Okay, I admit, I was beginning to flip out about the bloody test result delay. Last night, for example, a silly incident set me off: my kitten, Pinga, has a bad sore throat, poor dear…the vet prescribed antibiotics. No problem, we thought. She will be the easy one, we thought. Hah. Last night she pig(cat)headedly refused to take her pill in any way, shape or form. And, after she stubbornly walked away from our umpteenth attempt to administer the crushed pill in a yummy morsel format, I had a sort of meltdown. Pinga was the icing on my stress cake, I guess. Luckily, my meltdown didn’t last long…
And even more luckily, the wait is over. A big fat envelope was sitting peacefully in my mailbox today…it didn’t even apologize or look the least bit contrite for having shown up so bloody late…! Surprisingly, my hands didn’t shake at all as I went to my computer to compare these tests with my previous ones. I didn’t even miss a heartbeat as I opened the envelope. I was in complete and utter control, ready for anything, good or bad…
Okay, comparing these results to my December 2009 set, my total IgGs have gone down, from 3410 to 3360 mg/dL…not much, that is true, but hey, even the slightest slide in a downward direction makes me happy. My other Igs are still holding their own…my brave little troupers! 🙂
My M-spike is slightly up, but only an itsy bitsy bit: this bit of news is less comforting, but, after all, it is still less than 3 g/dL. Can’t complain. I will push it down again.
Going down the list in order, now. My white cells have gone down but only a fraction of a fraction and are still within the reference range. My red cells have actually gone up a tiny bit and are thus well established within the normal range. Hemoglobin is 13,1 (down just a drop compared to December’s 13,5). Hematocrit is more or less the same. My platelets went up from 264 to 291, though. Good.
Total protein: slightly down. It was 9,9 in December and now it is 9,8 g/dL. Every little bit counts! Beta-2 microglobulin: was 2,7 in December, now is 2,6 mg/L. Holding steady! My CRP (C-reactive protein) has also decreased a bit: from 0,29 to 0,23. Creatinine also slightly down, which is good. Uric acid: down a fraction…from 5,0 to 4,7. And now for an increase…a slight increase in my albumin, which is good…my albumin/globulin ratio is now heading toward the normal range. Not quite there, yet, but going in the right direction!
And here is more good news: my free light chains have improved…A LOT. My kappas have dropped considerably and my lambdas are up, which means that my kappa/lambda ratio is still a bit high, but not AS high as it has (always) been. The ratio has gone down almost 38 points…now, I am not an FLC expert by any means, but I am quite sure that that is good. According to the Binding Site interpretation chart, I am still “MGUS with BM suppression.” Ah, how I would love to be MGUS without BM suppression…but okay, one can’t have everything!
Ah, one more thing. I am going to stop taking vitamin D for a while…both of my vitamin D results are above the normal range! But, yaaay, my parathyroid hormone is now smack in the middle of the normal range…! Super!
Stefano told me that he is going to uncork a bottle of spumante this evening…good idea! I think we need to celebrate the fact that I am still rock-solid stable…oh by the way, after these good results, ashwagandha has been promoted to Vice President of my basic protocol (curcumin and fish oil). Curcumin, naturalmente, has been confirmed as President…
Yippee for you! And you gotta love cats who never give up!
Congrats on the test results and continuing to be stable! Waiting for results is absolutely the worst, even for seasoned pros like you. How much Vit D were you taking?
Yaaaaaay! I just love good news! Congratulations!
Margaret:
I think you are on a right path. In my opinion your labs will not change much next time ever. Because of very positive and substantial light chains changes in relation to M-spike, I would analyze very carefully diet, exercise, other activities, and all supplements during last three days before blood draw in comparison to the whole period. I think right now you have opportunity to understand this trend better and only subtle tuning will keep you stable longer. Best wishes.
Peter 06
Molto bene!
Maragret — well congrats as these results sound pretty good to me! But with a Hgb of 13 and platelets 291,000 I would not call that bone marrow suppression — although of course I don’t know all the other results like WBC and ANC count. Yes those Free Light Chain results are improved too. Good stuff — as you would say “Keep on smouldering!” Gerry
Glad to see so many “Good!”s and “Holding steady!”s! Hope you enjoyed your evening celebration with Stefano.
Is using a comma in place of a decimal point a European thing? I’ve seen a couple of my students do it, but I never saw it while I was in school K-12.
Great news that they were worth the wait! 😀
Yea good News. I could not be happier!…I go in Aug…they will also check my spine this time around. As with you my Igg dropped from 3200,,,to 2300, also my m spike goes up slightly. Its been 1 year as of May 7 th….stable I can live with the rest of my life!! Enjoy the good News.
Outstanding, Margaret!
What a great relief for you!! Glad to hear such good news and intentions are in place for a continuance…
Yippee! Margaret, I celebrate with you in thoughts and prayers at your test results! Enjoy!
Yippee! Hurray! Margaret, I celebrate with you in thoughts and prayers at your test results! Enjoy!
Great news of course.
How much ashwaganda are you now taking ? and is it away from the curcumin ?
Near perfect results. Keep up the good work !!
I am so happy for you. And I am curious too…..exactly what other supplies do you take now other than the curcumin ???
I am still stable too. Had hoped that the curcumin should have lowered my iGg, but there was no change. I will go on taken it but also look at the way to take it and may be other supplies too.
I think the anti spam word was very good this time – feast – that is just what you should do to celebrate the good results. Best whishes.
Johanne
So great! We get ours next week. Who would of thought one day we would be living life blood test to blood test……
Keep living the good life! Have an extra glass of the bubbly for all of us who celebrate with you!
Hey Margaret, congratulations! I’m so happy for you! Stay well!
Robert
Your Cat story reminded of an email I just got a few days ago. The email came with cutesy photos of cats but for the sake of space: (Keep in mind I have a cat I love and the following is a JOKE)
How to Give a Cat a Tablet
1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby.Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding tablet in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop tablet into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve tablet from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy tablet away.
4. Take new tablet from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve tablet from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe.
Call spouse in from the garden.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws.Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop tablet down ruler and rub cat’s throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail. Get another tablet from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put tablet in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw
9. Check label to make sure tablet not harmful to humans and drink one beer to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse’s forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbor’s shed. Get another tablet. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door gently onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick tablet down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus
shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw tee-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from the top of the tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat.Take last tablet from foil wrap. 13. Using heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed, tie the little *&#%^’s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table.Push tablet into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour two pints of water down throat to wash tablet down.
14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room. Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes tablet remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15. Arrange for ASPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
How To Give A Dog A Pill
1. Wrap it in bacon
2. Toss it in the air
Congratulations Margaret!
I’m a new fan, just dx’d with SMM on the 5th.
Keep on smoldering!!
I came across something called LDN – Low Dose Natrexone. Have you heard anything about this drug? I sure would like to know what it is compounded from. Any ideas? Thanks Margaret. I love your blog. Good news on the blood work – yipee!
e vai…
i could use some flc tweaking myself…i have a ratio way out of wack so i am particularly interested in peter 06 comments. i was running around after my daughter’s blood results…if i had those anemia readings it would be trouble big time…but in her case seems ‘only’ iron poor blood. waiting for futher results for her. so my results which came the same day only got a glance. til i return from japan (i do wonder how i got the vit D back so soon…it wasn’t due to be ready till the 29th…but they sent it the 17th??)
Congratulations Margaret! I’m verry happy for you!
and the anti-spam word to day is a good one: enjoy
(I take ashwaganda for a time, and i notice that it is good for mij mental condition).
Hans
Congratulations. Hope your good results are catching.
Congratulations Margaret!!!!
Gooooood!!!
Congratulations!! Great numbers!
I’m excited about the ashwaganda as I’ve just added it to Maggie’s regimen recently (Maggie is my dog who has MM). Time for blood tests in the next few weeks and so my fingers are crossed that her results are as good as yours :-).
Hi Margaret,
I am very happy for you, congratulations! I would caution you however to continue taking vitamin D. It can drop pretty quickly and you will need to continue taking the supplements in order to retain the level you have acheived. If you have been taking high doses, you can drop back to a maintenance level. You should talk to your doctor aobut it.
God Bless, Lynne
is your c rp numbers correct… 29 or is .29 ?
per deciliter or liter?
To Alanna,
I have done a little research on LDN since I am considering trying it. I have found one myeloma patient, Minnesota Don (Myeloma Hope) who took it (along with curcumin) for a few months before going on a cc-4047 (Pomalidomide or Actimid) clinical trial. Don is very good at documenting his data so I did some analysis of his IgG data during the LDN period. His data did a statistic “about face” during this period but unfortunately there are only two data points to look at during this time. The odds of the data points changing the amount that they did, by chance, is about a billion to one. So this is something to look at. If you want to look at my analysis, Margaret can give you my e-mail address and I will send it to you.
TAB