7 years with MM

Well another year has come and gone; my physical condition is more or less unchanged since my last post about a year ago. Visit the doctor every 6-8 weeks and that is about it. My MM markers (M-spike, kappa, and Igg) are about the same as they were a year ago; and I still take 10 mg of dex every four days. The dex, however, appears to be causing my blood glucose to rise and I started (in Feb.) to take medication for this. Nevertheless, still living a more or less normal life and traveling some.

6 Years with MM

Well, I still doing well. Had to have surgery on my knee a few weeks ago; I am now in PT. Comes from jumping off my high school more than 50 years ago. Still taking 4mg of dex every 4 days; that is all. When knee recovers, I plan to go back to my exercise program; but probably will have to wait another month or so. No bone pain; however, I continue to tire easily. CBC blood counts are in normal range; so is creatine. Last M-spike was 1.3; Kappa is 4.20 mg/l; Igg is 1672 mg/dl. Not much change over the past year. Will continue on current course for the time being.

March 20, 2014--5 years with MM

March 30 marks my 5th anniversary of my official diagnosis of having MM (although I first went to doctor about 6 weeks earlier). My most recent MM markers (3/5/2014)are Kappa Light Chains @4.45, up from 3.77 on 1/21/2014; Igg 1744, down from 2014; and M-spike 1.4, down from 1.5. One marker up and two down. Blood pressure and blood work is normal. H/O does not seem concerned and I will stay off chemo but continue 10mg of dexamethasone every 4 days. On 2/12/2014, I had a full body scan set of x-rays (19 images); no new lytic lesions were seen and the old lesion on my right femur was no longer observable. Basically my bones are in better shape than they were 5 years ago prior to my 2-year treatment with Zometa (completed in July 2011). I have now been off chemo for 3 2/3 yrs. I continue to have some neuropathy in my hands and feet; but I am in no pain and can get about ok. So far; there are no issues of pain; no broken/fractured bones; I do tire easily and commonly take a nap in the afternoon.

November 7, 2013

It's been a while since I have last posted and an update is in order. Last April, I began to have some stomach problems in that I would feel full after eating a small amount of food and eventually end up having to induce vomiting. This resulted in significant weight loss (about 30 pounds). After an endoscopy in June of 2013, I was diagnosed with a parasophogeal hernia where my stomach had slid up into my chest cavity. At this time, I stopped taking dexamethasone. Surgery was performed on July 16 and it took about 2 1/2 months to recover where I could eat normally and do everyday things. Dropping off the dex, however, caused my IGG, K Light chains, and M-spike to rise significantly. However in mid September, I went back on dex and these myeloma parameters began to decline. Here are the results: August 2, 2013: IGG = 2205; September 16,2013: IGG = 2188; October 30, 2013 = 1916; this is a 13% decline in 3 months. August 2, 2013: KLC = 3.68; September 16,2013: KLC = 4.35; October 30, 2013 = 3.52; this is a 19% decline since mid September. M-spike stayed constant at 1.5; however, gamma globulin (of which the M-spike is a part) decreased about 19% between August 2 and October 30; this would seem to suggest that the M-spike is starting to decline. I am back on dex at 10 mg/day every 4 days (i.e., dex day with no sleep and then 3 nights of sleep). I will see the O/H on December 17 and we will review the above parameters again to assess if the declines continue or start to rise. Until then, I will continue to take the dex every 4 days.

August 25, 2013

Dull day; but I did get the Corvette up and running and took it out for a spin.

July 1, 2013

Nothing much to say; back from 3 weeks in Europe.

4 years with MM--Taking Dexamethasome

Immediately after being diagnosed with MM in March of 2009, I started on program of 10 mg/wk of dex. This continued into the Fall of 2011, when I increased dosage to 10 mg/2 times a week. I had gone off chemo in the summer of 2010; and dex was the only medicine I was taking. The rationale for increasing the dex dosage was try and keep Igg, M-spike, and kappa light chains at relatively low levels. Today is dex day. It starts with 10 mg taken orally between 8-9 in the morning. I quickly begin to feel good and energetic; this lasts for about 5 hours at which time I feel somewhat sleepy and I take a nap. After the nap, I feel wide awake and I know I will be up all night in which I watch movies on TV or on the Internet. About 5 am, I start feeling sleepy again and sometimes I can fall asleep for 1-2 hours. I feel sleepy most of the day; sometimes I can nap, but mostly I don't. That evening I take a single Advil PM and I will fall asleep about 9:00 and sleep like a rock until the next morning. After 3 nights of good sleep, it is dex time again. Basically it is dex day, 3 nights of sleep, and then dex day again. Staying up all night is not ideal; however, I just try and make the best of it. At this point I'm used to taking the dex and just regard it as something I can do indefinitely. Overall taking dex is not a significant issue in my life.