I have good news that both my cholesterol and iron levels are down. The Simvastatin has taken effect and my cholesterol has dropped from 252 a month ago to 139 this week. There may be some side effects since I seem to have more joint pain.
My ferritin has dropped almost 400 points in the last month, from 2618 to 2234. At this rate it might be down to normal in 5 months though I am not sure it is a linear process. My hematocrit was only 38.8 this morning, just barely high enough for my weekly phlebotomy. It was 40.4 last week so I might have to skip a week occasionally for my blood counts to recover.
On the negative side, I have developed Purpura, purple discolorations that are caused by bleeding underneath the skin. The doctor says that the prednisone causes thinning of the skin and I must scrape the area where a spot occurs. There is no pain and the spots disappear in about a week.
It will be 2 months until my next doctor appointment if all goes well. Other than phlebotomies, I need to schedule vaccinations for Hepatitis B. I probably will not be posting in the meantime. Remember that you can subscribe to be notified of updates; see the lower right margin.
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