jm's Adventure with Multiple Myeloma: Pomalidomide (Pomalyst) Update For Relapse After 17 Doses - March 22 2013

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Friday, March 22, 2013

Pomalidomide (Pomalyst) Update For Relapse After 17 Doses - March 22 2013

Up at o'dark thirty and drove to St. Luke's Hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho to have my blood tested and visit with the oncologist. Discussed decreasing the Dex from 40 mg to 30 mg weekly, and Dr. Padavanija is NOT IN FAVOR. All the research on Pomalidomide indicates it works BEST in the present of Dex. So, I took the 10 mg of Dex that shorted myself on Tuesday. Will try dividing the dose 20 mg on Tuesdays and 20 mg on Wednesdays.

 We also discussed changing from injectable Fragmin to the new oral anti-coagulant medication Xarelto. Dr. Padavanija is going to consult Dr. Smith on this this. I'D LOVE LOVE LOVE to get rid of those daily injections! Neither Fragmin nor Xarelto have a reserval agent.

 All of my blood values are decreased over the last 10 days since I started Pomalidomide 4 mg on 5 Mar 2013 (17 doses out of the 21 scheduled).

 White blood cell count (WBC) down to 1.8 (norms 4.5-11); Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) down to 0.89 (norms 1.9-8.8); Hemoglobin down to 9.1 (norms 12-15); and Platelets tanked at 43 (norms 140-440). My LDH was normal at 505 (norms 313-618). 



May have to adjust the pomalidomide dosage or interrupt Pomalyst treatment if my ANC value continues to drop from current 0.89 value to below 0.50. Also, platelet values are evaluated and treatment is interrupted for values less than 25 and reduced dosage to 3 mg for values of 50.  Will have my blood tested again, Wed, 27 Mar 2013.
My kidney function tests are all abnormal this week. Creatinine 1.14 (norms 0.52-1.04); BUN 21 (norms 7-17); GFR 51 (norms > 60).

The blood test for H.Pylori was negative on 22 Mar 2013. So, that is not the cause of my gastritis.

Looks like I'll be wearing a mask FOREVER. Went shopping to pick up my prescriptions and drove home in a light snow storm through the Craters of the Moon National Park, but it was dry in Mackay.

Jani walked the dogs, Kemmer, Kady, and Zoe.
Jani is still here and plans to depart for Colorado on Sunday....oh so sad for Kemmer and me!
Posted by rudi48 at 11:30 PM
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2 comments:

  1. SandyMarch 24, 2013 at 4:58 PM

    Such lovely creatures those three... I know you are going to miss Jani, but spring is coming and perhaps with the warming days, you and Kemmer will have nicer, longer walks.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 26, 2013 at 2:58 PM

    I have started reading your blog! you are such a brave lady!!! I will be watching for updates! Take care of your self and know you have people routing you on!

    April from KY.

    ReplyDelete

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