Dennis had transplant on April 24, 2013

[KathyM]

Hi Everyone-
Just wanted to let you know that Dennis had his transplant on Wed, April 24, 2013. It ended up being pushed back a day - they were afraid he had an infection but it turned out he didn't - just being cautious.

The transplant went well! The nurse who performed it said it was "one for the books - one of the easiest she's done" He had 2 liters and it started at 10am and finished at 1pm. He didn't have any adverse reactions at all - no fever, chills - nothing. He was whoozy from medication and dozed off and on - but was in good spirits the whole time. I'm hoping all this is a good sign of things to come-

He has been responding well to all his treatments; chemo and ATG. The worst part is - he has arthritis in his knees and is not able to take his usual medication for relief - naproxen - because it interfers with his platelets. He is really suffering with that - he says he can withstand the treatments - but the pain in the knees is awful. He's been given everything - tramadol, morphine and finally dilaudid - which provided relief. They also have been giving him some type of patches and a physical therapist will be seeing him today.

The nurses tell us that this weekend he'll probably begin to feel the effects of chemo and his counts will drop to zero - then begin to climb back up. He's been doing his mouth rinses faithfully and doing everything the drs tell him to do-

It's so strange -because all these months of waiting and waiting - and now the transplant almost seemed like the culmination of everything - when in reality its just the beginning.

We are doing a caringbridge website - if anyone is interested.

[Neil Cuadra]

Kathy and Dennis,

You're off to a good start. Congratulations!

I'm sorry to hear about the knee pain. I'm glad the dilaudid helps, but watch out because it can cause hallucinations. You have to find the right balance between too little (not masking the knee pain) and too much (unpleasant side effects).

Please keep us informed.

[ssdavi71416]

How about Tramadol? I was on it for headache and joint pains. It works very well and seemed to be the best for joint pains. The rheumatologist was the one that initially gave it to me. It is sort of a narcotic but I don't think it has the addictive effect. My parents take it for joint pains as well.

[4bcsboys]

Congratulations on Dennis's new birthday! I wish you all the best. Are y'all in Philadelphia? I'm in DR and go to Christiana for hematologist.

[4bcsboys]

DE!! I hate spell check sometimes

[KathyM]

Thanks everyone.
They did try tramadol and even some morphine - but all that did was knock him it didn't really relieve the pain - the only thing that worked was the diladid - and yes, they are watching him closely with that and giving it sparingly - but thank goodness he finally got some relief. A physical therapist saw him today and gave him some exercises to do while in a chair or in the bed - that helped a lot - and he has been trying to walk around the floor as much as possible too.

4bc - he's at Jeanes Hospital in Philadelphia. Jeanes is affilated with Temple Hospital.

He's doing pretty well so far - but the dr said that by Monday he'll start feeling the effects of chemo and the counts will drop. So we're holding our breath for that -

The floor at the hospital is full! And the nurses are doing a great job - each nurse is assigned 3 patients.

[dpmeeks]

Great news about his transplant ! Don't get discouraged if after the chemo kicks in he seems to go down hill a bit. When my chemo hit me after transplant it really knocked me down physically, tired, weak, didn't wanna eat, lost weight, etc. but it will get better just slow and give it time. The important thing is the transplant is over, focus on nutrition and exercise as much as possible..

[Hopeful]

Hi Kathy,

The ATG may also be contributing to his knee pain. Joint pain can be a sign of serum sickness. If the ATG is contributing, the pain should lessen in 2 weeks.

On another note, cyclosporine is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. So, once it builds up in his system (about a month), he could be getting some relief from that medication. Be aware when he tapers off of it though - that will exasperate the arthritis for a short period of time.

Congratulations on the great progress!

[DebS]

Kathy,

That is great news about Dennis. Good luck to both of you. I am sure things will keep getting better

[kris]

Prayers go out to Dennis and be sure to take care of yourself. This is not an easy road for anyone. Plan for the worst, pray for the best and tell dennis to do as he's told.
Godspeed!