Incorrect information...

Hello! It was my daughter, Kiersten's 22nd birthday yesterday, December 6th! My husband & I just cannot believe she's already 22! We can remember the number of times when they were little how we used to discuss the fact we cannot imagine them being teenagers, let alone adults! Time just flies.
In as much as we miss the innocent days when the girls were just wee ones to their teenage years.... I have to admit it's quite nice now that they are adults. They are living here at home with us and it has been just fabulous having them home with us. When they were on their own for the time they weren't here, it was really good for them to learn just how rough it can be to manage all sorts of bills, auto gas, entertainment and whatnot! Now that they are living at home, they don't pay rent or anything.... (that will soon change though!).... I do want to say that they do pay "their" bills that have nothing to do with the house and food. However we'll let them have their financial 'freedom' a while longer! (EG).... seriously, they need to start contributing because there are times we certainly feel they have too much fun with what they can readily have on hand that they wouldn't be able to have if they were still on their own. Doesn't that sound familiar?!!! We are just so grateful they are very good young ladies. Thank Goddess they aren't into drugs or any other "inappropriate" behaviors that could spell trouble for them. They are truly well mannered, polite young ladies. Our relationship is just beautiful! We are very fortunate. I will definitely say I am so GLAD their teenage years are behind us! Ugh! I think teenagers are worse than two-year olds! Oy! I do not miss their outbursts at all! I never will miss it! lol!
We thought having 4 adults in the house (3 women, 1 Gentleman) would be challenging to say the least. Boy were we wrong! It's been just fantastic! We are enjoying the girls as long as they are at home with us. We know we are going to experience empty nest syndrome soon. We are enjoying and certainly appreciating as well as respecting one another. In spite of mistakes which is all quite normal, it is truly special to watch our daughters become even finer young women. :-)

Yesterday I stopped at my doctors' office to pick up several things. One of them was my lab report. When my doctor called me a week ago, he told us that my WBC was too high at 13 thousand. We had no idea what the normal WBC ranges were. The doctor mentioned to me if my count goes to a level that doesn't improve, even by 5 counts, he's going to have no choice but to terminate my chemotherapy treatment. This terrifies me a great deal. For the very FIRST time in almost 3 years now, My ANA count is FINALLY under the 1000 mark! Believe me I know this is dangerously high of a count but when you deal with ANA constantly climbing AND climbing, all you can think of is how much longer do I have before I am no longer here. I am totally not ready to leave mother earth. I have far too much to live for! When you have a life altering illness, believe me, life flashes right before your eyes. Everything you knew, everything you once thought all become a memory. Everything you see, everything you hear, everything you consume is far more precious and truly appreciated.
Back to my lab work.... My WBC count is NOT 13,000! I think the interpreter who handled my VCO call might have misunderstood the doctor. My doctor can talk as if he has a mouthful of marbles sometimes. My WBC is too low. The lab work was done on the 28th of November. I received the doctors' call on the 29th. I was very surprised the lab work was done so quickly. I thought I would hear from the doctor sometime earlier this week. Anyhow, my WBC is 2.8. Reference Interval is between 4.0 ~ 10.5. I asked what is the difference between a low WBC (White Blood Cell) count and a high WBC... low WBC simply indicates that the body is unable to fight infections. High WBC indicates (if I remember correctly... please correct me if I'm wrong) that the body has an infection. The nurse did mention to me that chemotherapy can frequently lower one's WBC.
Under the test of CBC With Differential/Platelet, my WBC is low, RDW is high, Neutrophils is high and Lymphs (Absolute) is low. The nurses were trying to find out what RDW is but nothing showed up in the reference books. I also have no clue what the others mean. I'll have to research it later on.
My Comp. Metabolic Panel (14) shows that my Alkaline Phosphatase is very high, AST (SGOT) is high, and ALT (SGPT) is also high.
My protein is positive whatever that means.
My ANA (Antinuclear Antibodies Direct) count of course is high. (Normal count is 100 to 120).... BUT, BUT and a big BUT.... this is EXCELLENT news for all of us... It's at 937!!!!! Believe me, I've been doing the happy dance the entire week!
I really started to worry a great deal last year in the spring of 2006 when nothing was working. How much chemotherapy can the body take after so long?! My ANA count just kept climbing higher and higher and finally I had a break from chemo the end of September & October of 2006 which is when I was hit with pancreatitis and hospitalized several weeks. Believe me, pancreatitis is no fun. The doctors didn't want me to start chemotherapy for a while for fear I might have another flareup of pancreatitis... during the time I was free of treatments for lupus, my ANA count was spiraling totally out of control.
My doctor said he wanted for me to have my blood work done which I had done yesterday... I am quite honestly very nervous about the results. I am very nervous if my WBC dropped any lower, then I'm truly done for in terms of chemotherapy. I have no clue what else will help control my ANA count. I have been trying to put a very positive front on this with my husband who is an absolute saint (I'm dead serious, he's an absolute saint!) and my daughters because I really don't think they need to know just how unbelievably nervous I am of the results. I've been thinking (which can be a dangerous thing with me sometimes!!!!) if cytoxan ends up being ceased, could I go back to methoextratate and just deal with the side effects? I had enormous pain from methoextratate....
Even though I lost all of my hair with Cytoxan, I did well most of the time... but became quite ill the past weekend and still feel quite ill... I am constantly nauseous and back to 'living' in the bathroom. I went to the doctor's yesterday to pick up some stuff... the ride there was torture... I just wanted a bathroom very close by... yesterday certainly was a rough day... I am currently feeling very nauseous and have taken Zofran which to my absolute, complete surprise is not even helping. Zofran normally helps me instantly. I don't know why it isn't helping me now. The nurse did mention that it is normal after being on Cytoxan over a period of time to start feeling this way. She said not to be surprised if it gets worse. Just what I need to hear. I don't want another sick Christmas. I'll never forget how sick I was from chemotherapy in 2002. Never again. Or at least I thought. We'll see how things go. I will post an update when I find out the newest lab results. I am hoping my WBC has at least improved. BTW, when I was out yesterday, I wore my surgical mask without taking it off. In as uncomfortable as it is, I wouldn't risk removing it at all. I am a little paranoid with viral germs right now simply for the fear if I do get whatever viral germ it is, I may not be strong enough to fight it off. So... the surgical mask has to be worn to avoid any illnesses. I really can't afford that at all.
Will keep you posted when I find out what the new lab results are.... two things... hope for improvement in WBC count and more of a drop in my ANA count!