Bloodwork

Hi, I will be leaving shortly for the cancer center in Morristown to have my weekly blood work done to check my blood levels, magnesium and potassium levels, and to check my iron. I'll post what I find out when I get home this afternoon. Y'all have a great day and pray that all is ok. I'm tired of being hooked up to Potassium/Saline mix as I keep breaking out in rashes on my arms. Next Tuesday they will be doing a special blood draw called FI**** can tell more if the Leukemia is getting worse instead of a bone marrow biopsy. A bone marrow biopsy is extremely painful as they have to drill into the hip bone and take off a piece of bone and draw out the marrow. The fish test can tell more what the disease is doing then a bone marrow biopsy. The biopsy can tell you what kind you have, and if you are in remission, but with my leukemia, whether I am in remission or not I would still have to take the chemo pills every night, and go to bed, only to wake up the next morning and somemore. I hate dry heaves. I thought I gave that up 27 years ago when my last son was born. Guess I was wrong, but then I never planned on getting this disease. Need to dry my hair and brush the dentures. It's storming out here, so I won't be drying my hair completely, it will just get wet again. LOL, Love y'all, Kathy

Hopefully you'll get some good news. Take care Toni

news was I was hooked up last Thursday for potassium, Saturday it bottomed out to 2.9, I was in the er all night and it went up to 4.4. My body is rejecting the potassium because of the chemo, it is causing watery yellow blisters on my arms. Today it was 3. and had to be at the cancer center hooked up again for 6 hours. By the weekend it will have bottomed out again. Plus the chemo pills are causing me to retain fluids so I am holding at 200 lbs now for almost 3 weeks. Water pills cause the potassium to drop too, but not like the chemo does. So I am swelling with fluids. The blood clot in the vein in my foot has been there almost 5 weeks, and because of it, I can't work out with my legs like the treadmill. So that is a problem. Toni, I am tired of this cycle. If I don't take the chemo pills, it will cause the leukemia to advance. I could go on regular chemo, be sicker to my stomach, lose weight, hair, all of it, but may be able to keep the potassium levels up better and stay up but could cause the leukemia to advance faster, and less time to live. Toni, this is one decision that God is going to have to take over. I am getting weaker each day, less energy and I do B-12 shots twice a week, iron is fine, but the chemo and the potassium are slowly killing me. I can feel even though my bloodwork is great except for the potassium, my body feels weaker, it is taking me 6 hours to get down 20 ozs of water, only to have it all come back up. My Dr.'s are thinking that because I live alone, it might be a good idea to move into an assisted living nursing home, so that way someone is around if I need help. If that happens I will move closer to Nashville in a heart beat, and just come over here every three months to see my surgeon. I am going to try and hold off until my one yr exam in January, then I would only have to come over once a year maybe twice a year, one to see him, and also my friends in this area. I should have emailed this to you. Thanks for listening. Love you, Kathy

Kathy, I just don't know what to say. But you seem to have met every challenge with courage and grace. I admire that in you. I know with the help of the doctors you'll be able to make the best decisions for your health and well being. You have a lot of people praying for you and I hope that you can feel that too. Just let us know what we can do for you and it'll be done. Toni

You're in my prayers for good news. Terry

I just wrote Toni what's going on. I am rejecting potassium, which can cause a massive heart attack as it throws the electrolites off balance. I can't get past 200 lbs for almost 3 weeks, as I am retaining liquids from the chemo and the chemo is causing my potassium to constantly drop. I have to make some major decisions soon whether to stay on the pills and have to sit either on thursday's for 6 hours hooked up to an IV for potassium just to have it bottom out within three days and spend the night in the ER hooked up again. Last Saturday it went from 2.9 to 4.4 (normal range is 3.6-5, less then 3.6 is critical) Today it was 3 again. Although I am taking to shots of B-12 a week, I can feel myself getting weaker not stronger. This is a decision that God is going to have to work on. I can't make this decision of whether to go off the chemo pills to keep the potassium in my system, or to have this problem for the remaining time I have left on earth. I wish this on noone. One other wls person from TX contacted me that she also had Chronic myelogenous Leukemia and on the same medication. She recently had her surgery, now she's going thru the same problem with her potassium. I can say this, no problems with potassium for either of us until after having surgery, within 2 weeks both of us had to be put back into the hospital. I have made it almost 5 weeks since my surgery in January where I haven't had to be admitted into the hospital. My Dr.'s think I should move into an Assisted living Nursing Home atmosphere, then if I have problems, someone would be close by to help me, but I would still have my own apartment. Then if I didn't feel like cooking, I could eat in the main dining room at the nursing home. If it comes to that, it will happen after my one year exam in January. I can't make these decisions, that's God's job. I just know that each day on these chemo pills, I get weaker, and it's painful as it's a cancer of the bone marrow and blood, so my bones hurt real bad. It's all I can do in the mornings is get out of bed and go work out. Please keep this in your prayers. Thank you, Kathy

My prayers are with you Kathy. Love ya, Lisa 279/151/145

Thank you, Lisa. You are my inspiration. Love you, Kathy

Kathy, you are in my prayers day and night!! Terry

Kathy ~~ God will guide your way and no matter what happens I know you will be ready! You are so strong and have a strong will even though sometimes it is a losing battle... sometimes there are no words for comfort, only quiet feellings and thoughts and you are in our thoughts and feelings, and are with you in your your long struggle in life .... love Arianna,