My bout with cellulitis and the other weird bacterial infection seems to be under control. I finished a 10-day course of antibiotics on Monday and visited Dr. Sebeny that day for a followup. Unless it gets worse, I don't need to go back. The pain is gone, and the discoloration and scabbing are slowly disappearing. It's all good!
The one glitch in this experience is that the abdominal CT scan I got in the hospital showed a "spot" in my left kidney. I got a CD of the CT scan to take to my Dana Farber appointment on Tuesday. My PCP, Dr. Ray, also got a copy of the scan. Her office called me this week to give me a referral to a urologist. I guess I need to follow up on this. It seems that there is always something.
My Dana Farber appointment on Tuesday went well. I told them about the CT scan, and they checked my previous history. I had a PET scan last year, which didn't show anything, but my nurse, Ally, said that a PET scan is not the best way to check for kidney issues. All my blood test results continue to show completely normal kidney function, which is great!
Some of my CBC blood test numbers improved from last cycle. My platelets and neutrophils are both back in the normal range, so I didn't need to get a GCSF shot on this visit. My white blood cell count also improved some, although it is still low. I got another IVIG infusion to continue boosting my white blood cell count.
So far, I have gotten two results that track my progress on the clinical trial. My free Kappa light chain value and Kappa/Lambda ratio are still both in the normal range. That's great! My 24-hour urine monoclonal protein study also came back negative with "No monoclonal protein detected". Also great! This time, it didn't note that I have hypogammaglobulinemia, which might be a reflection of my improved white blood cell count.
I'm still waiting for the serum protein electrophoresis result, which I should get early next week, but I expect that will be negative as well. Unless it shows a probllem, I won't bother to update my blog with that result. All in all, things seem to going very well!
My next appointment will be after we return from Ireland next month. I'm really excited about this trip! Slainte!
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