ASCT Day +6

It has been almost a week since my transplant, and I am still feeling pretty good.  Yesterday, my other OCRM (Old College Roommate), Bernie, and his wife, Gloria, drove up from Connecticut to visit me.  It was very nice to see them.  It was a full visitation day, as Bobby, Gretchen, Holly, and Jeff were also here.  Great!  Holly has brought in some pieces of flair to brighten up my room.

Yesterday, my back was itching badly and even the Benadryl ointment didn't help.  My nurse, Rebecca, got me a pill (I forget the name of it), and that really helped.  I didn't need any more ointment yesterday, and it still feels pretty good today after only one dose.  This morning the redness has faded some, so it seems to be getting better.

I started receiving daily injections of Neupogen yesterday at half the dose I took before my stem cell collection.  This lower dose should cause less bone pain, but I should be OK, since I didn't experience any before.  The Neupogen should stimulate the growth of white blood cells.  Sure enough, my WBC numbers actually went up today!  Here is a graph showing my WBC since last Sunday:



I was told that this uptick is probably temporary, and it will likely go down further before it rebounds permanently.

My hematocrit increased slightly today, so I can hopefully avoid a blood transfusion.  Also, my platelets are finally dropping, down to about half of where they were a few days ago.  This is expected.

I felt a little on the verge of nausea earlier today, so they gave me a new pill, Zydis.  This drug is often used as an anti-psychotic, so I should get a double benefit.  ;-)

So far, I have only faced minor issues since coming to BWH.  Dr. Paba Prada dropped by today, and she thinks I am doing very well.  I'm pretty optimistic that I may get through this hospital stay without any serious difficulties.  So far, so good.