainage of the fluid. Since my blood counts are good again, I will restart the phlebotomies tomorrow and continue every two weeks, possibly for another 3 years. My next appoinments with my BMT and liver Drs is scheduled for Feb 10.
3 comments:
Hope it is not too serious. Sorry you are going through this.
Ken Brandt
Hi, Joel -- We are sorry to hear about this diagnosis, and are hoping and praying that the new medication is successful.
Bev, Bob, Steve, and Liz
Greetings - So sorry that you've had such troubles but glad to hear that the BMT is working well. It's good they discovered the liver trouble so they can work on it and get it better. Hope you're more comfortable with the fluid situation and that things are calming down and you're feeling stronger. We think of you and send healing prayers each day, Judy and Paul in North Attleboro
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