A quick update. I will be doing another round of pulse dose steroids (the IV methylprednisolone) to try and get the inflammation under control and my lung function back up. I did another set of PFTs on Tuesday and I am hovering around 31% TLC. I am needing 4L of oxygen all the time now to stay comfortable and 5L when walking.
We also did another blood test on Tuesday to check for a viral load from CMV.
(CMV = cytomegalovirus; a very common GI virus).
Okay pay attention now: my donor was CMV positive; I have never had active CMV, but upon transplantation CMV was introduced into my body. In normal people CMV is not a big deal; in immunosuppressed Tx patients it can cause lots of serious problems. I was on IV valgancyclovir for about six months post Tx to keep the CMV from flaring. So far I have not had any issues with an active CMV infection but they monitor this closely. (Once a virus is introduced to your body it is always there; it becomes dormant after the initial infection. But with being immunosuppressed my ability to make antibodies for new infections is all kinds of messed up so there is always a chance the CMV could flare up).
So, the take away from that is that my CMV is not active and that is good.
I've got a doctors appointment and several more tests today and tomorrow which hopefully will continue to yield more useful information.
In the meantime it's back to being a cracked out jackrabbit.
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