I went to see my family doctor this morning. I ADORE this wonderful man…he’s an absolute genius. Furthermore, he is very attentive and caring (without going overboard). And honest and upfront. This is the kind of doctor that everyone should have.
At any rate, I didn’t tell him beforehand what I thought about my tests but let him read through my results and draw his own conclusions (he would have done so, anyway). Basically, he told me what I already knew, but it’s always good to have a brilliant doctor confirm your assumptions, right?
My high blood viscosity value (the test is ESR, in English) did not worry him in the least. He said that that high number would almost certainly be lower if I were to take that test now. Just as I thought. Yippeewee!!!
He looked at all my other numbers and asked me what a few of them had been back in April. Most have not varied more than 4 %. For instance, my M-spike has gone up less than 1%. Well, he told me that a minimal variation such as that one is not significant, since test results are not 100% exact. Comforting…I suppose!
Conclusion: I am stable. Stable. Stable! STABLE!!! And, consequently, so is Sherlock, whose tests are more or less similar to mine (in terms of variation). Ah, there is much to celebrate today…but only after I prepare my classes for tomorrow! Ciao!
Congratulations – how wonderful “stable” sounds in this connection!
Margaret,
If your doc does not make photocopies of your test results, he won’t necessarily pick up on trends. I want to highly recommend a myeloma spreadsheet which also automatically makes charts of certain data. The spreadsheet was written by Dennis McClure, a member of the North Texas Myeloma Support Group. You can download the template for this spreadsheet at http://northtexas.myeloma.org/newsletters.html (see almost half-way down the page.) Also be sure to download the instructions for use. If you have Excel on your computer, you’ll get the automated graphing. It’s pretty much worth buying Excel! Then you can open it for the first time from within Excel.
P.S.
I just discovered there is another myeloma spreadsheet recommended by Drs. Kyle and Durie, at http://www.mmsg.org/ (see bottom of page for the download link.) Check out both and see which you think is better.
P.P.S.
I just looked at Kyle & Durie’s spreadsheet, and I far prefer McClure’s spreadsheet. I’ve added numerous other tests to it at the bottom.
Ooops! I think I’ve found the best myeloma spreadsheet of all. It’s “Myeloma Manager,” downloadable at http://myeloma.org/main.jsp?type=article&id=2316 .
It needs, however, a new group of tests added to it for serum protein electrophoresis. But I think that can be done by the user easily enough. This spreadsheet has the advantage that it charts without relying on Excel. I think I’ll switch to this one, myself!
Woderful news for you both Margaret.
Hi Hallie, in fact, I have all of my tests on an Excel spreadsheet. I set it up years ago. A few months ago, I downloaded Myeloma Manager, too, but it’s going to take me some time (that I don’t have at present…and perhaps never will!) to plug in all my values, old and new. Plus, I need to change ALL the reference ranges, which is a DRAG.
Anyway, my family doctor knows my history and trends, no worries there. After all, he is a genius! 😉
Thanks for posting this spreadsheet info. It should be very useful for other readers. Good thinking!
Take care,
Margaret 🙂
Hi Margaret,
It makes me very happy to hear that you and Sherlock remain stable. In this network of Myeloma friends, I rejoice in your triumphs and the triumphs of your readers and sorrow in the setbacks. Please take care. What affects one of us affects all of us. Your long distance friend, Donna
In the myeloma world where it seems everything goes UP, that word “stable” really is very comforting. I could live a very long time with “stable.”
Don